Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: 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)

Thyroglobulin (Tg), has recently been identified as a transcriptional regulator of thyroid-restricted genes. The extrathyroidal expression of several of these genes (including the transcription factor Pax-8) together with the occurrence of specific Tg binding sites suggests a secondary role for Tg as a circulating hormone. In this study, we demonstrate using Northern analysis that Pax-8 is expressed in the mouse mesangial cell, and that its transcript levels are suppressed by Tg. These cells also express an asialoglycoprotein receptor, a receptor involved in Tg endocytosis in the thyroid, and a Tg transcript smaller than the 8.3-kb thyroidal form. Reverse transcriptase PCR showed that suppression of Pax-8 by Tg is correlated with reduced expression of bcl-2 apoptosis suppressor. Tg, but not triiodothyronine (T(3)) significantly increased MC proliferation above control as determined by DNA content of MC cultures. The effect of Tg on proliferation was not duplicated by either bovine serum albumin, gamma-globulins, lactoferrin, or the ASGPR-specific ligand,orosomucoid. These results suggest a possible endocrine role for Tg in regulating both Pax-8 related gene transcription and cell division in the mesangial cell.
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PMID:Thyroglobulin increases cell proliferation and suppresses Pax-8 in mesangial cells. 1145 62

The bcl-x gene product has two forms, bcl-xl and bcl-xs. The bcl-xl form, similar to bcl-2, inhibits apoptosis. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction/single-stranded conformation polymorphism (RT-PCR-SSCP) gel analysis was used to screen for mutations of the bcl-xl transcript of 50 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cases. One missense mutation in a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was found. Sequence analysis of this case showed that AGC (Ser) was mutated to GGC (Gly) in codon 154. An examination of mutation and/or polymorphism in born marrow samples of this case and 50 normal controls by the RT-PCR-SSCP method could not detect bandshifts. Mutation of the bcl-x gene in NHL has not been reported previously. There is a possibility that mutation of the bcl-x gene play a role in the tumorigenesis of NHL.
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PMID:Mutation of bcl-x gene in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 1183 37

We investigated the effect of a chronic exposure to high levels of free fatty acid (FFA; 2 mmol/L oleate/palmitate 2:1) or glucose (16.7 mmol/L) on islet cell apoptosis. Apoptosis was detected using 4 different methods: (1) cell staining with annexin-V fluorescien isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugate and propidium iodide (PI); (2) quantification of cytoplasmatic DNA fragments by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); (3) assay of caspase 3 activity; and (4) TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL). Islet cells were also costained with an anti-insulin antibody to identify apoptotic beta cells. We also evaluated by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) the expression of bax, bcl-2, and caspas 3, genes involved in apoptosis. In islets cultured for 7 days in the presence of high FFA or for 3 days in the presence of high glucose levels, we observed: (1) a 2- to 3-fold increase of apoptotic cells conjugated with annexin-V FITC and PI; (2) a 4- to 6-fold increase of cytoplasmatic DNA fragments; (3) a 3- to 4-fold increase of caspase 3 activity; and (4) a significant increase of insulin positive apoptotic cells as detected with the TUNEL method. RT-PCR analysis indicated in islets exposed to high FFA or glucose levels an increase of bax (proapoptotic gene), a reduction of bcl-2 (antiapoptotic gene), and a slight (although not significant) increase in caspase 3 expression. Western blot analysis also showed an increase of Bax protein levels in islets exposed to high FFA or glucose. The simultaneous presence of both metabolic abnormalities did not further increase the amount of apoptotic cells, although the time-course of the cellular damage induced by FFA was accelerated by the contemporary presence of high glucose. To elucidate the mechanism by which FFA and glucose may induce pancreatic beta-cell damage, we examined whether nicotinamide prevents apoptosis in pancreatic islets cultured for 7 days with high FFA or for 3 days with high glucose. Nicotinamide was able to prevent beta-cell damage by significantly reducing apoptosis in both experimental conditions. Also, the increase of Bax protein level was prevented by nicotinamide. These data indicate that chronic exposure to elevated FFA or glucose levels increases apoptosis in rat pancreatic islets and these cytotoxic effects could be mediated by oxidative stress. This may contribute to the beta-cell failure that occurs in most in type 2 diabetic patients few years after clinical diabetes onset.
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PMID:Chronic exposure to free fatty acids or high glucose induces apoptosis in rat pancreatic islets: possible role of oxidative stress. 1237 Aug 56

In the current study we investigated the mechanism by which beta-estradiol-17-valerate (E2) induces apoptosis in T cells. To this end, C57BL/6 wild-type (+/+), Fas-deficient (C57BL/6-lpr/lpr), and FasL-deficient (C57BL/6-gld/gld) mice were treated with various concentrations of E2, including 75, 25, 5, 1, or 0.1 mg/kg body weight or the vehicle. The thymi from these mice were harvested on days 1, 4, or 7 following treatment, and cellularity and apoptosis were determined. Treatment with E2 caused a decrease in thymic cellularity at all doses except 0.1 mg/kg in all three groups of mice, particularly on days 4 and 7. Interestingly, however, the degree of thymic atrophy in C57BL/6-lpr/lpr and C57BL/6-gld/gld mice was significantly less than that seen in C57BL/6 wild-type mice. When thymocytes were analyzed for apoptosis, cells from C57BL/6-lpr/lpr and C57BL/6-gld/gld mice showed decreased levels of apoptosis. Moreover, cDNA array analysis of gene expression revealed that treatment with E2 upregulated several genes involved in apoptosis, including FasL, caspases, TRAIL, and iNOS, but not bcl-2 gene family. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction data also demonstrated the increased expression of Fas and FasL genes following E2 treatment. Caspase 8 inhibitor blocked the E2-induced apoptosis of thymocytes in vitro. These data suggested that E2 may induce apoptosis by activating the death-receptor rather than the mitochondrial pathway. E2 treatment decreased the expansion of peripheral Vbeta3+ T cells to the bacterial superantigen SEA in vivo and their subsequent in vitro proliferative response to SEA, thereby suggesting increased induction of apoptosis in Vbeta3+ T cells. The current study suggests that E2 may trigger the death receptor pathway in vivo in T cells, thereby inducing apoptosis.
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PMID:Role of death receptor pathway in estradiol-induced T-cell apoptosis in vivo. 1238 36

Thirty-two normal LEW/Sea rats were transplanted a piece of syngeneic pancreas between the peritoneum and abdominal muscle. Among them, 17 (68%) of the 25 rats that received pancreatic transplantation at 41-50 days of age had a surviving beta-cell mass at 5.5-7.1 months after transplantation. Among the 25 rats, 12 rats injected with interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) and IL-2Rbeta peptides at post-transplantation showed better surviving grafts at 5.5 months' observation. Only 2 (25%) of the other 7 young rats that received a pancreatic graft at 20 days of age had a small mass at 21 days post-transplantation. Flow cytometer (FCM) analyses showed that thymus OX40(+) (CD134(+)) T-cells were increased up to 37+/-4% at the graft rejection in the 13 old rats without the IL-R peptide injections. The 7 young rats had 99% of thymus OX40(+) T-cells. However, the 12 old rats injected with the IL-R peptides showed suppressed numbers of thymus OX40(+) T-cells (8-13+/-3%). The long-term surviving, but apoptotic, grafted beta-cells were stained positively both with anti-insulin monoclonal antibody (mAb) and with anti-c-erbB-2/human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2/neu mAb. Expression of a c-erb family oncogene was shown on the pancreatic graft surviving for 7.1 months. Electron microscopic analysis of the grafted beta-cells showed abnormally large beta granules and loss of functioning mitochondria in the cytoplasm. In 18 (56%) of the 32 rats, the 220-bp and 380-bp specific products of insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) gene were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the liver DNA. Among the 18 rats, 6 rats expressed 2 extra hands of 280-bp and 700-bp in a correlation with the high levels of the transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) cDNA of 120-bp which was amplified in the quantitative reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR of the liver cDNA. Among the selected 11 rats, 5 rats showed large amounts of the 120-bp TGF-alpha cDNA. Host pancreatic RT-PCR showed 235-bp or 250-bp bcl-2 and 181-bp bcl-xS gene products. The bcl-2 cDNA of the host pancreas was amplified actively when the pancreatic graft was being rejected. Exceptionally, the one female injected with the IL-R peptides showed a low level of the liver TGF-alpha cDNA together with the pancreatic expressions of Bax (140-bp), bcl-2 and like interleukin converting enzyme (LICE) (318-bp) cDNA. Insulin secretion from the grafted beta-cells and IL-1beta-induced Fas-mediated apoptosis of the beta-cells were suspected to be present at the same time in the female with the best graft survival.
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PMID:Oncogene expression on the syngeneic beta-cells of long-term surviving pancreatic grafts and better effects of interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) and IL-2Rbeta on the grafted beta-cells in LEW/Sea strain rats. 1272 75

Somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) have been detected in many normal and malignant tissues. This wide expression has been used for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic purposes. Five SSTR subtypes (SSTR 1-5) have been identified whose activation is responsible for the signal transduction through many different intracellular pathways. In the present study the expression of SSTR mRNA was determined by reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR in 42 meningiomas. About 88% of the tumors analyzed (37/42) were positive for at least one of the five SSTR subtypes displaying a variable pattern of expression of the different SSTR subtypes. SSTRI and SSTR2 were the most frequently mRNA detected (69% and 79% of the sample analyzed, respectively). The other subtypes were found in the 43%, 33% and 33% of cases for SSTR3, SSTR4 and SSTR5, respectively. In 22, out of 42 patients (52%) three or more SSTRs were detected. The expression of the different SSTR subtypes did not correlate with the expression of bcl-2 (apoptosis-associated protein) and MIB-1 (a proliferation marker), assessed by immunohistochemistry in a series of 34 tumor samples, while a correlation between the expression of SSTR3 and p53 was observed (p = 0.08). To evaluate a possible role of SSTR in the control of human meningioma cell proliferation, seven primary cell cultures obtained from fresh meningioma surgical tissues, were analyzed for their proliferative behavior by MTT assay and for their response to SST by [3H]-thymidine incorporation. In four out of six tumors (in one case no SSTR were detected) the treatment with SST caused a significant inhibition of DNA synthesis induced by the tumor-promoter phorbol myristate acetate. The evidence of the expression of SSTRs, mainly of SSTR2, in this series of specimens we analyzed altogether with in vitro antiproliferative effects of SST may open interesting perspectives for the diagnosis and the therapy of meningiomas.
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PMID:Expression of somatostatin receptor mRNA in human meningiomas and their implication in in vitro antiproliferative activity. 1501 81

This paper discusses the diversity of synovial sarcomas (SSs) [biphasic (BSS), monophasic fibrous (MFSS), and poorly differentiated (PDSS)] and tissue microarray (TMA) evaluation of the immunophenotypic and histological progression of SSs in nude mice using three TMAs comprising 11 primary SSs (8 MFSSs, 2 BSSs, and 1 PDSS) and their xenografts. BSS and MFSS progressively transformed to a similar undifferentiated phenotype with loss of glandular component in the xenografts. Epidermal growth factor receptor and SALL2 were expressed in primary tumors and xenografts. Enhanced bcl-2 and bax expression were noted in xenografts. Ki-67 overexpression in xenografts correlated with high mitotic index. Epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and cytokeratin AE1/AE3 were detected in all original and xenografted SSs. Hierarchical clustering differentiated original MFSS and BSS, but their xenografts clustered together due to similar immunoexpression profile. Our study demonstrates definite phenotypic variability of BSS and MFSS in the xenografts. Differences in immunoexpression for various markers existed between primary tumor and xenografts but not between subtypes. Hierarchical clustering grouped TMA immunostaining data and confirmed immunophenotypic variability; however, it failed to reveal any immunophenotypic differences between SYT-SSX1 and SYT-SSX2 type tumors. Nonetheless, reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction detected SYT-SSX transcripts in all primary SSs and their xenografts, thereby demonstrating their genetic stability.
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PMID:Tissue microarray profiling of primary and xenotransplanted synovial sarcomas demonstrates the immunophenotypic similarities existing between SYT-SSX fusion gene confirmed, biphasic, and monophasic fibrous variants. 1695 34

Recent data suggest that new treatment options for superficial bladder cancer are necessary, owing to the high recurrence rate after conventional treatment, especially in T1G3 and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-refractory patients. Phase I and II studies have demonstrated that gemcitabine may represent a candidate for intravesical therapy in superficial bladder cancer. Despite clinical trials, the in-vitro cytotoxic and proapoptotic effects of gemcitabine have been poorly investigated. In the present study, we investigated how gemcitabine affects apoptosis in bladder cancer cell line 5637, which has the same molecular features of high-risk superficial bladder cancer. Apoptosis was evaluated by DNA fragmentation, flow cytometry and caspase activation. bcl-2, bcl-X, bax, survivin and fas gene expression were also evaluated by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Nuclear factor-kappa B activation was assessed by immunofluorescence. Gemcitabine induced apoptosis in 5637 cells in a time-dependent manner, with activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9. Expression of bcl-2, bax, survivin and bcl-X was not affected by treatment, whereas fas strongly increased after 24 h of treatment. After treatment, we failed to find any nuclear localization of nuclear factor-kappa B. As gemcitabine-induced apoptosis involves fas upregulation, these results may encourage the investigation of intravesical gemcitabine in fas-negative bladder tumors. Furthermore, as nuclear factor-kappa B activation by cisplatin, doxorubicin and adriamycin may result in enhanced proliferation, migration, immortality and inhibition of apoptosis, the observation that gemcitabine does not activate nuclear factor-kappa B may have implications in intravesical therapy of high-risk superficial bladder cancer.
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PMID:Gemcitabine-induced apoptosis in 5637 cell line: an in-vitro model for high-risk superficial bladder cancer. 1715 4

Spindle epithelial tumor with thymus-like differentiation (SETTLE) is an extremely rare tumor of the thyroid and neck, first described by Chan and Rosai. SETTLE is a low-grade malignancy, with potential for late lung, lymph node, and other visceral metastases. The clinicopathologic features of SETTLE overlap significantly with those of synovial sarcoma. Thirteen cases previously diagnosed as "SETTLE" (11 cases) or "malignant neoplasm-SETTLE versus synovial sarcoma" (2 cases), were retrieved. Immunohistochemistry for low-molecular-weight cytokeratins, high-molecular-weight cytokeratins, cytokeratin 7, cytokeratin 20, epithelial membrane antigen, bcl-2, CD34, CD99, CD117, INI-1, and TLE1 were performed. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for the SS18/SSX1 and SS18/SSX2 fusion genes and fluorescent in-situ hybridization for SYT rearrangement was performed. The 11 cases diagnosed, as "SETTLE" were negative for synovial sarcoma-associated fusion genes, whereas the other 2 cases were positive. SETTLE occurred in 7 females and 4 males (7 to 50 y of age, median 13.5 y) and involved the thyroid gland in 10 cases. Clinical follow-up showed 3 patients to be disease-free 7, 10, and 15 years after surgery. One patient had a lymph node metastasis at diagnosis and lung metastases 14 months after diagnosis. SETTLE infiltrated the thyroid, and consisted of a vaguely nodular admixture of fascicular, reticular, hyalinized, and microcystic areas. Spindled zones blended imperceptibly into areas showing epithelial differentiation, in the form of glomeruloid glandular structures, sertoli-like tubules, and small glands, lined by cuboidal to columnar cells. Mitotic activity was very low, necrosis was absent, and pleomorphism was not present. By immunohistochemistry, SETTLE showed extensive expression of high-molecular-weight cytokeratins in 7 of 8 cases (88%). Expression of low-molecular-weight cytokeratins and epithelial membrane antigen was limited, confined to only scattered cells in 7 of 8 (88%), and 4 of 8 (50%) of cases, respectively. Cytokeratin 7 expression was more widespread (7 of 8 cases, 88%). Cytokeratin 20 was negative. Expression of CD99 and bcl-2 was seen in 6 of 8 (75%) and 7 of 8 (88%) cases, respectively. CD117, INI-1, and TLE1 expression was seen in 6 of 8 (75%), 8 of 8 (100%), and 1 of 5 (20%) of cases, respectively. We conclude that traditional morphologic study and a limited panel of ancillary immunostains are sufficient for the distinction of SETTLE from synovial sarcoma in almost all instances. Molecular genetic study may, however, be helpful in selected cases, particularly in limited biopsies.
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PMID:Spindle epithelial tumor with thymus-like differentiation: a morphologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular genetic study of 11 cases. 1941 83

Endocrine glands-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF, also termed as Prok1)--a novel cytokine that selectively acts on the endothelial cells of endocrine glands--was recently reported to be involved in the regulation of tumor cell growth and survival. However, its roles in the regulation of pancreatic cancer progression remain unclear. In this report, we investigated the suppressive effects of EG-VEGF on pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis and the relevant mechanisms. By using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) we found that the Mia PaCa II cells of the pancreatic cancer cell line express the mRNAs of both EG-VEGF (Prok1) and its receptors. EG-VEGF protects pancreatic cancer cells from apoptosis through upregulation of myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1), an anti-apoptotic protein of the bcl-2 family. Treatment of pancreatic cancer cells with EG-VEGF results in the rapid phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), STAT3, and AKT, which are involved in the upregulation of Mcl-1 expression. EG-VEGF (Prok1) protects Mia PaCa II cells from apoptosis through G protein-coupled receptor (GPR)-induced activation of multiple signal pathways, and hence can be a novel target for pancreatic cancer therapy.
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PMID:Endocrine glands-derived vascular endothelial growth factor protects pancreatic cancer cells from apoptosis via upregulation of the myeloid cell leukemia-1 protein. 1952 41


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