Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:2.7.1.21 (thymidine kinase)
7,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Live recombinant vaccinia viruses, expressing antigens from pathogenic microorganisms, are studied for their use as vaccines designed for the protection against infectious diseases. Infections with these vaccinia virus recombinants, expressing proteins or epitopes from viruses, parasites, or bacteria, have resulted in the development of specific neutralizing antibodies or cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Here, we describe the generation of a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the mycobacterial 65-kDa heat shock protein (HSP65). A vaccinia recombinant virus was constructed by placing the gene for the Mycobacterium bovis BCG HSP65 under control of a vaccinia virus promoter and inserting this mycobacterial gene in the thymidine kinase locus of the vaccinia virus genome. Mycobacterial HSP65 is a critical antigen in the autoimmune model of adjuvant arthritis induced in Lewis rats by the immunization with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We report the induction of immunity directed to this mycobacterial HSP65 by testing for the presence of specific antibodies and T-cell proliferation. Furthermore, induction of such immunity resulted in a reduction of arthritis severity when given to rats before or, even more interestingly, during development of arthritis. Disease reduction was not found after administration of HSP65 in the absence of vaccinia virus as a vector when given during arthritis development. Therefore, recombinant vaccinia virus may offer new prospectives for specific intervention in autoimmunity.
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PMID:Modulation of experimental autoimmunity: treatment of adjuvant arthritis by immunization with a recombinant vaccinia virus. 190 72

To identify the regulatory elements of the human thymidine kinase (TK) gene, we have established stable cell lines carrying different chimeric constructs of the TK gene. Our results can be summarized as follows. (i) When the TK coding sequence is under the control of the calcyclin promoter (a promoter that is activated when G0 cells are stimulated by growth factors), TK mRNA levels are higher in G1-arrested cells than in proliferating cells; (ii) when the TK coding sequence is under the control of the promoter of heat shock protein HSP70, steady-state levels of TK mRNA are highest after heat shock, regardless of the position of the cells in the cell cycle; (iii) the bacterial CAT gene under the control of the human TK promoter is maximally expressed in the S phase; (iv) the TK cDNA driven by the simian virus 40 promoter is also maximally expressed in the S phase; and (v) TK enzyme activity is always at a maximum in the S phase, even when the levels of TK mRNA are highest in nonproliferating cells. We conclude that although the TK coding sequence may also play some role, the TK promoter has an important role in the cell cycle regulation of TK mRNA levels.
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PMID:Role of the promoter in the regulation of the thymidine kinase gene. 338 89

Hybrid genes containing the 5' region of Drosophila heat shock protein (hsp) genes, ligated to the herpesvirus thymidine kinase (tk) gene, were transfected into Drosophila line S3 cells. Constructions containing sequences upstream from hsp70, or from any of the small hsp genes, showed heat-inducible tk expression. Ecdysterone-inducible tk expression was seen only in transfections with small hsp-tk hybrid genes. Plasmids containing a synthetic "heat shock consensus sequence" or a deletion of the hsp23 upstream region were totally inactive in transfection studies.
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PMID:Transcription of Drosophila small hsp-tk hybrid genes is induced by heat shock and by ecdysterone in transfected Drosophila cells. 392 45

The immune response to the mycobacterial 65-kDa heat shock protein (hsp65) is considered an important event in the induction of adjuvant arthritis (AA) in rats; this induction probably occurs through a molecular mimicry mechanism involving cross-reactivity against the rat homolog hsp60. To analyze the role of mammalian molecule hsp60 in arthritis, we generated a recombinant vaccinia virus (hsp60-VV) carrying the human hsp60 gene inserted into the thymidine kinase locus under the control of the 7.5k vaccinia virus promoter. Human hsp60 is almost identical to its rat homolog (97.4% linear amino acid homology) and shares about 50% of amino acid positions with Mycobacterium tuberculosis hsp65. The latter supposedly carries a critical epitope for AA induction that is not present in human hsp60. Infections with hsp60-VV of monkey cell cultures led to the expression of the human hsp60 molecule, as evidenced by immunoblotting analysis with specific monoclonal antibodies. Also, Lewis rats infected with hsp60-VV produced specific antibodies, demonstrating the in vivo expression of human hsp60 in the infected animals. Therefore, we used hsp60-VV to analyze whether the delivery of hsp60 could affect the induction of AA in Lewis rats. hsp60-VV clearly reduced and retarded arthritic symptoms when administered to rats at day 7 after AA induction. In contrast, inoculation of rats with a control recombinant vaccinia virus did not affect the course of the disease. The improvement in AA with hsp60-VV administration was associated with a specific immune response, as determined by the presence of antibodies to hsp60 in the sera and the proliferation induced by hsp60 of T cells from popliteal lymph nodes. These results support a critical role for immunity to heat shock proteins in AA. Since the protective construct is virtually identical to rat homolog hsp60, we conclude that immunity directed to conserved areas of this family of proteins is directly involved in the pathogenesis of AA.
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PMID:Modulation of adjuvant arthritis in Lewis rats by recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the human 60-kilodalton heat shock protein. 840 10

The murine alpha B-crystallin gene (a member of the small heat shock protein family) is expressed constitutively at high levels in the lens and at lower levels in many other tissues, including skeletal muscle. We have previously used the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter fused to the human growth hormone gene to identify an alpha B-crystallin enhancer at positions -427 to -259 that has high activity in muscle and low activity in lens cell lines. In the study reported here, we performed DNase I footprinting, transfection, mutagenesis, and electrophoretic mobility shift experiments using the murine C2C12 muscle and alpha TN4-1 lens cell lines and the rabbit N/N1003A lens cell line to identify sequences responsible for activity of this enhancer. Enhancer activity in both the muscle and lens cells was dependent on novel elements called alpha BE-1 (-407 to -397), alpha BE-2 (-360 to -327), and alpha BE-3 (-317 to -306). These elements were also weakly occupied by nuclear proteins in L929 cells, which appear to express the alpha B-crystallin gene at a very low level (detectable only by the polymerase chain reaction). A fourth element containing a consensus muscle regulatory factor-binding site called MRF (-300 to -288) was occupied and used only by the C2C12 muscle cells. Cotransfection in NIH 3T3 cells and antibody-gel shift experiments using C2C12 nuclear extracts indicated that MyoD, myogen, or a similar member of this family can activate the alpha B-crystallin enhancer by interaction with the MRF site. Taken together, we conclude that the alpha BE-1, alpha BE-2, and alpha BE-3 elements are shared by both lens and muscle cells, but the MRF element is used only in muscle cells, providing the first example of a muscle-specific control element in a crystallin gene.
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PMID:The murine alpha B-crystallin/small heat shock protein enhancer: identification of alpha BE-1, alpha BE-2, alpha BE-3, and MRF control elements. 841 3

The murine alpha B-crystallin/small heat shock protein gene is expressed at high levels in the lens and at lower levels in the heart, skeletal muscle, and numerous other tissues. Previously we have found a skeletal-muscle-preferred enhancer at positions -427 to -259 of the alpha B-crystallin gene containing at least four cis-acting regulatory elements (alpha BE-1, alpha BE-2, alpha BE-3, and MRF, which has an E box). Here we show that in transgenic mice, the alpha B-crystallin enhancer directs the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene driven by the alpha B-crystallin promoter specifically to myocardiocytes of the heart. The alpha B-crystallin enhancer was active in conjugation with the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter/human growth hormone reporter gene in transfected rat myocardiocytes. DNase I footprinting and site-specific mutagenesis experiments showed that alpha BE-1, alpha BE-2, alpha BE-3, MRF, and a novel, heart-specific element called alpha BE-4 are required for alpha B-crystallin enhancer activity in transfected myocardiocytes. By contrast, alpha BE-4 is not utilized for enhancer activity in transfected lens or skeletal muscle cell lines. Alpha BE-4 contains an overlapping heat shock sequence and a reverse CArG box [5'-GG(A/T)6CC-3']. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with an antibody to serum response factor and a CArG-box-competing sequence from the c-fos promoter indicated that a cardiac-specific protein with DNA-binding and antigenic similarities to serum response factor binds to alpha BE-4 via the reverse CArG box; electrophoretic mobility shift assays and antibody experiments with anti-USF antiserum and heart nuclear extract also raised the possibility that the MRF E box utilizes USF or an antigenically related protein. We conclude that the activity of the alpha B-crystallin enhancer in the heart utilizes a reverse CArG box and an E-box-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Regulation of the murine alpha B-crystallin/small heat shock protein gene in cardiac muscle. 852 75

Treatment of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells with 10 nM 17 beta-estradiol (E2) resulted in a 2-fold induction of heat shock protein (Hsp) 27 mRNA levels, and this response persisted for up to 24 h. The 5'-promoter region of the gene was further investigated to identify genomic sequences associated with E2 responsiveness. An Sp1 and half-palindromic estrogen response element (ERE) separated by 10 nucleotides, GGGCGGG(N)10GGTCA, were identified at -105 to -84, and formation of the Sp1/estrogen receptor (ER) complex was investigated by in vitro assays using synthetic Hsp 27-[32P]Sp1/ERE oligonucleotides in a gel mobility shift assay and transient transfection studies using short (-108/-84) and long (-108/+23) 5'-promoter sequences linked to a thymidine kinase promoter and the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter gene (Hsp-CATs and Hsp-CATl, respectively). Incubation of nuclear extracts from MCF-7 cells with an Hsp 27-[32P]Sp1/ERE oligonucleotide results in formation of an Sp1/ER complex. The formation of this complex was inhibited by coincubation with unlabeled Sp1/ERE, ERE, and Sp1 oligonucleotides and by preincubation with ER or Sp1 antibodies (immunodepletion). In addition, the complex was supershifted by coincubation with ER antibodies. Mutation of either Sp1 or ERE sites also decreases formation of the retarded band. E2 induced CAT activity in MCF-7 cells transiently transfected with either Hsp-CATs or Hsp-CATl plasmids. It was also demonstrated that E2 did not significantly induce CAT activity in MCF-7 cells transiently transfected with Hsp-CATl-containing mutations in both the Sp1 and ERE sites. The results of this study demonstrate that an Sp1/ER complex is involved in E2-induced Hsp 27 gene expression.
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PMID:Role of estrogen receptor/Sp1 complexes in estrogen-induced heat shock protein 27 gene expression. 892 63

Previously, we reported that killing tumor cells in vivo with the HSV thymidine kinase/ganciclovir system generates potent antitumor immunity, determined in part by the mechanism by which the cells die and by the levels of inducible heat shock protein (hsp) expression induced during the process of cell death. Here, we show that induction of hsp70 expression induces an infiltrate of T cells, macrophages, and predominantly dendritic cells (DCs) into the tumors as well as an intratumoral profile of Th1 cytokine expression (IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-12) and enhances immunogenicity via a T cell-mediated mechanism. In addition, the protection conferred by hsp70 is both tumor and cell specific. We also demonstrate that hsp70 targets immature APC to make them significantly more able to capture Ags. This is likely to optimize cross-priming of the infiltrating APC with tumor Ags, which are simultaneously being released by the dying cells. In addition, using an Myc epitope-tagged hsp70 expression vector, we present evidence that hsp70 released from dying tumor cells is taken up directly into DCs and may, therefore, be involved in direct chaperoning of Ags into DCs. Taken together, our data suggest that hsp70 induction serves to signal the immune system of the presence of an immunologically relevant (dangerous) situation against which an immune reaction should be raised.
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PMID:Heat shock protein 70 induced during tumor cell killing induces Th1 cytokines and targets immature dendritic cell precursors to enhance antigen uptake. 1041 40

To investigate the usefulness of heat shock protein (HSP) promoter for breast cancer gene therapy, hyperthermia and HSV thymidine kinase (tk) suicide gene combination therapy was examined with mouse mammary cancer cell line FM3A. HSP promoter activity was markedly increased after heat shock (41-45 degrees C), with maximum activation (about 400-fold) at 3 hr. An in vitro cytotoxic assay showed that HSP-tk-transduced FM3A cells became more sensitive (more than 50,000 times) to ganciclovir (GCV) with heat shock, but untreated cells showed no increased cytotoxic sensitivity to GCV compared with control FM3A cells. In addition to promoter-oriented selective cell killing, a "chemosensitization effect" as a bystander effect was demonstrated by hyperthermia and suicide gene combination therapy, using a non-heat-inducible promoter. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that this synergistic killing effect was dependent on apoptotic cell death with upregulation of both Fas and FasL (Fas ligand) expression. We also examined the efficacy of HSP-tk gene therapy in vivo by implanting breast cancer in subcutaneous and intraperitoneal models of BALB/c nude mice targeted by the HVJ-anionic liposome method. Significant tumor regression was observed in HSP-tk-transduced tumors followed by hyperthermia therapy, but no such inhibition was noted in either the mock vector transfection or hyperthermia group compared with control tumor-bearing mice. Our results demonstrate that this combination system is synergistically effective in mediating Fas-dependent apoptosis for a specific gene therapy targeting HSP-expressing mammary carcinomas, even in advanced and heat-resistant breast cancer.
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PMID:Eradication of breast cancer xenografts by hyperthermic suicide gene therapy under the control of the heat shock protein promoter. 1111 17

Cisplatin (CDDP) resistance is one of the major impediments in cancer chemotherapy. In an attempt to define this complex mechanism(s) of resistance, we have identified 7 cDNA fragments which are overexpressed in CDDP resistant small cell lung cancer cell line (SR-2) using PCR selected cDNA subtraction. One of these fragments was identical with nucleotide 3657-4042 of MRP4. The other fragments share sequence homology with elongation factor alpha, human placenta villi cDNA, heat shock protein (Hsp70), ribosomal RNA, BNP1 brain specific Na-dependent inorganic phosphate cotransporter and telomeric catalytic subunit. Examination of other MRP members (MRP1, 2, 3, 5, 6) did not show discernable differences in their expression between the parental (SCLC1) and the CDDP-resistant variant (SR-2). Full length MRP4 cDNA was obtained from SCLC1 and SR-2. Both cell lines carry a point mutation at nucleotide 3532 while SR-2 carries two additional mutations at 3228 and 3246. Since MRP4 is known to transport azidiothymidine (AZT) and overexpression of MRP4 confers AZT resistance, we have studied growth inhibitory effects of AZT and [3H]-AZT accumulation. Interestingly, SR-2 is more sensitive to AZT while accumulating lesser amounts of [3H]-AZT. The thymidine kinase activity is similar in both cell lines. Thus, the increased sensitivity to AZT in SR-2 could not be solely due to mutation of MRP4. These findings are most likely due to the inhibitory effects of telomere catalytic subunit by AZT. Thus, certain biochemical changes induced by CDDP can be explored for future treatment to overcome this form of resistance.
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PMID:Overexpression of mutated MRP4 in cisplatin resistant small cell lung cancer cell line: collateral sensitivity to azidothymidine. 1279 91


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