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)

We have established a transgenic model to facilitate the study of stress-induced gene regulation in the hypothalamus. This model, which uses a human proenkephalin-beta-galactosidase fusion gene, readily permits anatomic and cellular colocalization of stress-regulated immediate early gene products (e.g. Fos) and other transcription factors [e.g. cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB)] with the product of a potential target gene. Moreover, Fos provides a marker of cellular activation that is independent of the transgene. Hypertonic saline stress induced Fos in almost all cells in the PVN that exhibited basal expression of the proenkephalin transgene; however, all cells in which the transgene was activated by stress also expressed Fos. CREB was found in essentially all neurons. Gel shift analysis with and without antisera to Fos and CREB showed that AP-1 binding activity, containing Fos protein, was induced by hyperosmotic stress. However, Fos was not detected binding to the proenkephalin second messenger-inducible enhancer even in hypothalamic cell extracts from stressed animals. In contrast, CREB formed specific complexes with both the proenkephalin enhancer and a cAMP- and calcium-regulated element (CaRE) within the c-fos gene. Moreover, we found that hypertonic saline induced CREB phosphorylation in cells that express the transgene within the paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus. These results suggest a model in which proenkephalin gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus is regulated by CREB in response to hypertonic stress.
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PMID:Molecular mechanisms of stress-induced proenkephalin gene regulation: CREB interacts with the proenkephalin gene in the mouse hypothalamus and is phosphorylated in response to hyperosmolar stress. 817 Apr 80

The expression of a fos-lacZ fusion gene was studied in primary mouse epidermal keratinocytes obtained from transgenic mice. This gene construct contains the entire upstream regulatory sequence of c-fos, and expression of the endogenous and fusion gene was shown by Northern analysis to correlate upon induction with the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). Using a chromogenic substrate of beta-galactosidase, we also demonstrated that expression of the fusion gene product, like that of Fos, was localized to the cell nucleus. In addition, we showed that epidermal keratinocytes responded to dialysed fetal bovine serum (FBS), TPA and high-calcium medium with enhanced Fos-lacZ expression and an inhibition of proliferation. The time course of induction of Fos-lacZ expression was similar for dialysed FBS and TPA, with a peak approximately 2 h after exposure. Exposure for approximately 24 h to an elevated extracellular calcium concentration was required to elicit an increase in Fos-lacZ expression. The lack of an immediate effect of raising medium calcium levels on Fos-lacZ expression contrasted with the rapidity of its effect on DNA synthesis, which was significantly inhibited within 6-8 h. In addition, we found that the protein kinase C inhibitor Ro 31-7549 blocked Fos-lacZ expression induced by TPA but had little or no effect on that elicited by high calcium levels. Thus, although our results indicate that the fos gene product may be involved in mediating epidermal keratinocyte growth arrest in response to differentiative agents such as FBS, TPA and high medium calcium levels, the exact role of this gene product remains unclear.
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PMID:Regulation of fos-lacZ fusion gene expression in primary mouse epidermal keratinocytes isolated from transgenic mice. 819 44

Cellular immediate-early genes are rapidly induced by a diverse range of agents and conditions. Since many cIE genes encode known or potential transcription factors, they are believed to couple extracellular stimuli to long-lasting alterations in cellular phenotype through the regulation of gene transcription. In addition, the localization of the products of cIE genes has been used as a method for determining the cellular sites of action of particular agents in the nervous system. However, the methods of analysis are tedious, and the results may be ambiguous because of cross-reaction of reagents with related proteins. To further the utility of this approach, a bacterial gene encoding beta-galactosidase (lac Z) has been fused, in frame, into the fourth exon of c-fos, and this fos-lac Z fusion gene has been introduced into the germ line of mice. We have analyzed the expression of beta-galactosidase (under the control of the c-fos promoter) in the developing and adult nervous systems of these transgenic mice. As far as can be determined, the constitutive and stimulated expression of the transgene accurately reflects the expression of cognate c-fos in both cultured cells and the intact animal. This study has also revealed novel sites of constitutive and induced expression of c-fos that were overlooked using conventional analysis. In particular, constitutive expression of c-fos is associated with cells that are entering terminal differentiation and are destined to die. In addition, induced expression of the transgene in adult brain mirrors the pattern of neurotoxicity elicited by kainic acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:A fos-lac Z transgenic mouse that can be used for neuroanatomic mapping. 842 Jan 13

We have investigated the roles of the phosphotyrosine phosphatase Syp (also called SH-PTP2), phospholipase C (PLC) gamma1, rasGTPase Activating Protein (rasGAP) and the adapter molecules Nck and Shc in the mitogenic response induced by PDGF in fibroblasts. Two separate approaches were used to inhibit the biological activity of these signalling proteins in vivo. Either glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins containing the SH2 domains of these proteins, or antibodies specific for these polypeptides, were microinjected into cells. GST-SH2 fusion proteins are expected to act as dominant inhibitors by competing for physiological SH2-mediated interactions, while microinjected antibodies can directly block protein functions. Inhibition of PLCgamma, Syp, Shc and Nck signals blocked PDGF-stimulated cells in G1 showing a requirement for these proteins for S-phase entry. Inhibition of rasGAP, in contrast, had no effect on S-phase entry. We next examined which of these signals were required for PDGF-induced cFos expression, a Ras-dependent event important for signalling. By using the same approaches with cells expressing beta-galactosidase under the control of a c-fos promoter, we showed that PLCgamma, Syp and Shc were necessary for ligand-induced cFos expression whereas Nck and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase alpha were not. From these results we concluded that PDGF generates Ras-dependent and Ras-independent pathways important for DNA synthesis.
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PMID:Requirement of phospholipase C gamma, the tyrosine phosphatase Syp and the adaptor proteins Shc and Nck for PDGF-induced DNA synthesis: evidence for the existence of Ras-dependent and Ras-independent pathways. 889 Jan 67

We investigated the effects of sleep on wake-induced c-fos expression in the cerebral cortex of rats and c-fos-lacZ transgenic mice. In the cortex of rats, the levels of c-Fos, detected both by immunocytochemistry and Western blot, remained high during 6 or 12 hr of enforced wakefulness but declined rapidly (within 1 hr) with increasing time of recovery sleep. Similarly, in the transgenic mice in which lacZ expression is driven from the c-fos promoter, beta-galactosidase activity was high after enforced wakefulness and declined with increasing amounts of sleep. These results suggest that the decrease in c-Fos protein in cortical neurons during sleep may be attributable to cessation of c-fos expression, activation of a process that degrades the wake-induced c-Fos, or both.
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PMID:Effects of sleep on wake-induced c-fos expression. 939 Oct 27

Treatment of cultured neonatal ventricular myocytes with oncogenic Ras increases their size and stimulates the re-expression of genes which are normally restricted to the fetal stage of ventricular development, including atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and skeletal muscle (SkM)-alpha-actin. To determine which signalling pathways mediate these responses, myocytes were transfected with oncogenic (V12) Ras mutants which interact selectively with different effectors and their effects on luciferase (LUX) reporter plasmids were examined. V12 human Ras (V12HRas), itself, activated ANF-LUX 9. 6-fold, whereas mutants of V12HRas, which selectively stimulate Ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator (Ral.GDS) (E37G), c-Raf (D38E) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3-K; Y40C) enhanced ANF-LUX expression 3.0-, 3.7- and 1.7-fold respectively. The full response of ANF-LUX to V12HRas was restored by using a combination of the individual effector domain mutants. Likewise, SkM-alpha-actin-LUX expression was activated 12.0-, 3.5-, 4.5- and 3. 0-fold by V12HRas, E37G, D38E and Y40C respectively, and a similar pattern of activation was also observed using a c-fos serum-response element-LUX reporter gene. Cell size was also increased by each of the mutants, but simultaneous expression of all three mutant constructs was needed to reconstitute the full effect of V12HRas on cell size (50% increase). Transfection with a constitutively active mutant of PI-3-K (p110K227E) stimulated ANF-LUX, SkM-alpha-actin-LUX, c-fos-serum-response element-LUX and Rous sarcoma virus-LUX by 3.1-, 3.2-, 2.1- and 2.9-fold respectively, but the co-transfected cytomegalovirus-beta-galactosidase reporter gene was activated to a similar extent (1.9-fold). These results suggest that Raf, Ral.GDS and PI-3-K can all transduce transcriptional responses to V12HRas, but that the specific induction of genes associated with the hypertrophic response is not mediated through PI-3-K.
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PMID:Stimulation of gene expression in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes by Ras is mediated by Ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator (Ral.GDS) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in addition to Raf. 976 20

Analysis of the expression of a number of known genes in cultured human cells has revealed UVB-induced changes that may be specific for melanocytic cells. The response of c-fos, p53 and HIV-LTR reporter constructs to UVB and UVC was reduced in MM96L melanoma cells compared to HeLa. Cell cycle arrest produced by UVA, gamma radiation, cisplatin or the antimetabolite deoxyinosine differed from that of UVB. Cell cycle analysis after multiple doses of UVB raised the possibility that UVB-induced pRb depletion could result in increased mutation and thus enhanced tumourigenesis of irradiated melanocytes in skin subjected to a defined pattern of UVB exposure. To extend the analysis of gene expression in cultured melanocytic cells to uncharacterised genes, promoter trap cell clones containing unknown genes 'tagged' by a beta-galactosidase reporter construct were generated from MM96L cells. Altered gene expression in clones treated with a panel of DNA-damaging agents was quantitated by measurement of beta-galactosidase activity. Of the clones containing 'tagged' endogenous promoters induced by UVB, 52% were induced only by UVB and not by other DNA-damaging agents (cisplatin, N-methyl-N-nitro-nitrsoguanidine, fotemustine). One third of the clones were also activated by TPA suggesting that general DNA damage responses involving PKC are activated less frequently than unique pathways of gene activation. Overall, 60% of the 50 clones that responded to the panel of agents were induced by only one of the agents, indicating that a high proportion of genes are induced by agent-specific mechanisms. In the long term, promoter trapping may allow the full repertoire of UVB-inducible genes to be characterised.
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PMID:UVB-specific regulation of gene expression in human melanocytic cells: cell cycle effects and implication in the generation of melanoma. 992 Apr 26

Human MRC5 fibroblasts, at different passages in cultures, were used as an in vitro model to assess variations and/or induction of aging parameters under basal conditions or following sublethal oxidative stress by H2O2. DNA sensitivities to oxidatively-induced breakage, rather than basal levels of damaged DNA, were significantly different between cultures at low and high population doubling level (PDL): old cells maintained most of their DNA integrity even at high concentrations of H2O2, while young cells showed more extensive DNA damage which developed in a dose-dependent fashion. However, young cells pretreated with low doses of H2O2 exhibited increased resistance against further oxidative damage to DNA thus reproducing a senescent-like profile of sensitivity. In turn, DNA from old cultures incubated in a NAD precursor-free medium was more prone to H2O2-induced strand breaks mimicking DNA sensitivity of young cells. The extent of oxidatively-induced DNA damage in MRC5 populations correlated inversely with the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity that almost doubled when cells passed from the young to the senescent stage. In addition, H2O2-pretreatment of young cells induced an increase in GPx expression approaching old cell values and promoted also the premature appearance of neutral beta-galactosidase activity and decreased c-fos expression upon serum stimulation, both of which were assumed to be characteristic traits of the senescent phenotype.
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PMID:Premature induction of aging in sublethally H2O2-treated young MRC5 fibroblasts correlates with increased glutathione peroxidase levels and resistance to DNA breakage. 992 24

beta-galactosidase reporter plasmids containing different viral or minimal promoters are commonly used to correct variable transfection efficiencies in transient transfection experiments. The transcriptional activity of these promoters is thought to be stable under most circumstances. To determine if expression of beta-galactosidase from the commonly used beta-galactosidase plasmids remains stable upon stimulation of the cells with agonists we performed transient transfection experiments. CHO cells stably expressing the rat AT(1A) receptor were transfected with RSVbeta- or CMVbeta- or pTKbeta plasmids alone or together with a reporter construct in which luciferase transcription is driven by the c-fos promoter. Luciferase and/or beta-galactosidase activity was measured from the lysate of cells treated with angiotensin II or serum. We found that agonists increased the transcriptional activity of the different beta-galactosidase plasmids. The effect of angiotensin II and serum was different on the different promoters. Finally, cotransfection of other plasmids also modulated beta-galactosidase activity. These agonist induced variations of beta-galactosidase activity may influence the analysis and interpretation of the results in a systematic manner. Consequently we conclude that the use of a second reporter system to control for transfection efficiency in certain types of experiments may lead to a systematic error and is questionable as a general procedure.
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PMID:The use of a second reporter plasmid as an internal standard to normalize luciferase activity in transient transfection experiments may lead to a systematic error. 1143 70

We have used a transgenic approach to visualize functionally activated neurons and their projections. The transgenic mice contain a tau-lacZ fusion gene regulated by the promoter for c-fos, an immediate early gene that is rapidly induced in neurons after functional stimulation. Constitutive expression of beta-galactosidase (beta-gal), the lacZ product, was low and in accord with previous reports of c-fos expression. However, expression of beta-gal in positive neurons was clearly in cell bodies, axons, and dendrites. Treatment of the mice with kainic acid, a strong inducer of c-fos expression, resulted in high induction of beta-gal. beta-gal was induced in the same defined populations of neurons in the brain as those that express c-fos after kainic acid induction. Furthermore, the pattern of beta-gal expression within the neurons changed over time after kainic acid treatment. Early after kainate treatment, beta-gal was found mainly in cell bodies; at later times, expression extended further along the neuronal processes. This expression pattern is consistent with induction and anterograde transport of the Fos-Tau-beta-gal protein in the neurons. To test whether a functionally activated pathway could be visualized, transgenic mice were deprived of water, which activates nuclei involved in body fluid homeostasis. beta-gal induction was traced in neurons and their processes in the lamina terminalis, in magnocellular neurons of the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei, and in their projections to the posterior pituitary gland. This strategy allowed the mapping of an activated osmoregulatory pathway. This transgenic approach may have general application in the mapping of functionally activated circuitry in the brain.
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PMID:Visualization of functionally activated circuitry in the brain. 1186 19


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