Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.1.21 (thymidine kinase)
 7,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) was developed and optimized using 22 bp sense and 20 bp antisense primers in the thymidine kinase (TK) coding region. The amplification product is 183 bp long. The PCR optimization was done using BHV-1 tissue culture supernate (BHV-1TCS), concentrated BHV-1 tissue culture supernate (cBHV-1TCS) and sucrose gradient purified BHV-1 (pBHV-1). The sensitivity of four methods of sample preparation which are standard DNA extraction, modified proteinase K (PK) digestion, GeneReleaserTM + 34 cycles or + 44 cycles, and boiling were compared with virus isolation (VI) using BHV-1TCS. The incorporation of 10% glycerol in the reaction mixture, the incubation in PK for 18 hours and predenaturation of samples and cooling in ice prior to PCR were essential for the amplification of BHV-1 DNA for samples prepared by standard DNA extraction and modified PK digestion. The preparation of samples by Gene-ReleaserTM, a proprietary nucleic acid releasing cocktail, showed 10 to 1,000-fold increase in sensitivity compared to standard DNA extraction and modified PK digestion. No amplification was observed in samples prepared by boiling. The sample preparation of BHV-1 LA strain by GeneReleaserTM showed sensitivity equivalent to virus isolation. The BHV-1 TK PCR using GeneReleaserTM has a detection limit of 1 picogram and 10 fentograms of purified BHV-1 DNA using ethidium bromide stained gel and Southern blot hybridization, respectively. It could detect viral DNA in 1,000 infected cells in a total suspension of 10,000 cells using either ethidium bromide stained gel or Southern blot hybridization.
 ...
PMID:Establishment of conditions for the detection of bovine herpesvirus-1 by polymerase chain reaction using primers in the thymidine kinase region. 764 33

The aging of IMR-90 human diploid fibroblasts in culture is accompanied by a 5-7 fold decrease in the level of thymidine kinase (TK) mRNA and TK activity (Chang, Z. F., and Chen, K. Y. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 11431-11435). We have employed a gel mobility shift analysis to investigate the molecular basis of the age-dependent attenuation of TK gene expression. Several cis-elements including two inverted CCAAT boxes, located at base pairs (bp) -36 and -67, and GC-rich Sp1 binding sites have been identified in the TK promoter. A 28-bp (-91 to -64) fragment containing the distal inverted CCAAT element was excised from the TK promoter to examine possible differences in nuclear protein binding between young and old IMR-90 cells. A prominent DNA-protein complex was identified in serum-stimulated young cells by a gel mobility shift assay. Competition analysis indicated that the binding was highly specific. The nuclear protein responsible for the complex formation was named CBP/tk (CCAAT Binding Protein for TK gene) since methylation interference assay showed that the inverted CCAAT box was involved in binding. The appearance of the CBP/tk-28-bp complex in IMR-90 cells was (i) serum-dependent, becoming prominent 12-24 h after serum stimulation, and (ii) age-dependent, prominent only in young but not in old IMR-90 cells. Similar serum- and age-dependent complex formations were also observed using a 67-bp fragment (-63 to +4) containing the proximal CCAAT element and a TATA box. In contrast, the binding activities for the Sp1 sequence were the same in young and old cells and appeared to be serum-independent. CBP/tk binding activity in nuclear extracts was abolished by heat (60 degrees C, 5 min) or treatment with proteinase K (0.1 microgram/ml) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (0.005%), but not by Nonidet P-40 or Triton X-100. Treatment of nuclear extracts with alkaline phosphatase or lectins (concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin) did not affect the binding activity. Metal chelators such as 1,10-ortho-phenanthroline (0.5 mM) inhibited the CBP/tk binding activity. Cycloheximide added to the serum-stimulated cultures at an early or mid-G1 phase inhibited the CBP/tk binding activity. The half-life of the serum-induced CBP/tk binding activity was estimated to be less than 1 h.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:A specific CCAAT-binding protein, CBP/tk, may be involved in the regulation of thymidine kinase gene expression in human IMR-90 diploid fibroblasts during senescence. 842 65

Microglial activation is a hallmark of most neurodegenerative disorders, and is particularly conspicuous in prion diseases. However, the role of microglia, which function as both primary immune effector cells and professional phagocytes in the central nervous system, remains contentious in the context of neurodegeneration. Here, we evaluated the effect of microglial depletion/deficiency on prion pathogenesis. We found that ganciclovir-mediated microglial ablation on tga20/CD11b-thymidine kinase of Herpes simplex virus (HSVTK) cerebellar organotypic cultured slices markedly aggravated prion-induced neurotoxicity. A similar deterioration of disease was recapitulated in in vivo microglial depletion in prion-infected tga20/CD11b-HSVTK mice. Additionally, deficiency of microglia in interleukin 34 knockout (IL34(-/-)) mice again resulted in significantly augmented proteinase K-resistant prion protein deposition and accelerated prion disease progression. These results provide unambiguous evidence for a general protective role of microglia in prion pathogenesis.
 ...
PMID:A neuroprotective role for microglia in prion diseases. 2718 53