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Follicle-stimulating hormone stimulates protein kinase A-mediated histone H3 phosphorylation and acetylation leading to select gene activation in ovarian granulosa cells.

We examined the phosphorylation and acetylation of histone H3 in ovarian granulosa cells stimulated to differentiate by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). We found that protein kinase A (PKA) mediates H3 phosphorylation on serine 10, based on inhibition exclusively by PKA inhibitors. FSH-stimulated H3 phosphorylation in granulosa cells is not downstream of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase, ribosomal S6 kinase-2, mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase-1, p38 MAPK, phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, or protein kinase C. Transcriptional activation-associated H3 phosphorylation on serine 10 and acetylation of lysine 14 leads to activation of serum glucocorticoid kinase, inhibin alpha, and c-fos genes. We propose that phosphorylation of histone H3 on serine 10 by PKA in coordination with acetylation of H3 on lysine 14 results in reorganization of the promoters of select FSH responsive genes into a more accessible configuration for activation. The unique role of PKA as the physiological histone H3 kinase is consistent with the central role of PKA in initiating granulosa cell differentiation.

Acetylation↗

The feasibility of targeted selective gene therapy of the hair follicle.

Loss of hair and hair colour is associated with ageing, and when it involves the scalp hair, it can be distressing to both sexes. Hair loss resulting from cancer chemotherapy is particularly distressing. However, safe, effective therapies directed to hair have only just started to be developed. The hair follicle is a complex skin appendage composed of epidermal and dermal tissue, with specialized keratinocytes, the hair matrix cells, forming the hair shaft. Specific therapy of the hair follicle depends on selective targeting of specific cells of the hair follicle. We have developed the histoculture of intact hair-growing skin on sponge-gel matrices. We have recently found in histocultured skin that liposomes can selectively target hair follicles to deliver both small and large molecules. That liposomes can target the hair follicle for delivery has been confirmed independently. Two decades ago we introduced the technique of entrapping DNA in liposomes for use in gene therapy. In this report we describe the selective targeting of the lacZ reporter gene to the hair follicles in mice after topical application of the gene entrapped in liposomes. These results demonstrate that highly selective, safe gene therapy for the hair process is feasible.

Administration, Topical↗

Selective gene transfer to key cardiovascular regions of the brain: comparison of two viral vector systems.

The systemic renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a critical role in cardiovascular (CV) homeostasis. All components of the RAS are also known to be produced cell-specifically within specific brain regions, although the role of the brain RAS relative to the systemic RAS has remained a puzzle due to the difficulty of dissecting these two systems. Selectively targeting these regions with genes that modify the RAS could help unravel this puzzle. We compared the ability of adenovirus (Ad) and lentivirus (feline immunodeficiency virus, FIV) vectors to mediate gene delivery in vivo to the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and subfornical organ (SFO), two important CV control regions known to express the various RAS genes. SON or SFO of adult C57BL/6 mice (n=37) were stereotaxically injected with replication-deficient recombinant Ad or FIV harboring a beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) reporter gene. At 1, 3, or 8 weeks post-injection, brain sections were processed for beta-Gal activity, double immunofluorescence to verify cell-type specificity of viral transduction, or immunohistochemical detection of inflammatory mediators. Our results demonstrate that: (1) murine SFO and SON can be selectively targeted for gene transfer in vivo;(2) FIV mediated neuron-specific gene delivery, whereas Ad transduced both neuronal and glial cell types in SFO and SON; (3) Ad injected into the SON transduced neurons within the SFO through retrograde transport, whereas FIV did not; (4) beta-gal activity remained stable for 3 weeks but then declined by 8 weeks with Ad, while minimal decline occurred with FIV; (5) FIV did not cause inflammatory responses, whereas infiltrate was detectable in Ad-injected SFO and SON. These vectors are potentially important tools for dissecting the cell- and site-specific components of the brain RAS and other important CV regulatory systems within this circuitry, and may have therapeutic applications for centrally mediated CV diseases.

Adenoviridae↗

Presenilin-1 detection in brain neurons and FOXp3 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: normalizer gene selection for real time reverse transcriptase pcr using the DeltaDeltaCt method

Quantification of gene expression is important to confirm changes in levels of gene expression in disease. Prior quantification methods include standard curves, absolute quantification, and relative quantification. This paper describes an analytic method for the relative quantification of Presenilin-1 (PS-1) in neurons and Forkhead-box (FOX) p3 in PBMNCs using real-time PCR analytic techniques. A comparative Ct method (deltadelatCt) is described in which the quantity of target normalized to a normalizer gene reference is given by 2-deltadelatCt where deltadelatCt = [Ct of the gene of interest in the unknown specimen - Ct normalizer gene in the unknown specimen] - [Ct of the gene of interest in the calibrator specimen - Ct normalizer gene in the calibrator specimen]. The calibrator specimen is ideally from a non-treated control specimen and is analyzed on every assay plate with the unknown specimens of interest. The use of the deltadelatCt methodology allows for a higher throughput and a more economical approach to investigate gene expression. We applied this methodology to the quantification of PS-1 and FOXp3 genes and compare the levels of expression by normalizing to different normalizer genes using the deltadelatCt methodology. We find that use of GAPDH is the optimum normalizer gene for the genes analyzed in neurons from human brain and in PBMNCs.

Animals↗

Amplification-mutagenesis: evidence that "directed" adaptive mutation and general hypermutability result from growth with a selected gene amplification.

When a particular lac mutant of Escherichia coli starves in the presence of lactose, nongrowing cells appear to direct mutations preferentially to sites that allow growth (adaptive mutation). This observation suggested that growth limitation stimulates mutability. Evidence is provided here that this behavior is actually caused by a standard Darwinian process in which natural selection acts in three sequential steps. First, growth limitation favors growth of a subpopulation with an amplification of the mutant lac gene; next, it favors cells with a lac(+) revertant allele within the amplified array. Finally, it favors loss of mutant copies until a stable haploid lac(+) revertant arises and overgrows the colony. By increasing the lac copy number, selection enhances the likelihood of reversion within each developing clone. This sequence of events appears to direct mutations to useful sites. General mutagenesis is a side-effect of growth with an amplification (SOS induction). The F' plasmid, which carries lac, contributes by stimulating gene duplication and amplification. Selective stress has no direct effect on mutation rate or target specificity, but acts to favor a succession of cell types with progressively improved growth on lactose. The sequence of events--amplification, mutation, segregation--may help to explain both the origins of some cancers and the evolution of new genes under selection.

Electrophoresis, Agar Gel↗

Does selective gene activation direct evolution?

Mechanisms may have evolved such that the unique metabolic reaction to a particular environmental stress results in higher mutation rates of those genes most likely to solve the problem. Evidence is presented indicating that the environment in effect directs the evolution of organisms by (1) presenting various kinds of stress resulting in metabolic activities that target particular genes for increased rates of transcription and mutation, and (2) selecting among this specifically enriched mutant population those variants that alleviate the imposed stress. This process should be ongoing and would be expected to accelerate the rate of microbial evolution.

Biological Evolution↗

An improved procedure for gene selection from microarray experiments using false discovery rate criterion.

BACKGROUND: A large number of genes usually show differential expressions in a microarray experiment with two types of tissues, and the p-values of a proper statistical test are often used to quantify the significance of these differences. The genes with small p-values are then picked as the genes responsible for the differences in the tissue RNA expressions. One key question is what should be the threshold to consider the p-values small. There is always a trade off between this threshold and the rate of false claims. Recent statistical literature shows that the false discovery rate (FDR) criterion is a powerful and reasonable criterion to pick those genes with differential expression. Moreover, the power of detection can be increased by knowing the number of non-differential expression genes. While this number is unknown in practice, there are methods to estimate it from data. The purpose of this paper is to present a new method of estimating this number and use it for the FDR procedure construction. RESULTS: A combination of test functions is used to estimate the number of differentially expressed genes. Simulation study shows that the proposed method has a higher power to detect these genes than other existing methods, while still keeping the FDR under control. The improvement can be substantial if the proportion of true differentially expressed genes is large. This procedure has also been tested with good results using a real dataset. CONCLUSION: For a given expected FDR, the method proposed in this paper has better power to pick genes that show differentiation in their expression than two other well known methods.

Algorithms↗

An alternative agriculture system is defined by a distinct expression profile of select gene transcripts and proteins.

Conventional agriculture has relied heavily on chemical inputs that have negatively impacted the environment and increased production costs. Transition to agricultural sustainability is a major challenge and requires that alternative agricultural practices are scientifically analyzed to provide a sufficiently informative knowledge base in favor of alternative farming practices. We show a molecular basis for delayed leaf senescence and tolerance to diseases in tomato plants cultivated in a legume (hairy vetch) mulch-based alternative agricultural system. In the hairy vetch-cultivated plants, expression of specific and select classes of genes is up-regulated compared to those grown on black polyethylene mulch. These include N-responsive genes such as NiR, GS1, rbcL, rbcS, and G6PD; chaperone genes such as hsp70 and BiP; defense genes such as chitinase and osmotin; a cytokinin-responsive gene CKR; and gibberellic acid 20 oxidase. We present a model of how their protein products likely complement one another in a field scenario to effect efficient utilization and mobilization of C and N, promote defense against disease, and enhance longevity.

Agriculture↗

Multiple pathways of selected gene amplification during adaptive mutation.

In a phenomenon referred to as "adaptive mutation," a population of bacterial cells with a mutation in the lac operon (lac-) accumulates Lac+ revertants during prolonged exposure to selective growth conditions (lactose). Evidence was provided that selective conditions do not increase the mutation rate but instead favor the growth of rare cells with a duplication of the leaky lac allele. A further increase in copy number (amplification) improves growth and increases the likelihood of a sequence change by adding more mutational targets to the clone (cells and lac copies per cell). These duplications and amplifications are described here. Before selection, cells with large (134-kb) lac duplications and long junction sequences (>1 kb) were common (0.2%). The same large repeats were found after selection in cells with a low-copy-number lac amplification. Surprisingly, smaller repeats (average, 34 kb) were found in high-copy-number amplifications. The small-repeat duplications form when deletions modify a preexisting large-repeat duplication. The shorter repeat size allowed higher lac amplification and better growth on lactose. Thus, selection favors a succession of gene-amplification types that make sequence changes more probable by adding targets. These findings are relevant to genetic adaptation in any biological systems in which fitness can be increased by adding gene copies (e.g., cancer and bacterial drug resistance).

Adaptation, Biological↗

Glial cell-specific expression of the serotonin 2 receptor gene: selective reactivation of a repressed promoter.

The 5' flanking region of the 5-HT2 receptor gene has been cloned, sequenced and its transcriptional regulatory functions analyzed. The promoter lacks an identifiable TATA motif, and utilizes at least 11 clustered start sites. Promoter function was analyzed by transient assays in rat C6 glioma cells, which were shown to express the endogenous 5-HT2 receptor gene, as well as in rat CREF and human HeLa cells which do not express the endogenous gene. The basal promoter functioned equally well in all three cell lines; and a repression domain, located upstream of the basal promoter, inhibited activity of the promoter in all three cell lines. A far upstream cell specific activator domain restored promoter activity in C6 glioma cells, but did not reactivate the silenced promoter in CREF or HeLa cells. The upstream activator domain, repressor domain and basal promoter functioned in concert to achieve cell type specific expression. The activator domain did not direct C6 glioma cell specific expression in the absence of the repressor domain or in constructs carrying a heterologous basal promoter. These results indicate that glial cell expression of the 5-HT2 receptor gene is achieved through a cell type specific reactivation of a repressed promoter.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A population genetic study of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto from eastern Long Island, New York, suggested frequency-dependent selection, gene flow and host adaptation.

Eastern Long Island, New York, is one of the major foci of Lyme disease in the United States. As in almost all other parts of North America, Lyme disease in this region is caused by a single genomic species of spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. For three consecutive years, natural populations of Lyme Borrelia in this region were sampled and studied for gene flow among different locations, changes in population structure over time, and selective forces. The genetic diversity of Borrelia populations was measured at the outer surface protein A (ospA) locus using Cold Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism (Cold SSCP) analysis. The Borrelia populations were found to be highly polymorphic within any of thirteen local populations. Ewens-Watterson tests of neutrality revealed that the high level of genetic diversity within local Borrelia populations is maintained by balancing selection. Frequency-dependent selection for the different strains distinguished by the ospA alleles is likely the mechanism of the balancing selection. Allele frequency distributions of Borrelia populations were homogeneous across the region in any particular year, although different infection rates of local tick (Ixodes scapularis) populations suggested that the Borrelia populations were at least partially isolated. Since the allele frequency distribution changed over time, while remaining homogeneous over space, the nearly uniform allele frequency distribution across the region cannot be explained by recent geographic expansion from a single population. This uniform distribution across the region thus may be maintained by selection, or by a significant amount of migration or both. The genetic structure of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto also differed between spirochetes infecting nymphal ticks and those infecting adult ticks. Since larval and nymphal ticks have distinctly different host feeding preferences, host adaptation of spirochete populations is implied. This distinction and an animal study using chipmunks suggest that ticks infected by Borrelia as larvae may have high mortality in the wild. This study represents a genetic analysis of local populations of a bacterial species.

Alleles↗

Expression of the novel adrenocorticotropin-responsive gene selective Alzheimer's disease indicator-1 in the normal adrenal cortex and in adrenocortical adenomas and carcinomas.

Selective Alzheimer's disease indicator-1 (seladin-1) is a novel gene with antiapoptotic activity that is down-regulated in vulnerable brain regions in Alzheimer's disease. This gene encodes 3-beta-hydroxysterol Delta-24-reductase (DHCR24), which converts desmosterol into cholesterol. In the adrenal cortex, increased expression of seladin-1/DHCR24, which appears to be modulated by ACTH, has been recently reported in cortisol-secreting adenomas, compared with the adjacent atrophic tissue. In our study, we measured the expression level of seladin-1/DHCR24 in cortisol- (n = 18) and aldosterone-secreting (n = 16) adrenocortical adenomas, in carcinomas (n = 17), and in normal adrenal glands (n = 8) by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The amount of seladin-1/DHCR24 mRNA was significantly reduced in carcinomas (total RNA, 2.5 +/- 0.8 pg/ micro g) compared with the other groups (P < 0.01). Western blot analysis confirmed the mRNA results. Similarly, in adrenal malignancies, significantly reduced levels of expression of the ACTH receptor gene were found. In the adrenal cancer cell line H295R and in primary cultures from adrenocortical cells, ACTH (1 nM) and forskolin (10 micro M) effectively increased seladin-1/DHCR24 expression, confirming that seladin-1/DHCR24 is modulated by the ACTH/cAMP-driven pathway. In summary, this is the first demonstration that seladin-1/DHCR24 expression is reduced in adrenal cancer, suggesting that it might be viewed as a new potential marker of adrenal malignancies.

Adolescent↗

Redefining the structure of the mouse connexin43 gene: selective promoter usage and alternative splicing mechanisms yield transcripts with different translational efficiencies.

The connexin43 (cx43) gene was originally described as consisting of two exons, one coding for most of the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR), and the other for the protein sequence and 3'-UTR. We now report that in mouse four additional exons are expressed, all coding for novel 5'-UTRs. Altogether, we found nine different cx43 mRNA species (GenBank accession numbers NM010288, and AY427554 through AY427561) generated by differential promoter usage and alternative splicing mechanisms. The relative abundance of these different mRNAs varied with the tissue source. In addition, the different transcripts showed varying translational efficiencies in several cell lines, indicating the presence of cis-RNA elements that regulate cx43 translation. We propose that it is the promoter driving the expression of the cx43 gene that determines exon choice in the downstream splicing events in a cell-type-dependent fashion. This in turn will affect the translation efficiency of the transcript orchestrating the events that lead to the final expression profile of cx43. Since a similar organization of the cx43 gene was also observed in rat it is likely that the complex regulation of cx43 expression involving transcription, splicing and translation mechanisms is a common trait conserved during evolution.

5' Untranslated Regions↗

Glycosylated cationic liposomes for cell-selective gene delivery.

Cationic liposomes have been considered as a potential nonviral vector for gene delivery because they possess low immunogenicity, unlike viral vectors. The gene transfer efficiency of cationic liposomes is lower than that ofviral vectors, but recent advances have shown that it is possible to enhance the gene expression levels of cationic liposomes. The main problem with cationic liposomes seems to be the lack of organ or cell selectivity because the lung has the highest level of gene expression after intravenous injection. Applying cell-specific targeting technology to liposomes would improve in vivo gene delivery and reduce any unexpected side effects. Both liver parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells exclusively express large numbers of high-affinity asialoglycoprotein and mannose receptors, respectively. Receptor-mediated gene delivery systems are able to introduce foreign DNA into specific cell types in vivo. However, we have confirmed that not only the nature of the ligands grafted to carriers but also the overall physicochemical properties of the complexes need to be optimized for effective cell-selective targeting of plasmid DNA. In this article, we attempt to evaluate a gene delivery system based on the physicochemical properties of plasmid DNA/glycosylated cationic complexes.

Animals↗

A dominant positive and negative selectable gene for use in mammalian cells.

We have constructed three different fusion genes containing the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV tk) and the bacterial neomycin phosphotransferase (neo) genes. All three fusion genes utilize the HSV tk promoter but differ at the junction of their components. We have determined if the fusion genes are bifunctional by introducing them into mammalian cells and testing for function of the individual components. One of the fusion genes, TNFUS 69, produced a bicistronic message and a fusion protein that has TK and NEO protein functions. This and other fusion genes of a similar nature could serve as dominant positive and negative selectable markers in mammalian cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Expression of selected genes and oncogenes in differentiated HL-60 cells and primary cells from human leukemias.

cDNA clones complementary to mRNA of cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were used to examine quantitative changes in the mRNA levels of specific genes in human leukemia leukocytes. Twenty one CLL-positive clones that did not hybridize with placental mRNA were studied. These clones were significantly represented in the mRNA from leukemic leukocytes and were not represent in the mRNA from normal leukocytes. There was high level of expression of 7-2D gene in CLL and B lymphoma cells. RNA hybridizing with clone 7-3G was comparatively highly abundant in CCRF-CEM and EB virus transformed lymphoid cell, while clone 6-1E was highly represented in the mRNAs of Molt 3 and CCRF-CEM cells. The expression of three clones (6-1E, 7-3G and 9-5C) selected from a CLL cDNA library was studied by nucleic acid hybridization in human promyelocytic leukemia cell (HL-60) treated with chemical inducers of cell differentiation. The differentiation of HL-60 cells into macrophage-like cells upon induction by 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was accompanied by rapid induction of the expression of 6-1E and 7-3G genes. The levels of expression of the 9-5C gene were not altered during macrophage-monocytic or granulocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells. The expression of the 6-1E and/or 7-3G gene was induced by TPA in four of 6 samples derived from patients who achieved complete remission, but not in any of the acute nonlymphocytic leukemia samples from patients who failed to achieve complete remission. These findings suggest that expression of the 6-1E and 7-3G genes is related to macrophage-monocytic differentiation and that alterations of these gene expressions in fresh leukemic cells after one hour of TPA treatment are of prognostic significance in predicting the response to treatment. The primary structure of a cDNA of a gene (6-1E) selectively expressed in CLL was determined. A computer search in the nucleotide sequence data bank did not identify this gene as any other gene. The 677 nucleotide mRNA is composed of a 384 nucleotide pol A tail. Moreover, the sequences of the other cDNA clones (1-6G, 5-2C,5-5G, 6-1G, 7-3G, 7-4A, 8-6G, and 9-5C) are not present in those of the data base of GenBank recorded up to 1988.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Rapid rescue of cellular transcriptional activator elements by amplification of a single copy selection gene.

Cellular transcriptional activator sequences from a Syrian hamster cell line (baby hamster kidney (BHK] were rescued by a double selection procedure. An enhancer-deficient SV40 promoter was linked to the neomycin resistance (NEO) gene and transfected into BHK cells. Genomic DNA fragments of G418-resistant cell clones containing multiple copies of integrated plasmid DNAs were used for a second transfection of BHK cells, resulting in the genomic integration of a single copy plasmid which expresses the NEO gene efficiently. For rapid cloning of the integrated promoter and adjacent cellular DNA sequences, these cell clones were fused to COS-1 cells, thereby providing SV40 large T antigen and the monkey cell permissive factor necessary for SV40 replication. Resulting from this fusion, the integrated plasmid and adjacent sequences were amplified to about 1000 extrachromosomal copies giving rise to an abundant pool of promoter elements which thus can be cloned into a plasmid very easily for further investigations. Promoter analyses of three clones in the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase transient expression assay demonstrated that the recombination with cellular DNA enables the initially defective SV40 promoter to express at wild type levels.

Animals↗

Identification of a PTH regulated gene selectively induced in vivo during PTH-mediated bone formation.

The biological activities of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on bone are quite complex as demonstrated by its catabolic and anabolic activities on the skeleton. Although there have been many reports describing genes that are regulated by PTH in osteoblast cells, the goal of this study was to utilize a well-established in vivo PTH anabolic treatment regimen to identify genes that mediate bone anabolic effects of PTH. We identified a gene we named PTH anabolic induced gene in bone (PAIGB) that has been reported as brain and acute leukemia cytoplasmic (BAALC). Therefore, using the latter nomenclature, we have discovered that BAALC is a PTH-regulated gene whose mRNA expression was selectively induced in rat tibiae nearly 100-fold (maximal) by a PTH 1-34 anabolic treatment regimen in a time-dependent manner. Although BAALC is broadly expressed, PTH did not regulate BAALC expression in other PTH receptor expressing tissues and we find that the regulation of BAALC protein by PTH in vivo is confined to mature osteoblasts. Further in vitro studies using rat UMR-106 osteoblastic cells show that PTH 1-34 rapidly induces BAALC mRNA expression maximally by 4 h while the protein was induced by 8 h. In addition to being regulated by PTH 1-34, BAALC expression can also be induced by other bone forming factors including PGE(2) and 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D(3). We determined that BAALC is regulated by PTH predominantly through the cAMP/PKA pathway. Finally, we demonstrate in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells that BAALC overexpression regulates markers of osteoblast differentiation, including downregulating alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin expression while inducing osteopontin expression. We also demonstrate that these transcriptional responses mediated by BAALC are similar to the responses elicited by PTH 1-34. These data, showing BAALC overexpression can mimic the effect of PTH on markers of osteoblast differentiation, along with the observations that BAALC is induced selectively with a bone anabolic treatment regimen of PTH (not a catabolic treatment regimen), suggest that BAALC may be an important mediator of the PTH anabolic action on bone cell function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗