Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.23 (beta-galactosidase)
 14,648 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A possible route to the treatment of inherited retinal degenerations such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the application of somatic gene therapy by the transfer and expression of corrective functional genes in ocular tissue. Cationic liposomes are established vehicles for the delivery and expression of exogenous genes in mammalian cells both in vitro and in vivo1. We report here a preliminary assessment of liposome-mediated transfer of a plasmid carrying the reporter gene lacZ (encoding the enzyme beta-galactosidase) into tissues of the adult rabbit eye.
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PMID:Assessment of liposomal transfection of ocular tissues in vivo. 854 7

Crx, an Otx-like homeobox gene, is expressed primarily in the photoreceptors of the retina and in the pinealocytes of the pineal gland. The CRX homeodomain protein is a transactivator of many photoreceptor/pineal-specific genes in vivo, such as rhodopsin and the cone opsins. Mutations in Crx are associated with the retinal diseases, cone-rod dystrophy-2, retinitis pigmentosa, and Leber's congenital amaurosis, which lead to loss of vision. We have generated transgenic mice, using 5'- and/or 3'-flanking sequences from the mouse Crx homeobox gene fused to the beta-galactosidase (lacZ) reporter gene, and we have investigated the promoter function of the cell-specific and developmentally regulated expression of Crx. All of the independent transgenic lines commonly showed lacZ expression in the photoreceptor cells of the retina and in the pinealocytes of the pineal gland. We characterized the transgenic lines in detail for cell-specific lacZ expression patterns by 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-galactoside staining and lacZ immunostaining. The lacZ expression was observed in developing and developed photoreceptor cells. This observation was confirmed by coimmunostaining of dissociated retinal cells with the lacZ and opsin antibodies. The ontogeny analysis indicated that the lacZ expression completely agrees with a temporal expression pattern of Crx during retinal development. This study demonstrates that the mouse Crx 5'-upstream genomic sequence is capable of directing a cell-specific and developmentally regulated expression of Crx in photoreceptor cells.
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PMID:The mouse Crx 5'-upstream transgene sequence directs cell-specific and developmentally regulated expression in retinal photoreceptor cells. 1188 Apr 94

Naturally occurring mutations of the beta subunit of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) phosphodiesterase (beta-PDE) gene in rod photoreceptors of mice and dogs are similar to one of the inherited retinal degenerations termed retinitis pigmentosa in humans. Defects in the rod beta-PDE gene leading to photoreceptor cell degeneration in retinal degenerative (rd) mice can be corrected by transfer of a wild type beta-PDE gene. However, the rapid photoreceptor degeneration in this mutant makes the study of gene therapy difficult. Since the retinal degeneration is slowed in vitro, we have employed retinal explants from rd mice to study factors influencing viral transduction. Retinal explants provide a rapid, efficient method to compare the transduction efficiency of adenoviral vector-mediated reporter gene delivery at different ages in normal and rd mice. Retinal explants from postnatal day (P)2 to P28 control (C57BL/6J) and P2-P42 rd mice were exposed for 20 hr to 2.5 x 10(8) plaque forming units (pfu) ml(-1) of adenoviral vector with a beta-galactosidase (Lac Z) reporter gene (Ad-CMV-Lac Z). After incubation in vector-free media for an additional 3 days, the explants were fixed and histochemically stained for beta-galactosidase to reveal Lac Z gene expression. The explants were also embedded and sectioned for light microscopic observation. Transduction efficiency was higher in rd mice than in controls on all postnatal days examined. In normal retinal explants, expression of the Lac Z gene increased from P2 to a peak around P7-P8, then decreased at subsequent ages; little transduction could be found after P17. In rd mice transduction efficiency of Ad-CMV-Lac Z increased from P2 to P7, decreased by P10 and increased again after P10. The most dramatic increase in the transduction efficiency occurred in the rd retina between P10 and P15 when Lac Z was intensely expressed throughout the retina. Microscopic examination of retinal sections revealed the types and distribution of Lac Z-positive cells responsible for the deep blue staining in the retinal whole mount. In normal and rd mice, Lac Z-positive cells were located throughout the retina. However, larger numbers of Lac Z-positive cells were present at all ages examined in retinal explants from rd mice compared to normal mice. These data indicate a difference in transduction efficiency between normal and rd mice, especially after P12, and suggest efficient adenovirus-mediated gene transfer is more attainable in developing or degenerating retina. Thus, transduction efficiency in rd mice depends on the relationship between development, maturation and the degenerative state of the photoreceptor cells.
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PMID:Adenoviral-mediated gene transfer to retinal explants during development and degeneration. 1532 66