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)

Androgen receptor (AR) brings about a ligand-dependent inhibition of low-affinity neurotrophin receptor (p75) promoter constructs in cultured cells, with the greatest inhibition being achieved with a reporter gene containing 1050 nucleotides (nt) of the promoter. The receptor domain critical for trans-repression localizes to the same region (amino acids 147-296) as that mandatory for transactivation. In contrast to trans-activation, AR does not interact directly with specific DNA elements to elicit trans-repression of p75 promoter constructs, although an intact DNA-binding domain of the receptor is required for both actions. In a search for interacting partners, both extensively purified full-length AR and AR-DNA binding domain were found to inhibit c-Jun/AP-1 site interaction without themselves binding to the AP-1 element. Prior binding of c-Jun to the AP-1 element protected the complex from the receptor's interference. Repression was not mutual, as c-Jun did not inhibit AR-androgen response element interaction or trans-activation through an androgen response element-containing promoter. The 1050-nt-long p75 promoter sequence does not contain an AP-1 element; an AP-1-like site in the vector backbone mediates the trans-repression by the AR in recipient cells. Intriguingly, an AR form with a large N-terminal deletion (the delta 46-408 mutant) behaved as a transcriptional activator of the p75 promoter through a mechanism that was also independent of specific DNA binding. Collectively, these data indicate that, in a proper context, AR is able to elicit both transrepression and trans-activation without interacting directly with specific DNA elements. Sequences responsible for the down-regulation of p75 mRNA by androgens in vivo are, however, not located in the proximal 1050 nt of the p75 promoter.
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PMID:Androgen receptor-mediated transcriptional regulation in the absence of direct interaction with a specific DNA element. 747 76

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) supports survival and regeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGC). Since the expression of its receptor TrkB can be induced by the transcriptional activator retinoic acid (RA), we have investigated the possibility that RA promotes axonal regeneration of differentiated chick RGC synergistically with BDNF. After injection of all-trans RA onto the chorio-allantoic membrane of stage E16 chick embryos, axonal regeneration was monitored in organ cultures supplemented with BDNF. RA enhanced neurite outgrowth of retinal ganglion cells 2- to 3-fold. The dose-dependent effect was observed only after application of RA in ovo and subsequent use of the neurotrophin, not with RA alone.
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PMID:Retinoic acid increases BDNF-dependent regeneration of chick retinal ganglion cells in vitro. 1061 46

Nigrostriatal neurons degenerate during Parkinson's disease. Experimentally, neurotoxins such as 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rodents, and MPTP in mice and non-human primates, are used to model the disease-induced degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Glial-cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a very powerful neuroprotector of dopaminergic neurons in all species examined. However, recent reports have indicated the possibility that GDNF may, in the long term and if expressed in an unregulated manner, exert untoward effects on midbrain dopaminergic neuronal structure and function. Although GDNF remains a powerful neurotrophin, the search for alternative therapies based on alternative and complementary mechanisms of action to GDNF is warranted. Recently, recombinant adenovirus-derived vectors encoding the differentiation factor Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) and its downstream transcriptional activator (Gli1) were shown to protect dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta from 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity in rats in vivo. A pancellular human CMV (hCMV) promoter was used to drive the expression of both Shh and Gli1. Since Gli1 is a transcription factor and therefore exerts its actions intracellularly, we decided to test whether expression of Gli1 within neurons would be effective for neuroprotection. We demonstrate that neuronal-specific expression of Gli1 using the neuron-specific Talpha1 alpha-tubulin (Talpha1) promoter was neuroprotective, and its efficiency was comparable to the pancellular strong viral hCMV promoter. These results suggest that expression of the transcription factor Gli1 solely within neurons is neuroprotective for dopaminergic neurons in vivo and, furthermore, that neuronal-specific promoters are effective within the context of adenovirus-mediated gene therapy-induced neuroprotection of dopaminergic midbrain neurons. Since cell-type specific promoters are known to be weaker than the viral hCMV promoter, our data demonstrate that neuronal-specific expression of transcription factors is an effective, specific, and sufficient targeted approach for neurological gene therapy applications, potentially minimizing side effects due to unrestricted promiscuous gene expression within target tissues.
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PMID:Neuronal expression of the transcription factor Gli1 using the Talpha1 alpha-tubulin promoter is neuroprotective in an experimental model of Parkinson's disease. 1557 88

The mechanism by which nerve growth factor (NGF) regulates adrenergic expression was examined in PC-12 cells transfected with a rat phenylethanolamine N-methyl-transferase (PNMT) promoter-luciferase reporter gene construct pGL3RP893. NGF treatment increased PNMT promoter-driven luciferase activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Induction was attenuated by inhibition of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway ( approximately 60%) but not by inhibition of the protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase C, phosphoinositol kinase, or p38 MAPK pathways. Deletion PNMT promoter-luciferase reporter gene constructs showed that the NGF-responsive sequences lay within the proximal -392 base pairs (bp) of PNMT promoter, wherein binding elements for Egr-1 (-165 bp) and Sp1 (-48 bp) reside. Western analysis further showed that NGF increased nuclear levels of Egr-1, but not Sp1 or the catalytic subunit of PKA. Gel mobility shift assays showed increased potential for Egr-1, but not Sp1, protein-DNA binding complex formation. Mutation of either the Egr-1 or Sp1 binding sites in the PNMT promoter attenuated NGF activation. NGF, combined with pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating protein (PACAP), another PNMT transcriptional activator, cooperatively stimulated PNMT promoter driven-luciferase activity beyond levels observed with either neurotrophin alone. Finally, post-transcriptional control seems to be another important mechanism by which neurotrophins regulate the adrenergic phenotype. NGF, PACAP, and a combination of the two stimulated both intron-retaining and intronless PNMT mRNA and PNMT protein, but to different extents.
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PMID:Nerve growth factor regulates adrenergic expression. 1692 81

The transcriptional activator retinoic acid (RA) is a regulator of neural development and regeneration. Synergistic effects with brain-derived neurotrophic factor suggested that RA influences neurotrophin signaling. To test this hypothesis RA was administered systemically to E17 chick embryos, and retinas were prepared 12h and 24h later to measure mRNA or protein expression. While there was no significant influence on activation of Akt, CREB and STAT-3, RA-treatment caused elevated levels of Erk-phosphorylation, a kinase involved in Trk signaling. A small but significant increase in the expression of TrkB mRNA and protein was observed but no significant change in TrkA, TrkC and p75 expression.
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PMID:Retinoic acid enhances Erk phosphorylation in the chick retina. 1788 Nov 22

Total and N-terminal isoform selective p73 knockout mice show a variety of central nervous system defects. Here we show that TAp73 is a transcriptional activator of p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) and that p75(NTR) mRNA and protein levels are strongly reduced in the central and peripheral nervous systems of p73 knockout mice. In parallel, primary cortical neurons from p73 knockout mice showed a reduction in neurite outgrowth and in nerve growth factor-mediated neuronal differentiation, together with reduced miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequencies and behavioral defects. p73 null mice also have impairments in the peripheral nervous system with reduced thermal sensitivity, axon number, and myelin thickness. At least some of these morphological and functional impairments in p73 null cells can be rescued by p75(NTR) re-expression. Together, these data demonstrate that loss of p75(NTR) contributes to the neurological phenotype of p73 knockout mice.
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PMID:TAp73 knockout mice show morphological and functional nervous system defects associated with loss of p75 neurotrophin receptor. 2419 Sep 96

Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is a multifunctional protein which binds to methylated CpG, mutation of which cause a neurodevelopmental disorder, Rett syndrome. MeCP2 can function as both transcriptional activator and repressor of target gene. MeCP2 regulate gene expression in both neuron and glial cells in central nervous system (CNS). Oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells of CNS, are required for normal functioning of neurons and are regulated by several transcription factors during their differentiation. In current study, we focused on the role of MeCP2 as transcription regulator of myelin genes in cultured rat oligodendrocytes. We have observed expression of MeCP2 at all stages of oligodendrocyte development. MeCP2 knockdown in cultured oligodendrocytes by small interference RNA (siRNA) has shown increase in myelin genes (myelin basic protein (MBP), proteolipid protein (PLP), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), and myelin-associated oligodendrocyte basic protein (MOBP)), neurotrophin (brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)), and transcriptional regulator (YY1) transcripts level, which are involved in regulation of oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelination. Further, we also found that protein levels of MBP, PLP, DM-20, and BDNF also significantly upregulated in MeCP2 knockdown oligodendrocytes. Our study suggests that the MeCP2 acts as a negative regulator of myelin protein expression.
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PMID:Involvement of MeCP2 in Regulation of Myelin-Related Gene Expression in Cultured Rat Oligodendrocytes. 2614 Aug 54