Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.1.26.9 (ribonuclease)
 6,589 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a product of the calcitonin/CGRP gene, is a potent vasodilating neuropeptide widely distributed throughout the cardiovascular system, particularly in the heart. Immunocytochemical studies have demonstrated CGRP-containing neurofibrils in the myocardium and in the periadventitia of coronary blood vessels. Based on these studies, it has been assumed that all of the CGRP peptide in the heart is synthesized in neurons whose cell bodies are located outside of the heart. Using Northern blot analysis and a ribonuclease protection assay, we observed in the rat heart low levels of a CGRP-like mRNA species that appeared to be identical to authentic CGRP mRNA produced in the brain and dorsal root ganglia. The ventricles contained somewhat more CGRP mRNA than did the atria. Also, whereas the dorsal root ganglia synthesized both alpha- and beta-CGRP mRNA, only the alpha-CGRP mRNA was detected in the heart. The presence of CGRP mRNA in the heart suggests that the CGRP gene is transcriptionally active in a subpopulation of heart cells, possibly neuronal, which have the potential to synthesize and secrete this neuropeptide. Given the potent coronary vasodilatory and positive chronotropic and inotropic effects of CGRP, the localized synthesis of CGRP in the heart may play a role in modulating cardiovascular function.
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PMID:Localization and characterization of calcitonin gene-related peptide mRNA in rat heart. 145 71

We have investigated the possibility of mutations in the calcitonin/calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) gene in children with Williams syndrome. Involvement of the calcitonin/CGRP gene in Williams syndrome is postulated on the basis that Williams syndrome children often have infantile hypercalcemia and deficient expression of calcitonin, a hormone that lowers serum calcium levels. To test the hypothesis that mutations in the calcitonin/CGRP gene might be responsible for the reduced calcitonin levels, we examined the calcitonin/CGRP gene structure in Williams syndrome children. Analysis of white blood cell DNA by Southern blot hybridizations in 5 individuals did not show any detectable large deletions or rearrangements in the calcitonin/CGRP gene locus. The possibility of small deletions or point mutations within the exon encoding the mature calcitonin hormone is unlikely based on ribonuclease protection assays with patient DNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. These findings suggest that the calcitonin deficiency might be due either to mutations elsewhere in the gene or to defects in the cellular machinery needed for calcitonin synthesis and/or secretion.
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PMID:Characterization of the calcitonin/CGRP gene in Williams syndrome. 186 60

Double-labeling immunofluorescent histochemistry demonstrates that calretinin, a calcium-binding protein, coexists with calcitonin gene-related peptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and substance P in the fibers innervating the lamina propria of the rat intestinal villi. An acetylcholinesterase histochemical stain revealed that the majority of calretinin-containing cells in the myenteric ganglia were cholinergic and that about one half of the submucosal calretinin-containing cells colocalized with acetylcholinesterase. In situ hybridization studies confirmed the presence of calretinin mRNA in the dorsal root ganglia, and a ribonuclease protection assay verified the presence of calretinin message in the intestine. The coexistence of calretinin in calcitonin-gene-related-peptide-containing cells that also contained substance P and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in the dorsal root ganglia suggest that these ganglia are the source of the quadruple colocalization within the sensory fibers of the villi. Although the function of calretinin in these nerves is unknown, it is hypothesized that the coexistence of three potent vasodilatory peptides influences the uptake of metabolized food products within the vasculature of the villi.
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PMID:Quadruple colocalization of calretinin, calcitonin gene-related peptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and substance P in fibers within the villi of the rat intestine. 754 20

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) has been reported to influence the growth rate and iodine uptake and organification in vitro by isolated thyrocytes. We have determined changes in the expression and presence of TGF-beta 1 within the rat thyroid during goitre induction, and subsequent involution following goitrogen withdrawal. Hyperplastic goitres were induced in adult rats by administration of methimazole together with a low iodine diet for up to 12 weeks. Goitrogen-treated rats quickly became hypothyroid compared with controls, and exhibited thyroid hyperplasia and hypertrophy assessed by thyroid weight, and DNA and protein content (control: total serum thyroxine (T4) 66 +/- 4 nmol/l, thyroid weight 5 +/- 1 mg/100 g body weight, mean +/- S.D., n = 10; 2 weeks goitrogen: T4 undetectable, thyroid weight 27 +/- 4 mg/100 g, n = 10). Thyroid growth rate slowed subsequently between 2 and 10 weeks. Messenger RNA for TGF-beta 1 was compared in the thyroids and livers of control and goitrous rats by ribonuclease protection assay. Low levels of mRNA for TGF-beta 1 were detected in thyroids from control rats at all time-points, while TGF-beta 1 mRNA was barely detectable in liver. Thyroid TGF-beta 1 mRNA levels substantially and progressively increased at 1 and 2 weeks of goitrogen treatment respectively, and remained above control levels at 4 and 10 weeks. As thyroid involution occurred 4 weeks following goitrogen withdrawal, so thyroid TGF-beta 1 mRNA levels declined. In control animals, the cellular localization of TGF-beta 1 mRNA, determined by in situ hybridization, was found to be a subpopulation of follicular epithelial cells, and immunohistochemical co-localization of TGF-beta 1 and calcitonin identified these tentatively as parafollicular or C-cells. During goitre formation, abundant TGF-beta 1 mRNA and peptide were found to be widely distributed within the entire follicular epithelium. While this ubiquitous distribution had largely disappeared in the involuting gland, TGF-beta 1 peptide was retained within the parafollicular cells, which appeared more abundant than in thyroids from control animals. These results suggest that an increased local expression of TGF-beta 1, a putative growth inhibitor, during thyroid hyperplasia may contribute to the temporal stabilization of goitre size.
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PMID:Enhanced expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 during thyroid hyperplasia in rats. 801 2

Levels of mRNA for neurotrophins (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF; neurotrophin 3, NT-3; neurotrophin 4, NT-4) and their receptors (trkA, trkB, trkC) and for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptors (ret, GDNFR-alpha) were measured in rat thyroid tissue by ribonuclease protection assays. In thyroid tissue the NT-3 mRNA level was threefold lower and the NT-4 mRNA level sixfold higher than those detected in adult rat hippocampus, while BDNF mRNA was undetectable. Very low levels of mRNA for truncated trkB and trkC receptors and no catalytic trkA, trkB or trkC were found. In conclusion NT-3 and NT-4, but not the corresponding functional receptors, are expressed in the thyroid tissue. Therefore, it is unlikely that these factors serve a direct local autocrine or paracrine function in thyroid cell types, and a target-derived mode of action on neurons innervating the thyroid tissue is suggested. An opposite result has been found for the neurotrophic factor GDNF: thyroid tissue showed a high level of transcripts for the GDNF receptor subunits (GDNFR-alpha and Ret), while GDNF mRNA was undetectable. The in situ hybridization analysis of GDNFR-alpha and ret mRNA revealed an interesting difference in the cell distribution of these transcripts: ret mRNA is selectively expressed in a subpopulation of cells scattered in the follicular epithelium and in the interfollicular spaces, while GDNFR-alpha expression is more homogeneous and widespread, including the more abundant cell type of the thyroid gland: the follicular cell. Double-labeling in situ hybridization/immunocytochemistry experiments, with a specific marker (calcitonin), showed that parafollicular cells express ret but not GDNFR-alpha. This differential distribution of the GDNF receptor components (GDNFR-alpha and ret) may reflect a peculiar biological role in intercellular communication in the thyroid gland.
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PMID:Expression of neurotrophins, GDNF, and their receptors in rat thyroid tissue. 1002 66

The prepro-adrenomedullin (prepro-AM) gene encodes several biologically active peptides, including the potent vasodilator AM. At least part of the vasodilator action of AM appears to be mediated via interactions with receptors on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC); however, the specific receptors involved are not known. The aim of the present study was to identify putative AM receptor genes that are co-expressed with AM in cultured rat aortic VSMC that may mediate the actions of AM. AM mRNA was shown to be expressed in rat aortic VSMC cultures. In acute (4 h) secretion studies, only 20% of the total immunoreactive AM was intracellular, with the majority (80%) found in the medium, indicating active release of AM peptide from VSMC. Using highly specific ribonuclease protection analysis, mRNAs encoding three putative AM receptors [L1, calcitonin-receptor-like receptor (CRLR) and RDC1] were shown to be present at high concentrations in RNA extracts from lung. In cultured VSMC, however, whereas RDC1 mRNA was expressed at relatively high concentrations, transcripts encoding CRLR and L1 were not detected. The co-expression of prepro-AM mRNA with the RDC1 receptor implies that AM may act in a localized manner via this receptor to modulate VSMC function.
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PMID:Co-expression of prepro-adrenomedullin with a putative adrenomedullin receptor gene in vascular smooth muscle. 1020 81