Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P51532 (transcriptional activator)
 6,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Insulin-producing cells and fibroblasts were fused to produce hybrid lines. In hybrids derived from both hamster and rat insulinoma cells, no insulin mRNA could be detected in any of seven lines examined by Northern (RNA) analysis despite the presence in each line of the insulin genes of both parental cells. Hybrid cells were transfected with recombinant chloramphenicol acetyltransferase plasmids containing defined segments of the rat insulin I gene 5' flank. We observed no transcriptional activity of the intact insulin enhancer or of IEB2, a critical cis-acting element of the insulin enhancer. IEB2 has previously been shown to interact in vitro with IEF1, a DNA-binding activity observed selectively in insulin-producing cells. Hybrid cells showed no detectable IEF1 activity. Furthermore, the insulin enhancer was unable to reduce transcription directed by the Moloney sarcoma virus enhancer in a double-enhancer construct. Thus, extinction of insulin gene expression in the hybrids apparently does not operate through a direct action of repressors on the insulin enhancer; rather, extinction is accompanied by, and may be caused by, reduced DNA-binding activity of the putative transcriptional activator IEF1.
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PMID:Extinction of insulin gene expression in hybrids between beta cells and fibroblasts is accompanied by loss of the putative beta-cell-specific transcription factor IEF1. 199 8

Gastrin gene expression was observed in two permanent rat insulinoma (RIN) cell lines derived from a rat insulinoma. Gastrin expression was selective; highest expression was seen in a cell line which did not express other islet cell hormones. Gastrin mRNA transcription initiated from the same promoter as antral gastrin mRNA. DNA transfection studies with a gastrin chloramphenicol acetyltransferase chimeric gene showed higher expression in gastrin-expressing RIN cells than non-gastrin-expressing islet cells. This implies that gastrin-expressing RIN cells selectively express a trans-acting transcriptional activator which binds to cis-acting regulatory sequences within the 5'-flanking DNA sequence and first exon of the gastrin gene. The gastrin peptide precursor synthesized in these RIN cell lines is subject to the same repertoire of posttranslational modifications within the cell's secretory apparatus (endoproteolytic cleavage, tyrosine sulfation, and C-terminal amidation) as seen in antral G cells. Gastrin mRNA levels in these RIN cells were selectively increased by increasing the extracellular calcium concentration. Membrane depolarization also stimulated gastrin mRNA levels, probably through activation of voltage-sensitive calcium channels. Thus, these gastrin-expressing RIN cell lines provide permanent cell lines useful in analyzing the cellular regulation of gastrin gene expression.
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PMID:Gastrin gene expression and regulation in rat islet cell lines. 305 95

Inflammatory cytokines may participate in the destruction of pancreatic islets during the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and the cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) strongly inhibits insulin secretion from rat pancreatic islets by a process which involves induction of expression of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase and the overproduction of nitric oxide. The signaling events between IL-1 receptor occupancy and induction of nitric oxide synthase in rat islets involve activation of the transcriptional activator NFkappa B. Because sphingomyelin hydrolysis has been implicated as a signaling process both in NFkappa B activation and in IL-1 action in some cells, we have examined the potential involvement of sphingomyelin hydrolysis in the induction of islet nitric oxide overproduction by IL-1. Rat islet sphingomyelin pools were radiolabeled with [3H]choline, and sphingomyelin was then isolated by normal phase HPLC. Electrospray ionization-mass spectrometric analysis revealed islet sphingomyelin consists of at least 4 distinct molecular species, and the most abundant of them contained sphingosine as the long chain base and a residue of palmitic acid as the fatty acid substituent. Molecular species containing residues of stearic acid and arachidic acid were also observed. Neither interleukin-1 nor tumor necrosis factor-alpha was found to induce hydrolysis of islet sphingomyelin species, and neither an exogenous, cell-permeant ceramide species (N-acetyl-D-sphingosine) nor exogenous sphingomyelinase mimicked or potentiated the effect of IL-1 to increase rat islet nitric oxide generation, as reflected by nitrite production. Similar findings were obtained with RINm5F insulinoma cells and with mouse pancreatic islets. These findings provide the first information on the molecular species of sphingomyelin in pancreatic islets and suggest that sphingomyelin hydrolysis is not involved in the signaling pathway whereby IL-1 induces the overproduction of nitric oxide by pancreatic islets.
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PMID:Characterization of the sphingomyelin content of isolated pancreatic islets. Evaluation of the role of sphingomyelin hydrolysis in the action of interleukin-1 to induce islet overproduction of nitric oxide. 860 64

The INS-r3-GK27 insulinoma cells are endowed with artificially inducible glucokinase under control of the reverse tetracycline-dependent transcriptional activator. Moderate induction of glucokinase has been shown to result in proportionate increases in glycolytic flux and in potentiation of glucose effects on insulin secretion and pyruvate kinase gene expression. In cells with 20-fold overexpression of glucokinase, however, glucose activation of secretion and gene expression was severely impaired. Measurements of the glycolytic flux in cells with 7- and 21-fold increases in glucokinase activity and determination of the flux control coefficient of this enzyme showed that control of glycolysis at the glucokinase step was lost in the cells at the higher level of overexpression. Challenging the cells with glucose above 6 mM resulted in massive accumulation of glucose 6-phosphate and caused a rapid and sustained depletion of cellular ATP, in contrast with the glucose-induced rise in ATP in cells with wild-type glucokinase levels. Loss of cell viability ensued upon prolonged culture in high glucose. In summary, in insulinoma beta cells strongly overexpressing glucokinase, an imbalance between glucose phosphorylation and turnover of glucose 6-phosphate resulted in acute glucose intolerance due to trapping of cellular orthophosphate in dead-end product and severe paralysis of energy metabolism.
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PMID:Acute glucose intolerance in insulinoma cells with unbalanced overexpression of glucokinase. 932 99

Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) 3 is a monogenic form of diabetes caused by mutations in the transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-1 alpha. We investigated the involvement of apoptotic events in INS-1 insulinoma cells overexpressing wild-type HNF-1 alpha (WT-HNF-1 alpha) or a dominant-negative mutant (DN-HNF-1 alpha) under control of a doxycycline-dependent transcriptional activator. Forty-eight h after induction of DN-HNF-1 alpha, INS-1 cells activated caspase-3 and underwent apoptotic cell death, while cells overexpressing WT-HNF-1 alpha remained viable. Mitochondrial cytochrome c release and activation of caspase-9 accompanied DN-HNF-1 alpha-induced apoptosis, suggesting the involvement of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Activation of caspases was preceded by mitochondrial hyperpolarization and decreased expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL. Transient overexpression of Bcl-xL was sufficient to rescue INS-1 cells from DN-HNF-1 alpha-induced apoptosis. Both WT- and DN-HNF-1 alpha-expressing cells demonstrated similar increases in apoptosis when cultured at high glucose (25 mm). In contrast, induction of DN-HNF-1 alpha highly sensitized cells to ceramide toxicity. In cells cultured at low glucose, DN-HNF-1 alpha induction also caused up-regulation of the cell cycle inhibitor p27(KIP1). Therefore, our data indicate that increased sensitivity to the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and decreased cell proliferation may account for the progressive loss of beta-cell function seen in MODY 3 subjects.
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PMID:Dominant-negative suppression of HNF-1 alpha results in mitochondrial dysfunction, INS-1 cell apoptosis, and increased sensitivity to ceramide-, but not to high glucose-induced cell death. 1172 85

The LIM homeodomain protein Islet-1 (Isl1), one of the earliest markers for motor neuron differentiation, is also expressed in all classes of islet cells in the pancreas. Isl1 is known to bind and regulate the promoters of the insulin, glucagon and somatostatin genes. In this study, we describe isolation of a novel isl1 cDNA species from the mouse islet beta cell line betaTC6, which arose from the utilization of an alternative splicing acceptor site in the fifth exon. This shorter cDNA encodes an Isl1 isoform (Isl1-beta) lacking the carboxy-terminal 23 amino acids of the previously reported product Isl1-alpha. Although the level of isl1-beta mRNA is much lower than that of isl1-alpha, isl1-beta is preferentially expressed in murine insulinoma cell lines but not in glucagonoma cell line. Upon transient transfection, both Isl1-alpha and Isl1-beta accumulate in the nuclei of murine insulinoma cells. We found that Isl1-beta is a relatively more potent transcriptional activator of the insulin promoter than Isl1-alpha and that the Isl1-alpha isoform undergoes phosphorylation. Therefore, the transcriptional activity of Isl1 is potentially regulated by the alternative splicing of its mRNA and by phosphorylation.
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PMID:Isolation and characterization of an alternatively spliced variant of transcription factor Islet-1. 1466 3

The LIM-homeodomain transcription factor ISL1 (islet factor 1) is essential for pancreatic islet cell and dorsal mesenchyme development. Mutations in ISL1 are associated with maturity-onset diabetes of the young and type 2 diabetes. Whether ISL1 plays a role in the insulin gene expression has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we show that ISL1 can synergistically activate insulin gene transcription with BETA2 in pancreatic beta cells. The protein-protein interactions of ISL1 and BETA2 are directly mediated by the LIM domains of ISL1 and the basic helix-loop-helix domain of BETA2. Deletion of the two LIM domains of ISL1 enhances the transcriptional activation of the insulin gene, indicating a key role for the homeodomain in activating the insulin promoter. Furthermore, ISL1 can bind with the A3/4 box in the rat insulin gene capital I, Ukrainian promoter through its homeodomain. ISL1 expression is up-regulated at the mRNA level in type 2 diabetes (db/db mouse model) but down-regulated by dexamethasone in rat insulinoma cells. These results suggest that ISL1 is a transcriptional activator for insulin gene expression, and the interactions of ISL1 with BETA2 are required for the transcriptional activity of the insulin gene. Reduction in Isl1 gene expression appears to be involved in the impairment of insulin expression mediated by dexamethasone.
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PMID:The LIM-homeodomain protein ISL1 activates insulin gene promoter directly through synergy with BETA2. 1961 59