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)

We have isolated an ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) gene from the human malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The gene (P. falciparum arf1) has four introns and the exons encode a protein of 181 amino acids with high similarity to the mammalian class I ARF proteins 1-3 (> or = 74% amino acid identity). Southern hybridization suggests there is at least one additional arf in the P. falciparum genome. Northern analysis identified a single P. falciparum arf1 mRNA of 1.8 kb in the asexual blood stage form of the parasite. The P. falciparum arf1 mRNA levels are developmentally regulated, reaching a maximum during nuclear division towards the end of the intraerythrocytic cycle. P. falciparum arf1 cDNA was isolated by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and used to express a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli. Recombinant P. falciparum ARF1 protein was purified with stoichiometric amounts of bound GDP, although intrinsic guanose triphosphatase activity of the protein could not be detected. The protein stimulated cholera-toxin-catalyzed ADP-ribosyltransferase activity in a reaction that was dependent upon the addition of both dimyristoylglycerophosphocholine and cholate. The protein bound GTP with first-order kinetics with an apparent rate constant, k', of 0.0145 (+/- 0.0019) min-1. These results suggest that P. falciparum ARF1 is a member of the class 1 ARF family and provide additional evidence for the existence of a classical secretory pathway in P. falciparum.
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PMID:Isolation, expression and characterization of the gene for an ADP-ribosylation factor from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. 895 60

The poliovirus 3D RNA-dependent RNA polymerase contains two peptide segments previously shown to cross-link to nucleotide substrates via lysine residues. To determine which lysine residue(s) might be implicated in catalytic function, we engineered mutations to generate proteins with leucine residues substituted individually for each of the lysine residues in the NTP binding regions. These proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli and were examined for their abilities to bind nucleotides and to catalyze RNA chain elongation in vitro. Replacement of each lysine residue in the NTP binding segment located in the central portion of the 3D molecule (Lys-276, -278, or -283) with leucine produced no impairment of GTP binding or polymerase activity. Substitution of leucine for Lys-61 in the N-terminal portion of the protein, however, abolished the binding of protein to GTP-agarose and all detectable polymerase activity. A nearby lysine replacement with leucine at position 66 had no effect on enzyme activity. The three mutations in the central region of 3D were introduced into full-length viral cDNAs, and the infectivities of RNA transcripts were examined in transfected HeLa cells. Growth of virus containing 3D with a mutation at residue 278 (3Dmu278) or 3Dmu283 was indistinguishable from that of the wild type; however, 3Dmu276 generated extremely slow-growing, small-plaque virus. Polyprotein processing by 3CDmu276 was unaffected. Large-plaque variants, in which the Leu-276 codon had mutated again to an arginine codon, emerged at high frequency. The results suggest that a lysine residue at position 61 of 3Dpol is essential for polymerase catalytic function and that a basic (lysine or arginine) residue at position 276 is required for some other function of 3D important for virus growth but not for RNA chain elongation or polyprotein processing.
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PMID:Mutation of lysine residues in the nucleotide binding segments of the poliovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. 897 Sep 81

Acetylcholine (ACh) induces repetitive, propagating intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) oscillations in porcine tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) cells. Using real-time confocal microscopy, we examined the role of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release through inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor and ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels in ACh-induced [Ca2+]i oscillations. In beta-escin permeabilized TSM cells, exposure to ACh in the presence of GTP also resulted in [Ca2+]i oscillations. [Ca2+]i oscillations could not be initiated by IP3 alone; however, an elevation of [Ca2+]i was observed. During ongoing [Ca2+]i oscillations, exposure to heparin, an IP3 receptor antagonist, caused a slowing of oscillation frequency but not complete inhibition. In contrast, ruthenium red, a RyR antagonist, completely abolished ACh-induced [Ca2+]i oscillations. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of TSM mRNA demonstrated the expression of RyR-2 and RyR-3 isoforms of the RyR. These results indicate that SR Ca2+ release through RyR channels is critical for ACh-induced [Ca2+]i oscillations in porcine TSM cells.
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PMID:Role of ryanodine receptor channels in Ca2+ oscillations of porcine tracheal smooth muscle. 914 39

An RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) activity was detergent-solubilized from the chloroplast membranes of Chinese cabbage leaves infected with turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV). The template-dependent, micrococcal nuclease-treated activity synthesized full-length minus strands from TYMV RNA and 3'-fragments as short as a 28-nucleotide-long RNA comprising the amino acid acceptor stem of the 3'-tRNA-like structure (TLS). Minus strands were shown to arise by de novo initiation with the insertion of GTP opposite the penultimate (C) residue of the 3'-terminal -CCA. The TYMV RdRp activity was template specific in that poly(A) RNA was not copied, and alfalfa mosaic virus (AIMV) RNA, which does not contain a 3'-TLS, was a very poor template. However, other viral RNAs with a 3'-TLS and in vitro transcripts of tRNAs were copied to varying degrees. Fully modified tRNAs were either inactive or poorly active templates, and AIMV 3'-RNA, even when provided with a 3'-terminal -ACCA, was not copied detectably. A potential role of the acceptor stem pseudoknot as a promoter element was assessed with mutations that drastically altered the structure and sequence of the pseudoknot, revealing only a twofold effect in decreasing template activity. The data show that RNAs with both a tRNA-like conformation and a -CCA 3'-terminus are potential templates for TYMV RdRp and suggest that promoter elements are not limited to the acceptor stem pseudoknot.
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PMID:Turnip yellow mosaic virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase: initiation of minus strand synthesis in vitro. 921 66

The poliovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (3Dpol) has been shown to contain two NTP binding sites by chemical cross-linking of oxidized nucleotide to the intact protein. Only one site (Lys-61) was shown to be essential for RNA chain elongation activity by purified enzyme; however, a full-length viral RNA, coding for an altered lysine residue (K276L) in the second site, generated virus with a minute plaque phenotype that rapidly reverted to a wild-type phenotype with Arg-276 replacing Leu-276 in 3D. Viruses with lysine to leucine substitutions in other positions of the second binding site of their polymerase proteins grew with wild-type phenotype. To test the significance of the second binding site, poliovirus 3Dpol was generated with lysine (wild-type), leucine, or arginine at residue 276 and tested for NTP cross-linking using 32P-oxidized GTP. Analysis of cyanogen bromide peptides of each 3D preparation showed that the second NTP binding site had severely reduced NTP binding in mu276(Leu) but not in the revertant mu276(Arg), despite the reported requirement for lysine in the cross-linking reaction. To eliminate the possibility that 32P-oxidized GTP cross-linked to Arg at residue 276, a model system was designed with unmodified amino acid or acetylated (alpha-amino) amino acid and 32P-oxidized GTP. Cross-linking to lysine, but not leucine or arginine, was observed thus eliminating the possibility that NTP could be cross-linked to residue 276 in 3D. We conclude that NTP binding at the second site in poliovirus 3D is at lysine residues at positions other than 276 (278 or 283), and nucleotide binding at these sites has no bearing on elongation activity or replication of the virus. Nucleotide binding only at the site including Lys-61 is essential for RNA replication.
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PMID:One of two NTP binding sites in poliovirus RNA polymerase required for RNA replication. 928 35

Aggregation of high affinity IgE receptors (Fc epsilonRI) expressed on mast cells and basophils is a potent stimulus for the release of inflammatory mediators from cytoplasmic granules. Fc epsilonRI-dependent exocytosis requires activation of protein kinase C and mobilization of calcium from intra- and extracellular stores. However, how these events ultimately regulate the membrane fusion step between cytoplasmic granules and the plasma membrane still remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of the small GTPases of the rab3 subfamily in the regulated exocytosis following stimulation of rat basophilic leukemia cells (RBL-2H3). Analysis using reverse-transcriptase-based PCR showed that RBL-2H3 cells expressed rab3a and rab3d isoforms, with a predominance of rab3d at the mRNA level. Investigation of the subcellular distribution using isoform-specific Abs demonstrated that the majority of rab3a was expressed in the cytosol, whereas rab3d was found predominantly in the membrane fraction. To determine whether these proteins play a role in Fc epsilonRI-triggered exocytosis, we established RBL-2H3 transfectants that overexpressed wild-type and expressed GTP-binding mutant forms (N135I) of rab3a and rab3d. Whereas expression of rab3a proteins did not significantly affect degranulation as tested by beta-hexosaminidase release, those of both wild-type and mutant rab3d proteins inhibited degranulation. Calculations of the initial fast and of the second slow release rates showed that they are both inhibited about twofold, suggesting that rab3d interferes with a rate-limiting step in Fc epsilonRI-stimulated exocytosis.
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PMID:Involvement of the ras-like GTPase rab3d in RBL-2H3 mast cell exocytosis following stimulation via high affinity IgE receptors (Fc epsilonRI). 930 Jul 4

1. We have used the patch-clamp technique to study modulation of the inwardly rectifying K+ current (IK(IR)) in cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (CPAE cells). In whole-cell mode, IK(IR) was defined as the Ba(2+)-sensitive current. In single channel recordings, we observed a strongly inwardly rectifying and K(+)-selective channel with a conductance of 31 +/- 3 pS. 2. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis and functional data suggest that the endothelial IRK is most probably Kir2.1. 3. Intracellular ATP is required to prevent run-down of IRK in whole-cell mode. Single channel activity disappeared in inside-out patches exposed to ATP-free solution and in cell-attached patches on cells exposed to metabolic inhibition (KCN, 2-deoxyglucose). 4. The non-hydrolysable ATP analogues, ATP gamma S and adenylyl imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP), did not prevent run-down. Run-down did not occur in the presence of okadaic acid, a phosphatase inhibitor, but was enhanced in the presence of protamine, an activator of phosphatase 2A (PP2A). 5. GTP gamma S and AlF4- inhibited IRK, also in the presence of ATP. GTP beta S antagonized the GTP gamma S effect. Pretreatment of the cells with PTX did not affect the GTP gamma S-induced inhibition. Okadaic acid, however, slowed this inhibition. 6. Neither activation of protein kinase A (PKA) nor activation of protein kinase C (PKC) affected IRK. Additionally, neither cytochalasin B nor a high concentration of intracellular Ca2+ affected the time course of IRK run-down. 7. We conclude that run-down of IRK is probably due to dephosphorylation by PP2A. Activation of a PTX-insensitive G protein inhibits this current by a mechanism that is neither mediated via the PKA and PKC pathways nor by intracellular Ca2+, but supposedly by a G protein-dependent activation of a phosphatase.
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PMID:Modulation of inwardly rectifying potassium channels in cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells. 940 63

The dsRNA containing birnavirus, infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, possesses a virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase which acts both as primer and as polymerase during in vitro RNA synthesis (P. Dobos, 1995, Virology 208, 19-25). Using [alpha 32P]GTP, we have radiolabeled virion RNA in vitro and found that after deproteinization most of the labeled product comigrated in agarose gels with the 3-kbp viral genome, while the remainder migrated faster than the dsRNA and as a heterogeneous smear. Agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) of denatured labeled virion RNA showed a radioactive smear ranging from approximately 100 nucleotides to up to 3000 nucleotide the size of genome length single stranded RNA. Hybridization experiments using strand-specific and end-specific obligonucleotides on Northern blots revealed that the radioactivity which migrates with the dsRNA during AGE represents small, 5' end plus RNA molecules of 100-500 nucleotides. The radioactivity in the faster migrating smear denotes incomplete dsRNAs where full-length, unlabeled minus strands are base-paired with labeled plus strands that are 3' truncated to different extents. This was confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using end- and strand-specific obligonucleotide primers. The results indicated that 95% of incomplete dsRNA molecules consisted of full-length minus strands and 3' truncated plus strands. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of RNA replication mechanisms of dsRNA viruses belonging to other families.
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PMID:Incomplete dsRNA genomes in purified infectious pancreatic necrosis virus. 942 46

Telomerase, a specialized cellular reverse transcriptase, compensates for chromosome shortening during the proliferation of most eucaryotic cells and contributes to cellular immortalization. The mechanism used by the single-celled protozoan malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to complete the replication of its linear chromosomes is currently unknown. In this study, telomerase activity has for the first time been identified in cell extracts of P. falciparum. The de novo synthesis of highly variable telomere repeats to the 3' end of DNA oligonucleotide primers by plasmodial telomerase is demonstrated. Permutated telomeric DNA primers are extended by the addition of the next correct base. In addition to elongating preexisting telomere sequences, P. falciparum telomerase can also add telomere repeats onto nontelomeric 3' ends. The sequence GGGTT was the predominant initial DNA sequence added to the nontelomeric 3' ends in vitro. Poly(C) at the 3' end of the oligonucleotide significantly alters the precision of the new telomerase added repeats. The efficiency of nontelomeric primer elongation was dependent on the presence of a G-rich cassette upstream of the 3' terminus. Oligonucleotide primers based on natural P. falciparum chromosome breakpoints are efficiently used as telomerase substrates. These results imply that P. falciparum telomerase contributes to chromosome maintenance and to de novo telomere formation on broken chromosomes. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors such as dideoxy GTP efficiently inhibit P. falciparum telomerase activity in vitro. These data point to malaria telomerase as a new target for the development of drugs that could induce parasite cell senescence.
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PMID:Plasmodium falciparum telomerase: de novo telomere addition to telomeric and nontelomeric sequences and role in chromosome healing. 944 88

In response to dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), HL60 cells differentiate into granulocyte-like cells. Membrane-associated phospholipase D (PLD) activity in response to guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was upregulated by these treatments. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses revealed that both hPLD1a and hPLD1b mRNAs were expressed in HL60 cells and that their expression levels increased during differentiation. hPLD2 mRNA levels rose dramatically during differentiation. These results suggest that the PLD genes undergo changes in transcriptional regulation during granulocytic differentiation of HL60 cells.
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PMID:Increased mRNA expression of phospholipase D (PLD) isozymes during granulocytic differentiation of HL60 cells. 951 45


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