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

Tax1 of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a transcriptional activator for viral gene expression and is also a transforming protein through inducing the expression of several cellular genes under the control of mitogenic signals. We identified the CArG boxes as a Tax1-responsive cis-acting element for the cellular immediate early genes c-fos, egr-1, and egr-2. Using a chimeric protein consisting of the CArG-binding factor p67SRF and the heterologous DNA-binding domain of a yeast transcription factor GAL4, we demonstrated that Tax1 activates the transcriptional activity of p67SRF through the GAL4-binding site. The carboxy-terminal half of p67SRF, which lacks domains for DNA-binding, dimerization, and ternary complex formation with p62TCF, was sufficient for the activation by Tax1. Tax1 produced in Escherichia coli bound p67SRF in vitro. The complex formation in vivo was also indicated by the finding that the acidic activation domain of VP16, by fusion to p67SRF, can complement the transcriptional activation function of a mutant Tax1 in trans. Thus, Tax1 activates CArG-mediated transcription without mitogenic signals through interaction with a CArG-binding factor, p67SRF. This must be one of the primary steps by which Tax1 causes aberration in growth control of the infected cells.
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PMID:Interaction of HTLV-1 Tax1 with p67SRF causes the aberrant induction of cellular immediate early genes through CArG boxes. 142 72

The t(1;19) translocation that characterizes 25% of pediatric pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (pre-B ALL) produces a chimeric gene, joining 5' sequences that encode a transcriptional activator domain of E2A with 3' sequences that, in part, encode a homeo box domain of a new gene called pbx1. Two E2A-pbx1 transcripts have been cloned. They encode the putative fusion proteins, p85(E2A-Pbx1) and p77(E2A-Pbx1), which differ in Pbx1 sequences alone, containing unique carboxyl termini whose sequences diverge after the Pbx1 homeo box. In this study, an antiserum to Pbx1 was used to investigate the identity and abundance of E2A-Pbx1 fusion proteins in both the pre-B ALL cell line, 697, and in cryopreserved leukemic bone marrow cells, obtained from six children with t(1;19)-positive pre-B ALL. Five species of E2A-Pbx1 proteins were identified in all cells containing t(1;19), two of which were indistinguishable from in vitro-translated p85(E2A-Pbx1) and p77(E2A-Pbx1). To assess the biological properties of p85(E2A-Pbx1) and p77(E2A-Pbx1) in fibroblasts, the cDNAs encoding these proteins were cloned into retroviral vectors, and each was introduced into NIH-3T3 cells. Both p85(E2A-Pbx1) and p77(E2A-Pbx1) are localized in the nucleus, and expression of either resulted in malignant conversion of NIH-3T3 cells as assayed by tumor formation in nude mice. When scored by focus formation, density-independent growth, and growth in agar assays, p77(E2A-Pbx1) was a much more potent transforming protein than was p85(E2A-Pbx1). Because subtle mutations in p85(E2A-Pbx1) converted its transforming activity into that of p77(E2A-Pbx1), we suggest that a sequence within the unique carboxyl terminus of p85(E2A-Pbx1) serves to negatively regulate its biochemical activity.
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PMID:The human t(1;19) translocation in pre-B ALL produces multiple nuclear E2A-Pbx1 fusion proteins with differing transforming potentials. 167 17

The c-Myc protein is involved in cellular transformation and mitogenesis, but also works as a potent inducer of differentiation and programmed cell death. Max as an obligate heterodimeric partner for Myc mediates its functions as a specific transcriptional activator and a transforming protein. Mad and Mxi1 proteins both heterodimerize with Max and compete with each other for limiting amounts of Max. Transcriptional activation by Myc can be suppressed by increasing the amount of Mad or Mxi1. This report shows the expression pattern of these Myc related factors at the mRNA level in a small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell line (GLC4) which is characterized by c-myc amplification and strong constitutive c-myc overexpression. We found these genes transcriptionally active but uninfluenced from high c-myc transcription. Max was constantly transcribed at a relatively low level during cell cycle progression. Mad and mxi1 mRNA was at a surprisingly high level in proliferating cells. Mad was further upregulated and mxi1 was downregulated to basal levels during serum starvation of the cells. We further analyzed the activity of c-fos, c-jun, c-myb and nm23 which are described to be involved in c-myc transcriptional activation, c-jun and c-fos were not constitutively activated and can be excluded as regulators. High steady state c-myc in contrast influences the serum stimulated transient activation mechanism of these two genes. We identified high copy number nm23 mRNA whose role as a putative c-myc transcriptional activator is under investigation. Our results indicate that constitutive overexpression of c-myc does not require the activity of the nuclear oncogenes tested and that the m-RNA expression pattern of functionally related proteins is not influenced.
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PMID:Coexpression pattern of c-myc associated genes in a small cell lung cancer cell line with high steady state c-myc transcription. 765 39

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus-8-encoded viral interferon regulatory factor (vIRF) transforms NIH3T3 cells, represses interferon signal transduction and regulates the expression of other KSHV genes. Here, we have shown that vIRF is a transcriptional activator and auto-activates its own expression. Ectopic expression of vIRF activated the vIRF promoter in KSHV-negative 293, COS7, HeLa and BJAB cell lines in a dose-dependent fashion in a reporter assay and the expression of vIRF transcripts from endogenous viral genomes in BCBL-1 and BC-1 cells latently infected with KSHV. Deletion analysis identified two cis elements, named Vac1 and Vac2, in the vIRF promoter that were responsive to vIRF activation. vIRF auto-activation via Vac1 but not Vac2 was repressed by Tis, a transcriptional silencer in the vIRF promoter. Neither Vac1 nor Vac2 contain any interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE)-like sequences and are unresponsive to induction with interferon-beta and -gamma. These results indicate that KSHV uses the mechanism of auto-activation to regulate the expression of a viral transforming protein to efficiently evade host tumour suppressor pathways.
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PMID:Auto-activation of the transforming viral interferon regulatory factor encoded by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (human herpesvirus-8). 1256 May 64

The proteins SKI and SnoN are implicated in processes as diverse as differentiation, transformation and tumor progression. Until recently, SKI was solely viewed as a nuclear protein with a principal function of inhibiting TGF-beta signaling through its association with the Smad proteins. However, new studies suggest that SKI plays additional roles not only inside but also outside the nucleus. In normal melanocytes and primary non-invasive melanomas, SKI localizes predominantly in the nucleus, whereas in primary invasive melanomas SKI displays both nuclear and cytoplasmic localization. Intriguingly, metastatic melanoma tumors display nuclear and cytoplasmic or predominantly cytoplasmic SKI distribution. Cytoplasmic SKI is functional, as it associates with Smad3 and prevents its nuclear localization mediated by TGF-beta. SKI can also function as a transcriptional activator, targeting the beta -catenin pathway and activating MITF and NrCAM, two proteins involved in survival, migration and invasion. Intriguingly, SKI appears to live a dual life, one as a tumor suppressor and another as a transforming protein. Loss of one copy of mouse ski increases susceptibility to tumorigenesis in mice, whereas its overexpression is associated with cancer progression of human melanoma, esophageal, breast and colon. The molecular reasons for such dramatic change in SKI function appear to result from new acquired activities. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms by which SKI regulates crucial pathways involved in the progression of human malignant melanoma.
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PMID:SKI pathways inducing progression of human melanoma. 1598 36