Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.49 (reverse transcriptase)
31,746 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In an attempt to better understand the role of endothelial cells during HIV-1 infection, we report a virological and ultrastructural study on isolated endothelial cells from human adipose tissue, infected by HIV-1 in vitro. Supernatants from cultures showed the presence of p24 antigen and reverse transcriptase activity starting two days after HIV inoculation. A significant decrease of viral rescue was observed in cycloheximide treated cells confirming a de novo synthesis of viral products. SEM analysis individualized several surface slender projections and interdispersed virus-like particles in the infected cells. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed cellular aspects of HIV phagocytosis and virus budding, suggesting that endothelial cells may represent a CD4 negative cell target of HIV-1 infection.
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PMID:Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection of endothelial cells in vitro: a virological, ultrastructural and immuno-cytochemical approach. 137 12

Ovulation rate, serum hormone concentrations, follicular fluid (FFL) concentrations of steroids and IGF, IGF binding protein (IGFBP) activity in FFL, and follicular IGF-I and -II mRNA were compared during the follicular phase among five genotypes of ewes: Finn (F), Composite III (C), 1/2 Booroola Merino (B) x 1/2 F (B x F), 1/2 F x 1/2 C (F x C), 1/2 B x 1/2 C (B x C). Composite III ewes were a Columbia x Suffolk x Hampshire crossbred. Ovulation rates for F (n = 7), C (n = 5), B x F (n = 6), F x C (n = 3), and B x C (n = 8) ewes were 3.1, 1.6, 3.8, 2.9, and 2.9 (Pooled SEM = .5), respectively. Concentrations of IGF-I in FFL were 53% greater (P < .05) in large (> or = 4.1 mm) than in small (< 4.1 mm) follicles but did not differ (P > .10) among genotypes. In contrast, FFL IGF-II concentrations were greater (P < .05) in B x C and B x F ewes than in C or F x C ewes but did not differ between small and large follicles. Ligand blotting revealed that IGFBP activity of three species (34, 27 to 29, and 24 kDa) were lower (P < .05) in FFL of large than in FFL of small follicles but did not differ (P < .10) among genotypes. Follicular wall IGF-I mRNA and IGF-II mRNA was detected in 5 and 32% of the samples from preovulatory follicles, respectively, using reverse transcriptase-PCR and ethidiumbromide staining. Ovarian IGF-I mRNA levels, assessed by Northern analysis, in B x F and B x C ewes were greater (P < .05) than those in C ewes; ovarian IGF-I mRNA levels in F and F x C ewes were intermediate and did not differ (P > .10) from those in C ewes. Small follicles from B x C and B x F ewes had severalfold greater (P < .05) estradiol concentrations than those from F or C ewes, whereas large follicles from B x F ewes had twice (P < .05) the estradiol concentrations of follicles from F or C ewes. Progesterone in FFL did not differ among genotypes. Serum LH, FSH, inhibin, IGF-I, and progesterone did not differ (P > .10) among genotypes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Serum hormones, follicular fluid steroids, insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins, and ovarian IGF mRNA in sheep with different ovulation rates. 754 85

The chromosomal breakpoint and fusion transcripts of the pre-B-leukaemia-derived SEM cell line carrying a reciprocal t(4;11)(q21;q23) translocation were analysed. The breakpoint from derivative chromosome der4 was cloned and sequenced. The crossover site was localized in intron 7 of the ALL-1 gene on chromosome 11q23 and in a large intron of the AF-4 (FEL) gene. RNA transcripts from both wild-type genes and both hybrid genes were detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. In addition, alternatively spliced mRNA species derived from the der4 chromosome were found. They were generated by using the exon 5' of the breakpoint on der4 as a common splice donor site and the 5' boundaries of exons 8 or 9 of the ALL-1 gene as alternative splice acceptor sites. The hypothesis is proposed that selective pressure operators to maintain the presence of both derivative chromosomes as important elements in the leukaemogenic process.
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PMID:Molecular analysis of the chromosomal breakpoint and fusion transcripts in the acute lymphoblastic SEM cell line with chromosomal translocation t(4;11). 779 49

Uterine homogenates of cycling and early pregnant Sprague Dawley rats and purified rat urinary kallikrein showed similar curves of displacement of 125I-kallikrein binding to a polyclonal antibody. Uterine kallikrein concentration measured by RIA was 8.7 +/- 2 SEM ng/g wet weight during the cycle (n = 6 in diestrus and metestrus) and 20.8 +/- 2 SEM (n = 7) ng/g wet weight on Day 7 of pregnancy (P7) (p < 0.001). On P7, kallikrein concentration was increased 12.4-fold in the implantation nodes, as compared to the interimplantation segments. Uterine homogenates of rats on P7, submitted to DEAE-cellulose chromatography and Sephadex gel filtration, yielded two fractions containing kallikrein immunoreactivity and kininogenase activity, with molecular masses that ranged from 120-125 kDa and 39-43 kDa, respectively. In the RIA, both fractions displayed parallelism with purified kallikrein. Enzymatic activity was expressed after activation by trypsin. It was inhibited by aprotinin, PMSF, p-amino-benzamidine, and leupeptin, but not by soybean or ovomucoid trypsin inhibitors. Kallikrein mRNA was demonstrated by reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction in uteri of nonpregnant and P7 rats. These results show that rat uterus synthesizes one or more serine proteases that are immunologically and enzymatically related to tissue kallikrein in the implantation node on P7--determined both by an increment of whole uterus kallikrein content and a depletion of the interimplantation segments--suggests that kallikrein may play a role in the vasoactive changes of implantation.
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PMID:Uterine kallikrein in the early pregnant rat. 821 45

The first injection of OKT3 in kidney transplant recipients activates the common pathway of coagulation. This may result in early thrombosis of graft vessels. To this day, the cells involved in this phenomenon have not been identified. The aim of this study was to investigate whether circulating monocytes participated in this OKT3-induced coagulopathy. The procoagulant activity (PCA) of circulating monocytes rose from (mean +/- SEM) 0.15 +/- 0.02 mU/mL to 0.40 +/- 0.05 mU/mL at 3 hours (P = .002) and 0.56 +/- 0.21 at 5 hours (P = .045) after the initial OKT3 injection. These monocytes displayed increased tissue factor expression at the same moments (mean flourescence intensity: 14 +/- 2 before OKT3 injection versus 54 +/- 14 at 3 hours, P = .008 and 34 +/- 7 at 5 hours, P = .01). Tissue factor mRNA was detected in blood by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction as early as 2 hours after OKT3 administration. The circulating monocytes also displayed a steady increase in membrane expression upregulation of ICAM-1, CD29, CD11b, and CD11c. In vitro experiments showed that OKT3 as well as 2 mitogenic, humanized anti-CD3 antibodies potently induced monocytic PCA whereas the 4 nonmitogenic anti-CD3 antibodies tested were over 1,000-fold less potent than OKT3. We conclude that (1) OKT3 induces in vivo tissue factor gene upregulation and membrane expression resulting in increased PCA of circulating monocytes; and (2) nonmitogenic anti-CD3 antibodies seem devoid of significant procoagulant properties.
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PMID:Monocyte procoagulant activity induced by in vivo administration of the OKT3 monoclonal antibody. 861 2

Retinoids are biologic response modifiers that are present in normal skin and may possibly be perturbed in carcinogenesis. To examine this possibility in human skin, we analyzed vitamin A and cytosolic retinoid binding proteins (cellular retinol binding protein and cellular retinoic acid binding protein [CRABP]) in a total of 38 non-melanoma skin tumors and 25 healthy skin samples using high performance liquid chromatography, radioligand electrophoresis, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The mean +/- SEM retinol concentration was normal in basal cell carcinoma (0.60 +/- 0.10 microM) and seborrheic keratosis (0.47 +/- 0.07 microM), but increased in keratoacanthoma (1.60 +/- 0.41 microM) and squamous cell carcinoma (1.17 +/- 0.28 microM) (p < 0.05 for both). Also, the concentrations of 3,4-didehydroretinol, a major vitamin A metabolite produced in human skin, were markedly elevated (6-7 times normal) in keratoacanthoma and squamous cell cancer. All types of tumors showed moderately increased levels of cellular retinol binding protein. In addition, keratoacanthoma and squamous cell cancer showed markedly increased levels (6-7 times normal) of CRABPII protein. Transcriptional activity of the CRABPII gene was demonstrated in both normal and neoplastic epidermis, but clear CRABPI mRNA expression was found only in basal cell carcinoma. The data indicate that characteristic perturbations of the vitamin A and retinoid binding protein levels occur in squamous cell-derived skin tumors, but whether these reflect intrinsic errors in retinoid metabolism or are secondary to abnormal cellular differentiation is unknown.
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PMID:Increased concentrations of 3,4-didehydroretinol and retinoic acid-binding protein (CRABPII) in human squamous cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma but not in basal cell carcinoma of the skin. 861 41

Previous studies [Czyzyk-Krzeska et al.: J Neurochem 1992;58:1538] demonstrated the relationship between low O2 breathing and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene expression in chemosensory type I cells of the carotid body. In the present study, we have exposed carotid bodies in vitro to hypoxic superfusion media, and subsequently used the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique to measure relative changes in the TH transcript in an effort to elucidate the cellular mechanisms which regulate TH gene expression. Carotid bodies and superior cervical ganglia (SCG) were exposed for 3 h to superfusion media equilibrated with either 10% O2 or 100% O2 and then rapidly frozen on dry ice prior to extraction of total RNA. Hypoxia elevated TH mRNA in the carotid body 3.63 +/- 0.84-fold (mean +/- SEM), while in contrast, these parameters were unchanged in SCG similarly exposed to hypoxic media. Incubation of carotid bodies in zero Ca2+ superfusates greatly attenuated the increase in TH mRNA evoked by hypoxia (1.39 +/- 0.34-fold increase; p < 0.025 compared to normal Ca2+ group). Likewise, exposure to the guanylate cyclase activator, atriopeptin III (100 nM), attenuated the TH mRNA hypoxic response (p < 0.005), while activation of adenylate cyclase with forskolin (10 microM) tended to elevate the response to low O2. Our data suggest that hypoxia, independent of circulating hormones, induces TH gene expression in the carotid body, and that multiple factors, including [Ca2+] and cyclic nucleotides, may be important components of the signal transduction pathway.
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PMID:Second messenger regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression in rat carotid body. 870 28

Calcium-dependent signal transduction is essential to the induction of cytokine expression by stimuli acting through the T cell receptor. In vitro, the immunosuppressant cyclosporine (CyA) blocks this pathway by inhibition of calcineurin (CN) phosphatase activity. But in vivo, patients on CyA have only 50% inhibition of CN and can mount cytokine responses. To simulate this state of partial inhibition, we studied the responses of human peripheral blood mononuclear leucocytes (PBL) in vitro at low CyA concentrations. PBL were challenged in vitro with calcium ionophores or anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody. The induction of IFN-gamma (interferon-gamma) and IL-2 (interleukin 2) steady-state mRNA was studied by Northern blotting and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. IFN-gamma was assessed in a radiolabelled antibody binding assay or by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). CN was assessed by dephosphorylation of a 32P-serine labelled 19 amino acid substrate. CyA inhibited CN with an IC50 (concentration giving 50% inhibition) of 10 ng/ml (95% confidence interval, CI = 8-13 ng/ml). Likewise, the induction of IFN-gamma and IL-2 mRNA by calcium ionophore A23187 was inhibited with IC50 of 14 ng/ml (95% CI = 8-27 ng/ml) and 32 ng/ml (95% CI = 5-178 ng/ml), respectively, while the IC50 for inhibition of IFN-gamma protein secretion was 8 ng/ml (95% CI = 9-18 ng/ml). Partial inhibition of CN also altered the threshold for IFN-gamma induction. CyA 10 ng/ml inhibited IFN-gamma induction by anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody OKT3 significantly more at low OKT3 concentrations (10 ng/ml, mean +/- SEM = 72 +/- 9% inhibition) compared to high OKT3 concentrations (1000 ng/ml, 47 +/- 6%, p < 0.01). Similar results were seen using high and low concentrations of A23187. Finally, cells pretreated with CyA recovered the ability to respond to high concentrations of A23187 (5 microM) faster than low concentrations (0.5 microM). We conclude that the principal defect in lymphocytes with partial CN inhibition is a reduction in maximum cytokine output which is closely related to the degree of CN inhibition. In addition, there is significantly greater inhibition of weak stimuli compared to maximal stimuli. These defects may explain why patients on CyA can have a reduction in immune responsiveness but still retain protection from infection.
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PMID:The functional consequences of partial calcineurin inhibition in human peripheral blood mononuclear leucocytes. 876 5

Previous studies have localized basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and its mRNA in normal and neoplastic endometrium but the expression of bGFG mRNA in endometriosis cells is virtually unknown. Our purpose was to investigate the presence of bFGF and its receptor mRNAs in highly purified primary cultures of stromal cells isolated from six eutopic endometrial samples obtained from patients without evidence of endometriosis and five endometriosis cyst linings. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), single major DNA bands of the expected sizes for bFGF and its receptor (354 and 661 bp, respectively) were detected in both endometrial and endometriosis samples. A competitive RT-PCR, that uses coprimer extension and amplification of a bovine RNA as an internal standard, was developed for semiquantitative estimation of bFGF gene expression. The target to standard mean ratios +/- SEM in six normal endometrial samples and in five endometriosis cultures were 26.7 +/- 10.7 and 9.2 +/- 3.0, respectively. Furthermore, when data were analyzed according to the cyst diameter, levels of bFGF mRNA resulted statistically higher (P < 0.05) in bigger cysts when compared to those detected in smaller ones (16 +/- 2.7 and 4.7 +/- 1.8, respectively). These results demonstrate that the genes coding for bFGF and its receptor are expressed in endometriosis cells, but levels of bFGF mRNA are generally lower than those detected in their eutopic counterpart. Moreover, they indicate that endometriosis cells derived from large cysts have increased bFGF mRNA levels. Thus, bFGF could be one of the factors responsible for a more or less active behavior of the endometnotic lesion.
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PMID:Basic fibroblast growth factor messenger ribonucleic acid levels in eutopic and ectopic human endometrial stromal cells as assessed by competitive polymerase chain reaction amplification. 882 92

Androgens have significant beneficial effects on the skeleton. However, studies on the effects of androgens on osteoblasts are limited due to the absence of appropriate model systems that combine completeness of the osteoblastic phenotype, rapid proliferation rate, and stable expression of the androgen receptor (AR). Thus, we stably transfected the conditionally immortalized human fetal osteoblastic cell line (hFOB) with the human wild-type AR (hAR) cDNA. Compared to nontransfected hFOB cells, constitutive hAR mRNA expression in three independent hAR-transfected hFOB clones (hFOB/AR) was 15-fold higher in hFOB/AR-16, 62-fold higher in hFOB/AR-2, and 72-fold higher in hFOB/AR-6 cells, respectively, as assessed by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Detectable constitutive levels of hAR mRNA by Northern blot analysis were present in hFOB/AR-2 and hFOB/AR-6 cells, but not in hFOB/AR-16 or hFOB cells, respectively. Treatment with 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (5 alpha-DHT) (10(-8) M) for 24 h did not alter hAR mRNA steady state levels in the hFOB/AR cell lines. Nuclear binding studies demonstrated 152 +/- 73 (mean +/- SEM) functional hARs/nucleus in non-transfected hFOB cells, 3,940 +/- 395 functional hARs/nucleus in hFOB/AR-2 cells, and 3,987 +/- 823 hARs/nucleus in hFOB/AR-6 cells, respectively. Treatment with 5 alpha-DHT increased the expression of a transiently transfected androgen response element-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (ARE-CAT) reporter construct in hFOB/AR-6 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner; no such effect was observed in transiently transfected hFOB cells lacking exogenously transfected hARs. Moreover, 5 alpha-DHT-induced ARE-CAT expression was inhibited by the selective androgen receptor antagonist, hydroxyflutamide. In summary, we have developed and characterized androgen-responsive osteoblastic cell lines derived from normal human fetal bone that express physiological levels of functional hARs. These cell lines should provide a suitable model for further studies on the effects of androgens on osteoblast function, including the identification of potential androgen-regulated growth factors and cytokines.
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PMID:Development and characterization of a conditionally immortalized human osteoblastic cell line stably transfected with the human androgen receptor gene. 928 32


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