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

Reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) enhances the probability of detecting rare transcripts in complex mixtures of mRNA. Using thyroid autoantigens and the controversy about the role of the TSH-receptor (TSH-R) in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy as an example, this study demonstrates the problems of interpreting RT-PCR results in typically non-expressing tissues resulting from the extremely high sensitivity of the method. Unexpected transcripts for thyroperoxidase, thyroglobulin, TSH-R (exon 1-4, 354 bp), FSH-receptor, or insulin fragments were demonstrated in a number of thyroid or orbit-derived as well as unrelated tissues or cell types. Unexpected transcripts were most prevalent in fibroblasts, irrespective of the tissue of origin and most likely caused by ectopic transcription. To establish a physiological significance of rare transcripts such as the TSH-R in orbital tissues, demonstration of the protein in addition to the positive RT-PCR results is needed.
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PMID:Transcription of thyroid autoantigens in non-expressing tissues. 979 65

Methimazole (MMI) and propylthiouracil (PTU) are common antithyroid drugs for treating hyperthyroidism because the 2 drugs inhibit thyroid peroxidase (TPO)-catalyzed thyroid hormone formation. We studied whether the 2 drugs actually inhibit cellular TPO activity in cultured porcine follicles. Porcine follicles were cultured in the presence of 1 mU/mL thyrotropin (TSH) for 7 days. Then follicles were exposed to MMI or PTU in the presence of 0.1 microM Kl for 2 days. TPO activity was measured in the 100,000 x g-pellet of the thyroid sonicate by the guaiacol oxidation method. Exposure to MMI (1 microM and 10 microM) or PTU (10 microM and 100 microM) for 2 days caused a significant increase in cellular TPO activity; 100 microM MMI inhibited cellular TPO activity. The presence of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-generating system (forskolin) in TSH-free medium increased MMI-mediated TPO activity. Cyclohexamide inhibited MMI-mediated TPO activation, indicating that new protein synthesis is required for increased TPO activity. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed an increase in TPO mRNA by PTU or MMI. In conclusion, MMI and PTU at therapeutic concentrations can increase TPO mRNA and cellular TPO activity, although the 2 drugs inhibit the TPO-H2O2-mediated catalytic reaction.
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PMID:Methimazole and propylthiouracil increase cellular thyroid peroxidase activity and thyroid peroxidase mRNA in cultured porcine thyroid follicles. 1036 84

The endostyle is a pharyngeal organ of uro- chordates, cephalochordates, and primitive vertebrates. This organ has iodine-concentrating and iodine-metabolism activities, and therefore the endostyle is considered to be homologous to the follicle of the thyroid gland. In higher vertebrates the genes for both thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) are expressed in the thyroid gland follicle. TTF-1 regulates the expression of TPO, which encodes an iodinating enzyme associated with thyroid hormone synthesis. A recent study showed that the ascidian TTF-1 and TPO genes are specifically expressed in the endostyle, but that the expression domains of these genes are not overlapping, suggesting that ascidian TPO is not regulated by TTF-1. To investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the formation and function of the endostyle, with special reference to the evolution of the follicle of the thyroid gland, I isolated and characterized cDNA clones for the amphioxus homologs of the TTF-1 gene (BbTTF-1) and TPO gene (BbTPO) from Branchiostoma belcheri. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction/Southern blotting revealed that both amphioxus TTF-1 and TPO genes are expressed mainly in the adult endostyle. Spatial and temporal expression patterns assessed by in situ hybridization revealed that BbTTF-1 is expressed in the endodermal cells during early embryogenesis and is maintained in all zones of the adult endostyle. On the other hand, expression of BbTPO is chiefly in zones 5 and 6 of the adult endostyle where it overlaps with that of BbTTF-1, and to a lesser extent in zones 1 and 3. This restriction of the expression of BbTTF-1 and BbTPO to the endostyle strongly suggests that the endostyle is homologous to the follicle of the thyroid gland. Moreover, the spatial and temporal expression patterns of these genes suggest that TTF-1 regulates TPO expression. The coexpression of these genes in amphioxus suggests that regulation of TPO by TTF-1 was present in the common ancestor of cephalochordates (acraniates) and craniates.
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PMID:Overlapping expression of amphioxus homologs of the thyroid transcription factor-1 gene and thyroid peroxidase gene in the endostyle: insight into evolution of the thyroid gland. 1118 Aug 27

Fibronectin in general is involved in adhesion and maturation of the erythroid lineage, in megakaryopoiesis and in the differentiation of human multipotent hematopoietic progenitor cells. However, little information exists about the expression of the oncofetal fibronectin isoform containing the ED-B domain (ED-B+ fn) in adult human hematopoiesis. The study was aimed to analyze the ED-B+ fn expression in normal human bone marrow cells by immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The in vivo results were compared to ED-B+ fn expression in human long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMC), cytokine supported expansion cultures of CD34+ peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) and in leukemic cell lines with megakaryocytic characteristics (K562, CMK). ED-B+ fn protein was immunocytochemically demonstrated in normal bone marrow megakaryocytes as well as in megakaryocytic progenitor/precursor cells generated ex vivo from PBPC but we failed to detect ED-B+ fn mRNA. It was strongly expressed in LTBMC (RNA and protein). Analysis of human bone marrow mononuclear cells by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy revealed only cytoplasmic ED-B+ fn. The SCF/TPO induced megakaryocytic differentiation of ED-B+ fn negative CMK cells is associated with an increase of large megakaryocytes followed by an intracellular accumulation of ED-B+ fn mRNA and protein. We conclude that in normal human hematopoiesis ED-B+ fn protein expression and intracellular accumulation is restricted to differentiation of megakaryocytes. Low-abundant synthesis, intracellular accumulation and failure of membrane exposure might be due to a function during early events of wound healing (formation of a platelet-rich provisional extracellular matrix).
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PMID:Differential in vivo and in vitro expression of ED-B+ fibronectin in adult human hematopoiesis. 1461 53