Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.48 (transcriptase)
 9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Dihydropyridine-sensitive voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC) play a crucial role in insulin secretion. We recently have cloned a human alpha 1-subunit of the VDCC expressed in pancreatic beta-cells, designated CACN4. In this study we have isolated complementary DNAs encoding two forms of rat CACN4 (rCACN4A and rCACN4B) from a rat insulinoma RINm5F complementary DNA library. Rat CACN4A is a protein of 2203 amino acids and is the rat homolog of human CACN4, whereas rCACN4B lacks 535 amino acids in the carboxyl-terminal region, probably due to alternative splicing. We have found two additional variations, one in the intracellular loop between repeats I and II and the other in the extracellular region between the third and fourth segments of repeat IV. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis of rat pancreatic islet messenger RNA reveals that these variants are present in pancreatic islets. In addition, whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings of Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing the alpha 1-subunit (rCACN4A or rCACN4B) with or without the calcium channel beta 2-subunit show that coexpression of rCACN4A with the beta 2-subunit or rCACN4B with the beta 2-subunit elicits L-type VDCC currents, whereas expression of the alpha 1-subunit alone does not, indicating that CACN4 can associate functionally with the beta 2-subunit and that the beta-subunit is essential for functional expression of CACN4. These results suggest that there are various subtypes of CACN4 expressed in pancreatic beta-cells, and that both rCACN4A and rCACN4B can function as VDCC. Furthermore, the present study suggests that the expression of the beta-subunit as well as the alpha 1-subunit may participate in the regulation of insulin secretion.
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PMID:Molecular diversity and functional characterization of voltage-dependent calcium channels (CACN4) expressed in pancreatic beta-cells. 776 Aug 45

Using a combination of polymerase chain reaction and genomic library screening we have cloned a human gene for a subtype of the somatostatin (SST) receptor (SSTR) termed human SSTR5 (hSSTR5), which is located on chromosome 16. The predicted amino acid sequence of hSSTR5 displays 75% sequence identity with a recently identified rat SSTR [Mol. Pharmacol. 42:939-946 (1992)], suggesting that it is the human homologue of this receptor. hSSTR5 consists of a 363-residue polypeptide exhibiting a putative seven-transmembrane domain topology typical of G protein-coupled receptors. The receptor displays considerable sequence identity to hSSTR1 (42%), hSSTR2 (48%), hSSTR3 (47%), and hSSTR4 (46%). Membranes prepared from COS-7 cells transiently expressing the hSSTR5 gene bound 125I-Leu8,D-Trp22,Tyr25-SST-28 (125I-LTT-SST-28) with high affinity and in a saturable manner. SST-14, SST-28, and various synthetic SST peptide agonists produced dose-dependent inhibition of radioligand binding with the following rank order of potency: LTT-SST-28 > SST-28 > D-Trp8-SST-14 > SST-14 approximately RC-160 approximately BIM 23014 > MK-678 > SMS 201-995. hSSTR5 bound SST-28 with a 12.6-fold greater affinity (Ki = 0.19 nM), compared with SST-14 (Ki = 2.24 nM), indicating that the receptor is SST-28 selective. Addition of GTP, guanosine-5'-O-(3-thio)triphosphate, Na+ ions, or pertusis toxin greatly reduced 125I-LTT-SST-28 binding, thereby indicating that hSSTR5 is coupled to pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins. Both SST-14 and SST-28 displayed dose-dependent inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation, consistent with functional coupling of the receptor to adenylyl cyclase inhibition. Northern blot analysis of SSTR5 mRNA revealed a 2.4-kilobase transcript in normal rat pituitary and GH3 rat pituitary tumor cells and a 4.0-kilobase transcript in normal human pituitary. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction revealed expression of the hSSTR gene in fetal human pituitary and hypothalamus but not in human cerebral cortex. In situ hybridization of the rat pituitary showed that SSTR5 mRNA is selectively localized in the anterior lobe. SSTR5 mRNA was not expressed in four human pituitary tumors (somatotroph adenoma, prolactinoma, and chromophobe adenomas) or in a human insulinoma. Although hSSTR5 displays approximately 75% sequence identity with rat SSTR5, the two receptors display significantly different pharmacological profiles, especially with respect to their binding affinities for the SST analogue SMS 201-995.
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PMID:Molecular cloning, functional characterization, and chromosomal localization of a human somatostatin receptor (somatostatin receptor type 5) with preferential affinity for somatostatin-28. 790 5

A previous study on the gene structure of rat pyruvate carboxylase revealed that two tissue-specific promoters are responsible for the production of multiple transcripts with 5'-end heterogeneity (Jitrapakdee, S., Booker, G. W., Cassady, A. I., and Wallace, J. C. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 20522-20530). Here we report transcription and translation regulation of pyruvate carboxylase (PC) expression during development and in genetically obese rats. The abundance of PC mRNAs was low in fetal liver but increased by 2-4-fold within 7 days after birth, concomitant with an 8-fold increase in the amount of immunoreactive PC and its activity and then decreased during the weaning period. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that the proximal promoter was activated during the suckling period and reduced in activity at weaning. In genetically obese Zucker rats, adipose PC was 4-5-fold increased, concomitant with a 5-6-fold increase in mRNA level. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis also showed that the proximal promoter was activated in the hyperlipogenic condition. Conversely, transcription of the proximal promoter was not detectable in various liver cell lines, suggesting that this promoter was not functional under cell culture conditions. In rat pancreatic islets and insulinoma cells, only transcripts D and E, generated from the distal promoter of the PC gene, were expressed. Glucose increased PC transcripts from the distal promoter when the insulinoma cells were maintained in 10 mM glucose. We conclude that the proximal promoter of the rat PC gene plays a major role in gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis, whereas the distal promoter is necessary for anaplerosis. In vitro translation and in vivo polysome profile analysis indicated that transcripts C and E were translated with similar translational efficiencies that are substantially greater than that of transcript D, suggesting that 5'-untranslated regions play a role in translational control.
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PMID:Regulation of rat pyruvate carboxylase gene expression by alternate promoters during development, in genetically obese rats and in insulin-secreting cells. Multiple transcripts with 5'-end heterogeneity modulate translation. 985 9