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Biomedical subjects

A Ullrich

Publications and source records attributed to A Ullrich.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Alternative splicing increases the diversity of the human protein kinase C family.

Isolation of two protein kinase C (PKC) cDNA clones containing divergent carboxy-terminal sequences suggested a common genetic origin for these cDNAs. Partial characterization of the hPKC beta chromosomal gene provided direct evidence for the existence of two adjacent carboxy-terminal exons (beta 1 and beta 2) that are alternatively spliced to generate two types of hPKC beta sequences. PKC beta 1 and beta 2 mRNAs are expressed in a selective manner in both human hematopoietic cells and bovine brain tissues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A mutant epidermal growth factor receptor with defective protein tyrosine kinase is unable to stimulate proto-oncogene expression and DNA synthesis.

Cultured NIH-3T3 cells devoid of endogenous epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors were transfected with cDNA expression constructs encoding either normal human EGF receptor or a receptor mutated in vitro at Lys-721, a residue that is thought to function as part of the ATP-binding site of the kinase domain. Unlike the wild-type EGF-receptor expressed in these cells, which exhibited EGF-dependent protein tyrosine kinase activity, the mutant receptor lacked protein tyrosine kinase activity and was unable to undergo autophosphorylation and to phosphorylate exogenous substrates. Despite this deficiency, the mutant receptor was normally expressed on the cell surface, and it exhibited both high- and low-affinity binding sites. The addition of EGF to cells expressing wild-type receptors caused the stimulation of various responses, including enhanced expression of proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-myc, morphological changes, and stimulation of DNA synthesis. However, in cells expressing mutant receptors, EGF was unable to stimulate these responses, suggesting that the tyrosine kinase activity is essential for EGF receptor signal transduction.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Human HER2 (neu) promoter: evidence for multiple mechanisms for transcriptional initiation.

We localized the 5' region of the human gene HER2 in a cloned fragment of genomic DNA. This clone contained exons 1 to 4 of HER2, spanning the coding sequence for the first 191 amino acids. The promoter region of HER2 was identified upstream to exon 1 by nuclease S1 mapping and by a functional assay in which the promoter region drives the expression of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. The HER2 promoter is different from the promoter of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene (HER1), and the GC boxes which are typical of the promoter of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene are absent from the HER2 promoter. One major and two minor RNA start sites located at nucleotides 178, 244, and 257 upstream to the initiator ATG were identified. The first one is 21 and 70 base pairs downstream from typical TATAA and CAAT boxes, respectively. This indicates that transcription of HER2/neu can be regulated by a mechanism involving a TATA box, as well as by other unidentified regulatory elements.

Base Sequence↗

[Early prognostic assessment using evoked potentials in severe craniocerebral trauma].

103 patients in acute posttraumatic coma were assessed during 72 hours following severe head injury by clinical examinations (documented with a modified Glasgow-Coma-Score and a brain-stem-score and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) as well as short latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP). Patient outcomes were classified at 6 months or more, according to the following categories: good recovery, severely disabled or vegetative, and brain dead. Patients who had died by systemic complications were excluded from the study. The Glasgow-Coma-Score was reliable in forecasting a favorable outcome, but tended to produce false-pessimistic predictions. The brainstemscore and the BAEPs were reliable predictors of an unfavorable but not a favorable outcome. SEP data however, performed well as a prognostic indicant in predicting an unfavorable as well as a favorable outcome. Using the BAEP, the amplitude ratio Wave V/Wave I is more sensitive to detect a lesion than the interpeak-latency Wave I-Wave V, and--using the SEP--the amplitude ratio N20/N13b (over C2) is more sensitive than the central conduction time (N13a (over C7)--N20).

Adolescent↗

[Significance of early acoustic evoked potentials in the diagnosis of brain death].

Tests of early acoustic evoked potentials in 49 patients in whom clinical and EEG criteria indicated brain death demonstrated a bilateral loss of brainstem-generated components III to V in 12.6%, a loss of the components II-V in 16.8% and a loss of all early acoustic evoked potentials in 47.4%. This method, practicable in an intensive care unit, seems thus suitable for demonstrating loss of brainstem function as demanded for diagnosis of brain death.

Brain Death↗

Reconstitution of human epidermal growth factor receptors and its deletion mutants in cultured hamster cells.

DNA sequences encoding the human epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and various EGF-receptor deletion mutants were transfected into chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells devoid of endogenous EGF receptors. A functional human EGF-receptor is expressed on the surface of heterologous CHO cells with the following properties: it exhibits typical high affinity (10%; Kd = 3 X 10(-10) M) and low affinity (90%; Kd = 3 X 10(-9) M) binding sites for 125I-EGF; it is expressed as a polypeptide of 170,000 molecular weight with intrinsic protein tyrosine kinase activity. EGF stimulates the kinase activity leading to self-phosphorylation and to phosphorylation of exogenous substrate; 125I-EGF is rapidly internalized into the CHO cells by receptor mediated endocytosis and; EGF stimulates DNA synthesis in the cells expressing the human EGF-receptor. Deletion of 63 amino acids from the C-terminal end of EGF-receptor, which removes two autophosphorylation sites, abolishes the high affinity state of the receptor. Nevertheless, this receptor mutant is able to undergo endocytosis and to respond mitogenically to EGF to a similar extent as the "wild type" receptor. Further deletions from the cytoplasmic domain give rise to low affinity endocytosis-defective receptor mutants. Finally, deletion of the transmembrane domain of the human receptor yields an EGF-receptor ligand binding domain which is secreted from the cells.

Animals↗

The complete primary structure of protein kinase C--the major phorbol ester receptor.

Protein kinase C, the major phorbol ester receptor, was purified from bovine brain and through the use of oligonucleotide probes based on partial amino acid sequence, complementary DNA clones were derived from bovine brain complementary DNA libraries. Thus, the complete amino acid sequence of bovine protein kinase C was determined, revealing a domain structure. At the amino terminal is a cysteine-rich domain with an internal duplication; a putative calcium-binding domain follows, and there is at the carboxyl terminal a domain that shows substantial homology, but not identity, to sequences of other protein kinase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Multiple, distinct forms of bovine and human protein kinase C suggest diversity in cellular signaling pathways.

A new family of protein kinase C-related genes has been identified in bovine, human, and rat genomes. The alpha-, beta-, and gamma-type protein kinase sequences are highly homologous, include a kinase domain, and potential calcium-binding sites, and they contain interspersed variable regions. The corresponding genes are located on distinct human chromosomes; the possibility of even greater genetic complexity of this gene family is suggested by Northern and Southern hybridization analyses.

Animals↗

Mutations in the cytoplasmic domain of EGF receptor affect EGF binding and receptor internalization.

Binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its receptor results in a cascade of events that culminate in cell division. The receptor is present on the cell surface in two forms of high and low affinity binding for EGF. EGF binding activates the receptor's intracellular tyrosine kinase activity and subsequently causes the receptor to be rapidly internalized into the cell via clathrin-coated pits. We have cloned the EGF receptor cDNA into a retroviral expression vector and made mutations in vitro to investigate the function of different receptor domains. Deletion of cytoplasmic sequences abolishes high but not low affinity sites as well as impairing the ability of the protein to internalize into cells. Thus, cytoplasmic sequences must be involved in the regulation of high affinity sites and are required for EGF-induced receptor internalization. A four amino acid insertion mutation at residue 708 abolishes the protein-tyrosine kinase activity of the immunoprecipitated receptor. However, this receptor mutant exhibits both the high and low affinity states, internalizes efficiently and is able to cause cells to undergo DNA synthesis in response to EGF. Another four amino acid insertion mutation (residue 888) abolishes protein-tyrosine kinase activity, high affinity binding, internalization and mitogenic responsiveness. Finally, a chimaeric receptor composed of the extracellular EGF binding domain and the cytoplasmic v-abl kinase region transforms Rat-I cells. This chimaeric receptor possesses intrinsic protein tyrosine kinase activity which cannot be regulated by EGF. Moreover, EGF fails to induce the internalization of the chimaeric receptor.

Animals↗

Insulin-like growth factor I receptor primary structure: comparison with insulin receptor suggests structural determinants that define functional specificity.

To identify structural characteristics of the closely related cell surface receptors for insulin and IGF-I that define their distinct physiological roles, we determined the complete primary structure of the human IGF-I receptor from cloned cDNA. The deduced sequence predicts a 1367 amino acid receptor precursor, including a 30-residue signal peptide, which is removed during translocation of the nascent polypeptide chain. The 1337 residue, unmodified proreceptor polypeptide has a predicted Mr of 151,869, which compares with the 180,000 Mr IGF-I receptor precursor. In analogy with the 152,784 Mr insulin receptor precursor, cleavage of the Arg-Lys-Arg-Arg sequence at position 707 of the IGF-I receptor precursor will generate alpha (80,423 Mr) and beta (70,866 Mr) subunits, which compare with approximately 135,000 Mr (alpha) and 90,000 Mr (beta) fully glycosylated subunits.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Nerve growth factor mRNA in peripheral and central rat tissues and in the human central nervous system: lesion effects in the rat brain and levels in Alzheimer's disease.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) mRNA is widely distributed throughout peripheral and central rat tissues and throughout the human central nervous system. In the rat, high levels were found in cerebral cortex, hippocampus and thalamus/hypothalamus, medium levels in striatum and brainstem and low levels in cerebellum and spinal cord. The hippocampal levels did not change following the surgical transection of the septohippocampal pathway; similarly, the ibotenic acid-induced lesion of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis did not affect the amounts of NGF mRNA in the cerebral cortex. NGF mRNA was also present in high amounts in human cortex and hippocampus, with only low levels in septum/nucleus basalis magnocellularis, suggesting that NGF may also function as a retrograde trophic messenger in the human central nervous system. No evidence was obtained for an insufficient production of NGF mRNA in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. In peripheral rat tissues, the highest concentrations of NGF mRNA were found in vas deferens, heart, sciatic nerve, submandibular gland and skin, with low levels in tissues such as trigeminal ganglion and pituitary gland.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Multiple restriction fragment length polymorphisms at the insulin receptor locus: a highly informative marker for linkage analysis.

Although resistance to insulin action is a well-studied phenomenon in non-insulin-dependent diabetes and certain genetic syndromes, the role of inherited defects of the insulin receptor in these disorders is unknown. To facilitate the evaluation of that role, restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were identified using various portions of the insulin receptor cDNA to examine digested DNA from American Blacks, Pima Indians, and Caucasians. Five RFLPs were identified in Caucasians. Two of these were detected with a single 1.3-kilobase probe in Rsa I digests with minor allele frequencies of 0.48 and 0.23. An additional RFLP was noted with Bgl II and two more RFLPs with Sac I using a different 1.6-kilobase probe, with minor allele frequencies of 0.17 for Bgl II and 0.12 for both Sac I RFLPs. All RFLPs except for the second Sac I RFLP were present in American Blacks, while only the Rsa I RFLPs were present in Pima Indians. Pairwise analysis showed random association between all sites except for the Bgl II and second Rsa I sites, where the disequilibrium statistic, delta, was -0.70 (different from 0 at P less than 0.001). No association of any RFLP was noted with non-insulin-dependent diabetes in a small population. These studies show that this is a highly informative locus that should be important for mapping of chromosome 19p and for linkage studies.

Black People↗

The avian beta-adrenergic receptor: primary structure and membrane topology.

Partial amino acid sequence information allowed the isolation of cDNA clones encoding the turkey erythrocyte beta-adrenergic receptor. Antisera raised against synthetic peptides encoded by the cDNA crossreacted with the purified receptor and appropriate tryptic fragments, confirming the identity of the cDNA. The receptor is composed of 483 amino acids and has a molecular mass of 54 kDa. Its sequence suggests that it is arranged predominantly in seven membrane-spanning sequences and a long cytoplasmic carboxyl-terminal domain. The extracellular amino-terminal domain contains a consensus sequence for N-glycosylation. The beta-adrenergic receptor displays overall structural similarity and weak sequence homology with rhodopsin. Because both proteins act by regulating GTP-binding proteins, a compact structure based on seven membrane-spanning regions may be a general model for receptors that act on G proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Activation of c-erbB in avian leukosis virus-induced erythroblastosis leads to the expression of a truncated EGF receptor kinase.

Chicken erythroblastosis caused by avian leukosis virus (ALV) is thought to be mediated by activation of the c-erbB/EGF receptor oncogene by a promoter-insertion mechanism. Here we study the proteins expressed by two ALV-induced leukemias and compare them with the avian EGF receptor and with the oncogene product of avian erythroblastosis virus (v-erbB) which was shown to be a truncated EGF receptor. It appears that the two leukemias express truncated EGF receptors of slightly different sizes with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. Hence, acute and chronic retroviruses utilize a common pathway for transformation. Moreover, the proteins expressed in the leukemias are similar to the avian EGF receptor with respect to their phosphopeptide maps, suggesting that they do not carry the C-terminal deletion characteristic of v-erbB.

Alpharetrovirus↗

The structure and function of the epidermal growth factor receptor studied by using antisynthetic peptide antibodies.

The human epidermal growth factor receptor has been purified and partial amino acid sequence obtained. A synthetic oligonucleotide was used to select complementary DNA clones from placental and A431 clone banks. The nucleotide sequence of a 5.8 kilobase transcript was determined and used to predict the total amino acid sequence of the receptor. We have predicted a model for the receptor which has an external ligand binding domain of 621 amino acids, a transmembrane region of 23 amino acids, and a cytoplasmic domain of 542 amino acids having protein tyrosine kinase activity. The kinase autophosphorylation sites have been mapped onto the primary amino acid sequence. Analysis of protein sequence databases have shown that the erb-B oncogene of avian erythroblastosis virus has acquired part of the avian EGF receptor gene. The hypothesis has been proposed that transformation by this virus is the result of expression of a truncated EGF receptor which lacks the majority of the EGF binding domain and delivers a continuous proliferation signal to transformed cells. We describe here the production of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to selected synthetic peptides from the EGF receptor and v-erb B sequences. Antisera to sequences encompassing the three major sites of autophosphorylation and the putative ATP binding site all recognize the native EGF receptor molecule. We have used these reagents to test our model of EGF receptor structure and v-erb B function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The neu gene: an erbB-homologous gene distinct from and unlinked to the gene encoding the EGF receptor.

The neu oncogene, identified in ethylnitrosourea-induced rat neuroglioblastomas, had strong homology with the erbB gene that encodes the epidermal growth factor receptor. This homology was limited to the region of erbB encoding the tyrosine kinase domain. It was concluded that the neu gene is a distinct novel gene, as it is not coamplified with sequences encoding the EGF receptor in the genome of the A431 tumor line and it maps to human chromosome 17.

Animals↗