Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.3.1.28 (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase)
 5,100 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The location of three glucocorticoid responsive elements (GREs) in rat neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene was determined by chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) assay and nucleotide sequencing. We have reported that mRNA content of rat prepro-NPY is increased by 1.7-fold in NG108-15 cells by 1 microM dexamethasone, suggesting the presence of GRE in the gene. To identify the element, the 5'-flanking DNA of 3.3 kilobases (kb) was isolated from rat NPY gene. When chimeric chloramphenicol CAT plasmids containing various deletions of the NPY upstream sequence were transfected into NG108-15 cells, the region between -2.9 and -2.1 kb relative to the cap site was found to potentiate the transcription of CAT gene in the presence of 1 microM dexamethasone. The nucleotide sequencing of this region revealed three GRE consensus sequences at -2.5, -2.2 and -2.1 kb. The results indicate that these elements present in the far upstream region of the NPY gene confer induction by glucocorticoids.
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PMID:Identification of glucocorticoid responsive elements (GREs) at far upstream of rat NPY gene. 130 51

The human neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene was isolated from a human genomic DNA library. The transcription unit spans approximately 8 kilobase pairs and is interrupted by three intervening sequences. The first exon contains only nontranslated DNA. The site where transcription initiates was determined by primer extension analysis using a primer derived from a human cDNA, pheochromocytoma RNA and avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase. A TATA-like sequence and a CAAT-like sequence occur 25 and 70 base pairs 5' to the transcription start site, respectively. The second exon begins with the initiator Met for preproNPY and extends to the Arg (residue 63) which precedes the Tyr-amide of mature NPY. The third exon contains the coding region for 27 amino acids, and the fourth exon codes for the terminal heptapeptide and the 3' nontranslated DNA. Transcriptional control elements were investigated by fusing 581 base pairs of the 5' sequences of the NPY gene to the promoterless structural gene for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. NPY promoter activity was assayed by transfection of these hybrid constructions into CA-77 and PC12 cells followed by the determination of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in cellular extracts. DNA sequences located within 530 bases of the start of transcription are sufficient for transient expression in the two neuronally derived cell lines examined.
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PMID:Characterization, sequence, and expression of the cloned human neuropeptide Y gene. 242 15

Expressing foreign proteins in heterologous eukaryotic cells has been a powerful tool for analyzing protein structure and function. The inducible mouse metallothionein-I promoter has been particularly useful for expression studies. However, the levels of expression achieved with this promoter in heterologous eukaryotic expression systems have not equaled those observed in vivo for the metallothionein-I gene. We have constructed expression plasmids placing either the gene for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) or the cDNA for human neuropeptide Y (NPY) under control of the mouse metallothionein-I promoter. These two expression vectors were used to transfect mouse anterior pituitary tumor cells, from which stable transformants were isolated. The resulting cell lines, Mt.NPY1a and Mt.CAT, were used to maximize functional product expression from the metallothionein-I promoter. In both cell lines, a 35-fold induction of mRNA accumulation, peptide synthesis, or CAT activity was observed.
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PMID:Metallothionein-I promoter-directed expression of foreign proteins in a mouse pituitary corticotrope tumor cell line. 279 62

We report the first evidence that differential transcriptional regulation of human chromogranin A (CHGA) gene expression occurs during in vitro treatment of tumorigenic neuroblastoma (NB) cells with retinoic acid (5 microM) and/or dibutyryl-cAMP (1 mM). The CHGA gene encodes a tissue specific protein restricted to cells of the diffuse neuroendocrine system, but also widely expressed among NB tumours. We previously reported that CHGA as well as other neuroendocrine markers are modulated during NB differentiation in vitro. To investigate, at the molecular level, the mechanisms leading to NB tumour cell differentiation during the treatment with biologically active compounds, we sequenced and functionally characterised 2169 bp of a genomic DNA clone encompassing the 5' flanking region of the human CHGA gene. Computer-assisted analysis of the sequence revealed the presence of a cAMP responsive element at positions -56 to -49, and Sp1 binding sites at positions -181 to -176 and -216 to -210. Two novel 9 bp motifs, located at position -462 to -454 and -91 to -83 of the CHGA promoter were identified in the regulatory regions of two other neuroendocrine genes encoding for tyrosine hydroxylase and neuropeptide Y. In addition, in the first 1000 bp of the untranslated 5' region, we found the presence of several putative DNA binding sites of bHLH molecules, a protein family regulating tissue specific differentiation. Transient transfection experiments of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) deletion constructs, showed the presence of an active promoter within the first 455 bp upstream from the start site. This region conferred tissue specific expression to a CAT reporter gene. In addition, the transcriptional activity of this fragment was modulated during the induction of differentiation of NB cells treated by retinoic acid and/or dibutyryl-cAMP. These observations provide preliminary data regarding CHGA transcriptional regulation in NB cells, and indicate that retinoic acid and cAMP activate distinct, apparently competitive, transcriptional pathways during NB cell differentiation. The molecular characterisation of the mechanisms regulating CHGA expression in tumour and normal neuroendocrine tissue could lead to the identification of novel molecules potentially relevant for future gene therapy of NB tumours.
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PMID:Retinoic acid and cAMP differentially regulate human chromogranin A promoter activity during differentiation of neuroblastoma cells. 757 43

Somatostatin (SS) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) are coproduced in a subpopulation of neurons that are selectively resistant to NMDA neurotoxicity. We have previously reported that quinolinic acid (QUIN), an NMDA receptor agonist, augments SS mRNA in cultured fetal rat cortical neurons. This study examines coregulation of SS and NPY by QUIN and NMDA in cultured cortical neurons and compares the effects of these agents with those of forskolin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), known to activate SS and NPY gene transcription by protein kinase A- and protein kinase C-dependent mechanisms. In addition, transcriptional regulation of the SS gene was investigated by acute transfection of cortical cultures with an SS promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) construct. QUIN and NMDA displayed dose-dependent fourfold augmentation of levels of mRNA for SS but not for NPY. In contrast, forskolin and PMA increased both SS and NPY mRNA levels. QUIN- and NMDA-mediated induction of SS mRNA was blocked by the NMDA receptor antagonist (-)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid and displayed regional brain specificity because it was not observed in fetal hypothalamic cell cultures. In time course studies, the effects of QUIN/NMDA on SS mRNA occurred after a latency of 8 h, indicating a delayed effect. Cortical cells transfected with pSS-750 CAT showed three- to fourfold stimulation of CAT activity with forskolin but not by QUIN or NMDA. These data reveal a dose-dependent, tissue-specific, NMDA receptor-mediated stimulation of SS but not NPY mRNA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Differential stimulation of somatostatin but not neuropeptide Y gene expression by quinolinic acid in cultured cortical neurons. 764 30

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is widely recognized as a regulator of tyrosine hydroxylase via a mechanism of trans-synaptic activation. Subsets of adrenal medullary cells and postganglionic sympathetic nerves coexpress the peptide neurotransmitter neuropeptide Y (NPY) with catecholamines. Using PC12 cells transiently expressing a fusion gene in which the bacterial enzyme chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) is under the control of 700 base pairs of the 5' flanking region of the NPY gene, we have studied the role of VIP and the related peptide pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) in regulating NPY gene transcription. Both VIP and PACAP stimulated expression of the NPY gene through activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. PACAP was 1000-fold more potent in eliciting this response compared to VIP and activity resided in its N-terminal 27 amino acids. Both VIP and PACAP caused a subpopulation (approximately 50%) of PC12 cells to undergo profound morphological changes in that the cells extended long, slender neurites with prominent growth cones. This change in morphology was unaffected by preincubating cells with inhibitors of either cAMP-dependent protein kinase or calcium/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase. A trophic role for either VIP or PACAP in regulating sympathetic nerve function is proposed.
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PMID:Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulates neuropeptide Y gene expression and causes neurite extension in PC12 cells through independent mechanisms. 796 4

Membrane depolarization stimuli (high potassium concentration and veratridine) increased neuropeptide Y (NPY) mRNA abundance time-dependently, without a change in beta-actin mRNA level, in NG108-15 and PC12 cells. Although the induction by veratridine was blocked completely by tetrodotoxin, the induction by potassium was suppressed minimally. Voltage-dependent Ca channel blockers and calmodulin antagonists inhibited the increases by both depolarization stimuli completely, suggesting involvement of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinases (CaM kinases). Transient assay using chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter genes containing the rat NPY gene promoter indicated that membrane depolarization and Ca entry stimulate transcription of the NPY gene. The depolarization-induced transactivation was also blocked by CaM kinase inhibitors. The 200-bp 5'-upstream region (-344/-145) was localized as a Ca2+/ calmodulin-responsive element (CaMRE), which confers depolarization-induced transactivation. It is interesting that this CaMRE did not contain the canonical Ca-responsive elements such as CRE, SRE, NF-AT, or the C/EBP beta-binding site and was separated from a 64-bp cyclic AMP/ phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-responsive element (-144/-81). These findings suggested that membrane depolarization regulates the NPY gene transcription positively through the unique CaMRE by activation of CaM kinases following Ca entry through L-type Ca channels.
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PMID:Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent transcriptional activation of neuropeptide Y gene induced by membrane depolarization: determination of Ca(2+)- and cyclic AMP/phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-responsive elements. 878 4