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)

The potent vascular, cardiac, and renal actions of endothelin-1 (ET-1) suggest a role for this vasoconstrictor peptide in the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF). Recent studies have shown increased levels of ET-1 peptide accompanied by increased ETB receptor binding in the left ventricle during experimental HF. However, much less is known about the regulation of mRNA expression of these genes in HF. We compared the levels of mRNA expression for ET-1 and ET receptors (ETA and ETB) in the left ventricle of rats with HF induced by coronary artery ligation (n = 6) vs. sham-operated animals (n = 6). Levels of mRNA for ET-1 were determined by ribonuclease protection assay (RPA) using beta-actin as the internal control, whereas ET receptors were quantified by quantitative-competitive RT-PCR. Compared with sham animals, ET-1, ETA, and ETB receptor mRNA levels were markedly upregulated in the left ventricle by 6.6 +/- 1.8-fold (p < 0.01), 3.2 +/- 0.6-fold (p < 0.05), and 3.5 +/- 1.0-fold (p < 0.05), respectively. ET-1 mRNA levels were measured in two additional groups of rats (HF and sham; n = 6 each) treated for 4 weeks with the selective ETA receptor antagonist LU135252. This treatment had no significant effect on ET-1 mRNA expression in sham animals but reduced the upregulation of ET-1 expression in the HF group by 41 +/- 19% (p < 0.05). This study confirms the potential importance of ET-1 in HF and suggests that increased expression of ET-1 and ET receptors in the failing ventricle may contribute to alteration in basal cardiac contractility and myocardial remodeling.
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PMID:Coordinated upregulation of the cardiac endothelin system in a rat model of heart failure. 959 63

In fish, both gonadotropin (GtH)-I and -II are involved in the spermatogenic process, but the differential regulation of these hormones by GnRH is still poorly understood. To gain further insight into the GnRH regulation of GtH-I and -II gene expression in the male striped bass, we have developed and optimized a ribonuclease protection assay for the simultaneous measurement of all GtH subunit mRNAs in a single pituitary gland. The RNA extraction protocol enables the determination of GtH protein content in the same sample, thus enhancing the power of the method. Maturing striped bass males were injected intramuscularly with [D-Ala6,Pro9Net]-LHRH (GnRHa) and sampled at 6 and 24 h postinjection. The mRNA levels of the alpha subunit and GtH-IIbeta increased after 6 h (4- and 6-fold, respectively), while the GtH-Ibeta mRNA levels increased only 2-fold after 24 h. Interestingly, GnRHa stimulation caused a significant increase in beta-actin mRNA levels. GnRHa treatment also resulted in a 2-fold decrease in pituitary GtH-II content, associated with a dramatic increase of plasma GtH-II levels from undetectable levels (< 0.2 ng/ml) to 13+/-2 ng/ml after 6 h. These results demonstrate that both GtH-Ibeta and -Ilbeta are expressed during striped bass spermatogenesis and that the two genes are subjected to differential regulation by GnRHa.
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PMID:Gonadotropin-I and -II subunit gene expression of male striped bass (Morone saxatilis) after gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injection: quantitation using an optimized ribonuclease protection assay. 960 58

In cultured rat hepatocytes, glucagon increased phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA transiently. Insulin, given at the maximal increase, enhanced the degradation by 3-fold. The levels of beta-actin mRNA and ribosomal RNA, which served as a control, remained unchanged. The transcriptional inhibitor, actinomycin D, or the serine/threonine phosphatase IIA inhibitor, okadaic acid, prevented the degradation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA. This indicated that the degradation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA requires the de novo synthesis of a bona fide destabilizing factor and/or active protein phosphatase. In vitro RNA degradation assays were developed in order to investigate whether insulin-treated cells contained enhanced ribonuclease activity. Fractionated cytosolic extracts were prepared by removing cell organelles by differential centrifugation and thereafter part of the cytosolic proteins by heat treatment. These extracts were incubated with exogenously added total RNA and the degradation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA, beta-actin mRNA and 28S ribosomal RNA was studied. In this assay, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA and the otherwise stable beta-actin mRNA and ribosomal RNA were degraded 3-fold faster by extracts from insulin-treated, than from untreated, cells. The increase in RNase activity induced by insulin could be prevented by treatment of cultured rat hepatocytes with actinomycin D, indicating that ongoing gene transcription was required. The 'in vivo' specificity of the insulin effect on PCK mRNA degradation in cultured hepatocytes seemed to be lost in the in vitro assay in cytosolic extracts due to the disruption of the intracellular environment. Also in whole cell lysates, which were obtained by hypo-osmotic shock of the cells, and which contained the disrupted particulate and all soluble cellular components, PCK mRNA as well as beta-actin mRNA and ribosomal RNA, was degraded. The increase in ribonuclease activity due to insulin paralleled the insulin-induced acceleration of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA degradation in cultured hepatocytes, which might indicate a functional correlation.
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PMID:Parallel acceleration of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA degradation and increase in ribonuclease activity induced by insulin in cultured rat hepatocytes. 970 51

The mechanisms by which fasting decreases liver insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) messenger RNA (mRNA) abundance have not been defined completely. In the present study, we have examined the effects of fasting in rats on hepatic IGF-I gene transcription, IGF-I pre-mRNA splicing, and cytoplasmic IGF-I mRNA stability. Using the in vitro nuclear run-on transcription technique, we observed that fasting did not change IGF-I gene transcription activity [76 +/- 32 densitometric units (DU) for fasted vs. 58 +/- 23 DU for control-fed rats; P = 0.1], whereas IGF-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) gene transcription, a positive control, was increased more than 2-fold (729 +/- 157 DU for fasted vs. 261 +/- 56 DU for control-fed rats; P < 0.05). This implies that fasting-induced reduction of liver IGF-I mRNA is due to events other than a decreased rate of IGF-I gene transcription. By measuring nonspliced (pre-mRNA) and spliced IGF-I transcripts in liver nuclear RNA using ribonuclease protection assays, we found that IGF-I pre-mRNA was increased in fasted rats (measured as the percentage of beta-actin: 34.0 +/- 5.5% for fasted vs. 8.1 +/- 3.8% for control-fed rats; P < 0.01), whereas spliced IGF-I transcript remained unchanged (measured as the percentage of beta-actin: 60.9 +/- 9.2% for fasted vs. 79.0 +/- 6.2% for control-fed rats; P = 0.75). We then compared this pattern of splicing to IGF-I pre-mRNA splicing in hypophysectomized rats subjected to GH stimulation and to IGFBP-1 pre-mRNA splicing in the same fasting experiment. One hour after GH injection, we observed a coordinate increase in both nonspliced and spliced IGF-I transcripts in liver nuclei of hypophysectomized rats. Fasting increased both IGFBP-1 pre-mRNA and spliced transcript. Taken together, these results indicate that the increase in IGF-I pre-mRNA in liver nuclei during fasting is caused by delayed pre-mRNA splicing, rather than increased IGF-I gene transcription. To examine the possible effect of fasting on hepatic IGF-I mRNA stability, we used an in vitro model of nutrient deprivation (fewer amino acids in culture medium) of rat hepatocyte primary culture. Each of the three major IGF-I mRNA species exhibited a shortened half-life in the amino acid-deprived media. The 7.5-kb IGF-I mRNA, however, was degraded faster than the two smaller IGF-I mRNA species. This may indicate that fasting decreases the stability of liver IGF-I mRNA in vivo. In summary, these results suggest that fasting regulates hepatic IGF-I gene expression mainly at the posttranscriptional level by delaying IGF-I pre-mRNA splicing, which attenuates mature IGF-I mRNA generation, and by accelerating the rate of degradation of IGF-I mRNA in cytoplasm.
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PMID:Reduction of hepatic insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) during fasting is associated with diminished splicing of IGF-I pre-mRNA and decreased stability of cytoplasmic IGF-I mRNA. 979 61

The insulin receptor-related receptor (IRR), a member of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase family, has structural homology to the insulin receptor (IR) and the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR). The ligand, gene regulation and biological function of the IRR are not known. Because mRNAs for both the IR and IGF-IR are increased by nutrient restriction, we used RNase protection assays to assess the effects of fasting 48 h on IRR mRNA in kidneys of rats. We compared the changes in IRR with those in IR and IGF-IR mRNAs. We observed a significant increase in steady state levels of IRR (ratio of IRR mRNA to beta-actin in fed P<0.01), suggesting that the ligand for IRR also might be regulated by nutrients.
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PMID:Effect of fasting on insulin receptor-related receptor messenger ribonucleic acid in rat kidney. 979 78

Influenza virus infection is known to shut off the expression of host genes. To study the mechanism, we examined the effects of influenza A/Udorn/72 virus infection on the heat induction of a major heat shock protein, HSP70, in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The induction of HSP70 protein synthesis was progressively suppressed with postinfection time when heat shock was applied. Northern hybridization analysis revealed the appearance of longer, heterogeneous HSP70 transcripts in the range of 2.7 to 30 kb with a concomitant decrease in the amount of the mature 2.7-kb mRNAs in the nucleus of the infected cells. Such longer beta-actin transcripts were also observed but with much less intensity. The longer HSP70 transcripts contained the downstream sequence of the polyadenylation site, as demonstrated by RNase protection with an antisense RNA probe containing the sequence through the polyadenylation sites. This clearly proved that influenza virus infection inhibits the polyadenylation-site cleavage of the pre-mRNAs by the host cleavage and polyadenylation machinery. One temperature-sensitive mutant virus carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation on the NS1 gene failed to inhibit the cleavage at the nonpermissive temperature, indicating that the NS1 protein is involved in the inhibition of the pre-mRNA cleavage. This is the first report of the down-regulation of cellular mRNA maturation at the point of polyadenylation-site cleavage by virus infection and identifies a new mechanism by which the influenza virus shuts off host gene expression.
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PMID:Influenza virus inhibits cleavage of the HSP70 pre-mRNAs at the polyadenylation site. 998 87

Protocols for in situ hybridization (ISH) of cultured cells often include storage in alcohol at -20 degrees C between fixation of the cultures and the ISH procedure. In experiments aimed at localizing ferritin mRNA in C2 muscle cultures by ISH with digoxigenin-labelled riboprobes, we have noticed that omission of the ethanol storage dramatically changed the pattern of mRNA localization. In cultures stored in 50%, 70%, or 90% ethanol for at least 15 min, ferritin signal was stronger on myotubes than myoblasts but was uniformly distributed over both. In untreated cultures, the signal was patchy, concentrated on the extremities of the elongated myoblasts and very sparse in myotubes. Similar results were obtained with a probe to beta-actin used as a control, except that signal was higher in myoblasts in all conditions. When the probes were reduced in size to approximately 100 bases from 561 for ferritin and 1150 for actin, the pattern became uniform, regardless of prehybridization treatment. The patchy pattern disappeared when cells were treated with RNase A following hybridization, suggesting that it is non-specific, despite its absence in cultures hybridized with a sense probe. We conclude that incomplete access of RNA probes can result not only in a reduced ISH signal but also in artefactual patterns of mRNA localization.
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PMID:Altered subcellular localization patterns of ferritin and beta-actin mRNAs in muscle cultures, resulting from incomplete penetration of digoxigenin-labelled riboprobes. 1019 22

Distribution and concentration of beta-adrenergic receptor (betaAR) subtype transcripts (beta1AR, beta2AR, and beta3AR) were investigated in porcine and rat tissues. Reverse transcription (RT) coupled with PCR indicated the presence of beta1AR and beta2AR transcripts in porcine left ventricle, lung, longissimus muscle, and subcutaneous adipose tissue. The RT-PCR indicated that beta3AR transcripts were present in porcine subcutaneous adipose tissue, and transcripts were suggested in left ventricle and lung, but they were not detected in longissimus muscle. Quantitative ribonuclease protection assays indicated that the porcine beta1AR, beta2AR, and beta3AR transcript concentrations (amol/microg of total RNA) were, respectively as follows: heart left ventricle = 6.1, 2.4, and .02; lung = 3.8, 1.9, and .01; liver = 1.7, 2.1, and undetectable; skeletal muscle = 1.7, 1.1, .02; subcutaneous adipose tissue = 1.3, .4, .14. The proportions of porcine betaAR subtypes (beta1AR:beta2AR:beta3AR) were as follows: heart left ventricle = 72:28:.25; lung = 67:33:.2; liver = 45:55:0; skeletal muscle = 60:39:.7; and subcutaneous adipose = 73:20:7. Normalization of data to beta-actin transcript concentration did not change these relationships. Rat perigonadal adipose tissue beta1AR and beta3AR transcript concentrations were, respectively, .59 and 1.84 amol/microg of total RNA. The rat perigonadal adipose tissue concentration of beta3AR transcript was tenfold that of porcine subcutaneous adipose tissue. The predominant betaAR transcript in rat adipose tissue was beta3AR, and the predominant betaAR transcript in pig adipose tissue was beta1AR.
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PMID:Distribution and quantification of beta1-, beta2-, and beta3-adrenergic receptor subtype transcripts in porcine tissues. 1022 56

The appropriate choice of an internal standard is critical for quantitative RNA analyses. As housekeeping genes, GAPDH, beta-actin, cyclophilin, and 28S rRNA are commonly employed as RNA internal standards with the assumption that their expression levels remain relatively constant in different experimental conditions. We tested this assumption under hypoxia (1% O2, 24 hours) compared to normoxia (20% O2, 24 hours) and compared RNA levels of these 4 housekeeping genes head to head using ribonuclease protection assays. Four biologically diverse cell lines with respect to clonal origin, neoplastic transformation, and growth rates were used in the comparison. Expression levels of 28S rRNA were constant, independent of O2 tension, but levels of GAPDH, beta-actin, and cyclophilin varied widely with hypoxia. In particular, GAPDH mRNA expression was increased by 21.2-75.1% under hypoxic conditions. Increased GAPDH transcription in hypoxia was correlated in the cancer cell lines with upregulation of the transcription factor Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1alpha protein levels in identical experimental conditions. These results suggest that 28S rRNA is a reliable internal control for comparative analyses of transcription under hypoxia; GAPDH appears particularly unfavorable for this purpose either in hypoxia or other experimental conditions that upregulate HIF-1alpha.
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PMID:Direct comparison of GAPDH, beta-actin, cyclophilin, and 28S rRNA as internal standards for quantifying RNA levels under hypoxia. 1036 51

The stem cell factor (SCF)/c-kit ligand/receptor system has been implicated in stem (oval) cell activation following liver injury in the rat. The aim of this study was to determine the role of the SCF/c-kit system in pediatric human liver during acute and chronic liver injury. Tissue was obtained from hepatectomy specimens of patients undergoing liver transplantation for extrahepatic biliary atresia (EHBA) and fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). Specific expression of mRNA for c-kit and beta-actin was measured by ribonuclease protection and by immunohistochemistry to localize c-kit in tissue sections. Expression of c-kit was detected at relatively consistent levels in normal and cirrhotic (EHBA) livers. However, in FHF, c-kit mRNA levels were elevated in 3 of 6 specimens. Immunolocalization highlighted the presence of small numbers of c-kit-positive cells in the portal tracts of normal livers with increased numbers in cirrhotic livers. The highest c-kit staining, however, was observed in FHF, in which, in addition to the cells in the portal tracts, discrete c-kit-positive cells were also found integrated into bile ducts. Colocalization studies demonstrated some of the c-kit-positive cells to be of mast cell, leukocyte, and hematopoietic cell origin. However, there remained a subset that was also negative for these markers. The up-regulation of c-kit receptor expression in diseased livers suggests an involvement of this receptor/ligand system in hepatic repair mechanisms, and we speculate that c-kit-positive cells may represent a hepatic progenitor cell population. The origin and growth/differentiation potential of these c-kit-positive cells is under investigation.
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PMID:Expression of the stem cell factor receptor c-kit in normal and diseased pediatric liver: identification of a human hepatic progenitor cell? 1038 46


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