Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.10.2 (focal adhesion kinase)
 44,029 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Malate synthase is a glyoxysome-specific enzyme. The carboxy-terminal tripeptide of the enzyme is Ser-Arg-Leu (SRL), which is known to function as a peroxisomal targeting signal in mammalian cells. To analyze the function of the carboxy-terminal amino acids of pumpkin malate synthase in plant cells, a chimeric gene was constructed that encoded a fusion protein which consisted of beta-glucuronidase and the carboxyl terminus of the enzyme. The fusion protein was expressed and accumulated in transgenic Arabidopsis that had been transformed with the chimeric gene. Immunocytochemical analysis of the transgenic plants revealed that the carboxy-terminal five amino acids of pumpkin malate synthase were sufficient for transport of the fusion protein into glyoxysomes in etiolated cotyledons, into leaf peroxisomes in green cotyledons and in mature leaves, and into unspecialized microbodies in roots, although the fusion protein was no longer transported into microbodies when SRL at the carboxyl terminus was deleted. Transport of proteins into glyoxysomes and leaf peroxisomes was also observed when the carboxy-terminal amino acids of the fusion protein were changed from SRL to SKL, SRM, ARL or PRL. The results suggest that tripeptides with S, A or P at the -3 position, K or R at the -2 position, and L or M at the carboxyl terminal position can function as a targeting signal for three kinds of plant microbody.
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PMID:Transport of chimeric proteins that contain a carboxy-terminal targeting signal into plant microbodies. 877 80

5-[4-Acridin-9-ylamino]phenyl]-5-methyl-3-methylenedihydrofuran-2-one (CYL-26z) inhibited the formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP)-stimulated phospholipase D (PLD) activity, which was assessed by the production of phosphatidylethanol (PEt) in the presence of ethanol, in rat neutrophils (IC50 1.2+/-0.2 microM). CYL-26z caused a slight but significant attenuation of the global protein tyrosine phosphorylation stimulated by fMLP only at concentrations of CYL-26z up to 30 microM. CYL-26z blocked the membrane recruitment of protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) at concentrations of CYL-26z > or =3 microM, but failed to affect the membrane association of PKC-betaI and -betaII. The translocation of RhoA to the membrane was attenuated by CYL-26z (IC50 3.8+/-0.8 microM) in fMLP-stimulated neutrophils, whereas CYL-26z caused no significant inhibition of the membrane recruitment of ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf). CYL-26z inhibited the activation of RhoA and dissociation of the RhoA-Rho guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (GDI) complex in fMLP-stimulated neutrophils (IC50 1.8+/-1.0 microM and 1.8+/-0.9 microM, respectively). In a cell-free system, CYL-26z effectively attenuated the membrane association of RhoA in response to GTPgammaS (IC50 1.3+/-0.5 microM). In contrast, the GTPgammaS-stimulated translocation of Arf to membrane was suppressed only at concentrations of CYL-26z up to 30 microM. CYL-26z inhibited the fMLP-stimulated membrane expression of CD11b, CD45 and CD63, and the release of lysozyme and beta-glucuronidase. These results indicate that CYL-26z inhibited the fMLP-stimulated PLD activity, mainly through the blockade of RhoA activation, and degranulation in rat neutrophils.
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PMID:Inhibition of phospholipase D activation by CYL-26z in formyl peptide-stimulated neutrophils involves the blockade of RhoA activation. 1602 1

Monitoring breakpoint cluster region-Abelson kinase (BCR-ABL) levels in patients treated for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has become an integral part of patient management. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction is the method of choice for this purpose because of its high analytical sensitivity and reproducibility. Given the variation of RNA quality and quantity in clinical specimens, accurate quantitative assessment of BCR-ABL depends on normalization of the BCR-ABL signal to an appropriate internal reference. However, the controls used by different laboratories vary, and there is no clear consensus on an ideal reference due to limited investigations. In this study, we compared nine commonly used control genes for three criteria: mRNA abundance, levels in CML and non-CML cells, and their degradation kinetics in comparison with BCR-ABL. We found that beta-glucuronidase (GUSB) is the most suitable among the nine genes tested. Although ABL is most widely used, our data suggest that the amount of ABL is different in CML and non-CML cells. Moreover, ABL levels are regulated by cellular stress. These findings have a direct impact on current clinical laboratory practice and patient care because the use of a proper control gene affects the reported levels of BCR-ABL transcripts used for patient management decisions.
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PMID:Molecular monitoring of chronic myelogenous leukemia: identification of the most suitable internal control gene for real-time quantification of BCR-ABL transcripts. 1664 10

We compared the effect of control genes (CG): total Abelson (total-ABL), beta-2-microglobulin (B2M) and beta-glucuronidase (GUS), recommended in the Europe Against Cancer (EAC) program, on real-time BCR-ABL monitoring in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We focused on the stability of CG expressions during therapy and the effect of the CGs on BCR-ABL ability to characterize the disease status and disease prognosis, issues that have not been addressed yet. The results showed B2M as a very convenient CG for BCR-ABL monitoring. On the contrary, the widely used total-ABL was not confirmed as appropriate for normalization of gene expression in CML.
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PMID:The effect of total-ABL, GUS and B2M control genes on BCR-ABL monitoring by real-time RT-PCR. 1751 89

Mucopolysaccharidosis VII (MPS VII) is a lysosomal storage disease in which deficiency in beta-glucuronidase results in glycosaminoglycan (GAG) accumulation in and around cells, causing shortened long bones through mechanisms that remain largely unclear. We demonstrate here that MPS VII mice accumulate massive amounts of the GAG chondroitin-4-sulfate (C4S) in their growth plates, the cartilaginous region near the ends of long bones responsible for growth. MPS VII mice also have only 60% of the normal number of chondrocytes in the growth plate and 55% of normal chondrocyte proliferation at 3weeks of age. We hypothesized that this reduction in proliferation was due to C4S-mediated overactivation of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3). However, MPS VII mice that were FGFR3-deficient still had shortened bones, suggesting that FGFR3 is not required for the bone defect. Further study revealed that MPS VII growth plates had reduced tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3, a pro-proliferative transcription factor. This was accompanied by a decrease in expression of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and other interleukin 6 family cytokines, and a reduction in phosphorylated tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2), Janus kinase 1 (JAK1), and JAK2, known activators of STAT3 phosphorylation. Intriguingly, loss of function mutations in LIF and its receptor leads to shortened bones. This suggests that accumulation of C4S in the growth plate leads to reduced expression of LIF and reduced STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation, which results in reduced chondrocyte proliferation and ultimately shortened bones.
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PMID:Mechanism of shortened bones in mucopolysaccharidosis VII. 1937 67

The biological reactivity of ambient air particles was studied in five in vitro lung macrophage assays, involving the release of cytoplasmic and lysosomal enzymes, cellular ATP, neutral red uptake, tetrazolium reduction, and chemiluminescence. Macrophages from rat lungs (2 x 10(5) cells; 1 cm(2) attachment surface; 1 ml culture medium) were exposed for 18 hr to 0-100 mug of (1) the urban dust SRM 1649, (2) titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) or (3) DQ-12 quartz. On the basis of the depressions of neutral red uptake and cellular ATP, and the extracellular releases of lactate dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase, the ranking of cytotoxicity was as follows: quartz (EC(50) = 20-60 mug/ml) > > SRM 1649 approximately TiO(2) (EC(50) > 100mug/ml). The decrease in 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) reduction was more sensitive to effects of the urban dust, with an EC(50) value for SRM 1649 (35mug/ml) intermediate between those for quartz (15mug/ml) and TiO(2) (82mug/ml). Although SRM 1649 could affect mitochondrial function, the impact of the urban dust on cellular integrity after 18 hr was comparable to that of TiO(2) particles. In contrast, SRM 1649 had profound effects on phagocytosis-related chemiluminescence values measured during a 5-hr exposure period. Quartz and TiO(2) particles induced an oxidative burst from the macrophages. However, whereas a low dose of SRM 1649 (25mug) induced an oxidative burst, a further increase of the dose of particles (100-250mug) resulted in a decrease of the luminol-dependent luminescence (P < 0.05) and, to a lesser extent, of the lucigenin-dependent luminescence. The data imply an early adverse effect of ambient air particles on the bactericidal activity of macrophages with minimal alterations in the structural integrity of the cells.
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PMID:Cytotoxicity of ambient air particles to rat lung macrophages: Comparison of cellular and functional assays. 2065 Jan 94