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)

Predesquamin is a glycoprotein found in the transition layer and the lower stratum corneum of human epidermis. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) induces the synthesis of predesquamin by keratinocytes in culture. We now show ultrastructurally that exogenous addition of either predesquamin or IFN-gamma to cultured keratinocytes induces apoptotic nuclei with condensed chromatin. Degradation of cellular DNA is also evident as a ladder pattern in an agarose gel. After incubation with both predesquamin and IFN-gamma (but not either alone), the mobility of plasmid DNA in a gel shows retardation specific for guanine residues. This binding to the DNA may impart to it a conformational change that facilitates access by endogenous cellular nucleases. In epidermal cells cultured with IFN-gamma supplementation, we also show by RT-PCR that there is an upregulation of the genes c-myc, p53, gadd45, dsRNA-activated protein kinase, and 2'-5'-oligo(A)-dependent RNase, which have all been implicated in apoptosis in other cell types. These results are pertinent to the mechanism of occurrence of apoptosis in the epidermis in vivo, where predesquamin and IFN-gamma are endogenous. Programmed cell death is an inherent step in the terminal differentiation and desquamation of the epidermis.
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PMID:Induction of apoptotic nuclei by interferon-gamma and by predesquamin in cultured keratinocytes. 874 83

Cells respond to genotoxic stress by activation of many genes, including the tumor suppressor p53. p53 activates transcriptionally target genes, such as p21waf1 and gadd45, which can lead to cell cycle arrest, or bax, which can lead to cell death. We examined the response to genotoxic stress in two hematopoietic cell lines that harbor either wild-type (MOLT-4) or a mutant p53 with a codon 161 mutation (U266). We adapted a multiprobe RNase protection assay (RPA) to determine the steady-state RNA levels, and in combination with nuclear runoff assays, transcriptional rates of multiple stress-induced genes. We found a differential activation of growth arrest and cell death-specific p53 target genes in cells with wild-type or mutant p53. Our results show that genotoxic stress can activate the p21waf1 and gadd45 genes in both cell lines. However, the bax gene was not induced in U266 cells. Bax and gadd45 gene induction could be efficiently blocked by pretreating the cells with the antioxidant compound pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, suggesting that oxidative stress was involved in these responses. Induction of all three genes in MOLT-4 cells was clearly at the transcriptional level, because we detected transcriptional activity by nuclear runoff RPA assays, and transfection with a consensus p53 binding sequence. U266 cells did not activate the same reporter, in spite of the upregulation of p21waf1 and gadd45 RNA levels. However, the p21waf1-reporter constructs containing 0.9 to 2.4 kb of the native p21 promoter were potently activated in U266 cells. These results indicate a differential regulation of p53 target genes in cells containing wild-type or codon 161 mutant p53.
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PMID:Differential upregulation of p53-responsive genes by genotoxic stress in hematopoietic cells containing wild-type and mutant p53. 1079 22