Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0024312 (lymphopenia)
 4,859 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Metallothioneins that bind copper and zinc have an Mr of 6500 daltons, consist of a single polypeptide chain of 61 amino acids, 25-30 percent of whose residues are cysteine, have a metal-binding capacity of between 5 and 7 g atoms/mol, and contain no disulfide bonds or aromatic amino acids. Zincthionein has been postulated to participate in the transport and storage of zinc, which is involved in more than 235 metalloenzymes, including thymidine kinase, RNA polymerase, and ribonuclease, which in turn play crucial roles in the replication and transcription of DNA during cell division. In addition, trace elements including zinc modulate immune response and function. Conversely, zinc deficiency state causes, for example, thymic atrophy and lymphopenia and modifies antibody-mediated responses to both T-cell-dependent and T-cell-independent antigens. The concentrations of copper, zinc, and metallothionein and the copper/zinc ratio are modified in a number of malignancies. For example, the levels of metallothionein in normal and in malignant human livers are 471 and 75 micrograms/g, respectively. In addition, the copper/zinc ratio is significantly increased in human pancreatic cancer from 1.40 to 2.70. Furthermore, studies involving 64Cu in tumor-bearing mice showed that the distribution of 64Cu was altered and that all tumors contained a relatively high level of 64Cu. Moreover, the activity of superoxide dismutase to remove free oxygen radicals is lower in malignant tissues. Finally, the results of clinical studies suggest that the monitoring of the serum copper/zinc ratio may be a valuable tool, not only in determining the extent of malignancies, but also in predicting the efficacy of treatments.
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PMID:The status of zinc, copper, and metallothionein in cancer patients. 328 43

Rat immune-associated nucleotide 4-like 1 (Ian4l1) encodes an antiapoptotic protein, which is essential for T-cell survival. A frameshift mutation at codon 85 in the biobreeding diabetes-prone (BBDP) rat is the cause of their life-long T-cell lymphopenia, which includes lack of regulatory T-cells--a prerequisite for spontaneous autoimmune destruction of their beta-cells. This study reports the identification of seven Ian4l1 mRNA variants. The genomic organization of the exons indicates three promoter regions. The promoter of two of the mRNAs was characterized. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and ribonuclease protection assay (RPA) demonstrated multiple transcription start sites (TSS) with two major sites. The localization of the core promoter and regulatory regions was identified by a luciferase assay of the 2.7-kb upstream of the TSS. The regulatory regions functioned similarly in two cell lines--one expressing Ian4l1 and one not expressing it. This indicates that the cell-specific expression is controlled by regions outside the 2.7-kb region, or by the chromatin structure or chromatin methylation level. The core promoter is TATA-less and initiator element-less, and contains putative binding sites for YY1, Sp1, and MED-1, the latter being an element believed to be important for transcription from TATA-less promoters.
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PMID:The antiapoptotic gene Ian4l1 in the rat: genomic organization and promoter characterization. 1547 97