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Biomedical subjects

C Setoyama

Publications and source records attributed to C Setoyama.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

A novel missense mutation in exon 8 of the ornithine transcarbamylase gene in two unrelated male patients with mild ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.

We studied two unrelated male probands with mild ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) (E.C.2.1.3.3) deficiency presenting a similar clinical course. Previous analyses of their liver OTCs also revealed similar properties. To identify the underlying molecular defects, we first cloned the entire coding region of the OTC gene from one proband and found a single base-substitution (C to T) leading to the substitution of tryptophan for arginine at amino acid position 277. Using a genomic amplification technique followed by allele specific oligonucleotide hybridization, we identified the same point mutation in the OTC gene of the other proband. We observed the presence of the mutation among family members in at least three generations, and in one asymptomatic hemizygous sibling in each family.

Alleles

Regulatory regions of the mitochondrial and cytosolic isoenzyme genes participating in the malate-aspartate shuttle.

The malate-aspartate shuttle, consisting of mitochondrial and cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase and mitochondrial and cytosolic malate dehydrogenase, is a major pathway for the transport of reducing equivalents from cytosol to mitochondria in mammals. To elucidate molecular mechanisms regulating metabolic coordination between the mitochondria and the cytosol, we analyzed the 5'-flanking regulatory regions of the complete set of mouse isoenzyme genes playing a pivotal role in the shuttle. Deletion analysis and an in vivo transfection assay, using NIH3T3 cells, revealed that all the promoter regions are located within the 300-base pair regions upstream from the initiation codon. Subsequently, DNase I footprinting analyses using NIH3T3 cell nuclear extracts led to identification of several protein binding sites within these promoter regions. A synthetic oligomer containing the consensus binding site sequence for CTF/NFI, a transcription factor for RNA polymerase II, competed for the binding of proteins to the promoter regions of cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase and mitochondrial and cytosolic malate dehydrogenase genes, but not for that of the mitochondrial aspartate amino-transferase gene. On the other hand, a synthetic oligomer containing the consensus binding site sequence for Sp1, which activates transcription from promoters containing properly positioned GC boxes, competed for protein(s) binding to the promoter region of the mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase gene.

Animals

Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of the human cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase gene.

Structural organization of the human cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase gene was determined by analyzing the phage clones obtained from two kinds of genomic DNA libraries, using mouse cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase cDNA as a probe. The gene is more than 32 kb long and is split into 9 exons by 8 introns of various sizes. The 5' and 3'-flanking regions and the exact sizes and boundaries of the exon blocks were determined. The 5' end of the gene lacks the TATA and CAAT boxes, but contains G+C rich sequences and one potential binding site for the transcription factor, Sp1. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of 250 bp upstream from the translation-initiation site revealed that the sequences of binding sites for the nuclear proteins, previously identified in the mouse, are highly conserved between human and mouse cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase genes.

Amino Acid Sequence

Molecular structures and evolution of mouse isozyme genes functioning in the malate-aspartate shuttle.

To examine molecular mechanisms of transcription of mammalian isozyme genes functioning in the malate-aspartate shuttle and to observe structural and evolutionary relationships, we investigated gene organizations of cAspAT and mAspAT, and cMDH and mMDH, and isolated and characterized cDNAs and genomic DNAs for these isozymes in mice. The deduced amino acid sequences of mouse cAspAT and mAspAT showed about 47%, and those of mouse cMDH and mMDH, about 23% overall homology. Surprisingly, the homology between the mouse cMDH and thermophilic bacterial MDH, as well as the homology between the mouse mMDH and E. coli MDH, markedly exceeds the intraspecies sequence homology between mMDH and cMDH from mice. The first duplication of a common ancestral MDH gene should thus have occurred long before the emergence of the eukaryotic cells, and subsequently, the mammalian mMDH and E. coli MDH genes have evolved from one of the duplicates. The mammalian cMDH and Thermus flavus MDH genes have no doubt evolved from one of the other duplicates. Moreover, structural organizations of the two-pairs of isozyme genes indicated that introns antedate the divergence of these mitochondrial and cytosolic isozyme genes. The 5' ends of all four isozyme genes lacked the TATA and CAAT boxes characteristic of eukaryotic promoters but did contain G + C-rich sequences and multiple transcription-initiation sites. We found several highly conserved regions in the 5' flanking sequences between mAspAT and cAspAT, between mMDH and mAspAT, and between cMDH and cAspAT genes.

Animals

Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency resulting from a C-to-T substitution in exon 5 of the ornithine transcarbamylase gene.

To define the molecular basis for the TaqI site alteration in the ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) (E.C.2.1.3.3) gene of a female patient with mild OTC deficiency, we used a combination of genomic amplification followed by direct sequencing and oligodeoxyribonucleotide hybridization. We obtained evidence for a C-to-T substitution in exon 5 (codon 141) of this gene. This mutation generates a stop codon, in place of Arg, at amino acid 109 of the mature OTC protein. The mutation arose, de novo, in a germ cell of one of the parents.

Adolescent

Messenger RNA expressed in mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells and down-regulated by a tumor-promoting phorbol ester codes for a novel transmembrane protein.

Cloning and sequence analysis of a DNA complementary to the mRNA expressed in undifferentiated mouse F9 teratocarcinoma stem cells but disappearing rapidly after treatment with a tumor-promoting phorbol ester revealed it to be a 1.9 kilobase pairs-long cDNA encoding a protein of 323 amino acid residues. Computer-assisted analyses of the deduced amino acid sequence indicated that this protein contains a typical hydrophobic signal peptide consisting of 33 amino acid residues and six putative membrane-spanning segments. The deduced amino acid sequence, as a whole, bears no significant sequence homology to any previously described protein.

Amino Acid Sequence

Structural organization of the mouse cytosolic malate dehydrogenase gene: comparison with that of the mouse mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase gene.

We cloned and characterized a mouse cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (cMDHase) (EC 1.1.1.37) gene, which is about 14 x 10(3) base-pairs long and is interrupted by eight introns. The 5' and 3' flanking regions and the exact sizes and boundaries of the exon blocks, including the transcription-initiation sites, were determined. The 5' end of the gene lacks the TATA and CAAT boxes characteristic of eukaryotic promoters, but contains G + C-rich sequences, one putative binding site for a cellular transcription factor, Sp1, and at least two major transcription-initiation sites. The sequences around the transcription-initiation sites are compatible with the formation of a number of potentially stable stem-loop structures. We compared structural organization of the mouse cMDHase gene with that of the previously characterized mouse mitochondrial MDHase (mMDHase) gene, and found that the conservation of intron positions spreads across much of the two genes. This result suggests that a common ancestral gene for the cytosolic MDHase and the mitochondrial MDHase was broken up by introns, before the divergence. We also compared the nucleotide sequence of the promoter region of the mouse cytosolic MDHase gene with that of the other three mouse genes coding for isoenzymes participating in the malate-aspartate shuttle, i.e. mitochondrial MDHase, cytosolic and mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferases (cAspATase and mAspATase). We found that highly conserved regions are present in the promoter region of the cAspATase gene.

Amino Acid Sequence

Structural organization of the mouse aspartate aminotransferase isoenzyme genes. Introns antedate the divergence of cytosolic and mitochondrial isoenzyme genes.

We have cloned and characterized a mouse cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) (EC 2.6.1.1) gene, which is about 32,000 base-pairs long and is interrupted by eight introns. The 5' and 3'-flanking regions, and the exact sizes and boundaries of the exon blocks, including the transcription-initiation sites, were determined. The 5' end of the gene lacks the TATA and CAAT boxes characteristic of eukaryotic promoters, but contains G + C-rich sequences, three putative binding sites for a cellular transcription factor, Sp1, and multiple transcription-initiation sites. The sequences around the transcription-initiation sites are compatible with the formation of a number of potentially stable stem-loop structures. We compared the structural organization of the mouse cytosolic AspAT gene with that of the mouse mitochondrial AspAT gene, which has nine introns. We found that the promoter regions share a high level of homology and five of the introns are at identical places. This close matching leads to the tentative conclusion that the introns were in place before the divergence of cytosolic and mitochondrial isoenzyme genes.

Amino Acid Sequence

Structural organization of the mouse mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase gene.

Structural organization of the entire mouse mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1) gene was determined by analyzing the overlapping genomic clones obtained from a Charon 4A DNA library. The gene is 25 X 10(3) base-pairs long and contains ten exons interrupted by nine introns of various sizes. The 5' and 3'-flanking regions, the exact sizes and boundaries of the exon blocks including the transcription-initiation sites were determined. The 5' end of the gene lacks the prototypical 5' transcriptional regulatory sequence elements, such as TATA and CAAT boxes, but contains G + C-rich sequences, two putative binding sites for a cellular transcription factor, Sp1, and multiple transcription-initiation sites. Moreover, the sequences around the transcription-initiation sites are compatible with the formation of a number of potentially stable stem-loop structures. The leader sequence, which is essential for the transport of the protein into the mitochondria, is coded by the first exon and is separated from the mature protein by the first intron. The pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-binding domain, consisting of seven alternating beta-sheets and alpha-helical polypeptide strands, is separated by four introns present at the ends of alpha-helices. These genomic DNA structures suggest that the introns were not inserted into a previously uninterrupted coding sequence, but rather are products of evolution of the ancestral gene. However, a further correlation between the positions of introns relative to the well-defined structural domains of the mature protein was not obvious.

Animals

Cloning and sequence analysis of cDNAs encoding mammalian cytosolic malate dehydrogenase. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of mammalian and bacterial malate dehydrogenase.

A cDNA clone, named ppcMDH-1 and covering a part of the coding region for the porcine cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (cMDH) mRNA, was isolated from a porcine liver cDNA library. Subsequently, mouse cMDH cDNA clones were isolated from mouse liver and heart cDNA libraries, using the ppcMDH-1 cDNA as a probe. The longest clone, named pmcMDH-5, was sequenced and the primary structure of the mouse cMDH deduced from its cDNA sequence showed that the mouse cMDH consists of the 334-amino acid residues. When the amino acid sequence of the mouse cMDH was compared with that of the porcine cMDH, they shared a 93% homology. On the other hand, the amino acid sequences of mouse cMDH and mitochondrial MDH (mMDH) showed about 23% overall homology. Surprisingly, comparison of the amino acid sequences among the mammalian and bacterial MDHs revealed that the homology between the mouse cMDH and thermophilic bacterial MDH, as well as the homology between the mouse mMDH and Escherichia coli MDH, markedly exceeds the intraspecies sequence homology between mMDH and cMDH from mice.

Amino Acid Sequence

Isolation of complementary DNA clones for genes exhibiting reduced expression after treatment of mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells with a tumor-promoting phorbol ester.

For the study of the effects of the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on early mammalian cell differentiation, a complementary DNA (cDNA) library was constructed on the poly(A)+RNAs extracted from undifferentiated F9 cells derived from a 129/Sv mouse teratocarcinoma OTT6050, and screening was done for the cNDA sequences corresponding to the mRNAs, the levels of which decreased significantly in the F9 cells after the TPA treatment. From about 80,000 clones screened, 3 different cDNA clones, pFT27, pFT43, and pFT60, were isolated and characterized. Levels of the RNAs hybridizable to these clones were decreased by fourfold to more than fiftyfold within 1-10 hours in the presence of TPA. Northern blotting experiments identified transcripts corresponding to these clones: pFT27 hybridized to 3.0 kb RNA, pFT43 hybridized to 1.5 kb RNA, and pFT60 hybridized to 1.0 kb RNA. The levels of these 3 transcripts were also decreased after treatment of the undifferentiated F9 cells with retinoic acid (RA) and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (cAMP). The TPA-induced as well as the RA- and cAMP-induced decreases in the RNAs hybridizable to pFT27 were regulated at the transcriptional level, whereas similar decreases in the RNAs hybridizable to pFT43 and pFT60 were regulated at the post-transcriptional level. These findings show that TPA treatment shares common effects with RA and cAMP on the undifferentiated F9 cells.

Animals

Decrease in the c-myb gene transcript during differentiation of mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells.

Transcript of the c-myb gene, one of the proto-oncogenes, was clearly detected in undifferentiated mouse F9 teratocarcinoma stem cells, but not in terminally differentiated mouse parietal endoderm PYS-2 cells. As F9 cells can be induced to differentiate into parietal endoderm-like cells by the addition of retinoic acid and dibutyryl cAMP, we examined levels of the c-myb transcript under this experimental condition and found that the c-myb transcript was decreased significantly. Thus, a decrease in the c-myb transcript is probably related to early differentiation of mammalian cells.

Animals

Restriction enzyme digestions identify discrete domains in the chromatin around the promoter of the mouse alpha 2(I) collagen gene.

We have examined the chromatin structure around the +1 transcriptional start site of the mouse alpha 2(I) collagen gene by studying the accessibility of DNA to several restriction enzymes as well as to DNase I. In NIH 3T3 cells, which express high levels of alpha 2(I) collagen mRNA, we detect a DNase I-hypersensitive site from -240 to +110 relative to the start site of transcription at +1. By digesting chromatin with restriction enzymes, which cleave naked DNA at multiple sites within the -2000 to +1000 region, a considerably more complex picture was revealed. DNA sequences upstream of around -550 and downstream of +150 are much less accessible to restriction enzymes than the region between these sites and are, therefore, probably packaged in a more compact conformation. The region from around -550 to -240 although not within the DNase I-hypersensitive domain is nevertheless accessible to restriction enzymes and, therefore, presumably in a relatively "open" conformation. In addition, beginning 5' to -100 there is a gradual decrease in restriction enzyme accessibility as one approaches +150. Of particular interest is the finding that although sites at +65 and +126 are relatively accessible, a HinfI site at +113 is resistant in chromatin. In v-mos transformed NIH 3T3 cells which express alpha 2(I) collagen at much lower levels than untransformed NIH 3T3 cells, the DNase I-hypersensitive site as well as the majority of the chromatin restriction enzyme accessibility patterns are similar to those found in untransformed NIH 3T3 cells. However, a SphI site at +58 appears less accessible in the transformed cells. We also examined the chromatin of a myeloma cell line which does not synthesize alpha 2(I) collagen at detectable levels. In the nuclei of these cells the DNA of the alpha 2(I) collagen promoter is inaccessible to DNase I and to all restriction enzymes.

Animals

Transcriptional activation encoded by the v-fos gene.

We present evidence that the fos oncogene encodes a transcriptional trans-activation function. trans-activation was assayed by cotransfection into NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblasts of v-fos DNA containing plasmids together with a plasmid containing a test promoter. Three v-fos DNAs were used: (i) pFBR-1, a plasmid containing the FBR proviral sequences; (ii) pFBJ-2, a plasmid harboring the FBJ proviral sequences; (iii) pMF-J, a plasmid containing the FBJ fos sequences linked to a mouse metallothionein promoter. Each of the three v-fos DNA plasmids stimulated the expression of a cotransfected chimeric gene consisting of a promoter segment of the mouse alpha 1(III) collagen gene linked to the gene for chloramphenicol transacetylase. In similar experiments the v-fos gene also stimulated the long terminal repeat promoter of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) but neither the early promoter of simian virus 40 nor the beta-actin promoter. Evidence that the trans-activation function is specified by the v-fos coding sequences comes from the fact that a frameshift mutation in the v-fos coding sequence inhibits the trans-activation. Two mutations that map around nucleotide -100 in the RSV promoter do not respond to cotransfection with v-fos, whereas other mutations respond like the wild-type RSV promoter. These experiments suggest that the v-fos gene either encodes or induces an activator of transcription that recognizes specific sequences in promoters.

Animals