Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.10.3.1 (tyrosinase)
 9,065 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Tyrosinase, the key enzyme in melanin synthesis, is expressed specifically in pigment-producing cells. Studies with transgenic mice and gene transfer experiments have demonstrated that the 270-base pair 5'-flanking sequence of the mouse tyrosinase gene leads to weak but cell type-specific and developmentally regulated expression. To elucidate the underlying transcriptional control, we focused on the identification of cis-acting elements within this 270-base pair minimal promoter. We also addressed the potential role of promoter elements in the control of cAMP regulation of the tyrosinase gene. Deletion and linker scanning mutagenesis revealed that promoter activity is modulated by two positive elements and one negative element. One of the positive elements includes the M-box, a sequence motif shared with the promoter of two other melanocyte-specific genes, trp-1 and trp-2. Cotransfection experiments provide evidence that a basic helix-loop-helix-zipper protein, encoded at the microphthalmia gene locus, transactivates the tyrosinase promoter, probably by binding to the M-box. Activating cis elements are bound by nuclear factors in vitro and confer increased expression to a reporter gene both in melanoma cells and in fibroblasts. We therefore suggest that the positive promoter elements modulate tyrosinase expression rather than determine cell specificity in vivo, whereas the negative element acts cell type specifically.
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PMID:The mouse tyrosinase gene. Promoter modulation by positive and negative regulatory elements. 796 73

Oxygen free radical (OFR)-mediated oxidative stress in myocardial cells following ischemia could damage unit membrane and macromolecules such as nucleic acids (DNA). It is being reported that under this condition these cells produce antioxidants and heat shock proteins (HSP 70). It is implied that this family of proteins could function as a "molecular chaperone" in the cell and hence has to be transported to various target sites. This process is comparable to the induction of oxygen free radicals in melanocytes and its response, melanin production following UV light exposure stress. Lamp-1, trp-1 and tyrosinase are melanosomal-associated stress relief proteins which are involved in the production of melanin in the subcellular organelle, melanosomes. UV exposure studies as well as gene transfection studies and antisense hybridization in human melanoma cells clearly indicated an increase and marked coordinated interaction of all these stress relief proteins in melanogenesis. These proteins are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum and have to undergo posttranslation modification, sorting and posting to their respective target sites. We simultaneously identified and characterized an ER resident protein, calnexin. It became the potential candidate for "chaperoning" these proteins following translation. Based on the computer analysis of HSP 70 cDNA, we postulate that similar to stress response proteins in melanogenesis, stress relief proteins in myocardial cells may also be modulated by the same ER resident protein, calnexin.
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PMID:Stress relief protein modulation by calnexin. 890 96

Melanoma-reactive HLA-A x 0201-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) lines generated in vitro lyse autologous and HLA-matched allogeneic melanoma cells and recognize multiple shared peptide antigens from tyrosinase, MART-1, and Pme117/gp100. However, a subset of melanomas fail to be lysed by these T cells. In the present report, four different HLA-A x 0201+ melanoma cell lines not lysed by melanoma-reactive allogeneic CTL have been evaluated in detail. All four are deficient in expression of the melanocytic differentiation proteins (MDP) tyrosinase, Pme117/gp100, gp75/ trp-1, and MART-1/Melan-A. This concordant loss of multiple MDP explains their resistance to lysis by melanoma-reactive allogeneic CTL and confirms that a subset of melanomas may be resistant to tumor vaccines directed against multiple MDP-derived epitopes. All four melanoma lines expressed normal levels of HLAA x 0201, and all were susceptible to lysis by xenoreactive-peptide-dependent HLA-A x 0201-specific CTL clones, indicating that none had identifiable defects in antigen-processing pathways. Despite the lack of shared MDP-derived antigens, one of these MDP-negative melanomas, DM331, stimulated an effective autologous CTL response in vitro, which was restricted to autologous tumor reactivity. MHC-associated peptides isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography from HLA-A1 and HLA-A2 molecules of DM331 tumor cells included at least three peptide epitopes recognized by DM331 CTL and restricted by HLA-A1 or by HLA-A x 0201. Recognition of these CTL epitopes cannot be explained by defined, shared melanoma antigens; instead, unique or undefined antigens must be responsible for the autologous-cell-specific anti-melanoma response. These findings suggest that immunotherapy directed against shared melanoma antigens should be supplemented with immunotherapy directed against unique antigens or other undefined antigens, especially in patients whose tumors do not express MDP.
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PMID:Melanomas with concordant loss of multiple melanocytic differentiation proteins: immune escape that may be overcome by targeting unique or undefined antigens. 1075 74