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Query: UNIPROT:P01275 (glucagon)
 26,492 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The glucagon gene is expressed specifically in the alpha cells of the pancreatic islets. We show here that 300 base pairs of the 5'-flanking region of the rat glucagon gene, linked to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter plasmid transfected into islet cell lines of different hormone-producing phenotypes, directs transcription only in glucagon-producing islet cells. Deletional and linker-scanning mutations and DNase I footprinting assays identify three transcriptional control elements within these 300 base pairs. Two of these elements (G2 and G3) independently display enhancerlike functions on both homologous and heterologous promoters in glucagon (alpha) cells, but only on heterologous promoters in insulin- (beta) and somatostatin- (delta) expressing cells, and not in non-islet cells. The proximal promoter element (G1), characterized by low intrinsic transcriptional activity, is critical for specific expression of the glucagon gene in alpha cells. However, nuclear extracts prepared from all three islet cell phenotypes give similar protection to the three control elements of the glucagon 5'-flanking sequence. We conclude that these phenotypically distinct islet cell lines all contain regulatory DNA-binding proteins interacting with the three control elements of the glucagon gene, but that factors interacting with the glucagon promoter result in transcriptional activation only in alpha cells, to restrict glucagon gene expression to these cells. These observations suggest that interactions of nuclear proteins with cis-control elements are involved in the programmed developmental expression of the islet polypeptide hormone genes.
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PMID:Alpha-cell-specific expression of the glucagon gene is conferred to the glucagon promoter element by the interactions of DNA-binding proteins. 306 72

Glucagon, a peptide hormone which regulates hepatic carbohydrate metabolism, is processed from a larger precursor, proglucagon. The gene encoding proglucagon is expressed at high levels in the A cells of the pancreatic islets and the L cells of the intestine, indicating that specific factors present in these two phenotypically distinct cells direct cell-specific expression. To characterize the factors that mediate glucagon gene transcription, we analyzed the 5'-flanking region of the rat glucagon gene for the existence of cis-acting sequences that promote glucagon gene transcription. A series of fusion genes containing sequentially shortened 5'-flanking sequences of the rat glucagon gene were constructed and fused to the coding sequence of the reporter enzyme chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. Analyses of the transcription of these fusion genes after their transfection into choriocarcinoma cells, fibroblasts, and islet cell lines of different phenotypes indicate that cis-acting DNA elements promote glucagon gene transcription only in islet cell lines. Transcriptional activity was much higher in glucagon compared to insulin-producing islet cell lines with fusion genes containing 249 or more base pairs of glucagon 5'-flanking sequence. Deletion of DNA sequences upstream of -168 abolished the preferential expression in glucagon-producing cell lines, however glucagon-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion genes containing 168 base pairs or more of 5'-flanking sequence remained transcriptionally active, but only in islet cell lines. Fusion genes containing 115 base pairs of glucagon gene 5'-flanking sequences were transcriptionally inactive. These studies indicate that cis-acting DNA sequences present in the 5'-flanking region of the rat glucagon gene mediate islet cell-specific gene transcription.
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PMID:Glucagon gene 5'-flanking sequences promote islet cell-specific gene transcription. 331 2

Studies using pancreas perfusion techniques point to a physiological inhibition of glucagon release by insulin which should be mediated by A cell-residing insulin receptors. In this study, we have characterized the insulin receptors expressed in a hamster glucagonoma A cell line (INR1G9 cells) which is an accepted tool for A cell studies. In receptor binding assays 125I-insulin was displaced with a Kd of 3 nmol/l. Binding was also dependent upon time, temperature and cell number. Insulin concentration-dependently inhibited glucagon secretion (1 mumol: 59%, 100 nmol/l: 71%, 10 nmol/l: 86% of controls). In transient transfection experiments insulin inhibited proglucagon gene transcription (controls: 100%, 100 nmol/l: 54%, 10 nmol/l: 57%, 1 nmol/l: 72%, 100 pmol/l: 96%). Treatment of INR1G9 cells with insulin for 20 h induced a strong downregulation of insulin receptors (controls: 100%, 100 nmol/l: 30%, 10 nmol/l: 70%, 1 nmol/l: 73%, 100 pmol/l: 75%) and of insulin receptor mRNA levels (controls: 100%, 100 nmol/l: 42%, 10 nmol/l: 82%, 1 nmol/l: 84%, 100 pmol/l: 90%). When INR1G9 cells were transiently transfected with a hybrid gene containing the promotor/enhancer region of the human insulin receptor promotor (1,462 bp) linked to the transcriptional reporter gene chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and were treated with insulin it was demonstrated that insulin did not affect the insulin receptor gene transcription. In conclusion, INR1G9 cells express specific receptors for insulin. Insulin inhibits glucagon secretion and proglucagon gene expression via an inhibition of proglucagon gene transcription. Ligand-induced downregulation of the insulin receptor is not mediated by changes of insulin receptor gene transcription and is most likely regulated by posttranscriptional mechanisms, e.g. destabilization of insulin receptor mRNA.
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PMID:Molecular and functional characterization of insulin receptors present on hamster glucagonoma cells. 752 Apr 1

Transcription of the gene for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy-kinase (PEPCK) is stimulated by thyroid hormone (T3), glucagon (via cyclic AMP) and glucocorticoids. A region of the PEPCK promoter between -332 and -308 mediates the induction of transcription by T3. To characterize this region further, mutations were introduced into this region of the PEPCK promoter and the modified promoters ligated to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. Using these PEPCK-CAT vectors in transient transfections in HepG2 cells, it was found that T3 stimulates PEPCK transcription through two direct repeats of the AGGTCA motif located between nucleotides -330 and -319 [PEPCK-thyroid-hormone-responsive element (TRE)]. The beta form of the T3 receptor (TR beta) bound PEPCK-TRE as a homodimer but bound far more efficiently as a heterodimeric complex with the retinoid X receptor (RXR). An additional region called P3(I) (-250 to -234) is required for T3 responsiveness and binds members of the CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family. P3(I) contains an AGGTCA-like motif that can bind the TR beta-RXR heterodimer. Mutagenesis of this motif abolished TR beta-RXR binding without reducing T3 induction. Mutation of the C/EBP-binding site or insertion of a cyclic AMP-responsive-binding-protein site at P3(I) eliminated the T3 response. Our results indicate that T3 stimulation of PEPCK transcription is mediated by TR beta bound to PEPCK-TRE and requires C/EBP to be bound at the P3(I) site.
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PMID:Regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription by thyroid hormone involves two distinct binding sites in the promoter. 763 10

A number of cell and tissue-specific differences have been described in studies of the regulation of glucagon gene expression. DNA sequences important for islet cell-specific transcription are not sufficient for expression of the glucagon gene in the intestine, and the posttranslational processing of proglucagon results in the liberation of different peptides in pancreas and intestine. We have studied the control of glucagon gene expression in STC-1 cells, a mouse intestinal neuroendocrine cell line. STC-1 cells are plurihormonal and contain glucagon, somatostatin, amylin, and cholecystokinin, but not insulin mRNA transcripts. Glucagon gene expression is regulated by a cAMP-dependent pathway in STC-1 cells, with an increase in glucagon mRNA transcripts detected 2 h after forskolin stimulation. The levels of glucagon mRNA transcripts remained elevated for 36-48 h after forskolin stimulation, but cycloheximide inhibited the forskolin induction of glucagon gene expression. Although sequences up-stream of -1300 are necessary for intestine-specific glucagon gene transcription in transgenic mice, glucagon-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) plasmids containing less than 1300 basepairs of 5'-flanking sequences were transcriptionally active in STC-1 cells. The transcriptional properties of specific DNA elements important for glucagon gene transcription in islet cells differed in STC-1 cells. Deletion of the islet cell-specific enhancer G3 element resulted in an increase in the transcriptional activity of transfected glucagon-CAT plasmids, suggesting that G3 may function as a negative element in STC-1 cells. Deletion of the cAMP response element sequence from -291 to -298 did not eliminate the forskolin induction of glucagon-CAT activity in STC-1 cells, and forskolin responsiveness was maintained with deletions containing only 60 basepairs of rat glucagon gene 5'-flanking sequences. The results of these experiments define novel functional properties for previously characterized domains within the rat glucagon gene 5'-flanking region, suggesting that mouse STC-1 cells may be a useful cell line for studies of the molecular control of glucagon gene expression.
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PMID:Multiple cis-acting domains mediate basal and adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-dependent glucagon gene transcription in a mouse neuroendocrine cell line. 767 66

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in hepatic gluconeogenesis. Glucagon (via the second messenger cAMP) and glucocorticoids stimulate the transcription of the PEPCK gene, whereas insulin and phorbol esters inhibit, in a dominant fashion, these effects. Wortmannin, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, prevents the stimulation of glycogen synthesis, glucose transport, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and p70/p85 ribosomal S6 protein kinase by insulin. We now show that wortmannin can also block the inhibition of glucocorticoid- and cAMP-stimulated PEPCK gene expression by insulin. PEPCK-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion gene experiments demonstrate that wortmannin blocks an activity that is required for insulin signaling to elements within the PEPCK promoter. Phorbol esters mimic the action of insulin on the regulation of PEPCK gene expression, but wortmannin does not block the effect of these agents. Thus, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is required for the regulation of PEPCK gene expression by insulin, but not by phorbol esters. The immunosuppressant rapamycin, a potent inhibitor of insulin or phorbol ester stimulation of p70/p85 ribosomal S6 protein kinase, has no significant effect on the regulation of PEPCK gene expression by insulin or phorbol esters. Thus, p70/p85 ribosomal S6 protein kinase does not have a role in signaling to the PEPCK promoter by insulin or phorbol esters.
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PMID:Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, but not p70/p85 ribosomal S6 protein kinase, is required for the regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene expression by insulin. Dissociation of signaling pathways for insulin and phorbol ester regulation of PEPCK gene expression. 779 43

The functional role of the different sites binding transcriptional factors on the tissue-specific, glucose-responsive promoter of the L type pyruvate kinase gene (L-PK) has been investigated in transgenic mice. These sites are able to bind, from 3' to 5', HNF1, NF1, HNF4, and MLTF/USF, respectively. We have compared the level of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter transgene expression when driven by a L-PK promoter fragment of either -96 base pairs (bp) (containing only the HNF1 binding site) or -150 bp (lacking the MLTF/USF binding site) or driven by a -183-bp L-PK promoter fragment with or without the NF1 binding site. Our results demonstrate that: 1) HNF1 alone is not sufficient to promote an efficient L-PK gene transcription in vivo; 2) with only binding sites for HNF1, NF1, and HNF4, though the tissue-specific pattern of expression is respected, the level of the gene transcription is low and the hormonal control is lost; 3) the MLTF/USF binding site is the target of the hormonal control, required for both positive response to carbohydrates and negative response to glucagon; 4) the role of NF1 in the promoter activity could be to negatively modulate the L-PK gene expression in the different tissues, without interfering with the glucose and hormone responsiveness.
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PMID:Exploration of a liver-specific, glucose/insulin-responsive promoter in transgenic mice. 831 45

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) catalyses the rate limiting step in hepatic and renal gluconeogenesis. Glucagon (acting via cyclic AMP (cAMP)) and glucocorticoids stimulate PEPCK gene transcription, whereas insulin has the opposite effect. Since these are the major regulatory hormones controlling glucose homeostasis, and because increased hepatic glucose production is one of the characteristics of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), investigators have speculated that the regulation of PEPCK gene expression may be defective in patients with NIDDM. To begin to investigate this possibility we have isolated and sequenced the human PEPCK gene promoter. In addition, we have constructed and analyzed a human PEPCK promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) fusion gene in an effort to correlate differences between the rat and human promoter sequences and the hormonal regulation of transcription.
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PMID:Structural and functional analysis of the human phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene promoter. 854 15

In vivo, feeding stimulates and starvation inhibits transcription of the malic enzyme gene. In chick-embryo hepatocytes in culture, triiodothyronine (T3) stimulates and glucagon inhibits transcription of this gene. As a first step in the characterization of the involved regulatory mechanisms, fragments of genomic DNA spanning the structural and 5'-flanking regions of the chicken malic enzyme gene were cloned. The coding region of the gene is organized into 14 exons and 13 introns and is greater than 106 kb in length. The size of the gene, the number and lengths of the exons, and positions at which introns are inserted into the coding regions are virtually identical in the chicken and rat genes. When transiently transfected into chick-embryo hepatocytes, 5800 bp of 5'-flanking DNA conferred T3 responsiveness to a linked chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. Using deletion and site-specific mutations of 5'-flanking DNA, we identified a complex T3 response unit that contains one major T3 response element (T3RE) and several minor ones. The major element contains two degenerate copies of the hexamer, RGGWMA, separated by 4 bp and was a strong repressor in the absence of ligand. Endogenous levels of T3 receptor are sufficient to allow the T3 response elements in the upstream region of the malic enzyme gene to confer responsiveness to T3, suggesting that they are physiologically relevant.
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PMID:The chicken malic enzyme gene: structural organization and identification of triiodothyronine response elements in the 5'-flanking DNA. 890 Apr 6

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is a rate-controlling enzyme in hepatic gluconeogenesis, and it therefore plays a central role in glucose homeostasis. The rate of transcription of the PEPCK gene is increased by glucagon (via cAMP) and glucocorticoids and is inhibited by insulin. Under certain circumstances glucose also decreases PEPCK gene expression, but the mechanism of this effect is poorly understood. The glucose-mediated stimulation of a number of glycolytic and lipogenic genes requires the expression of glucokinase (GK) and increased glucose metabolism. HL1C rat hepatoma cells are a stably transfected line of H4IIE rat hepatoma cells that express a PEPCK promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion gene that is regulated in the same manner as the endogenous PEPCK gene. These cells do not express GK and do not normally exhibit a response of either the endogenous PEPCK gene, or of the trans-gene, to glucose. A recombinant adenovirus that directs the expression of glucokinase (AdCMV-GK) was used to increase glucose metabolism in HL1C cells to test whether increased glucose flux is also required for the repression of PEPCK gene expression. In AdCMV-GK-treated cells glucose strongly inhibits hormone-activated transcription of the endogenous PEPCK gene and of the expressed fusion gene. The glucose effect on PEPCK gene promoter activity is blocked by 5 mM mannoheptulose, a specific inhibitor of GK activity. The glucose analog, 2-deoxyglucose mimics the glucose response, but this effect does not require GK expression. 3-O-methylglucose is ineffective. Glucose exerts its effect on the PEPCK gene within 4 h, at physiologic concentrations, and with an EC50 of 6.5 mM, which approximates the Km of glucokinase. The effects of glucose and insulin on PEPCK gene expression are additive, but only at suboptimal concentrations of both agents. The results of these studies demonstrate that, by inhibiting PEPCK gene transcription, glucose participates in a feedback control loop that governs its production from gluconeogenesis.
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PMID:The repression of hormone-activated PEPCK gene expression by glucose is insulin-independent but requires glucose metabolism. 972 36


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