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

A human hepatoma (HepG2) cell line library was screened with an oligonucleotide probe for macrophage stimulating protein (MSP) to clone an MSP cDNA. Deduced sequences of isolated clones were compared with peptide fragment sequences of MSP. MSP9 cDNA encoded most of the known sequence of MSP except for a small segment of the 5' end of the open reading frame. Consequently, a hybrid 2300-base pair cDNA that encoded the complete MSP amino acid sequence was constructed from 2 clones. Culture fluid from COS-7 cells transfected with this full-length MSP cDNA had MSP biological activity, and the expressed MSP was detected by immunoprecipitation with antibody against native MSP. The deduced amino acid sequence of MSP includes 4 kringle domains, which have been found in hepatocyte growth factor and several proteins of the blood coagulation system. Among them, MSP has the highest sequence similarity to hepatocyte growth factor (45% identity). The MSP cDNA hybridized strongly to mRNA from liver, and to a lesser extent to mRNA from kidney and pancreas, suggesting that a cell type in the liver is the source of MSP. Several cloned and sequenced MSP cDNAs had insertions or deletions, suggesting that alternatively spliced MSP mRNAs may occur. This was reflected in Northern blots probed with an MSP cDNA, which showed more than one mRNA species. Furthermore, although the gene coding for MSP is on chromosome 3, the sequence of one of the cDNAs was identical with a unique sequence in chromosome 1, indicating that there may be a family of MSP genes, located on chromosomes 3 and 1.
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PMID:Cloning, sequencing, and expression of human macrophage stimulating protein (MSP, MST1) confirms MSP as a member of the family of kringle proteins and locates the MSP gene on chromosome 3. 839 43

The ligand-binding subunit (gp80) of the human interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) was transiently expressed in COS-7 cells. The metabolically labeled protein was shown to be quantitatively released from the membrane within 20 h. We identified the protein released from the transfected COS-7 cells after purification to homogeneity and N-terminal sequencing as a soluble form of the gp80/IL-6R. Shedding of the gp80 protein was strongly induced by 4 beta-phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate, indicating that the process was regulated by protein kinase C (PKC). This was further corroborated by the finding that co-transfection of a PKC expression plasmid led to enhanced shedding of the gp80 protein. Since shedding of gp80 could not be prevented by treatment of the cells with inhibitors of all known classes of proteases, a novel protease seems to be involved. As a control, an unrelated membrane protein (vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein) was transfected into COS-7 cells and analyzed for shedding. Since the turnover of this protein was not mediated by shedding, we conclude that the release of gp80 from COS-7 cells is a specific process. The shed gp80 protein specifically binds IL-6, and this complex shows biological activity on human hepatoma cells. Human peripheral blood monocytes released a soluble form of the gp80 protein into the culture medium upon PMA treatment indicating that PKC-regulated shedding is the physiological mechanism of generation of the soluble IL-6R.
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PMID:The soluble interleukin-6 receptor is generated by shedding. 843 81

The cDNA for the rat cytosolic branched chain aminotransferase (BCATc) has been cloned. The BCATc cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 410 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 46.0 kDa. By Northern blot analysis, BCATc message of approximately 2.7 kilobases was readily detected in rat brain, but was absent from liver, a rat hepatoma cell line, kidney, and skeletal muscle. When expressed in COS-1 cells, the enzyme is immunologically indistinguishable from the native enzyme found in rat brain cytosol. Comparison of the rat BCATc sequence with available data bases identified the Escherichia coli (and Salmonella typhimurium) branched chain aminotransferase (BCAT) and revealed a Haemophilus influenzae BCAT, a yeast BCAT, which is hypothesized to be a mitochondrial form of the enzyme, and the murine BCATc (protein ECA39). Calculated molecular masses for the complete proteins are 33.9 kDa, 37.9 kDa, 42.9 kDa, and 43.6 kDa, respectively. The rat BCATc sequence was 84% identical with murine BCATc, 45% identical with yeast, 33% identical with H. influenzae, 27% identical with the E. coli and S. typhimurium BCAT, and 22% identical with the evolutionary related D-amino acid aminotransferase (D-AAT) (Tanizawa, K., Asano, S., Masu, Y., Kuramitsu, S., Kagamiyama, H., Tanaka, H., and Soda, K. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 2450-2454). Amino acid sequence alignment of BCATc with D-AAT suggests that the folding pattern of the overlapping mammalian BCATc sequence is similar to that of D-AAT and indicates that orientation of the pyridoxal phosphate cofactor in the active site of the eukaryotic BCAT is the same as in D-AAT. Thus, BCAT are the only eukaryotic aminotransferases to abstract and replace the proton on the re face of the pyridoxal phosphate cofactor. Finally, requirements for recognition of substrate L-amino acid and alpha-carboxylate binding are discussed.
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PMID:Cloning and expression of the mammalian cytosolic branched chain aminotransferase isoenzyme. 853 Apr 59

Translational incorporation of the unusual amino acid selenocysteine in eukaryotes requires a coding region UGA codon (which otherwise serves as a termination signal), a selenocysteine insertion sequence (SECIS) in the 3'-untranslated region of the mRNA, and selenocysteyl-tRNA. The mechanisms involved in SECIS recognition by the eukaryotic translational machinery remain unknown. We report the detection of RNA-binding proteins that specifically recognize the SECIS from human cellular glutathione peroxidase (GPX1) transcripts. RNA gel shift assays showed three retarded bands after incubation with COS-1 whole cell lysate or S-100 cytosol fraction or with extracts from hepatoma cell lines HepG2 and Hep3B. The specificity of the binding was demonstrated by competition by cold unlabeled SECIS RNA and by lack of competition by other RNA species with similar stem-loop secondary structures, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transactivation-response region of HIV mRNA element, and mutated SECIS constructs. UV cross-linking and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed at least two proteins, with estimated molecular masses of 55,000 and 65,000 Da, that bind to the SECIS. Examination of a series of insertion and deletion SECIS mutants indicated recognition of the SECIS primarily through the basal stem region, although the upper stem, loop, and two of three short conserved sequences also appear to contribute to the affinity of the binding.
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PMID:RNA-binding proteins that specifically recognize the selenocysteine insertion sequence of human cellular glutathione peroxidase mRNA. 853 Apr 73

The 11.5-kDa zinc-binding protein (ZnBP, parathymosin-alpha), a potent inactivator of 1-phosphofructokinase, is found only in the cytoplasm of most tissues despite the presence of the putative nuclear localization signal PKRQKT. Recent reports on nuclear uptake of ZnBP could not exclude the participation of unspecific diffusion. We show here that wild-type ZnBP overexpressed in COS cells accumulates exclusively in the nucleus but that ZnBP with a mutated or deleted PKRQKT motif appears both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm. In contrast, fusion proteins between ZnBP and parts of the endoplasmic reticulum protein calreticulin required the intact PKRQKT motif for nuclear import. The motif RKR, located nine amino acids upstream of the PKRQKT motif, is also involved in the active nuclear import of ZnBP. In contrast to rat hepatocytes and kidney cells in situ, which have ZnBP almost exclusively in the cytosol, we find ZnBP in Reuber H35 hepatoma cells and normal rat kidney cells only in the nuclei. Freshly isolated rat hepatocytes translocate their ZnBP to the nucleus in < 24 h during standard cell culture conditions.
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PMID:Variable nuclear cytoplasmic distribution of the 11.5-kDa zinc-binding protein (parathymosin-alpha) and identification of a bipartite nuclear localization signal. 855 49

We studied the role of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) in the synthesis, secretion, and cotranslational degradation of apolipoprotein (apo) B using nonhepatic COS-7 cells that expressed C-terminally truncated forms of apoB (from apoB15 to apoB94) with or without the large subunit of human MTP. With the exception of apoB15 and apoB18, secretion of all of the apoB forms was stimulated by expression of MTP, even though a small amount of short apoB forms (</=apoB48) could be secreted by cells transfected with apoB alone. The majority of the apoB protein, including apoB72 and apoB94, was secreted as high density lipoprotein (1.08-1.17 g/ml). Pulse-chase experiments revealed that the secretion efficiency of apoB94 and apoB72 was low (ranging from 2 to 12%). The failure to secrete buoyant lipoproteins and the low secretion efficiency were associated with insufficient lipid synthesis by the cells. The incorporation of [3H]oleate into cellular triglyceride and phosphatidylcholine by COS cells over a 2-h period was 28 and 38%, respectively, of that by rat hepatoma (McA-RH7777) cells. In addition to the desired full-length apoB, cells transfected with large constructs (>/=apoB60) also produced smaller species with a size of approximately220 kDa (designated B48-like protein). Coexpression with MTP decreased formation of the B48-like proteins by 40-60%. The reduction in B48-like protein formation was specific to MTP expression; coexpression with other proteins (e.g. apoA-I or apoB15) did not alter B48-like protein production. Kinetic analysis suggested that B48-like proteins were produced concurrently (cotranslational) with the full-length apoB94 and apoB72 and were not products of post-translational degradation. Although some of the B48-like proteins might be derived from truncated species (approximately 7 kb in size) of apoB mRNA that were found in cells transfected with large apoB constructs, MTP coexpression did not affect the relative levels of the aberrant 7-kb RNA with respect to the full-length mRNA. However, coexpression of MTP decreased the accessibility of apoB to exogenous trypsin by 2-fold for apoB72 and by 10-fold for apoB94 in isolated microsomes. Thus, the reduced B48-like protein formation by MTP may be a consequence of attenuated cotranslational degradation during apoB translocation across the ER membrane. Formation of B48-like proteins was insensitive to N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal, a cysteine protease inhibitor known to block post-translational degradation of apoB. These results indicate that MTP facilitates the assembly and secretion of lipoproteins containing apoB and also attenuates the formation of B48-like proteins, probably by assisting apoB translocation across the ER membrane.
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PMID:The microsomal triglyceride transfer protein facilitates assembly and secretion of apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins and decreases cotranslational degradation of apolipoprotein B in transfected COS-7 cells. 866 86

The cytoplasmic domain of the receptor for interleukin 10 (IL-10R) contains two box 3 sequence motifs that have been identified in the signal-transducing receptor subunits for IL-6-type cytokines and noted to be required for activating STAT3 and inducing transcription through IL-6-responsive elements. To determine whether the IL-10R has signaling functions similar to IL-6R in cells normally expressing these receptors, leukocytes of the B-, T-, and NK-cell lineages were treated with either cytokine. Both cytokines activated factors that bound to the sis-inducible element and included STAT1 and STAT3. The cell response to IL-10 characteristically differed from that to IL-2/IL-15, IL-4, and interferon gamma. The signaling capabilities of the IL-10R for activating specific STAT proteins and inducing gene transcription were defined by reconstitution of receptor functions in transfected tissue culture cells. COS-1 cells, co-expressing the human IL-10R and individual STAT proteins, confirmed a preference of the IL-10R for STAT3 and STAT1. Unlike many hematopoietin receptors, the IL-10R did not detectably activate STAT5. The IL-10R, together with reporter gene constructs containing different IL-6-responsive gene elements, reconstituted in hepatoma cells an induction of transcription by IL-10 that was comparable to that by IL-6. This regulation could not be appreciably modified by enhanced expression of STAT proteins. The similar actions of IL-10R and IL-6R on the induction of endogenous IL-6-responsive genes were demonstrated in hepatoma cells stably expressing the IL-10R. These receptor functions required the presence of the box 3 motifs, as shown by the analysis of the mouse IL-10R constructs containing progressively truncated cytoplasmic domains. The data demonstrate that the IL-10R, unlike other members of the interferon receptor family, is highly effective in recruiting the signaling pathways of IL-6-type cytokine receptors.
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PMID:Receptors for interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-6-type cytokines use similar signaling mechanisms for inducing transcription through IL-6 response elements. 866 28

The signaling functions of the membrane and soluble form of the mouse IL-11 receptor (mIL-11R) were compared in rat and human hepatoma cells, which have a low endogenous IL-11 response. The expression vectors encoding either the full length or a secretory form of the ligand binding subunit of mIL-11R together with IL-6-responsive reporter gene constructs were transiently transfected into the H-35 and HepG2 cells. An IL-11-specific stimulation of transcription was detected that was qualitatively similar to that mediated by the endogenous IL-6R. HepG2 cells were noted to synthesize constitutively IL-11, resulting in an autocrine stimulation of gene expression. Addition of COS cell-derived soluble mIL-11R to the hepatoma cell cultures prominently enhanced IL-11 regulation of transfected reporter gene constructs and expression of endogenous acute phase plasma protein genes. Similarly, the complex of soluble mIL-11R and IL-11 was capable of mediating an IL-6-type signaling in cells that are naturally deficient in IL-11 response as shown by the activation of STAT1 and STAT3 in mouse embryonal carcinoma cells and human T cells. The results indicate that the IL-11R can serve as a substitute to IL-6R in activating gene expression in target cells that are devoid of the appropriate ligand-binding receptor subunits.
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PMID:Complex of the soluble IL-11 receptor and IL-11 acts as IL-6-type cytokine in hepatic and nonhepatic cells. 868 27

Treatment with glucocorticoids increases the concentration of plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is inversely correlated to the development of atherosclerosis. Previously, we demonstrated that repeated administration of glucocorticoids increases apolipoprotein (apo) A-I gene expression and decreases apoA-II gene expression in rat liver. In the present study, the mechanism of glucocorticoid action on hepatic apoA-I and apoA-II expression was studied. A single injection of rats with dexamethasone increased hepatic apoA-I mRNA levels within 6 h and further increases were observed after 12 h and 24 h. In contrast, liver apoA-II mRNA levels gradually decreased after dexamethasone treatment to less than 25% control levels after 24 h. In rat primary hepatocytes and McARH8994 hepatoma cells, addition of dexamethasone increased apoA-I mRNA levels in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner, whereas apoA-II mRNA levels were unchanged. Simultaneous addition of the glucocorticoid antagonist RU486 prevented the increase in apoA-I mRNA levels after dexamethasone treatment, which suggests that the effects of dexamethasone are mediated through the glucocorticoid receptor. Inhibition of transcription by actinomycin D and nuclear-run-on experiments in McARH8994 cells and primary hepatocytes showed that dexamethasone induced apoA-I, but not apoA-II, gene transcription. Transient-transfection assays in McARH8994 cells with a chloramphenicol acetyl transferase vector driven by the rat-apoA-I-gene promoter demonstrated that the proximal apoA-I promoter could be induced by dexamethasone, and this effect could be abolished by simultaneous treatment with RU486. However, in COS-1 cells, apoA-I promoter transcription was not induced by dexamethasone or cotransfected glucocorticoid receptor. In addition, the induction of apoA-I gene transcription by dexamethasone was blocked by the protein-synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, which suggests the presence of a labile protein involved in apoA-I gene activation by dexamethasone. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that dexamethasone regulates rat apoA-I, but not apoA-II, gene expression through direct action on the hepatocyte. The induction of apoA-I gene transcription by dexamethasone requires the glucocorticoid receptor and a labile cell-specific protein.
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PMID:Transcriptional induction of rat liver apolipoprotein A-I gene expression by glucocorticoids requires the glucocorticoid receptor and a labile cell-specific protein. 870 54

In the presence of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related chemicals, the Ah receptor nuclear translocator (Arnt) forms a heterodimeric complex with the ligand-bound Ah receptor, leading to recognition of dioxin-responsive elements within the enhancer of the CYP1A1 gene and transcription activation by an unknown mechanism. To understand the role of Arnt in transcription activation by the Ah receptor-Arnt heterodimer, we performed a deletion analysis of Arnt to locate domains that are directly involved in transcription activation. We showed that the C-terminal 34 amino acids of Arnt encode a transcription activation domain (TAD) that functions independently of other sequences in the Ah receptor complex when attached to the heterologous Gal4 DNA binding domain. Deletion of the C-terminal acidic-rich 14 amino acids completely abolishes activity. Sequences important in Arnt TAD function were independent of the glutamine-rich region which is an important structural feature in the TAD of other transcription factors. The strength of the Arnt TAD when compared with the strong TAD from the herpes simplex virus VP16 protein was cell-type specific. Both the Arnt and VP16 TAD were equally strong in COS-1 cells, but the Arnt TAD had weak activity in an Arnt-deficient mouse hepatoma cell line and was not needed for restoration of CYP1A1 activation. These results imply that for CYP1A1 activation the Ah receptor provides the dominant activation function for the heterodimer in hepatoma cells. The potential of the Arnt TAD to contribute to activation by the Ah receptor complex is likely determined by availability or activity of cell-specific factors with which the TAD interacts.
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PMID:Identification of a cell-specific transcription activation domain within the human Ah receptor nuclear translocator. 880 43


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