Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P06889 (Mol)
 630,302 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Idiopathic cardiomyopathy is reviewed from molecular standpoint. About a half of all patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy show intra-familial occurrence. In familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, nine gene abnormalities have been discovered in the sarcomere, i.e. the genes of beta cardiac myosin heavy chain, cardiac troponin T, alpha-tropomyosin, cardiac myosin binding protein-C, essential or regulatory myosin light chain, cardac troponin I, alpha-cardiac actin, and titin. Sudden death can occur in patients with familial-type hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with abnormalities of the cardiac troponin T or troponin I gene, even if hypertrophy is not marked. Some cases of familial dilated cardiomyopathy show gene abnormalities for cytoskeletal components such as desmin and laminin A/C. Mutations of the delta-sarcoglycan gene have also been discovered in familial or sporadic dilated cardiomyopathy. Mutations in mitochondrial genes have been observed in both hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy. It is postulated that chronic viral myocarditis may sometimes lead to dilated cardiomyopathy, and hepatitis C virus is also thought to be an etiological factor. Immunological abnormalities have also been reported, such as autoantibodies against myosin, beta-receptors, ADP/ATP carrier proteins.
Int J Mol Med 2003 Jan
PMID:Cardiomyopathy: molecular and immunological aspects (review). 1246 10

Nucleic acids extracted from mummified tissues are valuable materials for the study of ancient human beings. Significant difficulty in extracting nucleic acids from mummified tissues has been reported due to chemical modification and degradation. The goal of this study was to determine a method that is more efficient for DNA and RNA extraction from mummified tissues. Twelve mummy specimens were analyzed with 9 different nucleic acid extraction methods, including guanidium thiocyanate (GTC) and proteinase K/detergent based methods prepared in our laboratory or purchased. Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase DNA and beta-actin RNA were used as markers for the presence of adequate DNA and RNA, respectively, for PCR and RT-PCR amplification. Our results show that 5 M GTC is more efficient of releasing nucleic acids from mummified tissue than proteinase K/detergent, and phenol/chloroform extraction with an additional chloroform step is more efficient than phenol/chloroform along. We were able to isolate DNAs from all 12 specimens and RNAs from 8 of 12 specimens, and the nucleic acids were sufficient for PCR and RT-PCR analysis. We further tested hepatitis viruses including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis G virus, and TT virus DNA, and fail to detect these viruses in all 12 specimens.
Mol Cell Probes 2002 Dec
PMID:Comparison of DNA and RNA extraction methods for mummified tissues. 1249 Jan 46

Ribosomes can be programmed to shift from one reading frame to another during translation. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) uses such a mechanism to produce F protein from the -2/+1 reading frame. We now report that the HCV frameshift signal can mediate the synthesis of the core protein of the zero frame, the F protein of the -2/+1 frame, and a 1.5-kDa protein of the -1/+2 frame. This triple decoding function does not require sequences flanking the frameshift signal and is apparently independent of membranes and the synthesis of the HCV polyprotein. Two consensus -1 frameshift sequences in the HCV type 1 frameshift signal facilitate ribosomal frameshifts into both overlapping reading frames. A sequence which is located immediately downstream of the frameshift signal and has the potential to form a double stem-loop structure can significantly enhance translational frameshifting in the presence of the peptidyl-transferase inhibitor puromycin. Based on these results, a model is proposed to explain the triple decoding activities of the HCV ribosomal frameshift signal.
Mol Cell Biol 2003 Mar
PMID:Triple decoding of hepatitis C virus RNA by programmed translational frameshifting. 1258 70

Several crystal structures of the hepatitis C virus NS5B protein (genotype-1b, strain J4) complexed with metal ions, single-stranded RNA or nucleoside-triphosphates have been determined. These complexes illustrate how conserved amino acid side-chains, together with essential structural features within the active site, control nucleotide binding and likely mediate de-novo initiation. The incoming nucleotide interacts with several basic residues from an extension on the NS5B fingers domain, a beta-hairpin from the NS5B thumb domain and the C-terminal arm. The modular, bi-partite fingers domain carries a long binding groove which guides the template towards the catalytic site. The apo-polymerase structure provides unprecedented insights into potential non-nucleoside inhibitor binding sites located between palm and thumb near motif E, which is unique to RNA polymerases and reverse transcriptases.
J Mol Biol 2003 Feb 28
PMID:Substrate complexes of hepatitis C virus RNA polymerase (HC-J4): structural evidence for nucleotide import and de-novo initiation. 1258 51

Ribavirin used in therapies against hepatitis C virus (HCV) is potentially efficient against other viruses but presents a high cytotoxicity. Several ribavirin triphosphate analogs modified on the ribose moiety were synthesized and tested in vitro on the RNA polymerases of HCV, phage T7, and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. Modified nucleotides with 2'-deoxy, 3'-deoxy, 2',3'-dideoxy, 2',3'-dideoxy-2',3'-dehydro, and 2',3'-epoxy-ribose inhibited the HCV enzyme but not the other two polymerases. They were also analyzed as substrates for nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase, the enzyme responsible for the last step of the cellular activation of antiviral nucleoside analogs. An X-ray structure of NDP kinase complexed with ribavirin triphosphate was determined. It demonstrates that the analog binds as a normal substrate despite the modified base and confirms the crucial role of the 3'-hydroxyl group in the phosphorylation reaction. The 3'-hydroxyl is required for inhibition of the initiation step of RNA synthesis by HCV polymerase, and both sugar hydroxyls must be present to inhibit elongation. The 2'deoxyribavirin is the only derivative efficient in vitro against HCV polymerase and properly activated by NDP kinase.
Mol Pharmacol 2003 Mar
PMID:Structural analysis of the activation of ribavirin analogs by NDP kinase: comparison with other ribavirin targets. 1260 60

A change in the balance between proliferation and apoptosis in the course of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression has been suspected. We wanted to identify related genes whose mRNA levels could provide markers of severity and prognosis after resection. The extent of cell apoptosis, proliferation, and differentiation was measured with a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine 5-triphosphate-biotin nick-end labeling assay, and the Ki-67 index was determined in paired tumor and cirrhotic tissue samples from patients who had undergone HCC resection after diagnosis of hepatitis C-related or alcoholism-related cirrhosis. These patients included two groups with highly versus poorly differentiated tumor cells, and the latter was split into two subgroups of those with versus without early recurrence. The mRNA levels for various apoptosis-related or proliferation-related genes and those for the growth factor/receptor systems were measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in paired tumor and cirrhotic liver samples from every patient, and some of the corresponding proteins were detected by immunohistochemistry. In all instances, protein expression was highly heterogeneous within groups and similar between groups. In contrast, some differences in mRNA level between tumor and cirrhotic tissues were quite informative. Low levels of hepatocyte growth factor and transforming growth factor alpha mRNAs were found concomitantly in highly differentiated tumors, whereas overexpression of mRNAs for the cognate receptors c-met and epidermal growth factor receptor were found in poorly differentiated tumors and primarily in patients with early tumor recurrence. These results argue for growth factor-dependent HCC development and provide novel and combined prognosis markers after HCC surgery.
Mol Carcinog 2003 Mar
PMID:Hepatocyte growth factor, transforming growth factor alpha, and their receptors as combined markers of prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. 1261 35

In the past years, in our laboratory, several cell lines have been generated starting from a human liver (H7). Some of them have been used successfully in studies of the infection with and propagation of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses. Recently, several lines of evidence indicated that the origin of these cell lines was uncertain. Therefore, we now have determined the genetic characteristics of these cell lines in comparison to HepG2 cells received from ATCC and to HepG2 isolates grown at other laboratories. Quadruplex fluorescent short tandem repeat (STR) typing and karyotyping were performed. In addition, some biochemical characteristics of selected clones were studied. Genetically, all H7-derived cell lines were identical to HepG2 cells. However, some liver-specific functions varied between the different sub-cloned lines. The H7-derived cell lines that were generated proved to be sub-cloned lines of HepG2. The problem of cross-contamination during cloning of cell lines appears to be not uncommon. We found that two out of six HepG2 isolates obtained from other laboratories were not derived from the same individual as the original HepG2 cells. Therefore, STR typing should be applied as a rapid and sensitive technique to determine and monitor the origin of cell lines and to safeguard against contamination.
Mol Cell Biochem 2003 Jan
PMID:Identification of HepG2 variant cell lines by short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. 1261 88

To identify potential cellular regulators of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5B), we searched for cellular proteins interacting with NS5B protein by yeast two-hybrid screening of a human hepatocyte cDNA library. We identified a ubiquitin-like protein, hPLIC1 (for human homolog 1 of protein linking intergrin-associated protein and cytoskeleton), which is expressed in the liver (M. F. Kleijnen, A. H. Shih, P. Zhou, S. Kumar, R. E. Soccio, N. L. Kedersha, G. Gill, and P. M. Howley, Mol. Cell 6: 409-419, 2000). In vitro binding assays and in vivo coimmunoprecipitation studies confirmed the interaction between hPLIC1 and NS5B, which occurred through the ubiquitin-associated domain at the C terminus of the hPLIC1 protein. As hPLICs have been shown to physically associate with two E3 ubiquitin protein ligases as well as proteasomes (Kleijnen et al., Mol. Cell 6: 409-419, 2000), we investigated whether the stability and posttranslational modification of NS5B were affected by hPLIC1. A pulse-chase labeling experiment revealed that overexpression of hPLIC1, but not the mutant lacking the NS5B-binding domain, significantly shortened the half-life of NS5B and enhanced the polyubiquitination of NS5B. Furthermore, in Huh7 cells that express an HCV subgenomic replicon, the amounts of both NS5B and the replicon RNA were reduced by overexpression of hPLIC1. Thus, hPLIC1 may be a regulator of HCV RNA replication through interaction with NS5B.
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PMID:Interaction with a ubiquitin-like protein enhances the ubiquitination and degradation of hepatitis C virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. 1263 73

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis, and Egypt has possibly the highest HCV prevalence worldwide. In this article we use a newly developed Bayesian inference framework to estimate the transmission dynamics of HCV in Egypt from sampled viral gene sequences, and to predict the public health impact of the virus. Our results indicate that the effective number of HCV infections in Egypt underwent rapid exponential growth between 1930 and 1955. The timing and speed of this spread provides quantitative genetic evidence that the Egyptian HCV epidemic was initiated and propagated by extensive antischistosomiasis injection campaigns. Although our results show that HCV transmission has since decreased, we conclude that HCV is likely to remain prevalent in Egypt for several decades. Our combined population genetic and epidemiological analysis provides detailed estimates of historical changes in Egyptian HCV prevalence. Because our results are consistent with a demographic scenario specified a priori, they also provide an objective test of inference methods based on the coalescent process.
Mol Biol Evol 2003 Mar
PMID:The epidemiology and iatrogenic transmission of hepatitis C virus in Egypt: a Bayesian coalescent approach. 1264 58

Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes worldwide health problems, efficient and specific therapy is not available so far. In this study, we describe a new genetic approach to the specific HCV therapy that is based upon trans-splicing ribozymes that can selectively replace HCV transcripts with a new RNA that exerts anti-HCV activity. We have developed a group I intron-based ribozyme targeting the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) of HCV with high fidelity and specificity. The ribozyme was designed to trans-splice its 3' tagging sequence comprising a new coding RNA, such as firefly luciferase transcript, that is linked to the 3' part of the HCV 5' UTR encompassing the downstream sequence of the targeted residue in the IRES. This ribozyme was then demonstrated to induce HCV IRES-dependent translation of the firefly luciferase gene selectively in HCV IRES-expressing cells with trans-splicing reaction. Moreover, a specific ribozyme with the coding sequence of the diphtheria toxin A chain in place of the firefly luciferase selectively triggered expression of the cytotoxin in cells expressing HCV IRES and specifically activated apoptosis of the cells. These results suggest that the trans-splicing ribozyme could be a potent anti-HCV agent to deliver therapeutic new gene activities specifically and selectively in HCV-infected cells.
Mol Ther 2003 Mar
PMID:Ribozyme-mediated selective induction of new gene activity in hepatitis C virus internal ribosome entry site-expressing cells by targeted trans-splicing. 1266 34


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