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A Krust

Publications and source records attributed to A Krust.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Identification of a second human retinoic acid receptor.

We have previously described a human complementary DNA that encodes a novel protein which is homologous to members of the steroid/thyroid nuclear receptor multigene family. This novel protein (hap for hepatoma) exhibits strong homology with the human retinoic acid receptor (RAR) which has been recently characterized. To test the possibility that the hap protein might also be a retinoid receptor, a chimaeric receptor was created by replacing the putative DNA binding domain of hap with that of the human oestrogen receptor (ER). The resulting hap-ER chimaera was then tested for its ability to trans-activate an oestrogen-responsive reporter gene (vit-tk-CAT) in the presence of possible receptor ligands. Here we show that retinoic acid (RA) at physiological concentrations is effective in inducing the expression of this reporter gene by the hap-ER chimaeric receptor. This demonstrates the existence of two human retinoic acid receptors designated RAR-alpha and RAR-beta.

Amino Acid Sequence

Developmental regulation of the estrogen receptor and the estrogen responsiveness of five yolk protein genes in the avian liver.

The magnitude of the expression of five yolk protein genes in the avian liver in response to exogenous estradiol is shown to be developmentally regulated. Though each of these yolk protein genes gains the capacity to respond to estradiol during embryonic development, we demonstrate that maximal responses for the different genes are achieved at distinct ages between 1 and 6 weeks after hatching. This observation prompted us to look for possible correlations between yolk protein gene expression and changes in the expression of estrogen receptors that might also occur after hatching. We discovered that indeed the maximal level of nuclear estrogen receptors (assayed following the administration of estradiol) increases progressively over this same period of development from approximately 1000 receptors per cell at 1 week after hatching to approximately 3500 receptors per cell at 6 weeks after hatching. The latter number represents the fully mature state, as comparable levels of receptors are present in the livers of egg-laying hens. Thus, though increases in the expression of estrogen receptors during embryonic liver development have previously been reported, our results indicate that the changes that occur after hatching are quantitatively far more significant to the developmental program for this transcription factor.

Age Factors

Specific expression of the pS2 gene in subclasses of breast cancers in comparison with expression of the estrogen and progesterone receptors and the oncogene ERBB2.

The expression of the pS2 gene, which is induced by estrogen in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7, has been investigated in breast cancers by using pS2 mRNA determination in tumor specimens and immunocytochemistry to identify pS2 protein in paraffin-embedded sections. Using these assays we show that determination of pS2 gene expression allows the definition of subclasses of estrogen-receptor-containing breast cancers that may be used to more precisely identify estrogen-dependent tumors. Tumor specimens have also been analyzed for the presence of mRNAs for the estrogen receptor and for the ERBB2 oncogene. No evidence for the presence of truncated forms of estrogen-receptor mRNA has been found, and overexpression of the ERBB2 oncogene did not correlate with the steroid receptor status or pS2 gene expression.

Breast Neoplasms

Characterization of the estrogen-induced pS2 protein secreted by the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7.

Our laboratory has reported previously the cloning of a complementary DNA termed pS2, corresponding to a messenger RNA (mRNA) whose synthesis is induced by estrogen in the human breast cancer cells MCF-7. Examination of the possible open reading frames of this complementary DNA has led to the prediction that the pS2 protein could be a secreted polypeptide of either 58 or 63 amino acids in length. Using a rabbit antiserum prepared against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the last 31 amino acids of the putative protein, we show that a protein with the expected migration during sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis can indeed be immunoprecipitated from either the culture medium of MCF-7 cells grown in the presence of labeled amino acids or the in vitro translation products of MCF-7 poly(A) RNA enriched in pS2 mRNA. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro differential amino acid labeling allows us to conclude that the mature pS2 protein is probably secreted as a 58 amino acid long peptide. Finally, we show that pS2 protein synthesis is induced in MCF-7 cells by estradiol and phenol red, but not by the antiestrogen tamoxifen, in keeping with our previous results demonstrating estrogen induction of pS2 mRNA synthesis.

Breast Neoplasms

The chicken oestrogen receptor sequence: homology with v-erbA and the human oestrogen and glucocorticoid receptors.

A chicken oviduct cDNA clone containing the complete open reading frame of the oestrogen receptor (ER) has been isolated and sequenced. The mol. wt of the predicted 589-amino acid protein is approximately 66 kd which is very close to that of the human ER. Comparison of the human and chicken amino acid sequences shows that 80% of their amino acids are identical. There are three highly conserved regions; the second and third of which probably represent the DNA- and hormone-binding domains of the receptor. The putative DNA-binding domain is characterised by its high cysteine and basic amino acid content, and the hormone-binding domain by its overall hydrophobicity. These two domains of homology are also present in the human glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the product of the avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) gene, v-erbA, indicating that c-erbA, the cellular counterpart of v-erbA, belongs to a multigene family of transcriptional regulatory proteins which bind steroid-related ligands. The first highly conserved ER region is not present in the truncated v-erbA gene, but shares some homology with the N-terminal end of the GR. The function of the v-erbA gene product is discussed in relation to its homology with the ER and GR sequences.

Amino Acid Sequence

Cloning of the human oestrogen receptor cDNA.

Poly A+ RNA isolated from the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was fractionated by sucrose gradient centrifugation and those fractions enriched in oestrogen receptor (ER) mRNA were used to prepare randomly primed cDNA libraries in the lambda gt11 vectors. Clones corresponding to the ER were isolated from both libraries after screening with either ER monoclonal antibodies (lambda gt11) or synthetic oligonucleotide probes designed from two peptide sequences of purified ER (lambda gt10). Five cDNA clones were isolated by antibody screening and five after screening with synthetic oligonucleotides. The two largest ER cDNA clones, lambda OR3 (1.3 kbase) and lambda OR8 (2.1 kbase), isolated using antibodies and oligonucleotides, respectively, were able to enrich selectively for ER mRNA by hybrid-selection. Furthermore, lambda OR8 contains DNA sequences which cross-hybridize with each of the other ER cDNA clones. These results demonstrate that the clones isolated correspond to the ER mRNA sequence. Using lambda OR8 as a hybridization probe revealed a single poly A+ RNA band of approx. 6.2 kbase in the ER containing human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D. In contrast, no hybridization was seen in the human ER-cell line HeLa. The same probe hybridizes to a chicken gene which is expressed in oviduct tissue as a 7.5 kbase poly A+ RNA.

Animals

Cloning of the chicken progesterone receptor.

Monospecific antibodies directed against the chicken progesterone receptor (PR) form B were used to screen a randomly primed phage lambda gt11 cDNA expression library prepared from size-fractionated chicken oviduct mRNA. Two independent immunoreactive clones, lambda cPR1 and lambda cPR2, were isolated. Antibodies selected from anti-PR form B antiserum on matrices of lambda cPR1 and lambda cPR2 fusion proteins detected two proteins on electrophoretic immunoblots of crude and purified PR preparations. These proteins had the same apparent molecular weights as did PR forms A and B crosslinked with the tritiated progestin R 5020. Thus, lambda cPR1 and lambda cPR2 fusion proteins contain epitopes present in both PR forms A and B. A cDNA clone, lambda cPR3, containing the inserts of both lambda cPR1 and lambda cPR2, was isolated from a randomly primed lambda gt10 oviduct cDNA library, indicating that both cDNA inserts were derived from the same oviduct mRNA. Additional evidence that these cDNAs correspond to PR mRNA was provided by sequencing the lambda cPR3 cDNA insert, since it was found to encode the sequence of three tryptic peptides prepared from purified PR form B. A fourth and a fifth cDNA clone, lambda cPR4 and lambda cPR5, were sequentially isolated from the same lambda gt10 cDNA library beginning with a probe derived from the 3' end of the lambda cPR3 insert. Partial DNA sequencing of lambda cPR4 and lambda cPR5 revealed the presence of a sequence coding for a cysteine-rich domain that is strikingly homologous to the amino acid sequences present in the putative DNA-binding domain of the human and chicken estrogen receptors, human glucocorticoid receptor, and v-erbA gene product of the avian erythroblastosis virus.

Amino Acid Sequence

Cloning of the human estrogen receptor cDNA.

Poly(A)+ RNA isolated from the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was fractionated by sucrose gradient centrifugation and fractions enriched in estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA were used to prepare randomly primed cDNA libraries in the lambda gt10 and lambda gt11 vectors. Clones corresponding to ER sequence were isolated from both libraries after screening with either ER monoclonal antibodies (lambda gt11) or synthetic oligonucleotide probes designed from two peptide sequences of purified ER (lambda gt10). Five cDNA clones were isolated by antibody screening and five were isolated after screening with synthetic oligonucleotides. The two largest ER cDNA clones, lambda OR3 (1.3 kilobase pairs) and lambda OR8 (2.1 kilobase pairs), isolated by using antibodies and oligonucleotides, respectively, were able to enrich selectively for ER mRNA by hybrid-selection. Furthermore, lambda OR8 contains the DNA sequence expected from the two ER peptides and crosshybridizes with each of the other ER cDNA clones. These results demonstrate that the clones isolated correspond to the ER mRNA sequence. Use of lambda OR8 as a hybridization probe revealed a single poly(A)+ RNA band of approximately equal to 6.2 kilobase pairs in the ER-containing human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D. In contrast, no hybridization was seen in the human ER-negative cell line HeLa. The same probe hybridizes to a chicken gene that is expressed in oviduct tissue as a 7.5-kilobase-pair poly(A)+ RNA.

Animals

Effects of antiestrogens on the estrogen-regulated pS2 RNA and the 52- and 160-kilodalton proteins in MCF7 cells and two tamoxifen-resistant sublines.

The effects of estradiol and antiestrogens on two estrogen-regulated proteins (52 and 160 kDa) and an estrogen-inducible mRNA (pS2) have been measured in the MCF7 human breast cancer cell line and two tamoxifen-resistant sublines. In MCF7 cells, tamoxifen (or nafoxidine) alone does not significantly affect pS2 mRNA levels nor transcription of the pS2 gene but completely antagonizes the ability of estradiol to increase pS2 RNA levels. The estrogen-mediated increase in pS2 mRNA levels resembles that of two estrogen-regulated proteins (52 and 160 kDa) that are released from MCF7 cells into the culture medium. This is distinct from the estrogen-mediated increase in progesterone receptor which is also obtained by tamoxifen treatment. In the two tamoxifen-resistant sublines (R27 and RTx6), tamoxifen does not increase pS2 mRNA levels or 160-kDa protein production but increases the production of the 52-kDa protein. These results show that in these tamoxifen-resistant cells, tamoxifen has become fully estrogenic for one, but not all estrogen-regulated responses.

Breast Neoplasms

Cloning of cDNA sequences of hormone-regulated genes from the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line.

cDNA clones corresponding to a mRNA whose level is rapidly increased by addition of oestradiol to the culture medium have been isolated by differential screening of a cDNA library from the breast cancer cell line MCF-7, which contains oestrogen receptors. Such clones will be useful in studies of the DNA sequences required for hormonal induction and to determine whether expression of the corresponding gene is in any way related to the cancerous state. We have also obtained a cDNA clone for a messenger whose level is apparently decreased by steroid hormones.

Breast Neoplasms

Adult chicken alpha-globin genes alpha A and alpha D: no anemic shock alpha-globin exists in domestic chickens.

Three alpha-type globin genes have been identified in the alpha-globin linkage group of chickens. No other alpha-type genes hae been directly shown to be within 10 kilobase pairs of any of these three closely linked genes. These three genes have been conclusively identified by DNA sequence analysis. The gene at the 5' end of the linkage group is an embryonic alpha-type globin gene, pi or pi', and the central gene corresponds to the minor adult alpha- globin, alpha D. The 3'-terminal gene sequence corresponds to the sequence of cDNA clones previously described as "alpha S", presumed anemic shock-induced alpha-globin gene [Salser, W. A., Cummings, I., Liu, A., Strommer, J., Padayatty, J. & Clarke, P. (1979) in Cellular and Molecular Regulation of Hemoglobin Switching, eds. Stamatoyannopoulos, G. & Nienheis, A. (Grune and Stratton, New York), pp. 621-643; Richards, R. I. & Wells, J. R. E. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 9306-9311]. Several groups of workers have isolated alpha S-type cDNA clones but no one has identified a cDNA clone corresponding to the published amino acid sequence of the major chicken alpha-globin, alpha A. We have identified the alpha S-type sequence as the only abundant alpha-like globin sequence in cDNA clones made from reticulocyte mRNA isolated from nonanemic chickens. Therefore, we suggest that the alpha S-type sequence corresponds to the true alpha A-globin species.

Amino Acid Sequence

Restriction mapping of cDNA recombinants including the adult chicken and duck globin messenger sequences: a comparative study.

A comparison of the organization of six avian adult globin messenger sequences is based on previously reported recombinant duck adult globin cDNA plasmids (Therwath et al., 1980) and the actual construction and characterization of pBR322 recombinant plasmids including the beta and the normal alpha A and alpha D chicken adult globin mRNA sequences. Identification of the cloned DNA was performed using hybridization-selection under conditions permitting complete purification in one step of the three globin mRNAs, and translation of the corresponding mRNA. Orientation of the globin insert in the vector was determined, taking into account the computer prediction of the restriction sites based on the known amino acid sequences of the three globin chains (Roizès and Pelaquier, 1980) and those actually observed, and by identification of restriction fragments using 3'-specific probes. Identification, orientation and restriction mapping of these cloned DNAs reveals extensive homologies in organisation of beta sequences between duck and chicken, as well as among the alpha sequences in every two possible combinations.

Animals

Isolation of the lysozyme gene of chicken.

The lysozyme gene has been purified by molecular cloning from two chicken gene libraries. Several recombinant phages harbouring sequences homologous to a plasmid carrying a double stranded lysozyme cDNA have been isolated. One recombinant appears to carry an entire lysozyme gene. Electron microscopic studies show that the latter is split by at least three introns. The length of the gene is about 3.9 kb, 6 times longer than lysozyme mRNA.

Animals