Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019204 (hepatocellular carcinoma)
 71,386 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ochratoxin A has a number of toxic effects in mammals, the most notable of which is nephrotoxicity. It is also immunosuppressive, teratogenic and carcinogenic. The biochemical and molecular aspects of its action were first studied in bacteria. The appearance of 'magic spots' (ppGpp and pppGpp) pointed to inhibition of the charging of transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNA) with amino acids. This suggestion was confirmed by the demonstration that ochratoxin A inhibits bacterial, yeast and liver phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetases. The inhibition is competitive to phenylalanine and is reversed by an excess of this amino acid. As a consequence, protein synthesis is inhibited, as shown with hepatoma cells in culture, with Madin Darby canine kidney cells (which are much more sensitive) and in vivo in mouse liver, kidney and spleen, the inhibition being more effective in the latter two organs. An excess of phenylalanine also prevents inhibition of protein synthesis in cell cultures and in vivo. Analogues of ochratoxin A in which phenylalanine has been replaced by other amino acids have similar inhibitory effects on the respective amino acid-specific aminoacyl tRNA synthetases. 4R-Hydroxyochratoxin A, a metabolite of ochratoxin A, has a similar action, whereas ochratoxin alpha (the dihydroisocoumarin moiety) and ochratoxin B (ochratoxin A without chlorine) have no effect. Ochratoxin A might act on other enzymes that use phenylalanine as a substrate. We showed recently that it inhibits phenylalanine hydroxylase. In addition, the phenylalanine moiety of ochratoxin A is partially hydroxylated to tyrosine by incubation with hepatocytes and in vivo. This competitive action with phenylalanine might explain why this amino acid prevents the immuno-suppressive effect of ochratoxin A and partially prevents its teratogenic and nephrotoxic actions. The effect of ochratoxin A on protein synthesis is followed by an inhibition of RNA synthesis, which might affect proteins with a high turnover. Ochratoxin A also lowers the level of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, a key enzyme in gluconeogenesis; this inhibition is reported to be due to a specific degradation of mRNA that codes for this enzyme. Recently, ochratoxin A was also found to enhance lipid peroxidation both in vitro and in vivo. This inhibition might have an important effect on cell or mitochondrial membranes and be responsible for the effects on mitochondria that have been shown by several authors. Finally, the recent results of Pfohl-Leszkowicz et al. (this volume), who showed the formation of DNA adducts mainly in kidney but also in liver and spleen, explain the DNA single-strand breaks observed previously in mice and rats after acute and chronic treatment.
 ...
PMID:Mechanism of action of ochratoxin A. 182 Mar 32

The interaction of promoters contained in a Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV)-based retroviral vector was studied after infection of FTO-2B rat hepatoma and NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells. Segments of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) promoter-regulatory region, which are known from previous studies to confer responsiveness to hormones, were linked to the structural genes for bovine growth hormone, amino-3'-glycosyl phosphotransferase (neo), and herpes-virus thymidine kinase and inserted into a MoMLV-based retroviral vector. In vectors in which PEPCK was the only internal promoter, it was the major site of gene transcription. This dominant effect was independent of the orientation of the PEPCK promoter relative to the 5' long terminal repeat of the provirus and was noted with as little as -174 base pairs of the 5'-flanking sequence. NIH 3T3 cells, which do not express the endogenous PEPCK gene, transcribed the transduced PEPCK-chimeric genes at the same high levels as was observed in hepatoma cells. When two promoters were present in the provirus, the expression of chimeric structural genes depended on the relative position and orientation of these genes as well as the type of cell infected by the retrovirus. Differential responses of proviral promoters in infected cells were also observed in the presence of hormones. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP increased the expression of genes linked to the PEPCK promoter in FTO-2B and NIH 3T3 cells, whereas glucocorticoids stimulated transcription from both the PEPCK promoter and the long terminal repeat in FTO-2B cells. The effect of these hormones on transcription of proviral promoters depended on their position relative to the 5' long terminal repeat. In contrast, insulin uniformly inhibited transcription from the PEPCK promoter in a position-independent manner but only in hepatoma cells and not in fibroblasts. In clonally isolated FTO-2B cells infected with a retrovirus, the site of proviral integration was also a major factor determining the expression and hormonal regulation from the internal promoters. The data suggest that the hormonal regulation of the expression of genes contained in retroviral vectors depends on the type and position of the regulatory elements present in the provirus and the lineage of the infected cell.
 ...
PMID:Hormonal control of interacting promoters introduced into cells by retroviruses. 202 56

The PCK gene, encoding cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, is specifically expressed in gluconeogenic tissues, liver and kidney. Hence it serves as a model of a class of single-copy genes whose transcription is restricted to a few tissues, rather than a unique tissue. To begin delineating the mechanisms that govern this pattern of expression, cis-regulatory elements of PCK were examined using transient transfection assays in PCK-expressing kidney and hepatoma cell lines. The analyses enabled us to identify a proximal element, between nucleotide (nt) positions -121 and -98, relative to the transcription start point that is sufficient for specific expression in kidney cells, but is just one of the elements required for expression in hepatoma cells. A distal element (between nt -487 and -417), which is essential for hepatoma-specific expression, is not needed in kidney cells. We suggest that the differential regulation of PCK expression in the liver and kidney results from an interplay between different cis-regulatory elements and trans-acting factors.
 ...
PMID:Cis-regulatory elements that confer differential expression upon the rat gene encoding phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in kidney and liver. 205 92

We report that the concentration of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) mRNA increased 5- to 10-fold when H4IIEC3 rat hepatoma cells were cultured at high compared to low density. The magnitude and direction of this response were mRNA specific, as the mRNAs encoding tyrosine aminotransferase and albumin increased approximately 20%, whereas the mRNAs encoding beta-actin and alpha-tubulin decreased 40% and 20%, respectively. Paracrine or autocrine mechanisms were not responsible for the density effect, since conditioned medium or frequent medium changes had only a modest effect on the abundance of PEPCK mRNA. Culture of H4IIEC3 cells at low density or on collagen promoted a flattened morphology and low PEPCK mRNA levels. At high density, cells assumed a cuboidal shape on both plastic and collagen and expressed high PEPCK mRNA levels. Induction of PEPCK mRNA by high density culture did not involve increased intracellular cAMP, since treatment with 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP was synergistic with density. High cell density increased PEPCK run-on transcription approximately 3-fold, while PEPCK mRNA increased more than 6-fold. These observations suggest that high culture density increases PEPCK mRNA by increasing its transcription and possibly stabilizing PEPCK mRNA. The response could be coupled to the regulation of cell shape, as a close relationship between cell shape and gene expression has previously been shown to be important in the development and maintenance of tissues and organs. The PEPCK gene in H4IIEC3 cells could provide a useful model in which to study the poorly understood mechanisms involved in coordinating form and function.
 ...
PMID:Culture at high density increases phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase messenger RNA in H4IIEC3 hepatoma cells. 207 26

Immediate-early genes, whose expression increases independent of de novo protein synthesis during the transition from quiescence to proliferation, are postulated to play important regulatory roles in the growth response. The complement of immediate-early genes expressed must depend on the milieu of preexisting transcription factors in the quiescent cell as well as the type of mitogenic stimulation and, thus, may differ between cell types. We have begun characterizing the immediate-early response in regenerating liver and insulin-stimulated Reuber H-35 hepatoma cells in comparison with previously published results from mitogen-stimulated Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts. The proliferating H-35 and regenerating liver cells maintain their similarity to quiescent liver as demonstrated by their continued production of the liver-specific albumin, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase messenger RNAs (mRNA). Surprisingly, the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene, which undergoes down-regulation in insulin-treated H-35 cells, was cloned by differential screening of a subtraction-enriched regenerating liver cDNA library and is an immediate-early gene in regenerating liver. H-35 cells treated with either insulin or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate express elevated levels of the jun genes, and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate pretreatment fails to abolish the insulin response, indicating that it does not depend on protein kinase C. jun family gene expression in regenerating liver differs from that in mitogen-treated fibroblasts in that the time course of expression of c-jun and junB is prolonged, and junD mRNA levels distinctly increase. Additionally, although c-fos and egr-1 mRNAs are expressed at elevated levels in stimulated liver cells, fos-B, fra-1, and egr-2 are not, which suggests that factors in addition to the serum response factor participate in the regulation of immediate-early gene induction. Interestingly, gene 33, which was cloned from a regenerating liver cDNA library by differential screening and lacks a recognizable serum response element, functions as an immediate-early gene in regenerating liver and in mitogen-treated H-35 and Balb/c 3T3 cells. These results suggest that gene 33 participates in the transition from quiescence to proliferation in many mitogen-treated cells in addition to its previously reported involvement in hormone responses. Overall, the results presented here suggest that the immediate-early response varies considerably between regenerating liver and mitogen-stimulated fibroblasts and could involve multiple, preexisting, tissue-specific, transcription-activating proteins.
 ...
PMID:Immediate-early gene expression differs between regenerating liver, insulin-stimulated H-35 cells, and mitogen-stimulated Balb/c 3T3 cells. Liver-specific induction patterns of gene 33, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and the jun, fos, and egr families. 212 77

To determine the capacity of the chicken c-erbA (cTR-alpha) gene product in regulating expression of known thyroid hormone-responsive genes, both the cTR-alpha and the viral v-erbA genes were expressed in FAO cells, a rat hepatoma cell line defective for functional thyroid hormone receptors. Upon nuclear expression of the cTR-alpha protein the cells become responsive to thyroid hormone, as detected by expression of a number of genes (malic enzyme, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and Na+/K(+)-ATPase) reported to be indirectly induced by the hormone in vivo. In addition, our data show that the c-erbA product directly activates the Moloney murine leukemia virus promoter in a ligand-dependent manner. The data show that the chicken c-erbA-alpha protein can modulate the expression of rat genes under either direct or indirect control by thyroid hormone.
 ...
PMID:The chicken c-erbA alpha-product induces expression of thyroid hormone-responsive genes in 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine receptor-deficient rat hepatoma cells. 215 23

Vanadate, at concentrations between 0.5 and 2 mM, rapidly decreased the basal level of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) (EC 4.1.1.32) mRNA and blocked the dibutyryl cyclic AMP (Bt2cAMP)-induced increase in enzyme mRNA in both FTO-2B and H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. The concentration of vanadate necessary to inhibit the expression of this gene was similar to that required for the vanadate-mediated activation of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase. To determine whether vanadate could inhibit PEPCK gene transcription, a series of chimeric genes containing several deletions in the P-enolypyruvate carboxykinase promoter between -550 and -68 was linked to the structural genes for either amino-3-glycosyl phosphotransferase (neo) or chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and introduced into hepatoma cells using three methods: (a) infection with a Moloney murine leukemia virus-based retrovirus, (b) transfection and stable selection for neo expression, or (c) transient expression of chloroamphenicol acetyltransferase. In FTO-2B hepatoma cells infected with retrovirus, vanadate rapidly (within 1 h) inhibited transcription of the PEPCK-neo gene and blocked induction of gene expression caused by the addition of either Bt2cAMP or dexamethasone to the cells. Vanadate was not a general transcription inhibitor since, it like insulin, stimulated the expression of the c-fos gene. Also, the inhibitory effect of vanadate was rapidly reversible in FTO-2B cells since PEPCK gene expression could be stimulated by Bt2cAMP and dexamethasone after removal of vanadate. A series of 5' deletions in the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase promoter (-550 to +73) was ligated to the structural gene for neo and stably transfected into hepatoma cells. Sequences responsive to vanadate were detected between -109 and -68. This result was confirmed using H4IIE hepatoma cells transiently expressing the PEPCK-CAT gene. The most likely target for vanadate in that region of the P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase promoter is cAMP regulatory element 1 which maps from -91 to -84. A comparison of the inhibitory effects of insulin and vanadate in this system indicated a major difference in the site of action of these two compounds on PEPCK gene transcription.
 ...
PMID:Vanadate inhibits expression of the gene for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) in rat hepatoma cells. 216 40

H4IIE rat hepatoma cells were stably transfected with various phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (PEPCK-CAT) expression vectors. The regulation of the transfected genes was qualitatively similar to that of the endogenous PEPCK gene. CAT expression was increased in response to cAMP and dexamethasone and insulin overrode these effects at concentrations known to be effective in suppressing transcription of the endogenous gene. The effect of insulin was dominant, as it is with the endogenous gene. A series of 5',3', and internal deletions of the PEPCK gene promoter were used to show that this insulin response requires at least two separate elements. One insulin-responsive sequence is located between -468 and -402, relative to the transcription initiation site. The other is between -271 and +69.
 ...
PMID:Regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene expression by insulin. Use of the stable transfection approach to locate an insulin responsive sequence. 217 98

Extinction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK) gene expression in hepatoma x fibroblast hybrids is mediated by a trans-acting genetic locus designated tissue-specific extinguisher 1 (TSE1). To identify PCK gene sequences required for extinction, hepatoma transfectants expressing PCK-thymidine kinase (TK) chimeric genes were fused with TK- fibroblasts and PCK-TK expression in the resulting hybrids was monitored. Expression of a PCK-TK chimera containing PCK sequences between base pairs -548 and +73 was extinguished in four of five hepatoma transfectants tested, although hybrids derived from one transfectant clone failed to extinguish PCK-TK expression. In contrast, crosses between hepatoma transfectants expressing the herpesvirus TK gene from its own promoter and TK- fibroblasts produced TK+ hybrids; extinction of the transfected TK gene was not observed. Thus, rat PCK gene sequences between base pairs -548 and +73 are sufficient for tissue-specific extinction in hybrid cells. Extinction of PCK-TK gene expression in transfectant microcell hybrids mapped specifically to human chromosome 17, the site of human TSE1.
 ...
PMID:Regulation of chimeric phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase genes by the trans-dominant locus TSE1. 234 60

We have previously identified a series of five DNase-I hypersensitive (HS) sites within and around the rat phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene. The far upstream region has now been sequenced, and the tissue-specific HS site has been mapped more precisely at 4,800 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site of the PEPCK gene. DNA fragments that include the HS site were cloned upstream of various promoters to test whether these regions modulate transcription of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity was enhanced when the DNA fragment encompassing the upstream HS site was linked to various lengths of the PEPCK promoter or to the heterologous simian virus 40 promoter. This upstream region in conjunction with the proximal promoter, which may contain a tissue-specific element, conferred maximum activation in H4IIE hepatoma cells, which express the endogenous PEPCK gene. When these experiments were performed in XC cells, in which the gene is not expressed, transcriptional activation by the upstream element was still significant. Evidence of a specific protein-DNA interaction, using DNA mobility shift and DNase I footprinting assays, was obtained only when using H4IIE cell nuclear extracts. Competition assay showed that the interacting factor may be similar or identical to the liver-specific factor HNF3. We suggest that this protein factor binds to DNA within the HS site and interacts with the proximal promoter region to control tissue-specific high-level expression of the PEPCK gene.
 ...
PMID:Interaction of a liver-specific factor with an enhancer 4.8 kilobases upstream of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene. 235 22


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>