Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.6 (RNA polymerase)
 34,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Interactions between immunocompetent cells require the participation of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) and the integrin lymphocyte function-associated molecule-1 (LFA-1, CD11a/CD18). These interactions are mediated by interlinking cytokines, which are important in determining the type of immune response. In the present study, we have shown that in American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) lesions, most infiltrating T cells expressed the alpha beta TCR including those selectively migrating to the epidermis. In contrast, gamma delta T cells were abundant in localized (LCL) and scarce in muco-cutaneous (MCL) and diffuse (DCL) cutaneous leishmaniasis, suggesting a role in effective granulomas. There were differences in the expression of LFA-1 alpha and beta subunits, with most cells expressing LFA-1 beta. The ratio LFA-1 beta/LFA-1 alpha was higher in LCL (11.8:1) than in MCL (3.3:1) and DCL (2.4:1). Similar results were observed in Leishmania mexicana-infected C57BL/6 mice. DCL lesions showed a higher proportion of LFA-1 alpha+ cells than MCL and LCL lesions. A reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of the cytokine profiles showed that most T cells present in the MCL and DCL lesions secrete a mixture of Type 1 and Type 2 cytokine patterns, but in DCL granulomas predominate the Type 2 cytokines. In LCL the cytokine patterns show a preponderance of INF gamma over IL-4, and low levels of IL-5 and IL-10, suggesting a Type 1 cytokine profile.
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PMID:The cutaneous lesion in American leishmaniasis: leukocyte subsets, cellular interaction and cytokine production. 754 1

MiRNAs in animals and plants play crucial roles in diverse developmental processes under both normal and stress conditions. miRNA-like small RNAs (milRNAs) identified in some fungi remain functionally uncharacterized. Here, we identified a number of milRNAs in Verticillium dahliae, a soil-borne fungal pathogen responsible for devastating wilt diseases in many crops. Accumulation of a V. dahliae milRNA1, named VdmilR1, was detected by RNA gel blotting. We show that the precursor gene VdMILR1 is transcribed by RNA polymerase II and is able to produce the mature VdmilR1, in a process independent of V. dahliae DCL (Dicer-like) and AGO (Argonaute) proteins. We found that an RNaseIII domain-containing protein, VdR3, is essential for V. dahliae and participates in VdmilR1 biogenesis. VdmilR1 targets a hypothetical protein-coding gene, VdHy1, at the 3'UTR for transcriptional repression through increased histone H3K9 methylation of VdHy1. Pathogenicity analysis reveals that VdHy1 is essential for fungal virulence. Together with the time difference in the expression patterns of VdmilR1 and VdHy1 during fungal infection in cotton plants, our findings identify a novel milRNA, VdmilR1, in V. dahliae synthesized by a noncanonical pathway that plays a regulatory role in pathogenicity and uncover an epigenetic mechanism for VdmilR1 in regulating a virulence target gene. This article is part of the theme issue 'Biotic signalling sheds light on smart pest management'.
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PMID:A fungal milRNA mediates epigenetic repression of a virulence gene in Verticillium dahliae. 3096 13

RNAi (RNA interference) is an important defense response against virus infection in plants. The core machinery of the RNAi pathway in plants include DCL (Dicer Like), AGO (Argonaute) and RdRp (RNA dependent RNA polymerase). Although involvement of these RNAi components in virus infection responses was demonstrated in Arabidopsis thaliana, their contribution to antiviral immunity in Nicotiana benthamiana, a model plant for plant-pathogen interaction studies, is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the role of N. benthamiana NbAGO2 gene against TMV (Tomato mosaic virus) infection. Silencing of NbAGO2 by transient expression of an hpRNA construct recovered GFP (Green fluorescent protein) expression in GFP-silenced plant, demonstrating that NbAGO2 participated in RNAi process in N. benthamiana. Expression of NbAGO2 was transcriptionally induced by both MeSA (Methylsalicylate acid) treatment and TMV infection. Down-regulation of NbAGO2 gene by amiR-NbAGO2 transient expression compromised plant resistance against TMV infection. Inhibition of endogenous miR403a, a predicted regulatory microRNA of NbAGO2, reduced TMV infection. Our study provides evidence for the antiviral role of NbAGO2 against a Tobamovirus family virus TMV in N. benthamiana, and SA (Salicylic acid) mediates this by induction of NbAGO2 expression upon TMV infection. Our data also highlighted that miR403a was involved in TMV defense by regulation of target NbAGO2 gene in N. Benthamiana.
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PMID:miR403a and SA Are Involved in NbAGO2 Mediated Antiviral Defenses Against TMV Infection in Nicotiana benthamiana. 3133 29

Small RNAs (smRNA, 19-25 nucleotides long), which are transcribed by RNA polymerase II, regulate the expression of genes involved in a multitude of processes in eukaryotes. miRNA biogenesis and the proteins involved in the biogenesis pathway differ across plant and animal lineages. The major proteins constituting the biogenesis pathway, namely, the Dicers (DCL/DCR) and Argonautes (AGOs), have been extensively studied. However, the accessory proteins (DAWDLE (DDL), SERRATE (SE), and TOUGH (TGH)) of the pathway that differs across the two lineages remain largely uncharacterized. We present the first detailed report on the molecular evolution and divergence of these proteins across eukaryotes. Although DDL is present in eukaryotes and prokaryotes, SE and TGH appear to be specific to eukaryotes. The addition/deletion of specific domains and/or domain-specific sequence divergence in the three proteins points to the observed functional divergence of these proteins across the two lineages, which correlates with the differences in miRNA length across the two lineages. Our data enhance the current understanding of the structure-function relationship of these proteins and reveals previous unexplored crucial residues in the three proteins that can be used as a basis for further functional characterization. The data presented here on the number of miRNAs in crown eukaryotic lineages are consistent with the notion of the expansion of the number of miRNA-coding genes in animal and plant lineages correlating with organismal complexity. Whether this difference in functionally correlates with the diversification (or presence/absence) of the three proteins studied here or the miRNA signaling in the plant and animal lineages is unclear. Based on our results of the three proteins studied here and previously available data concerning the evolution of miRNA genes in the plant and animal lineages, we believe that miRNAs probably evolved once in the ancestor to crown eukaryotes and have diversified independently in the eukaryotes.
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PMID:Molecular Evolution and Diversification of Proteins Involved in miRNA Maturation Pathway. 3212 42