Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:5.99.1.2 (topoisomerase)
9,166 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

DNA topoisomerase II alpha is a nuclear enzyme essential for DNA metabolism and cell cycle progression. Previous studies have shown that human tumor cell lines can express more than one topoisomerase II alpha isoform through alternative splicing. A 160-kDa isoform of topoisomerase II alpha has been described in several cell lines selected for resistance to inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase, but its physiological function has not been defined. In the present study, we have identified two major (160 and 140 kDa) and two minor (150 and 145 kDa) isoforms of topoisomerase II alpha in drug-sensitive human leukemic CEM cells, all of which have lost C-terminal regions that produce epitopes recognized by specific antibodies. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and molecular cloning identified four alternatively spliced transcripts of topoisomerase II alpha from CEM cells. Furthermore, nucleotide sequencing indicated that the 160-kDa isoform is encoded by two transcripts derived from alternative splicing at a different C-terminal site and that the other two transcripts likely code for the 150-kDa isoform. Although the full-length topoisomerase II alpha resided in the cell nucleus, all altered isoforms, except the 160 kDa that was located in both cytoplasmic and nuclear extracts in about equal amount, were shown to be present predominantly in the cytosol. In contrast to the observations of other groups, we have not found an association of the topoisomerase II alpha isoforms with drug resistance. Rather, our results suggest that expression of topoisomerase II alpha isoforms is cell type specific or might be associated with the neoplastic phenotype of the cells. Thus, although T-lineage tumor cell lines examined (CEM, Jurkat, and H9) displayed altered topoisomerase II alpha isoforms, normal T cells expressed only a full-length copy of the gene. Together, these results suggest that expression of altered topoisomerase II alpha isoforms is not limited to drug resistance, but might be a feature of neoplastic cells.
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PMID:Heterogeneous expression of DNA topoisomerase II alpha isoforms in tumor cell lines. 926 90

The t(8;13)(p11;q12) is the most common translocation associated with the 8p11 myeloproliferative syndrome and results in an identical mRNA fusion between ZNF198 at 13q12 and FGFR1 at 8p11 in all cases thus far reported. ZNF198 is a widely expressed gene that is predicted to encode a 1377-amino-acid protein with five Zn finger-related motifs known as MYM domains. To determine the genomic DNA structure of ZNF198, we employed bubble PCR from PAC clones with a panel of gene-specific primers. Sequencing of these products revealed that ZNF198 consists of 26 exons with the initiation codon located in exon 4. The t(8;13) results in a consistent mRNA fusion of ZNF198 exon 17 to FGFR1 exon 9. Notable features of the structure of ZNF198 include three noncanonical GC donor splice sites and the presence of an alternatively spliced intron within exon 4. Amplification of genomic DNA from six t(8;13) patients with primers to ZNF198 exon 17 and FGFR1 exon 9 yielded patient-specific products ranging in size from 500 bp to 2.5 kb, indicating that the positions of the breakpoints in the t(8;13) are tightly clustered. The positions of the six t(8;13) breakpoints were determined and found to be distributed across ZNF198 intron 17 and FGFR1 intron 8 with no apparent subclustering. No consistent sequence motifs, repeats, or topoisomerase II cleavage sites were found at or near the breakpoints. It remains unclear why the t(8;13) translocation breakpoints occur within such small genomic regions, and it is possible that strict ZNF198-FGFR1 coding requirements restrict the positions of the breakpoints.
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PMID:The genomic structure of ZNF198 and location of breakpoints in the t(8;13) myeloproliferative syndrome. 988 6

Eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase III was first identified by studying the hyper-recombination and slow growth phenotypes of yeast mutants. Topoisomerase III interacts with DNA helicase SGS1 and the two proteins are involved in DNA recombination, cellular aging and maintenance of genome stability. A human homolog of topoisomerase III has previously been identified. Here we report the identification of cDNAs and the determination of gene structure for a second human topoisomerase III gene. This novel gene expresses three alternatively spliced transcripts, which encode gene products different in the putative DNA-binding C-termini. The largest gene product of the novel topoisomerase III was expressed and shown to interact with SGS1 protein and partially rescue the slow growth defect of a yeast topoisomerase III mutant. The presence of more than one human topoisomerase III is reminiscent of mammalian topoisomerase II, which has two genetically distinct isoforms with different expression patterns and probably different functions in mammalian cells.
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PMID:A new human topoisomerase III that interacts with SGS1 protein. 992 31

Fas antigen, a cell surface molecule, directly mediates apoptosis, and is expressed on a limited number of human tissues. Blood or bone marrow samples from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and mixed leukemia were examined qualitatively and quantitatively for the expression of Fas as well as its function using flow cytometry and the annexin V staining method. Fas expression was flow cytometrically unimodal with heterogeneous density, and showed quantitatively characteristic features in different diseases: undetectable in mixed leukemia, faint to weak in ALL, low in M0 and M1, and variable (low to strong) in M2, M3, M4, and M5. Both the full-length and the alternatively spliced truncated mRNAs were detected constitutively even in acute leukemia cells with qualitatively negative and quantitatively faint Fas, and the band density of the former transcripts detected by RT-PCR was correlated with the level of expression of the Fas protein. Short-term culturing of freshly isolated leukemia cells gave rise to an increase of Fas density. In acute leukemia cells, the apoptosis induced by anti-Fas MoAb was compared with that induced by etoposide (a topoisomerase II inhibitor). We found that fresh ALL and AML cells were resistant to the anti-Fas IgM antibody, while etoposide could trigger apoptosis in all types of leukemia tested. The combined effects of the anti-Fas MoAb and etoposide were not always synergistic. These results suggest that Fas is a biological marker for characterizing ALL and AML cells, and provide insight into creating a new therapeutic modality using cytotoxic drugs and cytokines together with modulation of Fas.
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PMID:Qualitative and quantitative characterization of Fas (CD95) expression and its role in primary human acute leukemia cells. 1078 66

Screening of chicken cDNA libraries has identified four distinct forms of topoisomerase IIalpha and beta cDNAs. Two of these, designated topo IIalpha-1 and topo IIbeta-1, were previously deposited in the database. The other two, topo IIalpha-2 and topo IIbeta-2, are novel variants that appear to be conserved between chicken and human. Topo IIalpha-2 encodes a protein with an additional 35 amino acids inserted after K321 of the chicken topo IIalpha-1 protein sequence. Topo IIbeta-2 encodes a protein missing 86 amino acids following V27 in the topo IIbeta-1 protein sequence. We have also detected several alternatively spliced forms of human topo IIalpha. One of these, topo IIalpha-3, appears to correspond to chicken topo IIalpha-2. The other two are novel. The existence of these alternatively spliced forms in mature cytoplasmic RNA was confirmed by RT-PCR in several cell lines. Interestingly, these alternatively spliced forms carry sites for post-translational modification, suggesting that they may be subject to differential regulation from the canonical forms. These results suggest that cells express a more complex repertoire of topo II isoforms than previously thought, raising the possibility that different forms of topo II may fulfil specialized functions in chromosome dynamics.
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PMID:Two differentially spliced forms of topoisomerase IIalpha and beta mRNAs are conserved between birds and humans. 1111 Oct 56

In order to determine the potential of alternative splicing as a means of targeting the expression of therapeutic genes to tumor cells in vivo, a series of episomal plasmid-based "splice-activated gene expression" (pSAGE) vectors was generated, which contain minigene cassettes composed of various combinations of the three alternatively spliced exons present in the differentially expressed adhesion protein CD44R1 (v8, v9, and v10) with or without their corresponding intronic sequences, positioned in-frame between the CD44 leader sequence and a "leaderless" human liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase (ALP) cDNA. Because both the v8-v9 and v9-v10 introns contain multiple in-frame stop codons, the expression and enzymatic activity of ALP are dependent upon the accurate removal of intronic sequences from the pre-mRNA transcripts encoded by these constructs. The various pSAGE constructs were introduced into CD44H-positive (T24) and CD44R1-positive (PC3) target cells by electroporation and transfectants selected in hygromycin B. ALP expression was determined by staining with the ALP substrate, BCIP/INT, and the transfected cells tested for their sensitivity to the inactive prodrug, etoposide phosphate. ALP-mediated dephosphorylation of etoposide phosphate generates the potent topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide. The data obtained indicate that whereas the v8-v9 intron is spliced in both CD44H- and CD44R1-positive cells, the v9-v10 intron is efficiently and accurately removed only in CD44R1-positive cells. Furthermore, only CD44R1-positive cells were sensitized to etoposide phosphate when transfected with the v9-v10.ALP construct. These data emphasize the potential usefulness of alternative splicing as a novel means of targeting gene expression to tumor cells in vivo.
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PMID:Alternative splicing as a novel of means of regulating the expression of therapeutic genes. 1185 30