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PubMed1995

Presence of Chromatium vinosum chaperonins 10 and 60 in mitochondria and peroxisomes of rat hepatocytes.

In the present study we report the occurrence of chaperonins, cpn10 and cpn60, in Chromatium vinosum and rat hepatocytes, using specific polyclonal antibodies in conjunction with the protein A-gold immunocytochemical technique. As demonstrated by quantitative evaluations, the immunolabeling for cpn10 and cpn60 in C vinosum cells was associated primarily with the bacterial cell envelope. In rat liver homogenates, Western immunoblotting analysis has shown that antibodies to cpn10 from C vinosum recognize an unique 25-kDa protein that remains to be further characterized. On the other hand, the antibody to cpn60 from C vinosum revealed the presence of a 60-kDa protein in the rat liver homogenates. Immunofluorescence on rat liver tissue revealed an intracellular granular labeling for both chaperonins. On the other hand, using the post-embedding immunoelectron microscopy technique cpn10 and cpn60 were localized specifically in liver mitochondria and peroxisomes. Interestingly, further analysis of the labeling distribution confirmed the association of both proteins with the mitochondrial inner membrane whereas in the peroxisomes the chaperonins appeared to be located in the matrix, away from the limiting peroxisomal membrane. The colocalization of both chaperonins suggests that, as in other bacteria as well as eukaryotic cells, they may act in tandem for the proper folding of particular proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Cultured Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons Express Two Kinds of GABAA Receptors.

We combined a study of the subcellular distribution of the alpha1, alpha2, alpha4, beta1, beta2/3, gamma2, and delta subunits of the GABAA receptor with an electrophysiological analysis of GABAA receptor currents determine the to types of receptors expressed on cultured hippocampal pyramidal neurons. The immunocytochemistry study demonstrated that alpha1, alpha2, beta2/3, and gamma2 subunits formed distinct clusters of various sizes, which were colocalized with clusters of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) immunoreactivity at rates ranging from 22 to 58%. In contrast, alpha4, beta1, and delta subunits were distributed diffusely over the cell soma and neuronal processes of cultured neurons and did not colocalize with the synaptic marker GAD. Whole-cell GABA receptor currents were moderately sensitive to GABAA and were modulated by diazepam. The whole-cell currents were also enhanced by the neurosteroid allopregnanolone (10 nM). Tonic currents, measured as changes in baseline current and noise, were sensitive to Zn2+, furosemide, and loreclezole; they were insensitive to diazepam. These studies suggest that two kinds of GABAA receptors are expressed on cultured hippocampal neurons. One kind of receptor formed clusters, which were present at GABAergic synapses and in the extrasynaptic membrane. The alpha1, alpha2, beta2/3, and gamma2 subunits were contained in clustered receptors. The second kind was distributed diffusely in the extrasynaptic membrane. The alpha4, beta1, and delta subunits were contained in these diffusely distributed receptors. The properties of tonic currents recorded from these neurons were similar to those from recombinant receptors containing alpha4, beta1, and delta subunits.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Expression of the Cymbidium ringspot virus 33-kilodalton protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and molecular dissection of the peroxisomal targeting signal.

Open reading frame 1 in the viral genome of Cymbidium ringspot virus encodes a 33-kDa protein (p33), which was previously shown to localize to the peroxisomal membrane in infected and transgenic plant cells. To determine the sequence requirements for the organelle targeting and membrane insertion, the protein was expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in native form (33K) or fused to the green fluorescent protein (33KGFP). Cell organelles were identified by immunolabeling of marker proteins. In addition, peroxisomes were identified by simultaneous expression of the red fluorescent protein DsRed containing a peroxisomal targeting signal and mitochondria by using the dye MitoTracker. Fluorescence microscopy showed the 33KGFP fusion protein concentrated in a few large bodies colocalizing with peroxisomes. These bodies were shown by electron microscopy to be composed by aggregates of peroxisomes, a few mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) strands. In immunoelectron microscopy, antibodies to p33 labeled the peroxisomal clumps. Biochemical analysis suggested that p33 is anchored to the peroxisomal membrane through a segment of ca. 7 kDa, which corresponds to the sequence comprising two hydrophobic transmembrane domains and a hydrophilic interconnecting loop. Analysis of deletion mutants confirmed these domains as essential components of the p33 peroxisomal targeting signal, together with a cluster of three basic amino acids (KRR). In yeast mutants lacking peroxisomes p33 was detected in the ER. The possible involvement of the ER as an intermediate step for the integration of p33 into the peroxisomal membrane is discussed.

Gene Deletion↗
PubMed1999

Trithorax and ASH1 interact directly and associate with the trithorax group-responsive bxd region of the Ultrabithorax promoter.

Trithorax (TRX) and ASH1 belong to the trithorax group (trxG) of transcriptional activator proteins, which maintains homeotic gene expression during Drosophila development. TRX and ASH1 are localized on chromosomes and share several homologous domains with other chromatin-associated proteins, including a highly conserved SET domain and PHD fingers. Based on genetic interactions between trx and ash1 and our previous observation that association of the TRX protein with polytene chromosomes is ash1 dependent, we investigated the possibility of a physical linkage between the two proteins. We found that the endogenous TRX and ASH1 proteins coimmunoprecipitate from embryonic extracts and colocalize on salivary gland polytene chromosomes. Furthermore, we demonstrated that TRX and ASH1 bind in vivo to a relatively small (4 kb) bxd subregion of the homeotic gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx), which contains several trx response elements. Analysis of the effects of ash1 mutations on the activity of this regulatory region indicates that it also contains ash1 response element(s). This suggests that ASH1 and TRX act on Ubx in relatively close proximity to each other. Finally, TRX and ASH1 appear to interact directly through their conserved SET domains, based on binding assays in vitro and in yeast and on coimmunoprecipitation assays with embryo extracts. Collectively, these results suggest that TRX and ASH1 are components that interact either within trxG protein complexes or between complexes that act in close proximity on regulatory DNA to maintain Ubx transcription.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

A rat gastrin-human gastrin chimeric transgene directs antral G cell-specific expression in transgenic mice.

Gastrin gene expression in the gastrointestinal tract is under both developmental and spatial regulation. In the mature animal, gastrin, an important regulator of parietal acid secretion, is expressed primarily in G cells of the antrum. To determine whether specific promoter elements can direct expression to the gastric antrum in vivo, 450 nucleotides of the proximal rat gastrin promoter were cloned and used to construct a rat gastrin-human gastrin reporter chimeric transgene, which was injected into the mouse germ line. Northern blot analysis, in situ hybridization, and double-label immunocytochemistry studies demonstrated expression of the transgene specifically in antral G cells. Low levels of transgene expression were observed in the ileum and colon, where immunohistochemical studies demonstrated colocalization in enteroendocrine cells expressing peptide YY. The same 450-nucleotide rat gastrin promoter, when joined to the human growth hormone gene, did not result in antral expression. Similarly, a human gastrin-human gastrin reporter transgene also did not achieve antral expression, although it did express in the liver. These results suggest that cis-acting elements present in both the basal 450-nucleotide rat gastrin promoter and the intragenic sequences of the human gastrin gene are necessary to direct expression of a transgene specifically to antral G cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Aquaporin-2, a regulated water channel, is expressed in apical membranes of rat distal colon epithelium.

Aquaporin-2 (AQP-2) is the vasopressin-regulated water channel expressed in the apical membrane of principal cells in the collecting duct and is involved in the urinary concentrating mechanism. In the rat distal colon, vasopressin stimulates water absorption through an unknown mechanism. With the hypothesis that AQP-2 could contribute to this vasopressin effect, we studied its presence in rat colonic epithelium. We used RT-PCR, in situ hybridization, immunoblotting, and immunocytochemistry to probe for AQP-2 expression. An AQP-2 amplicon was obtained through RT-PCR of colon epithelium RNA, and in situ hybridization revealed AQP-2 mRNA in colonic crypts and, to a lesser extent, in surface absorptive epithelial cells. AQP-2 protein was localized to the apical membrane of surface absorptive epithelial cells, where it colocalized with H(+)-K(+)-ATPase but not with Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase. AQP-2 was absent from the small intestine, stomach, and liver. Water deprivation increased the hybridization signal and the protein level (assessed by Western blot analysis) for AQP-2 in distal colon. This was accompanied by increased p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid-sensitive water absorption. These results indicate that AQP-2 is present in the rat distal colon, where it might be involved in a water-sparing mechanism. In addition, these results support the idea that AQP-2, and probably other aquaporins, are involved in water absorption in the colon.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Enhanced mtDNA repair capacity protects pulmonary artery endothelial cells from oxidant-mediated death.

In rat cultured pulmonary arterial (PA), microvascular, and venous endothelial cells (ECs), the rate of mitochondrial (mt) DNA repair is predictive of the severity of xanthine oxidase (XO)-induced mtDNA damage and the sensitivity to XO-mediated cell death. To examine the importance of mtDNA damage and repair more directly, we determined the impact of mitochondrial overexpression of the DNA repair enzyme, Ogg1, on XO-induced mtDNA damage and cell death in PAECs. PAECs were transiently transfected with an Ogg1-mitochondrial targeting sequence construct. Mitochondria-selective overexpression of the transgene product was confirmed microscopically by the observation that immunoreactive Ogg1 colocalized with a mitochondria-specific tracer and, with an oligonucleotide cleavage assay, by a selective enhancement of mitochondrial Ogg1 activity. Overexpression of Ogg1 protected against both XO-induced mtDNA damage, determined by quantitative Southern analysis, and cell death as assessed by trypan blue exclusion and MTS assays. These findings show that mtDNA damage is a direct cause of cell death in XO-treated PAECs.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Defective TNF-alpha-mediated hepatocellular apoptosis and liver damage in acidic sphingomyelinase knockout mice.

This study addressed the contribution of acidic sphingomyelinase (ASMase) in TNF-alpha-mediated hepatocellular apoptosis. Cultured hepatocytes depleted of mitochondrial glutathione (mGSH) became sensitive to TNF-alpha, undergoing a time-dependent apoptotic cell death preceded by mitochondrial membrane depolarization, cytochrome c release, and caspase activation. Cyclosporin A treatment rescued mGSH-depleted hepatocytes from TNF-alpha-induced cell death. In contrast, mGSH-depleted hepatocytes deficient in ASMase were resistant to TNF-alpha-mediated cell death but sensitive to exogenous ASMase. Furthermore, although in vivo administration of TNF-alpha or LPS to galactosamine-pretreated ASMase(+/+) mice caused liver damage, ASMase(-/-) mice exhibited minimal hepatocellular injury. To analyze the requirement of ASMase, we assessed the effect of glucosylceramide synthetase inhibition on TNF-alpha-mediated apoptosis. This approach, which blunted glycosphingolipid generation by TNF-alpha, protected mGSH-depleted ASMase(+/+) hepatocytes from TNF-alpha despite enhancement of TNF-alpha-stimulated ceramide formation. To further test the involvement of glycosphingolipids, we focused on ganglioside GD3 (GD3) because of its emerging role in apoptosis through interaction with mitochondria. Analysis of the cellular redistribution of GD3 by laser scanning confocal microscopy revealed the targeting of GD3 to mitochondria in ASMase(+/+) but not in ASMase(-/-) hepatocytes. However, treatment of ASMase(-/-) hepatocytes with exogenous ASMase induced the colocalization of GD3 and mitochondria. Thus, ASMase contributes to TNF-alpha-induced hepatocellular apoptosis by promoting the mitochondrial targeting of glycosphingolipids.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Expression of basic fibroblast growth factor in nasal polyps.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a polypeptide that is mitogenic for a wide variety of cell types. We used Northern blot analysis and immunohistochemistry to determine if bFGF is expressed in the nasal polyp tissue; bFGF messenger RNA was detectable in the polyps examined by Northern blot analysis. Strong immunostaining for bFGF was found in blood vessels and along the basement membrane of the epithelial cell layers. Basal epithelial cells and some infiltrating mononuclear cells also stained for bFGF. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen colocalized with bFGF to basal epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and areas of focal epithelial metaplasia. The polyp tissue was double-labeled with a mouse monoclonal antitryptase, a specific mast cell marker, and anti-bFGF. A significant number (65% +/- 19%) of the bFGF-positive mononuclear cells in the polyp tissues were positive for tryptase. These findings suggest that bFGF may contribute to the endothelial and epithelial proliferation in nasal polyp tissues and that mast cells are one source of this growth factor.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Imaging molecular interactions in living cells.

Hormones integrate the activities of their target cells through receptor-modulated cascades of protein interactions that ultimately lead to changes in cellular function. Understanding how the cell assembles these signaling protein complexes is critically important to unraveling disease processes, and to the design of therapeutic strategies. Recent advances in live-cell imaging technologies, combined with the use of genetically encoded fluorescent proteins, now allow the assembly of these signaling protein complexes to be tracked within the organized microenvironment of the living cell. Here, we review some of the recent developments in the application of imaging techniques to measure the dynamic behavior, colocalization, and spatial relationships between proteins in living cells. Where possible, we discuss the application of these different approaches in the context of hormone regulation of nuclear receptor localization, mobility, and interactions in different subcellular compartments. We discuss measurements that define the spatial relationships and dynamics between proteins in living cells including fluorescence colocalization, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. These live-cell imaging tools provide an important complement to biochemical and structural biology studies, extending the analysis of protein-protein interactions, protein conformational changes, and the behavior of signaling molecules to their natural environment within the intact cell.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Casein kinase I controls a late step in the endocytic trafficking of yeast uracil permease.

The modification of yeast uracil permease by phosphorylation at the plasma membrane is a key mechanism for regulating transporter endocytosis. Uracil permease is phosphorylated at several serine residues within a well characterized PEST sequence. The phosphorylation of these residues facilitates the ubiquitination and internalization of the permease. Following endocytosis, the permease is targeted to the lysosome/vacuole for proteolysis. We have shown that in casein kinase 1 (CK1)-deficient cells, the permease is poorly phosphorylated, poorly ubiquitinated and that Yck activity may play a direct role in phosphorylating the permease. We show here that CK1-deficient cells accumulated permease that was subjected to endocytosis in an internal compartment on its way to the vacuole. Uracil permease, produced as a fusion protein with green fluorescent protein in CK1-deficient cells, was detected in dots adjacent to the vacuole. These dots probably correspond to the late endosome/prevacuolar compartment because they were partially colocalized with the Pep12p marker. This accumulation was abolished by mutations affecting the adaptor-related complex, AP-3. The CPY and ALP pathways to the vacuole were both unaffected in CK1-deficient cells. Our analysis provides the first evidence that CK1 is important for the delivery of proteins to the vacuole after endocytosis.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed2006

Biochemical features of ceruloplasmin gene mutations linked to aceruloplasminemia.

Aceruloplasminemia is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by parenchymal iron accumulation owing to mutations in the ceruloplasmin gene. Ceruloplasmin is expressed in the central nervous system in which most of the ceruloplasmin is located on the surface of astrocytes in a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored form. We herein describe the biochemical features of wild-type and mutant GPI-anchored ceruloplasmin. An overexpression of wild-type GPI-anchored ceruloplasmin in Chinese hamster ovary cells led to the formation of aggresome-like inclusions, especially in the presence of proteasome inhibitors. As expected from the properties of aggresomes, the inclusions were colocalized with gamma-tubulin and a disruption of microtubules using nocodazole blocked the formation of such inclusions. Aceruloplasminemia-linked mutant proteins failed to form such inclusions even after treatment with proteasomal inhibitors. An immunofluorescent analysis indicated that the mutant proteins were thus retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), whereas the transfected cells showed a decreased viability. The expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 that is one of the ER stress sensor proteins, and the activity of glucose-regulated protein 78 promoter was upregulated in the cells transfected with the mutants. These findings indicated that when the overexpressed cytoplasmic wild-type ceruloplasmin was not subjected to degradation by the proteasome-ubiquitin system, then the wild-type protein was transported along the microtubules, thus forming inclusions at the microtubule organizing center, whereas the mutant ceruloplasmin failed to form any such inclusions, because the mutant protein might not have been translocated across the ER into the cytoplasm. Therefore, the mutant protein was considered to have accumulated in the ER thus leading to the ER stress, which resulted in cell death.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Decorin promotes aortic smooth muscle cell calcification and colocalizes to calcified regions in human atherosclerotic lesions.

OBJECTIVE: Ectopic calcification localized to the intima of atherosclerotic plaque is a risk marker for cardiovascular events and increases the risk of aortic dissection during angioplasty. A variety of extracellular matrix molecules such as collagen type 1, bone sialoprotein, and osteopontin are known to regulate the biomineralization of bone and ectopic vascular calcification. In the present study, it was investigated whether decorin, a small leucine-rich proteoglycan expressed in bone and atherosclerotic plaque, is involved in arterial calcification. METHODS AND RESULTS: Calcification was induced in cultured bovine aortic smooth muscle cell (BASMC) by the addition of beta-glycerophosphate or inorganic phosphate. Northern and Western analysis revealed that decorin expression was strongly upregulated in mineralizing BASMC. Furthermore, overexpression of decorin using a retroviral expression vector resulted in a 3- to 4-fold elevation of calcium deposited on the BASMC monolayer. Increased calcification in response to decorin could also be mimicked by adding exogenous decorin to the cultures. In addition, human coronary atherosclerotic lesions taken from sudden-death patients showed marked colocalization of calcium deposits with decorin. CONCLUSIONS: Decorin induces calcification of arterial smooth muscle cell cultures and colocalizes to mineral deposition in human atherosclerotic plaque, suggesting that decorin functions as promoter of intimal calcification.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Detection of auditory signals by frog inferior collicular neurons in the presence of spatially separated noise.

Detection of auditory signals by frog inferior collicular neurons in the presence of spatially separated noise. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 2848-2859, 1998. Psychophysical studies have shown that the ability to detect auditory signals embedded in noise improves when signal and noise sources are widely separated in space; this allows humans to analyze complex auditory scenes, as in the cocktail-part effect. Although these studies established that improvements in detection threshold (DT) are due to binaural hearing, few physiological studies were undertaken, and very little is known about the response of single neurons to spatially separated signal and noise sources. To address this issue we examined the responses of neurons in the frog inferior colliculus (IC) to a probe stimulus embedded in a spatially separated masker. Frogs perform auditory scene analysis because females select mates in dense choruses by means of auditory cues. Results of the extracellular single-unit recordings demonstrate that 22% of neurons (A-type) exhibited improvements in signal DTs when probe and masker sources were progressively separated in azimuth. In contrast, 24% of neurons (V-type) showed the opposite pattern, namely, signal DTs were lowest when probe and masker were colocalized (in many instances lower than the DT to probe alone) and increased when the two sound sources were separated. The remaining neurons demonstrated a mix of these two types of patterns. An intriguing finding was the strong correlation between A-type masking release patterns and phasic neurons and a weaker correlation between V-type patterns and tonic neurons. Although not decisive, these results suggest that phasic units may play a role in release from masking observed psychophysically. Analysis of the data also revealed a strong and nonlinear interaction among probe, masker, and masker azimuth and that signal DTs were influenced by two factors: 1) the unit's sensitivity to probe in the presence of masker and 2) the criterion level for estimating DT. For some units, it was possible to examine the interaction between these two factors and gain insights into the variation of DTs with masker azimuth. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to signal detection in the auditory system.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1998

Direct pathway from early/recycling endosomes to the Golgi apparatus revealed through the study of shiga toxin B-fragment transport.

Shiga toxin and other toxins of this family can escape the endocytic pathway and reach the Golgi apparatus. To synchronize endosome to Golgi transport, Shiga toxin B-fragment was internalized into HeLa cells at low temperatures. Under these conditions, the protein partitioned away from markers destined for the late endocytic pathway and colocalized extensively with cointernalized transferrin. Upon subsequent incubation at 37 degreesC, ultrastructural studies on cryosections failed to detect B-fragment-specific label in multivesicular or multilamellar late endosomes, suggesting that the protein bypassed the late endocytic pathway on its way to the Golgi apparatus. This hypothesis was further supported by the rapid kinetics of B-fragment transport, as determined by quantitative confocal microscopy on living cells and by B-fragment sulfation analysis, and by the observation that actin- depolymerizing and pH-neutralizing drugs that modulate vesicular transport in the late endocytic pathway had no effect on B-fragment accumulation in the Golgi apparatus. B-fragment sorting at the level of early/recycling endosomes seemed to involve vesicular coats, since brefeldin A treatment led to B-fragment accumulation in transferrin receptor-containing membrane tubules, and since B-fragment colocalized with adaptor protein type 1 clathrin coat components on early/recycling endosomes. Thus, we hypothesize that Shiga toxin B-fragment is transported directly from early/recycling endosomes to the Golgi apparatus. This pathway may also be used by cellular proteins, as deduced from our finding that TGN38 colocalized with the B-fragment on its transport from the plasma membrane to the TGN.

Adaptor Protein Complex gamma Subunits↗
PubMed2004

Mutations affecting the formation of posterior lateral line system in Medaka, Oryzias latipes.

We performed a systematic screen for mutations affecting the trajectory of axons visualized by immunohistochemical staining of Medaka embryos with anti-acetylated tubulin antibody. Among the mutations identified, yanagi (yan) and kazura (kaz) mutations caused specific defects in projection of the posterior lateral line (PLL) nerve. In yan and kaz mutant embryos, the PLL nerve main bundle was misrouted ventrally and dorsally or anteriorly. Medaka semaphorin3A, sdf1, and cxcr4 cDNA fragments were cloned to allow analysis of these mutants. There were no changes in semaphorin3A or sdf1 expression in mutant embryos, suggesting that the tissues expressing semaphorin3A or sdf1 that are involved in PLL nerve guidance are present in these mutant embryos. Double staining revealed that the mislocated PLL primordium and growth cone of the ectopically projected PLL nerve were always colocalized in both yan and kaz mutant embryos, suggesting that migration of PLL primordia and PLL nerve growth cones are not uncoupled in these mutants. Although homozygous yan larvae showed incomplete migration of the PLL primordium along the anteroposterior axis, ventral proneuromast migration was complete, suggesting that ventral migration of the proneuromast does not require the signaling affected in yan mutants. In addition to the PLL system, the distribution of primordial germ cells (PGCs) was also affected in both yan and kaz mutant embryos, indicating that yan and kaz genes are required for the migration of both PLL primordia and PGCs. Genetic linkage analysis indicated that kaz is linked to cxcr4, but yan is not linked to sdf1 or cxcr4. These mutations will provide genetic clues to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying formation of the PLL system.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Localization of alpha 1,3-fucosyltransferase VI in Weibel-Palade bodies of human endothelial cells.

Surface glycosylation of endothelial cells is relevant to various processes including coagulation, inflammation, metastasis, and lymphocyte homing. One of the essential sugars involved in these processes is fucose linked alpha1-->3 to N-acetylglucosamine. A family of alpha1,3-fucosyltransferases (FucTs) called FucT-III, IV, V, VI, VII, and IX is able to catalyze such fucosylations. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed that human umbilical vein endothelial cells express all of the FucTs except FucT-IX. The predominant activity, as inferred by acceptor specificity of enzyme activity in cell lysates, is compatible with the presence of FucT-VI. By using an antibody to recombinant soluble FucT-VI, the enzyme colocalized with beta4-galactosyltransferase-1 to the Golgi apparatus. By using a polyclonal antiserum raised against a 17-aa peptide of the variable (stem) region of the FucT-VI, immunocytochemical staining of FucT-VI was restricted to Weibel-Palade bodies, as determined by colocalization with P-selectin and von Willebrand factor. SDS/PAGE immunoblotting and amino acid sequencing of internal peptides confirmed the identity of the antigen isolated by the peptide-specific antibody as FucT-VI. Storage of a fucosyltransferase in Weibel-Palade bodies suggests a function independent of Golgi-associated glycosylation.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Gene-Ontology analysis reveals association of tissue-specific 5' CpG-island genes with development and embryogenesis.

A key open question in the understanding of the biology of DNA methylation relates to the origin and function of CpG islands, stretches of GC-rich and relatively CpG-rich DNA sequence that often colocalize with promoter regions. All housekeeping, but also a substantial minority of tissue-specific genes are associated with the CpG islands. Limited experimental evidence suggests that CpG islands are associated with promoters or replication origins active during early development. Although this hypothesis is attractive for widely expressed genes, which would be expected to be expressed during early development, many tissue-specific genes also contain CpG islands. In this work, we used a genome-wide Gene-Ontology (GO)-based approach to analyze associations between GO terms and the presence of 5' CpG islands in human Reference Sequence (RefSeq) genes. We found that 19 of the 3849 GO terms with at least one annotated human sequence showed a highly significant association with the likelihood of 5' CpG islands being present in genes annotated to that term. In particular, the term 'development' showed a highly significantly increased proportion of 5' CpG island genes. The overrepresentation of 5' CpG island genes was even more significant for tissue-specific RefSeqs annotated to development as well as many of its descendent terms. In addition, the proportion of expressed sequence tags from embryonic libraries amongst tissue-specific genes was twice as high for RefSeqs with 5' CpG islands as for those without CpG islands. These results provide strong support for previous speculations that early embryonic expression is associated with CpG islands.

Animals↗