Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.1.27.4 (ribonuclease)
 6,621 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Differentiation inhibiting activity/leukemia inhibitory factor (DIA/LIF) is a glycoprotein that controls differentiation of pluripotential stem cells. Alternative transcription generates both diffusible and matrix-associated forms of DIA/LIF. Transcriptional analysis using a sensitive ribonuclease protection assay revealed that the two messages are expressed independently, consistent with the proposition that the two forms of DIA/LIF have distinct biological roles. DIA/LIF expression was found to be activated early during differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells, providing a mechanism for feedback regulation of stem cell renewal. Expression of DIA/LIF by mesenchymal cells was shown to be controlled in a paracrine manner by polypeptide regulatory factors. Specific expression of the two forms of DIA/LIF was also demonstrated in the egg cylinder-stage mouse embryo. The combination of cell type-specific and signal-specific regulation enables very precise control over DIA/LIF expression and may represent an important component of the regulatory networks that govern stem cell proliferation and differentiation during mammalian development.
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PMID:Developmentally programmed induction of differentiation inhibiting activity and the control of stem cell populations. 170 81

Differentiation inhibiting activity/leukaemia inhibitory factor (DIA/LIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine which has been implicated in a variety of developmental and physiological processes in mammals due to its broad range of biological activities in vitro. A role in very early development is suggested by the requirement for DIA/LIF to support the self-renewal of cultured embryonic stem (ES) cells. Other data point to potential roles in the establishment and maintenance of primordial germ cells, in osteogenesis and in haematopoiesis, and possibly in neuronal specification. DIA/LIF may also act as a mediator of the hepatic acute phase response. In the present study the expression of DIA/LIF transcripts during murine development and in adult mice has been determined using a highly sensitive ribonuclease protection analysis. In contrast to previous reports, it is apparent that DIA/LIF transcripts are present at low levels in many adult mouse tissues. Higher levels of expression are observed in skin, lung, intestine, and uterus. Elevated amounts of mRNA are also found in certain foetal tissue during late gestation and neonatally. In earlier embryogenesis, however, DIA/LIF mRNA is produced primarily in extraembryonic tissues. The alternative transcripts which produce either soluble or matrix-associated DIA/LIF exhibit overlapping but non-identical patterns of expression, consistent with the proposition that the two isoforms may have distinct biological functions. These findings are suggestive of widespread roles for DIA/LIF in vivo and are discussed in the light of available data on the phenotype of homozygous DIA/LIF-deficient mice.
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PMID:Expression of alternative forms of differentiation inhibiting activity (DIA/LIF) during murine embryogenesis and in neonatal and adult tissues. 768 30