Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.1.27.5 (RNase)
 17,967 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Epithelial tubulogenesis is responsible for the exquisitely intricate organization of functional units of parenchymal organs. We have previously demonstrated that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF--also known as scatter factor) is a stroma-derived epithelial morphogen, which induces tubulogenesis by kidney-derived epithelial cells in vitro. The mammary gland provides a particularly attractive model for the study of epithelial morphogenesis, since its development in postnatal life involves elongation and branching of epithelial tubules. The aim of the present studies was to assess the expression and modulation of HGF and its receptor c-Met in the rat mammary gland during pregnancy, lactation, and involution. By ribonuclease protection assay, we demonstrate that levels of both HGF and c-met transcripts are progressively reduced during pregnancy, are virtually undetectable during lactation, and increase during the phase of involution to prepregnancy levels. The reduction in HGF and c-met expression corresponds to periods in which functions other than tubulogenesis predominate in the mammary gland, namely alveologenesis (mid to late pregnancy) and milk protein synthesis (lactation). Using a murine mammary gland-derived epithelial cell line, we demonstrate that levels of c-met mRNA are significantly reduced by exogenously added prolactin, providing a possible explanation for the reduction in c-met in the rat mammary gland during lactation. The potential significance of down-regulation of HGF/c-met during lactation is discussed.
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PMID:Modulation of hepatocyte growth factor and c-met in the rat mammary gland during pregnancy, lactation, and involution. 762 35

Scatter factor/hepatocyte growth factor (SF/HGF) has potent motogenic, mitogenic, and morphogenetic activities on epithelial cells in vitro. The cell surface receptor for this factor was recently identified: it is the product of the c-met protooncogene, a receptor-type tyrosine kinase. We report here the novel and distinct expression patterns of SF/HGF and its receptor during mouse development, which was determined by a combination of in situ hybridization and RNase protection experiments. Predominantly, we detect transcripts of c-met in epithelial cells of various developing organs, whereas the ligand is expressed in distinct mesenchymal cells in close vicinity. In addition, transient SF/HGF and c-met expression is found at certain sites of muscle formation; transient expression of the c-met gene is also detected in developing motoneurons. SF/HGF and the c-met receptor might thus play multiple developmental roles, most notably, mediate a signal given by mesenchyme and received by epithelial. Mesenchymal signals are known to govern differentiation and morphogenesis of many epithelia, but the molecular nature of the signals has remained poorly understood. Therefore, the known biological activities of SF/HGF in vitro and the embryonal expression pattern reported here indicate that this mesenchymal factor can transmit morphogenetic signals in epithelial development and suggest a molecular mechanism for mesenchymal epithelial interactions.
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PMID:Scatter factor/hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor, the c-met tyrosine kinase, can mediate a signal exchange between mesenchyme and epithelia during mouse development. 840

Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) induces proliferation, motility and morphogenesis of cells that express the proto-oncogene for the tyrosine kinase receptor, c-Met. Because these cellular events occur in the endometrium during the menstrual cycle and in placenta during development, we have initiated studies of this growth factor in these tissues from macaques. Several HGF/SF alternatively spliced transcripts have been previously reported in other tissues. However, expression of HGF/SF isoforms in the endometrium has not been studied. Here we describe the relative transcript amounts of HGF/SF isoforms in the endometrium and placenta using RNase protection analyses. During these analyses, we discovered two unexpected protected bands that were found through sequence analyses to represent isoforms similar to the previously reported NK1 and NK2 except that they encode a five amino acid deletion in the first kringle domain. We designated these two isoforms as dNK1 and dNK2. Endometrium expressed all of the isoforms; however, dNK2 was consistently expressed at higher levels than NK2 transcripts. In contrast, placenta expressed NK2 and dNK2 mRNA at equal levels, and both NK1 and dNK1 were undetectable in placenta. HGF/SF function in endometrium and placenta may involve complex interactions between the isoforms of HGF/SF and those of c-Met.
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PMID:Novel hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor isoform transcripts in the macaque endometrium and placenta. 1175 73

In our previous study, microvesicles (MVs) released from human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (hWJ-MSCs) retard the growth of bladder cancer cells. We would like to know if MVs have a similar effect on human renal cell carcinoma (RCC). By use of cell culture and the BALB/c nu/nu mice xeno-graft model, the influence of MVs upon the growth and aggressiveness of RCC (786-0) was assessed. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, incidence of tumor, tumor size, Ki-67 or TUNEL staining was used to evaluate tumor cell growth in vitro or in vivo. Flow cytometry assay (in vitro) or examination of cyclin D1 expression (in vivo) was carried out to determine the alteration of cell cycle. The aggressiveness was analyzed by Wound Healing Assay (in vitro) or MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression (in vivo). AKT/p-AKT, ERK1/2/p-ERK1/2 or HGF/c-MET expression was detected by real-time PCR or western blot. Our data demonstrated that MVs promote the growth and aggressiveness of RCC both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, MVs facilitated the progression of cell cycle from G0/1 to S. HGF expression in RCC was greatly induced by MVs, associated with activation of AKT and ERK1/2 signaling pathways. RNase pre-treatment abrogated all effects of MVs. In summary, induction of HGF synthesis via RNA transferred by MVs activating AKT and ERK1/2 signaling is one of crucial contributors to the pro-tumor effect.
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PMID:Microvesicles derived from human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells promote human renal cancer cell growth and aggressiveness through induction of hepatocyte growth factor. 2479 71