Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.27.1 (RNase)
16,360 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell cytotoxic functions can be strongly augmented by the iron-carrier protein lactoferrin (LF). LF significantly enhances NK and LAK activities when added at the beginning of NK or LAK cytotoxicity assays. LF is effective in augmenting cytotoxic activities at concentrations as low as 0.75 microgram/ml, and higher concentrations of LF induce greater augmentation of NK and LAK. Iron does not appear to be essential for LF to increase NK and LAK, as depleting iron from LF with the chelator deferoxamine does not affect the capacity of LF to increase cytotoxicity. LF is known to have RNase enzymatic activity, and LF enhancement of NK and LAK can be blocked by RNA. However, LFs from two different sources with over 100-fold difference in RNase activity are equally effective in enhancing NK and LAK. Furthermore, purified non-LF RNase does not modulate NK or LAK activity and DNA is as effective as RNA in blocking LF augmentation of NK or LAK cytotoxicity. Therefore, the RNase activity is unlikely to be responsible for LF enhancement of the cytotoxicities. Newborn infants are known to have low NK activity and NK and LAK cells have been implicated in host defense against microbial infections. Thus, maternal milk-derived LF may have a role in boosting antimicrobial immunity in the early stages of life. In adults, LF released from neutrophils may enhance NK and LAK functions in the inflammatory process induced by microbial infections.
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PMID:Modulation of natural killer and lymphokine-activated killer cell cytotoxicity by lactoferrin. 156 98

Interleukin-1 (IL-1 beta) increases the synthesis of both heavy and light (L)-ferritin subunits when added to human hepatoma cells (HepG2) grown in culture. RNase protection and Northern blot analysis with L-ferritin probes revealed that no changes in L-ferritin mRNA levels occur after cytokine stimulation. However, the induction coincides with an increased association of the L-subunit mRNA with polyribosomes. Since the recruitment of stored ferritin mRNA onto polyribosomes is seen when iron enters the cell, the effect of IL-1 beta on iron uptake was tested and was found to be unaffected by the lymphokine. Neither transferrin receptor mRNA levels nor the number of receptors displayed on the cell surface was affected by IL-1 beta. However, the action of the cytokine on ferritin translation is inhibited by the action of the intracellular iron chelator deferoxamine. These data indicate that IL-1 beta induces ferritin gene expression by translational control of its mRNA. The pathway of induction is different from iron-dependent ferritin gene expression whereas regulation requires the background presence of cellular iron.
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PMID:Translational control during the acute phase response. Ferritin synthesis in response to interleukin-1. 169 48

The present study was undertaken to determine whether small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines produce immunosuppressive factors and, if they do, to characterize the factors. The supernatants of SCLC cell lines, H69 and N857, inhibited not only the blastogenic response of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) to phytohemagglutinin or concanavalin A, but also the cytotoxic activity of lymphokine-activated killer cells. Neither was inhibited by supernatants from non-SCLC cell lines PC9, QG56, and A549. The immunosuppressive activity of H69 supernatant was stable upon heating to 56 degrees C for 60 min, but labile when heated to 70 degrees C for 10 min. The activity was abolished after dialysis at pH 2.0 or pH 11.0, but not at pH 4.5 or pH 9.0. Digestion with trypsin or proteinase eliminated the immunosuppressive activity, whereas treatment with neuraminidase, mixed glycosidase, DNase or RNase had no effect, suggesting that the immunosuppressive activity in H69 supernatant is due to a protein factor. This H69-derived immunosuppressive factor was isolated by ion exchange chromatography using a gradient of 0.04 to 0.08 M NaCl solution. Gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed the factor to have molecular weights of 98 kD and 102 kD, respectively. These results suggest that SCLC cells produce a potent immunosuppressive factor which may account for the immune deficiency in SCLC patients.
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PMID:Characterization and purification of an immunosuppressive factor produced by a small cell lung cancer cell line. 185 Jul 26

The autoimmune mouse strain MRL/MPJ/lpr/lpr is characterized by accumulation of an abnormal T cell population which does not express CD4 or CD8 surface antigens. These cells were thought to be immunologically inert based on their inability to proliferate in response to a variety of T cell mitogens. We investigated the capacity of these cells to express lymphokine genes using a sensitive RNase protection assay. RNA was isolated from abnormal T cells which were purified directly from diseased animals, either as CD4-/CD8- or as fluorescence-activated cell sorter-isolated B220+/Thy-1+ cells. These RNA preparations contained no detectable interleukin (IL) 2, IL 4, IL 5 or IL 6 transcripts, but did contain transcripts of genes for interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Thus, this expanded population of abnormal cells spontaneously expresses these two lymphokines which have many interacting effects on the immune system, and may have important roles in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease in lpr mice.
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PMID:The abnormal T lymphocytes in lpr mice transcribe interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha genes spontaneously in vivo. 249 71

Recently, we reported a lymphokine, monocyte cytotoxicity-inducing factor (MCF), which is distinct from interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). In this report, we provide further characterization of MCF. MCF is inactivated by chymotrypsin, but not trypsin, RNase, or DNase. The production of MCF is abolished in a dose-dependent manner by actinomycin D and is diminished by puromycin, and cycloheximide. Native MCF produced under serum-free conditions demonstrated charge heterogeneity with three species having isoelectric points at 2.7, 5.6, and 6.7 respectively, and two molecular weight species of 29 Kd and 14.7 Kd. MCF-activated monocytes were not only able to lyse both NK sensitive and resistant targets, but also secreted IL 1, but not TNF. In summary, MCF is a lymphokine distinct from TNF, IL 1, IL 2, the IFNs, and the CSFs, which is able to activate monocytes to lyse tumor targets.
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PMID:Characterization of a human monocyte cytotoxicity-inducing factor (MCF). 306 22

Supernatants from PHA-activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, depleted of virtually all IL-2 activity by an anti-rIL-2 immunoadsorbent column, contain a factor(s) which synergizes with rIL-2 in facilitating the generation of allogeneic human CTL responses in vitro. This factor, provisionally termed CTL maturation factor (TcMF), did not appear to promote CTL responses in the absence of rIL-2. Furthermore, it acted later than IL-2 in facilitating CTL responses and could not be replaced by recombinant IFN-gamma. In this report we show that rIFN-alpha, rIL-1 alpha, and rIL-1 beta likewise lack TcMF activity. The TcMF activity in lymphokine-containing culture supernatants could be eliminated by trypsin or pronase but not by neuraminidase or RNase. Gel filtration revealed two peaks of TcMF activity, one at 12,000 to 25,000 Da and the other at 45,000 to 65,000 Da. Isoelectrofocusing demonstrated substantial charge heterogeneity. The majority of TcMF activity was recovered between pI 4.0 and pI 5.5 with a minor component at pI 6.5, corresponding to the areas in which IL-1 activity was also found. However, TcMF activity could be separated from IL-1 by reverse-phase HPLC. Moreover, TcMF recovered following reverse-phase HPLC was also found to be depleted of IL-4 activity. These studies suggest that TcMF activity is mediated by a protein(s) distinct from IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, and interferon-alpha or-gamma.
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PMID:Characterization of a factor(s) which synergizes with recombinant interleukin 2 in promoting allogeneic human cytolytic T-lymphocyte responses in vitro. 327 3

Macrophage migration enhancement factor (MEF), a lymphokine produced in the spleen by suppressor-like lymphoid cells, may be an important immunoregulatory molecule of macrophage function. MEF appears to be a potent positive chemokinetic factor and is unusual in that it lacks chemotactic activity. To aid in the development of a purification scheme for MEF we have employed biophysical characterization techniques to define its physical properties. Using the technique of velocity sedimentation in isokinetic sucrose gradients, the S20w for MEF was determined to be 2.25. The Stoke's radius for MEF was determined by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration to be 28.9 A. From these measurements the D20w was calculated to be 7.55 x 10(-7) cm2/sec, the mol. wt was calculated to be 28,000, the frictional ratio (f/f0) was calculated to be 1.45, the axial ratio was calculated to be 1:8, and the dimensions of the molecule were estimated to be 20 x 160 A. Using the technique of isoelectric focusing in liquid density gradients, the isoelectric point for MEF was estimated to be 8.8. We have also determined by enzyme treatment that MEF is resistant to DNase and RNase and susceptible to proteinase K and L-fucosidase. In addition, MEF partitioned to the aqueous phase during methanol-chloroform extraction procedures. MEF was inactivated at pH 12; at 100 degrees C MEF was stable for 10 min but was inactive after 1 hr. Collectively, these data will facilitate the development of a purification scheme for MEF which will ultimately permit the analysis of the molecule and its function.
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PMID:Biophysical characterization of macrophage migration enhancement factor (MEF). 343 51

Several methods are currently used to detect the expression of specific mRNAs in leukocytes. While Northern blot analysis and RNase protection assays are commonly chosen for quantitative assessment of mRNA levels, these methods require a significant quantity of RNA, making their use unfeasible when limiting numbers of cells are available. Alternatively, use of the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique allows detection of specific mRNAs even at low copy number. It is, however, difficult to establish the conditions which allow consistent semi-quantitative assessment of specific mRNA expression, using the RT-PCR method. We report here a modification of the RT-PCR technique, which has enabled us to compare lymphokine mRNA expression profiles in mixed cell populations activated either in vivo or in vitro. This modification is based on the use of standard RNAs generated by in vitro transcription of size-modified CD3 and IFN-gamma-specific PCR products subcloned into the pGEM3 plasmid. Equal amounts of standard RNAs are introduced into each sample, reverse transcribed and co-amplified with cellular mRNA to control the reproducibility and efficiency of the method. The template therefore follows the cellular RNA through all steps of the analysis, and the corresponding 32P-labelled PCR products are subsequently separated by PAGE procedure. The amount of radioactivity incorporated into lymphokine-specific bands is determined by densitometry and normalized against the density of standard bands. Under optimal PCR conditions this method is linear over a 50-fold range of dilutions. The technique is specific, reproducible and fast, allowing an analysis of lymphokine-specific mRNA profiles in samples containing 10(4)-10(6) cells.
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PMID:Assessment of lymphokine profiles in activated lymphocytes by semiquantitative PCR. 768 97

B7-1 (CD80) is a second signal molecule usually associated with "professional" APCs that prevents the induction of T-cell clonal anergy and induces IL-2 production during antigen presentation. Tg mice whose epidermal KC overexpress B7-1 exhibit exaggerated and persistent CHS to a variety of haptens that lasts up to 8 weeks after hapten challenge. These Tg mice also exhibit significantly enhanced ear-swelling responses to irritants that are not persistent. Exaggerated CHS was not reflected in the draining lymph node. T-lymphocyte proliferative responses after sensitization and local challenge with haptens, as there were no significant differences between the B7-1 Tg and the NTg mice. However, RT-PCR analysis of mouse ear skin at the hapten challenge site indicated that B7-1 Tg mice had an alteration in the kinetics of in situ lymphokine transcripts compared to NTg mice: IFN-gamma transcripts were first detectable in Tg mouse skin at 2 weeks versus 24 h for NTg mice. RNase protection assays to detect inflammatory cytokine transcripts at hapten application sites indicated that B7-1 Tg mice responded to hapten application with increased TNF-alpha, IL-6, and TNF-beta transcripts compared to NTg mice. Thus, hapten-induced ear swelling in these Tg mice may be mediated by enhanced inflammatory cytokines during the early phase (1-14 days). IFN-gamma-producing lymphocytes may be responsible for the late phase of the ear-swelling response (14-42 days). These data indicate that B7-1 overexpression by KC in mouse skin directly or indirectly affects the nature of cutaneous inflammation induced by haptens and irritants.
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PMID:Characterization of the altered cutaneous reactivity of transgenic mice whose keratinocytes overexpress B7-1. 955 59

Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia is a lymphoproliferative disease often associated with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. High levels of soluble Fas ligand have been implicated in development of chronic neutropenia. However, a comprehensive analysis of constitutive chemokine and lymphokine production in LGL leukemia has not previously been reported. Here, we utilized RNase protection assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to address this question. RANTES, IL-8, MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, IL-1beta, IL-10, IL-12 p35, IL-18, IFN-gamma and IL-1Ra were the cytokine transcripts expressed in elevated levels from RNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of LGL leukemia patients. Confirmatory ELISAs indicated that sera from LGL leukemia patients have elevated levels of RANTES, MIP-1beta, IL-18, and to a lesser extent IL-8 and IL-1Ra. This pattern of cytokine upregulation is similar to that seen in some chronic infections or in autoimmune diseases, thus characterizing LGL leukemia as a proinflammatory disorder.
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PMID:Constitutive production of proinflammatory cytokines RANTES, MIP-1beta and IL-18 characterizes LGL leukemia. 1564 40


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