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)

A strong positive element within the proximal promoter region of the human beta-myosin heavy chain (beta-MHC) gene that is required for high level expression in primary cultures of fetal rat heart cells was localized by transient assays and DNase I footprinting to positions- 277/-298. Using gel shift studies, this sequence was found to bind specifically at high affinity (Kd approximately 4 x 10(-9) M) to a transcriptional factor (beta F1) found in nuclear extracts from rabbit heart. Dimethyl sulfate interference studies suggested that beta F1 may bind as a dimer to two hexameric imperfect direct repeats containing the consensus sequence 5'-(C/G)-T-G-(T/A)-G-G-3'. Gel shift analyses suggested that beta F1 is related to the M-CAT factor, which is known to control muscle-specific expression of the cardiac troponin T gene. A clustered mutation of the region between the putative binding half-sites and within the "M-CAT"-like domain abolished beta-MHC promoter activity. The sequence of the positive element also contains binding motifs for several transcriptional factors that regulate viral and cellular genes, including AP4, AP5, TEF-1, and MyoD-like proteins. When multiple copies of the beta-MHC element were inserted downstream from the transcriptional initiation site of the thymidine kinase gene, it did not act as a classical enhancer, showing some dependence upon orientation.
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PMID:Characterization of a strong positive cis-acting element of the human beta-myosin heavy chain gene in fetal rat heart cells. 157 22

Skeletal muscle involves both the induction and repression of gene expression. Although activation and up-regulation of several contractile protein genes has been shown to occur via transcriptional mechanisms, the mechanisms by which contractile protein genes are repressed during muscle development remain unknown. However, a post-transcriptional mechanism has been implicated in the repression of thymidine kinase expression during muscle development. The chicken cardiac troponin T (cTNT) gene is expressed in early embryonic skeletal muscle but is abruptly repressed in late embryonic/fetal development. Using run-on transcription assays we demonstrate here that cTNT gene repression occurs at the level of transcription. Thus, transcriptional as well as post-transcriptional mechanisms operate both to activate and repress gene expression during skeletal muscle development.
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PMID:Transcriptional repression of an embryo-specific muscle gene. 245 5

Transcription of the cardiac troponin T (cTNT) gene is restricted to cardiac and embryonic skeletal muscle tissue. A DNA segment containing 129 nucleotides upstream from the cTNT transcription initiation site (cTNT-129) directs expression of a heterologous marker gene in transfected embryonic skeletal muscle cells but is inactive in embryonic cardiac or fibroblast cells. By using chimeric promoter constructions, in which distal and proximal segments of cTNT-129 are fused to reciprocal segments of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV tk) gene promoter, the DNA segment responsible for this cell specificity can be localized to the cTNT distal promoter region, located between 50 and 129 nucleotides upstream of the transcription initiation site. The ability of the cTNT distal promoter region to confer skeletal muscle-specific activity upon a heterologous promoter is abolished when it is displaced 60 nucleotides upstream, indicating that its ability to direct skeletal muscle-specific transcription probably requires proximity to other components of the transcription initiation region. Two copies of the heptamer, CATTCCT ("muscle-CAT" or "M-CAT" motif), reside within the 80-nucleotide cTNT distal promoter region. A 3-nucleotide mutation in one of these copies inactivates the cTNT promoter in skeletal muscle cells. Therefore, the M-CAT motif is a distal promoter element required for expression of the cTNT promoter in embryonic skeletal muscle cells. Since the M-CAT motif is found in other contractile protein gene promoters, it may represent one example of a muscle-specific promoter element.
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PMID:A conserved CATTCCT motif is required for skeletal muscle-specific activity of the cardiac troponin T gene promoter. 341 4