Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:1.5.1.3 (dihydrofolate reductase)
 5,819 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR; EC 1.5.1.3) is required in folate metabolism for the synthesis of purines, thymidine, and glycine. Although there have been several reports of induction of DHFR enzyme by methotrexate (MTX), a drug that competitively inhibits DHFR, there are no studies reported that examine the effect of MTX on DHFR gene transcription. We have examined the effect of MTX and other inhibitors of DNA synthesis on DHFR transcription using a transient expression assay. MTX stimulates transient expression in a concentration-dependent manner from a hamster DHFR promoter construct containing 150 base pairs 5' to the start of transcription. Addition of either tetrahydrofolate or hypoxanthine plus thymidine prevents the promoter induction in response to MTX, suggesting that stimulation by MTX results from inhibition of these metabolites. Furthermore, two other antimetabolic drugs--fluorodeoxyuridine and hydroxyurea--also stimulate the DHFR promoter in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, aphidicolin, which blocks cell growth through inhibition of DNA polymerase alpha, has no effect on the DHFR promoter. The potential relevance of these results to cross-resistance to chemotherapeutic agents and to the process of gene amplification is discussed.
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PMID:Stimulation of dihydrofolate reductase promoter activity by antimetabolic drugs. 183 62

We have developed DNA diagnosis using Universal probe system for the rapid detection of Plasmodium falciparum parasite in blood. We chose the DHFR-TS (dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase) gene as target for detection which are the junction part (410 bp) of and the DHFR part (790 bp). In the parasite, there is only one copy of target sequence, therefore, the target sequences were amplified by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to increase the sensitivity. Our hybridization method consists of two probes; a primary probe prepared from a chimeric phage-plasmid vector (pUCf1) containing sequence complementary to the target, and a biotin-labeled secondary probe complementary to a portion of the primary probe, which is detected by the BCIP/NBT method. We showed that the 410 bp was more sensitive than the 790 bp as a target of P. falciparum, and the limit of detection was 10(3) parasites in 1 ml human blood using 410 bp junction part. We also constructed double PCR systems using junction part of DHFR-TS gene. By amplification of the 410 bp of the junction part and reamplification of 228 bp of inside sequence of the 410 bp, as little as 10 parasites in 10 microliters human blood was sufficient for specific detection.
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PMID:DNA diagnosis of falciparum malaria. 184 63

The intracellular distribution and localization of dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase of wild type suspension carrot cells was analysed using cytochemical and immunocytochemical techniques; in both resting and growing normal cells (E4) the activity appeared to be predominantly cytoplasmic. The pattern of localization of the enzyme was also analysed during the different phases of the cell cycle. To this end carrot cells were synchronized with aphidicolin (an inhibitor of the alpha-like DNA polymerase which blocks cells at the G1/S boundary) and cycle phases checked by labelled-thymidine incorporation. Protoplasts obtained from cells inhibited with aphidicolin or from cells sampled at different times after the removal of the drug (S and G2 phase), failed to show a nuclear localization of DHFR-TS. These results indicate that in carrot the bifunctional enzyme does not change compartment during the cell cycle. Surprisingly Mtx-resistant cells (E2A2, E2A1C6; overproducing DHFR-TS) showed, irrespective of their physiological state (quiescent or growing), also a relevant nuclear or perinuclear immunofluorescence which could not be detected using cytochemical techniques. The reason of this altered localization is not clear and its possible relation with altered cytophysiological parameters is discussed.
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PMID:Cellular localization of dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase in carrot cells. 186 64

The bifunctional dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) of Daucus carota has been further characterized as regards molecular weight, amino acid composition, protease digestion and microsequencing of proteolytic peptides. Data reported in this paper demonstrate that the carrot protein has a calculated Mr of 124,000 thus indicating that, contrarily to what has previously been suggested, it occurs as a dimer of identical subunits. Results of partial amino acid microsequencing show the presence of sequences highly homologous with those of the active sites of both DHFR and TS from other organisms confirming, at the structural level, the bifunctional nature of the carrot protein. As in the case of Leishmania tropica DHFR-TS, incubation of the carrot protein with V8 protease led to a rapid loss of TS activity while retaining that of DHFR. However the pattern of proteolysis did not allow to establish whether the sequence of domains is DHFR-TS as in Leishmania, or vice versa. Low homology of other amino acid sequences, as judged by computer analysis, and absence of common epitopes indicate an apparent divergence between carrot and leishmanian proteins.
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PMID:Proteolytic and partial sequencing studies of the bifunctional dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase from Daucus carota. 186 69

New derivatives of 3-amino-1,2,6-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide have been synthesized and their antibacterial, antifungal and DHFR inhibitory activities evaluated. Their chemical structures have been established by means of analytical and NMR spectroscopic data. Among the compounds studied, the 4,4-dibromo derivative 11 showed fungistatic activity against C. albicans.
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PMID:Synthesis and biological screening of aminothiadiazine dioxides related to trimethoprim. 186 65

A recombinant plasmid p91-HuLT was constructed with a human lymphotoxin (HuLT) gene 2.4 kb EcoRI fragment and a mammalian cell expression vector plasmid p91023. The HuLT EcoRI DNA fragment covers entire coding sequence and some 3(1) non-translated region sequence of the gene, p91-HuLT DNA was used to transfect Chinese hamster cell line CHO-DHFR- cells by using calcium phosphate-DNA coprecipitation method, and DHFR+ transfectants were obtained. RNA dot blot hybridization analysis showed that the HuLT mRNA was produced by p91-HuLT in transfectants. The results of MTT dye reduction assay indicated that the DHFR+ cell lines we obtained constitutively synthesize and secrete the HuLT with the cytotoxic activity of at least 200 units per mL of medium.
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PMID:[Expression of human lymphotoxin gene in CHO-DHFR- cells]. 188 32

We have shown that the Leishmania major transfection vector pR-NEO (or derivatives thereof) can be introduced and stably maintained in four species complexes of pathogenic Leishmania (L. tropica, L. mexicana, L. donovani, L. braziliensis), and the genera Endotrypanum and Crithidia; transfection of Trypanosoma cruzi or Trypanosoma brucei was not successful. Quantitative plating assays showed that the transfection efficiencies were high in L. major and Leishmania amazonensis (5x10(-5)/cell) and about 10-fold less for Leishmania panamaensis and Crithidia. Leishmania donovani transfected with pR-NEO retained the ability to infect hamsters, and amastigotes recovered after 2 months yielded G418-resistant promastigotes which retained high levels of extrachromosomal pR-NEO DNA. In promastigotes, the transfected DNA existed as extrachromosomal circles, and expressed the predicted 2.4-kb hybrid NEO/DHFR-TS mRNA bearing the trans-spliced miniexon. Large quantitative differences were observed only in Crithidia: relative to transfected Leishmania species, the copy number of pR-NEO was elevated 20-fold, while the levels of the NEO/DHRFR-TS mRNA or Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase (synthesized from the expression vector pX-beta GAL) were reduced 80 and more than 1000-fold, respectively. Thus, genetic signals derived from L. major DNA that mediate RNA expression or stability are recognized by the heterologous Leishmania species but less efficiently by Crithidia. These studies suggest that pR-NEO derived vectors may be applied to the study of genes expressed throughout the life cycle in a wide range of pathogenic trypanosomatids.
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PMID:Stable DNA transfection of a wide range of trypanosomatids. 190 80

Translocation and folding of proteins imported into mitochondria are mediated by two matrix-localized chaperones, mhsp70 and hsp60. In order to investigate whether these chaperones act sequentially or in parallel, we studied their interaction with newly imported precursor proteins in isolated yeast mitochondria by coimmunoprecipitation. All precursors bound transiently to mhsp70. Release from mhsp70 required hydrolysis of ATP and did not immediately generate a tightly folded protein. For example, after imported mouse dihydrofolate reductase (a soluble monomeric enzyme) had been released from mhsp70, folding to a protease resistant conformation occurred only after a lag and was much slower than the release. Under standard import conditions, no significant association of DHFR with hsp60 could be detected. Similarly, newly imported hsp60 subunit was released from mhsp70 as an incompletely folded, unassembled intermediate which accumulated at low temperature and assembled to hsp60 14-mer at higher temperature in an ATP-dependent manner. Mas2p (the larger subunit of the MAS-encoded processing protease) first bound to mhsp70, then to hsp60, and only then assembled with its partner subunit, Mas1p. We propose that ATP-dependent release from mhsp70 is insufficient to cause folding of imported proteins and that assembly of hsp60 and Mas2p requires sequential, ATP-dependent interactions with mhsp70 and hsp60.
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PMID:Sequential action of mitochondrial chaperones in protein import into the matrix. 191 94

We have used methotrexate-resistant mosquito (Aedes albopictus) cells as the source of DNA for cloning an 8.5-kb EcoRI fragment containing an amplified dihydrofolate reductase (DHRF) gene. An estimated 1200 copies of the DHFR gene were represented in nuclear DNA from Mtx-5011-256 cells, which were 3000-fold more resistant to methotrexate than wild-type cells. Southern blot analysis indicated that all of the amplified DHFR genes were contained within a 1.8-kb AccI fragment represented in the cloned DNA. In contrast to mammalian DHFR genes which span approximately 30 kb, the complete amino acid coding sequence of the mosquito DHFR gene spanned 614 nucleotides, including a single 56-nucleotide intron that interrupted a conserved Arg codon at amino acid position 27. Additional introns characteristic of mammalian DHFR genes were absent; conservation of the first intron in the mosquito DHFR gene supports a regulatory role for this intron. The mosquito DHFR gene coded for a 186-amino-acid protein with 43-48% similarity to vertebrate DHFR.
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PMID:An amplified insect dihydrofolate reductase gene contains a single intron. 191 58

We have employed 15N NMR to characterize the conformations of Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase (ECDHFR) in complex with [5-15N]folate or [5-15N]methotrexate (MTX). Two 15N resonances were observed for DHFR/MTX binary complex. The relative population of these two conformations is pH dependent. Addition of NADP+ or NADPH results in the disappearance of the low field resonance. In contrast, only one conformation was observed for both the DHFR/folate and DHFR/folate/NADP+ complexes. However, the 15N chemical shift of [5-15N]folate in the binary DHFR/folate complex is 7.28 ppm upfield from that of the ternary complex, suggesting the possible loss of a hydrogen bonding to N5 of folate in the ternary complex.
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PMID:15N NMR studies of the conformation of E. coli dihydrofolate reductase in complex with folate or methotrexate. 191 51


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