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)

The human T cell-specific transcription factor TCF-1 alpha plays a key role in the tissue-specific activation of the T cell receptor (TCR) C alpha enhancer and binds to pyrimidine-rich elements (5'-PyCTTTG-3') present in a variety of other T cell-specific control regions. Using amino acid sequence information derived from the DNA affinity-purified protein, we have now isolated cDNA clones encoding TCF-1 alpha. The TCF-1 alpha cDNA contains a single 68-amino-acid domain that is homologous to a region conserved among high-mobility group (HMG) and nonhistone chromosomal proteins. Expression of full-length and mutant cDNA clones in bacteria reveal that the single HMG motif, which is predicted to contain two extended alpha-helical segments, is sufficient to direct the sequence-specific binding of TCF-1 alpha to DNA. Northern blot experiments demonstrate further that TCF-1 alpha mRNA is highly tissue specific, found primarily in the thymus or T cell lines. The immature CEM T cell line expresses relatively low levels of TCF-1 alpha mRNA, which are increased upon activation of these cells by phorbol esters. Interestingly, the cloned TCF-1 alpha protein is a potent transcriptional activator of the human TCR alpha enhancer in nonlymphoid cell lines, whereas the activity of the endogenous protein in T cell lines is strongly dependent on an additional T cell-specific protein that interacts with the core enhancer. TCF-1 alpha is currently unique among the newly emerging family of DNA-binding regulatory proteins that share the HMG motif in that it is a highly tissue-specific RNA polymerase II transcription factor.
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PMID:A thymus-specific member of the HMG protein family regulates the human T cell receptor C alpha enhancer. 201 90

Cells with divergent mutant alleles of the p53 gene have different biological and biochemical properties in vitro. Increasing evidence indicates that p53 is a transcriptional activator, and recently, high affinity DNA binding sites for p53 have been identified. The purpose of this study was to determine in vivo, the effect that various mutant p53 proteins have on their ability to mediate transactivation and to bind specifically to DNA. Either a p53 responsive or control reporter gene was transfected into 18 human carcinoma cell lines, having various p53 mutations, either with or without a wild-type p53 expression vector. The CAT activity and DNA gel retardation were studied to measure transactivation and DNA binding by these endogenous p53s. As expected, the endogenously produced wild-type p53 binds to DNA binding sequences and can transactivate a reporter construct containing a p53 high affinity DNA binding site. Four of five cell lines with homozygous p53 mutations at codon 273 (273His), contained p53 which had the ability to bind to p53 DNA binding sequences and transactivate. In contrast, all the homozygous, non-codon 273 mutant p53s (156Pro, 175His, 223Leu, 248Gln, 248Trp, 280Lys) present in the other cell lines had no transactivating ability. These findings suggest that the biology of cancers with mutations at codon 273 may be different than those with p53 mutations at other sites. The p53 from WRO, a thyroid carcinoma cell line with p53 mutation at codon 223 (223Leu), was able to bind p53 DNA recognition sequences, but was unable to transactivate. Interestingly, in a vulvar carcinoma cell line (A431) with a p53 mutation at codon 273 (273His), the p53 was unable to transactivate and gave an aberrant band on gel retardation. Both CEM and SK-UT-1, which have compound heterozygous mutations at codons 175/248 (175His/248His), produced p53 which can complex with DNA, as well as transactivate. In contrast, the p53 in cell lines with either homozygous 175His or 248His p53 mutations, were unable either to transactivate or bind to the p53 response element. A cell line (NPA) heterozygous for 266Glu p53 mutation, was able to efficiently transactivate a reporter containing a p53 DNA binding site, therefore showing no evidence of a dominant negative effect of the endogenous p53 mutant allele. In summary, this in vivo study further supports the idea that different p53 mutant alleles have various properties which may affect their function.
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PMID:Transactivational and DNA binding abilities of endogenous p53 in p53 mutant cell lines. 820 36

Myc is a transcriptional activator whose deregulated expression not only promotes proliferation but also induces or sensitizes cells to apoptosis. Here we demonstrate that c-myc plays a role in triggering apoptosis in CEM T leukaemia cells exposed to progressive medium exhaustion. Indeed starved cells undergo apoptosis in the presence of constitutively elevated c-myc expression and the phorbol ester, phorbol 12-miristate 13-acetate (PMA), which rescues cells from apoptosis, induces complete c-myc down-regulation. We also investigate the hypothesis that ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a transcriptional target of c-myc, is a down-stream mediator of c-myc driven apoptosis. We demonstrate that PMA induces in starved cells an earlier and larger decrease in ODC expression (mRNA and activity) and intracellular polyamine content, compared to untreated starved cells. Moreover we show that alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of ODC enzymatic activity, effectively reduces, while exogenous added polyamines enhance apoptosis in starved cells. All these data indicate that ODC and polyamines may act as facilitating factors in triggering apoptosis induced by growth/survival factors withdrawal.
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PMID:Down-modulation of c-myc expression by phorbol ester protects CEM T leukaemia cells from starvation-induced apoptosis: role of ornithine decarboxylase and polyamines. 1159 94