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)

The chronic survival and differentiation of the conditionally immortalized neuronal cell line, RN33B, was examined following transplantation into the adult and neonatal rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex. In clonal culture, differentiated RN33B cells express p75NTR and trkB mRNA and protein, and respond to brain-derived neurotrophic factor treatment by inducing c-fos mRNA. Transplanted cells, identified using immunohistochemistry to detect beta-galactosidase expression, were seen in most animals up to 24 weeks posttransplantation (the latest time point examined). Stably integrated cells with various morphologies consistent with their transplantation site were observed. In the cerebral cortex, many RN33B cells differentiated with morphologies similar to pyramidal neurons and stellate cells. In the hippocampal formation, many RN33B cells assumed morphologies similar to pyramidal neurons characteristic of CA1 and CA3 regions, granular cell layer neurons of the dentate gyrus, and polymorphic neurons of the hilar region. Identical morphologies were observed in both adult and neonatal hosts, although a greater percentage of beta-galactosidase immunoreactive cells had differentiated in the neonatal brains. These results suggest that RN33B cells have the developmental plasticity to respond to local microenvironmental signals and that the adult brain retains the capacity to direct the differentiation of neuronal precursor cells in a direction that is consistent with that of endogenous neurons.
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PMID:The adult CNS retains the potential to direct region-specific differentiation of a transplanted neuronal precursor cell line. 747 27

Stable transfer of genetic information into neurons is a powerful strategy to elucidate specific mechanisms of neurophysiology and to develop therapies for neurological disorders. To evaluate the optimal parameters for efficient gene delivery of defective herpes simplex virus type one (HSV-1) vectors into a specific brain region, an HSV-1 vector expressing E. coli beta-galactosidase was used to infect organotypic cultures of hippocampal slices. beta-Galactosidase was expressed as early as 2 h after infection in a dose-dependent manner as measured on immunoblots, and reached a maximum level after approximately 35 h. Expression of the RNA and the antigen was still evident after the longest time sampled (11-12 days), whereas no beta-galactosidase was ever detected in cultured slices infected with a control virus lacking the reporter gene. Hippocampal cells expressing the reporter gene outlined the contour of the neuronal cell body layers in fields CA3 and dentate gyrus; such correspondence was less evident in field CA1. Anatomical, morphological, and immunohistochemical criteria also confirmed that the majority of these infected cells were neurons. beta-Galactosidase was also detected in the somata and processes of infected interneurons. Tests for synaptic pathology associated with virus infection showed no changes in pre- and postsynaptic markers.
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PMID:Rapid and stable gene expression in hippocampal slice cultures from a defective HSV-1 vector. 753 3

Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a secreted serine protease implicated in multiple aspects of development. In the adult rat brain, transcription of t-PA is an immediate-early response in the hippocampus following treatments that induce neuronal plasticity. To study the sequence elements that govern transcription of this gene, in situ analysis was used to define t-PA's temporal and spatial expression pattern in midgestation embryos. Transgenic mice were then generated carrying t-PA 5' flanking sequences linked to the E. coli lacZ gene. Constructs containing 4 kb of the flanking sequences (4.0TAMGAL) confer beta-galactosidase activity mostly to the same tissues that exhibit high levels of t-PA mRNA by in situ analysis. In 4.0TAMGAL embryos from embryonic day 8.5 (E8.5) to 13.5 (E13.5), the majority of expression observed is localized to neural ectoderm-derived tissues. beta-galactosidase activity is first detected in restricted neuromeres in the midbrain and diencephalon, at E8.5 and E9.5 respectively. At E10.5, transgene expression is observed in neural crest-derived cranial nerves and dorsal root ganglia, but not placode-derived cranial nerves. From E10.5 to E13.5, beta-galactosidase activity is observed in postmitotic neurons of the midbrain, spinal cord, neural retina and the developing olfactory system. beta-galactosidase activity is also detected in areas undergoing tissue remodeling such as the pinna of the ear, whisker follicles and the limbs. In adult mice, lacZ is expressed in the hippocampus and this expression was found to be enhanced upon seizure in the giant pyramidal neurons of CA3. These results reinforce the concept that t-PA plays a role in neurogenesis and morphogenesis, and identifies the promoter region that directs its transcriptional regulation both in development and in the CNS.
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PMID:The mouse tissue plasminogen activator gene 5' flanking region directs appropriate expression in development and a seizure-enhanced response in the CNS. 772 May 60

The genomic DNA of chicken anemia virus (CAV) was cloned and sequenced from a Japanese isolate CAA82-2. The nucleotide sequence of CAA82-2 isolate was 98% identical with that of the European Cuxhaven-1 strain (Noteborn et al., J. Virol. 65, 3131-3139, 1991). Nine open reading frames (ORFs) consisting of more than 100 nucleotides were found, i.e., four ORFs (CA1-CA4) on the plus strand and five ORFs (CA1R-CA5R) on the minus strand. These ORFs with the exception of CA4 are conserved between the two CAV isolates. All of these ORFs were expressed in Escherichia coli as fusion proteins with beta-galactosidase. By Western blot analysis, the CA2 and CA3 fusion proteins were found to react with CAV-infected chicken sera. Rabbit hyperimmune sera against the CA1, CA2, and CA3 fusion proteins were produced and tested their reactivity to CAV-infected cells. Two viral proteins with the apparent size of 54 and 16 kDa reacted with the antibodies against CA1 and CA3 fusion proteins, respectively. The 16-kDa protein, CA3, was suggested to be a major immunogen on CAV infection.
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PMID:Gene organization of chicken anemia virus. 777 81

Deletion analysis of the rat CaMII promoter demonstrated that the segment from -294 to +68 bases of CaMII was efficient as a promoter in NIH3T3 by transient assay. We developed transgenic mice carrying a fusion gene of this promoter segment and a beta-galactosidase reporter gene. This short CaMII promoter mediated the transgene expression in pyramidal cells of the cerebral neocortex, the pyriformcortex and the hippocampal regions CA1 to CA3, in granule cells of the dentate gyrus, in Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, and in neurons of the lateral vestibular nucleus of pons and the spinal cord of adult transgenic mice. The expression of endogenous CaMII was precisely analyzed by in situ hybridization in the nervous tissues. The localization of transgene expression was consistent with those of the endogenous CaMII in the adult transgenic mice. In the embryos at 13.5-15.5 days of gestation, the transgene was expressed in various neurons similarly to the endogenous CaMII but certain subtle differences were observed in the localization of expression. This short promoter of rat CaMII carried two sequence stretches highly conserved in the mouse, dog, chicken and Xenopus CaMII promoters. These conserved stretches may be involved in the observed neuron-specific expression of rat CaMII gene.
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PMID:Expression of the rat calmodulin gene II in the central nervous system: a 294-base promoter and 68-base leader segment mediates neuron-specific gene expression in transgenic mice. 825 85

We have developed a novel technique using vaccinia virus for highly efficient introduction of foreign genes into viable cells of brain slice to study function of nervous system. Hippocampal slices of adult guinea pigs were infected with a vaccinia virus carrying a gene for beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) as a reporter gene. Expression of beta-galactosidase was first detected after 5 hours and reached maximum after 16 to 24 hours. Light microscopic observation revealed that beta-galactosidase was expressed uniformly in the CA1-CA3 pyramidal cell layer, granule cell layer of dentate gyrus and glial cells. Serial sections of infected slices showed that cells were uniformly infected throughout the thickness of the slice. Thus, the vaccinia virus system provides a convenient gene transfer tool for studying brain function in cultured slice system.
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PMID:A vaccinia virus vector for efficiently introducing into hippocampal slices. 851 65

Virus-mediated gene transfer into identified neurons of organotypic hippocampal slice cultures offers a great potential for studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. We describe here a new adenovirus vector Ad-GFP-lacZ carrying an early cytomegalovirus (CMV) gene promoter that efficiently co-transferred the beta-galactosidase (lacZ) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) genes in rat organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. Monitoring of GFP fluorescence and immuno-histochemical staining for beta-galactosidase showed that the expression of the transferred genes was widespread in the glial cells and neurons of CA1, CA3/4, and dentate gyrus regions. Immunoblot analyses showed that the expression of gamma-galactosidase and GFP was maximal about 48 h after infection of hippocampal slices with the adenovirus vector and the expression levels were maintained for several weeks. Also, immunoblot analyses showed no significant differences in the MAP-2 and glial fibrillary acidic protein levels in the adenovirus vector infected and uninfected hippocampal slices. In addition, we found that the infection of hippocampal slices with the adenovirus vector caused no significant increase in the induction of heat shock protein (HSP)-70 and showed no change in their electrophysiological properties as measured by stable field synaptic potentials in CA1 region and its reactivity to high frequency stimulation. Our data suggest that this adenovirus vector can be exploited to transfer multiple genes into neurons and may have implications for developing strategies for gene therapy.
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PMID:Gene transfer into hippocampal slice cultures with an adenovirus vector driven by cytomegalovirus promoter: stable co-expression of green fluorescent protein and lacZ genes. 1071 11

We have cross-bred twitcher mice (galactosylceramidase deficiency) and acid beta-galactosidase knockout mice (G(M1) gangliosidosis) and found that the acid beta-galactosidase gene dosage exerts an unexpected and paradoxical influence on the twitcher phenotype. Twitcher mice with an additional complete deficiency of acid beta-galactosidase have the mildest phenotype with the longest lifespan and nearly rescued CNS pathology. In contrast, twitcher mice with a single functional acid beta-galactosidase gene have the most severe disease with the shortest lifespan, despite the fact that G(M1) gangliosidosis carrier mice with an otherwise normal genetic background are phenotypically normal. A significant proportion of these galc(-/-), bgal(+/-) mice clinically develop additional extreme hyper-reactivity and generalized seizures not seen in any other genotypes. Consistent with the clinical seizures, widespread neuronal degeneration is present in the galc(-/-), bgal(+/-) mice, most prominently in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. The double knockout mice show a massive accumulation of lactosylceramide in all tissues. The brain inexplicably contains only a half-normal amount of galactosylceramide, which may account for the mild clinical and pathological phenotype. On the other hand, brain psychosine level is increased in all twitcher mice, but galc(-/-), bgal(+/-) mice show a significantly higher level than other genotypes. The reduced galactosylceramide in the brain of the double knockout mice and the significantly higher psychosine in the brain of the galc(-/-), bgal(+/-) mice cannot readily be explained from the genotypes of these mice. These observations are contrary to the expected outcome of Mendelian autosomal recessive single gene disorders and may also be interpreted as that the acid beta-galactosidase gene functions as a modifier gene for the phenotypic expression of genetic galactosylceramidase deficiency.
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PMID:Paradoxical influence of acid beta-galactosidase gene dosage on phenotype of the twitcher mouse (genetic galactosylceramidase deficiency). 1086 Dec 97

Several neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by filamentous inclusions in neurons that selectively degenerate. The role these inclusions play in neuron degeneration is unclear, but this issue can be investigated experimentally in relevant animal models. The NFH/LacZ transgenic (TG) mice overexpress the high-molecular-weight neurofilament (NF) subunit (NFH) fused to beta-galactosidase, and these hybrid proteins aggregate into NF-rich, filamentous neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCIs) that have been implicated in the progressive, age-dependent degeneration in subsets of affected neurons. Thus, these TG mice recapitulate some of the key pathology of neurodegenerative disorders with intraneuronal inclusions. To determine if the NCIs compromise neuron survival following traumatic brain injury (TBI), 3- to 6-month old TG and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to TBI or sham injury. At 2 weeks post-TBI, the TG group showed increased TUNEL staining and activated caspase-3 immunoreactivity in cells of cerebral cortex, adjacent white matter, and hippocampus underlying the injury site, relative to control mice, but this labeling decreased at 4 weeks and was minimal thereafter. Compared to control mice, by 8 weeks postinjury, the TG mice showed a marked decrease in neuron density and increased gliosis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and CA3 region as well as in the lateral thalamus, while the few remaining CA3 neurons exhibited cytoskeletal alterations, decreased synaptic protein immunoreactivity, and dissolution of NCIs. The more profound long-term neurodegenerative sequelae of TBI in the NFH/LacZ mice compared to WT mice suggest that the presence of intraneuronal inclusions may impair the recovery and long-term viability of injured neurons.
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PMID:Neurofilament-rich intraneuronal inclusions exacerbate neurodegenerative sequelae of brain trauma in NFH/LacZ transgenic mice. 1096 87

To determine the spatio-temporal expression in brain of the high-affinity kainate receptor subunit KA1, we generated transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase from the KA1 gene on a chromosomally integrated 550 kb yeast artificial chromosome (YAC). Activity of the KA1 gene promoter during brain development was visualized by Cre immunohistochemistry, and by X-gal staining of beta-galactosidase induced by Cre recombinase in double transgenic KA1-Cre/lacZ indicator mice. During early brain development, expression from the YAC-carried KA1-Cre transgene was observed in all major brain areas, predicting a function for KA1 in the developing central nervous system. In the adult brain, KA1-Cre transgene expression was restricted mainly to hippocampal CA3 pyramidal and dentate gyrus granule cells, an adult expression pattern characteristic for the endogenous KA1 alleles. KA1-Cre transgenic mice may help in elucidating the role of floxed genes ablated in vivo in KA1 expressing neurons.
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PMID:Developmental profile of kainate receptor subunit KA1 revealed by Cre expression in YAC transgenic mice. 1097 93


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