Search results for "Base Sequence"
showing 10 items of 1146 documents
Structure of MHC class I and class II cDNAs and possible immunodeficiency linked to class II expression in the Mexican axolotl
1998
Despite the fact that the axolotl (Ambystoma spp. a urodele amphibian) displays a large T-cell repertoire and a reasonable B-cell repertoire, its humoral immune response is slow (60 days), non-anamnestic, with a unique IgM class. The cytotoxic immune response is slow as well (21 days) with poor mixed lymphocyte reaction stimulation. Therefore, this amphibian can be considered as immunodeficient. The reason for this subdued immune response could be an altered antigenic presentation by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. This article summarizes our work on axolotl MHC genes. Class I genes have been characterized and the cDNA sequences show a good conservation of non-polymorphic …
Identification and Expression of the SOS Response, aidB-Like, Gene in the Marine Sponge Geodia cydonium: Implication for the Phylogenetic Relationshi…
1998
Sponges (Porifera) are the phylogenetically oldest metazoan organisms. From one member of the siliceous sponges, Geodia cydonium, the cDNA encoding a putative SOS protein, the AidB-like protein of the Ada system from bacteria, was isolated and characterized. The cDNA, GCaidB, comprises an open reading frame of 446 amino acid (aa) residues encoding a polypeptide with a calculated Mr of 49,335. This molecule shows high similarity to the bacterial AidB proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Escherichia coli and somewhat lower similarities to acyl-CoA dehydrogenases (ADHs) and acyl-CoA oxidases (AOXs). Northern blot analysis confirmed the presence of the complete transcript. The deduced s…
Arbutin synthase, a novel member of the NRD1β glycosyltransferase family, is a unique multifunctional enzyme converting various natural products and …
2002
Plant glucosyltransferases (GTs) play a crucial role in natural product biosynthesis and metabolization of xenobiotics. We expressed the arbutin synthase (AS) cDNA from Rauvolfia serpentina cell suspension cultures in Escherichia coli with a 6 x His tag and purified the active enzyme to homogeneity. The recombinant enzyme had a temperature optimum of 50 degrees C and showed two different pH optima (4.5 and 6.8 or 7.5, depending on the buffer). Out of 74 natural and synthetic phenols and two cinnamyl alcohols tested as substrates for the AS, 45 were accepted, covering a broad range of structural features. Converting rates comparable to hydroquinone were not achieved. In contrast to this broa…
Plant progesterone 5β-reductase is not homologous to the animal enzyme. Molecular evolutionary characterization of P5βR from Digitalis purpurea
2007
Plants of the genus Digitalis produce cardiac glycosides, i.e. digoxin, which are widely used for congestive heart failure. Progesterone 5beta-reductase (P5betaR) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of these natural products. Here, we have carried out the purification and partial amino acid sequencing of the native P5betaR from foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), and isolated a cDNA encoding this enzyme. Similarly to other steroid 5beta-reductases, the recombinant P5betaR catalyzes the stereospecific reduction of the Delta(4)-double bond of several steroids with a 3-oxo,Delta(4,5) structure. The gene encoding P5betaR is expressed in all plant organs, and maximally transcribed in leaves and matur…
Different genomic organization and expression of immunoglobulin light-chain isotypes in the rainbow trout.
2000
cDNA studies have distinguished two isotypes of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) immunoglobulin (Ig) light chain (designated L1 and L2). This study characterized genomic clones of these isotypes. L1 genes are arranged in clusters with single copies of variable (V), joining (J), and constant (C) segments. The transcriptional orientation of the V genes is opposite to that of the J and C segments, indicating that the V genes must be rearranged by inversion. L2 is also organized in clusters, consisting of two or three V, one J, and one C exon, all in the same transcriptional orientation. L1 and L2 of rainbow trout are similar to the previously identified cod and catfish clusters. Repeat …
Characterization of a cDNA encoding RP43, a CUB-domain-containing protein from the tube of Riftia pachyptila (Vestimentifera), and distribution of it…
2000
A major 43kDa protein from the protective tube of Riftiapachyptila (Vestimentifera), named RP43, was partly microsequenced after isolation by SDS/PAGE from the protein fraction of tubes collected around the hydrothermal vents at the East Pacific Rise. On the basis of the partial peptide sequences obtained, experiments using reverse-transcriptase-mediated PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends led to the complete cDNA sequence. Analysis of deduced amino acid sequence of RP43 showed the presence of CUB domains (100–110-residue-spanning domains first reported in the complement subcomponents C1r/C1s, epidermal-growth-factor-related sea urchin protein and bone morphogenetic protein 1) that se…
Cloning and expression of new receptors belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily from the marine sponge Geodia cydonium
1999
A cDNA encoding a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) was previously cloned and expressed from the marine sponge (Porifera) Geodia cydonium. In addition to the two intracellular regions characteristic for RTKs, two immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains are found in the extracellular part of the sponge RTK. In the present study it is shown that no further Ig-like domain is present in the upstream region of the cDNA as well as of the gene hitherto known from the sponge RTK. Two different full-length cDNAs have been isolated and characterized in the present study, which possess two Ig-like domains, one transmembrane segment, and only a short intracellular part, without a TK domain. The two deduced polyp…
Molecular cloning of rat G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6 (GRK6) from brain tissue, and its mRNA expression in different brain regions and periphe…
1997
The rat G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6 (GRK6) cDNA was cloned from rat brain tissue by a combination of reverse-transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR), based on homology to the cloned human GRK6, and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE-PCR). We obtained a clone of 2817 bp with an open reading frame of 1731 bp encoding for a protein of 576 amino acids that is 96.7% identical and 97.9% similar to its human counterpart. mRNA was detectable in all brain areas examined. In addition, GRK6 was expressed in skeletal muscle, small intestine, aorta, liver, heart, lung, thymus, stomach, uterus and kidney.
Cloning, structure, cellular localization, and possible function of the tumor suppressor gene lethal(3)malignant blood neoplasm-1 of Drosophila melan…
1994
The tumor suppressor gene, lethal(3)malignant blood neoplasm-1+, of Drosophila melanogaster is required for the differentiation of the phagocytic blood-cell type, the plasmatocyte. In the homozygously mutated state it causes the malignant transformation of these blood cells. We present here the cloning, sequencing, structure, and expression of the l(3)mbn-1+ gene during development. The cloned gene was identified by germ-line transformation, generation of revertants, and the detection of the corresponding mRNA in blood cells and other tissues. Homologies of the G-S-rich C-terminus of the putative MBN83 protein to human cytokeratins K1, K10, and mouse loricrin were found. The structure and p…
The human p53 gene mutated at position 249per se is not sufficient to immortalize human liver cells
1999
A particular point mutation of the tumor suppressor gene p53, namely a G→T transversion at the third base of codon 249, is frequently detected in primary hepatocellular carcinomas from patients living in areas where the levels of dietary exposure to aflatoxin B 1 and the rates of infection with the hepatitis B virus are very high. Very recently, a nontumorigenic liver epithelial cell line (HACL-1) with a finite life-span and expressing a number of hepatocyte-specific markers was established from a human hepatocellular adenoma in our laboratory. To analyze the role of mutated p53 in the immortalization of human liver cells, we transfected HACL-1 cells with an expression vector containing a h…