Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:1.5.1.19 (NOS)
 7,285 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have successfully transferred and expressed a reporter gene driven by an alpha-amylase promoter in a japonica type of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Tainung 62) using the Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer system. Immature rice embryos (10-12 days after anthesis) were infected with an Agrobacterium strain carrying a plasmid containing chimeric genes of beta-glucuronidase (uidA) and neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII). Co-incubation of potato suspension culture (PSC) with the Agrobacterium inoculum significantly improved the transformation efficiency of rice. The uidA and nptII genes, which are under the control of promoters of a rice alpha-amylase gene (alpha Amy8) and Agrobacterium nopaline synthase gene (nos), respectively, were both expressed in G418-resistant calli and transgenic plants. Integration of foreign genes into the genomes of transgenic plants was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. Histochemical localization of GUS activity in one transgenic plant (R0) revealed that the rice alpha-amylase promoter functions in all cell types of the mature leaves, stems, sheaths and roots, but not in the very young leaves. This transgenic plant grew more slowly and produced less seeds than the wild-type plant, but its R1 and R2 progenies grew normally and produced as much seeds as the wild-type plant. Inheritance of foreign genes to the progenies was also confirmed by Southern blot analysis. These data demonstrate successful gene transfer and sexual inheritance of the chimeric genes.
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PMID:Agrobacterium-mediated production of transgenic rice plants expressing a chimeric alpha-amylase promoter/beta-glucuronidase gene. 839 95

Progressive and selective degeneration of specific classes of neurons occurs in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. Differential vulnerability in this disease is evident even within supopulations that synthesize and release acetylcholine as a transmitter; i.e., basal forebrain cholinergic neurons degenerate but other classes of cholinergic neurons are relatively preserved. The basis for this selective vulnerability is unknown. Studies of differential neuronal vulnerability in AD would be facilitated if cell lines expressing neurotransmitter-specific phenotypes could be cloned from the brain. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) has been shown to be a sensitive method of detection and quantitation of the DNA products of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). CE/LIF was combined with the PCR to detect phenotypic messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, converted to cDNA using reverse transcriptase (RT), in cultures of virally immortalized brainstem progenitor cells produced during establishment of a cloning strategy. RT/PCR methods were developed for detection of the mRNAs for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the neuronal, constitutive isoform of nitric oxide synthase (c-NOS), and the growth-associated protein GAP-43, three genes known to be expressed in central cholinergic neurons. A "nondestructive" method of screening cultured cells for their expression of c-NOS was established using depolarization with medium containing 50 mM potassium ion. These approaches were first validated using cultured SN56 (cholinergic) and N1E-115 (c-NOS-positive) neuroblastoma cells, and with primary brainstem cultures. For the cloning of novel cell lines, progenitor cells were isolated from the embryonic day 13 fetal brainstem and were immortalized by transfection with a retroviral vector that confers a temperature-sensitive SV-40 transforming activity and neomycin resistance. Cell colonies surviving in G418-containing media were isolated and cloned by dilution. Clonal cultures were expanded by growth at 33 degrees C, differentiated by switching to a low-serum medium and growth at 39 degrees C, and screened for depolarization-induced accumulation of nitrite in the medium. The subset of putative c-NOS-positive clones (about 4%) were then screened for their expression of mRNAs using RT/PCR in combination with CE/LIF. This screening protocol proved to be powerful in the rapid isolation and phenotypic characterization of immortalized progenitor cells cloned from embryonic rat brainstem.
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PMID:Use of capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection to assess messenger ribonucleic acid molecules amplified by the polymerase chain reaction: applications in the cloning of cells. 937 66

Full length cDNA of rat brain cNOS was inserted into the polylinker area of pRC/CMV with specific orientation and an eukaryocyte expression vector pCMVcNOS was obtained. The existence of cNOS gene was demonstrated by PCR amplification, using pCMVcNOS gene as the model and primers designed in accord with the internal sequence of cNOS gene. The insertion and orientation of pCMVcNOS were further verified by enzymatic cleavage. NG108-15 cells were transfected with pCMVcNOS by calcium phosphate DNA coprecipitation and lipofectin transfection. G418 resistant monoclonal cells were selected with a culture medium containing 600 micrograms/ml G418. NOS activity of each clone was assayed by monitoring the conversion of 3H-Arginine to 3H-Citrulline. High expression cell lines were selected through measurement of the cytosol and particulate NOS activity. Out of 42 resistant monoclonal cell lines, 3 stable high expression clones have been finally selected. The increase of expressed cytosol NOS was more obvious. The result showed that the cell lines expressing cNOS at a high level had been obtained.
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PMID:[The expression of rat brain constitutive nitric oxide synthase in NG108-15 cell]. 1045 46

The role of an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)expression in the mechanisms of opioid tolerance and dependence was investigated. A recombinant retroviral expression vector containing a cDNA fragment of iNOS was transfected into the neuroblastomaxglioma NG108-15 cells by lipofectamine gene transferring technique. G418-resistant clones were selected and were named NG-LNCXiNOS cells. Using Southern blot, PCR amplification for Neo gene, RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, NG-LNCXiNOS cells were confirmed to have an integral exogenous iNOS gene which was being transcribed and translated into protein. NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemical staining and immunohistochemical staining with iNOS-specific antibody demonstrated that high-level expression of iNOS protein was present in the cytoplasm of NG-LNCXiNOS cells. The catalytic activity and NO( )(2) content in supernatant medium were obviously enhanced in iNOS gene-transfected cells. The results show that the biochemical and pharmacological properties of the recombinant enzyme were similar to those of native enzyme. The recombinant enzyme activity was completely dependent on NADPH and failed to be stimulated by the addition of calcium and calmodulin. Chelating agents failed to decrease its activity. NOS inhibitors could markedly reduce NO( )(2) production at a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of iNOS gene was involved in the up-regulation of NO-cGMP signal transduction cascade. Therefore, an iNOS gene-modified neuronal cell line was successfully established, offering an excellent model system for seeking and screening new drugs to treat opioid tolerance and dependence.
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PMID:Expression of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene in Neuronal Cells Mediated by Retrovirus Vector. 1213 69

The neuroblastoma x glioma NG108-15 cells were transfected with recombinant eukarytic expression plasmid pCMViNOS containing the full-length cDNA encoding inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). A lot of G418-resistant clones were screened at 600 micrograms/ml of geneticin. In the 2# clone expressing iNOS gene, iNOS catalytic activity in the cytosol fraction displayed to have an increasing trend, accompanying with the accumulation of NO2- content in the supernantant of cultured cells and the intracellular cGMP concentration, which suggested that NO-cGMP signal pathway was mediated by the expression of iNOS gene and blocked by NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) and methylene blue (MB). Activity of iNOS was concentration-dependently inhibited by NOS inhibitors such as L-NNA and aminoguanidine. The result of measurement of NADPH diaphorase activity and immunocytochemical staining showed that localization of the function expression of iNOS protein mainly existed in the cytoplasm of NG108-15 cells transfected with pCMViNOS. Furthermore, the chromosomal integration, transcript and protein translation of foreign iNOS gene were identified by Southern hybridization, RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The results indicated that iNOS gene-transfected cells had mRNA transcription and specific protein expression at high level. Given the above results, the engineering cell line with stable expression of iNOS gene was successfully established. The new neuronal cell line may serve as a source of iNOS and provide a useful cell model for studying iNOS biological function and developing novel iNOS-selective inhibitors.
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PMID:[Stable expression of recombinant inducible nitric oxide synthase in NG108-15 cells and its biological characterization]. 1254 60

Opine synthases are enzymes produced in dicotyledonous plants as the result of a natural gene transfer phenomenon. Agrobacteria contain Ti plasmids that direct the transfer, stable integration and expression of a number of genes in plants, including the genes coding for octopine or nopaline synthase. This fact was used as the basis for the construction of a number of chimeric genes combining the 5' upstream promoter sequences and most of the untranslated leader sequence of the nopaline synthase (nos) gene with the coding sequence of two bacterial genes: the aminoglycoside phosphotransferase (APH(3')II) gene of Tn5 and the methotrexate-insensitive dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR Mtx) of the R67 plasmid. The APH(3')II enzyme inactivates a number of aminoglycoside antibiotics such as kanamycin, neomycin and G418. Kanamycin, G418 and methotrexate are very toxic to plants. The chimeric NOS-APH(3')II gene, when transferred to tobacco cells using the Ti plasmid as a gene vector, was expressed and conferred resistance to kanamycin to the plant cells. Kanamycin-resistant tobacco cells were shown to contain a typical APH(3')II phosphorylase activity. This chimeric gene can be used as a potent dominant selectable marker in plants. Similar results were also obtained with a NOS-DHFR Mtx gene. Our results demonstrate that foreign genes are not only transferred but are also functionally expressed when the appropriate constructions are made using promoters known to be active in plant cells.
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PMID:Chimeric genes as dominant selectable markers in plant cells. 1645 64

A method was developed for culturing protoplasts freshly isolated from developing soybean (Glycine max L.) cotyledons. First cell divisions were observed within 5 days after protoplast isolation and microcalli, consisting of about 20 cells, were formed within 10 days. Thirty days after protoplast isolation, callus tissues were observed without the aid of a microscope. A 30 to 50% plating efficiency was consistently obtained. Using a polyethylene glycol-electroporation technique, DNA was introduced into these protoplasts. The protoplasts were then cultured to form callus. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity was detected in protoplast cultures 6 hours after introduction of a 35S-CAT-nopaline synthase 3' chimeric gene. The highest CAT activity was detected in 3-day-old electroporated protoplast cultures, indicating transient expression of the introduced gene. Some CAT activity was detected in 40-day-old callus cultures and in geneticin (G418) selected callus tissues which also received a chimeric neomycin phosphotransferase II gene, indicating the presence of stable transformants. A control chimeric gene with an inverted 35S promoter failed to produce any CAT activity in this system.
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PMID:Soybean protoplast culture and direct gene uptake and expression by cultured soybean protoplasts. 1666 33

Lactuca sativa can be routinely transformed using Ti plasmids of Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing a chimeric kanamycin resistance gene (NOS.NPTII.NOS). Critical experimental variables were plant genotype, bacterial concentration, presence of a nurse culture and timing of transfers between tissue culture media. Transformation was confirmed by the ability to callus and root in the presence of kanamycin, nopaline production, and by hybridization in Southern blots. Transformation has been achieved with several Ti vectors. Several hundred transformed plants have been regenerated. Kanamycin resistance was inherited monogenically. Homozygotes can be selected by growing R2 seedlings on media containing G418.
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PMID:Transformation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. 2424 27