Search results for "Transcription factors"
showing 10 items of 848 documents
Impaired Mast Cell-Driven Immune Responses in Mice Lacking the Transcription Factor NFATc2
2009
Abstract The three calcium-dependent factors NFATc1, c2, and c3 are expressed in cells of the immune system and play pivotal roles in modulating cellular activation. With regard to NFATc2, it was reported that NFATc2-deficient mice display increased immune responses in several models for infection and allergy in vivo. This led to the assumption that NFATc2 is involved in the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Using the synthetic TLR7 agonist imiquimod as an adjuvant in epicutaneous peptide immunization, we observed that both the inflammatory reaction and the peptide-specific CTL response are severely impaired in NFATc2-deficient mice. Detailed analyses revealed that early production of proi…
Targeting positive regulatory domain I-binding factor 1 and X box-binding protein 1 transcription factors by multiple myeloma-reactive CTL.
2005
Abstract Growing evidence indicates that multiple myeloma (MM) and other malignancies are susceptible to CTL-based immune interventions. We studied whether transcription factors inherently involved in the terminal differentiation of mature B lymphocytes into malignant and nonmalignant plasma cells provide MM-associated CTL epitopes. HLA-A*0201 (A2.1) transgenic mice were used to identify A2.1-presented peptide Ag derived from the plasma cell-associated transcriptional regulators, positive regulatory domain I-binding factor 1 (PRDI-BF1) and X box-binding protein 1 (XBP-1). A2.1-restricted CTL specific for PRDI-BF1 and XBP-1 epitopes efficiently killed a variety of MM targets. PRDI-BF1- and X…
Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 controls adult neural stem cell expansion by regulating Sox2 gene expression.
2012
Summary In the adult brain, continual neurogenesis of olfactory neurons is sustained by the existence of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the subependymal niche. Elimination of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21) leads to premature exhaustion of the subependymal NSC pool, suggesting a relationship between cell cycle control and long-term self-renewal, but the molecular mechanisms underlying NSC maintenance by p21 remain unexplored. Here we identify a function of p21 in the direct regulation of the expression of pluripotency factor Sox2, a key regulator of the specification and maintenance of neural progenitors. We observe that p21 directly binds a Sox2 enhancer and negatively regulate…
Sex-specific windows for high mRNA expression of DNA methyltransferases 1 and 3A and methyl-CpG-binding domain proteins 2 and 4 in human fetal gonads
2006
DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and 5-methyl-CpG-binding domain proteins (MBDs) are involved in the acquisition of parent-specific epigenetic modifications in human male and female germ cells. Reverse Northern blot analyses demonstrated sex-specific differences in mRNA expression for the maintenance DNMT1 and the de novo DNMT3A in developing testis and ovary. In fetal testis DNMT1 and DNMT3A expression peaked in mitotically arrested spermatogonia around 21 weeks gestation. In fetal ovary transcriptional upregulation of DNMT1 and DNMT3A occurred during a very brief period at 16 weeks gestation, when the oocytes proceeded through meiotic prophase. Fetal gonads showed several fold higher DNMT3A…
c-Fos is required for excision repair of UV-light induced DNA lesions by triggering the re-synthesis of XPF
2006
Cells deficient in c-Fos are hypersensitive to ultraviolet (UV-C) light. Here we demonstrate that mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacking c-Fos (fos-/-) are defective in the repair of UV-C induced DNA lesions. They show a decreased rate of sealing of repair-mediated DNA strand breaks and are unable to remove cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers from DNA. A search for genes responsible for the DNA repair defect revealed that upon UV-C treatment the level of xpf and xpg mRNA declined but, in contrast to the wild type (wt), did not recover in fos-/- cells. The observed decline in xpf and xpg mRNA is due to impaired re-synthesis, as shown by experiments using actinomycin D. Block of xpf transcription resu…
Multiple roles for ISWI in transcription, chromosome organization and DNA replication.
2003
ISWI functions as the ATPase subunit of multiple chromatin-remodeling complexes. These complexes use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to slide nucleosomes and increase chromatin fluidity, thereby modulating the access of transcription factors and other regulatory proteins to DNA. Here we discuss recent progress toward understanding the biological functions of ISWI, with an emphasis on its roles in transcription, chromosome organization and DNA replication.
Requirement of the Lactobacillus casei MaeKR two-component system for L-malic acid utilization via a malic enzyme pathway.
2009
ABSTRACTLactobacillus caseican metabolizel-malic acid via malolactic enzyme (malolactic fermentation [MLF]) or malic enzyme (ME). Whereas utilization ofl-malic acid via MLF does not support growth, the ME pathway enablesL. caseito grow onl-malic acid. In this work, we have identified in the genomes ofL. caseistrains BL23 and ATCC 334 a cluster consisting of two diverging operons,maePEandmaeKR, encoding a putative malate transporter (maeP), an ME (maeE), and a two-component (TC) system belonging to the citrate family (maeKandmaeR). Homologous clusters were identified inEnterococcus faecalis,Streptococcus agalactiae,Streptococcus pyogenes, andStreptococcus uberis. Our results show that ME is …
Multilocus sequence analysis of the central clade of the genus Vibrio by using the 16S rRNA, recA, pyrH, rpoD, gyrB, rctB and toxR genes.
2009
The central clade of the genus Vibrio, also called the Vibrio core group, comprises six species that are tightly related (DNA–DNA reassociation values are very close to 70 % for most species pairs). Identification of novel strains to the species level within this group is troublesome and results are quite often dependent on the methodology employed. Therefore, this group represents an excellent framework to test the robustness of multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) not only for inferring phylogeny but also as an identification tool without the need for DNA–DNA hybridization assays. The genes selected, 16S rRNA, recA, pyrH, rpoD, gyrB, rctB and toxR, were amplified by direct PCR from 44 Vibr…
Phosphorylation and DNA binding of the regulator DcuR of the fumarate-responsive two-component system DcuSR of Escherichia coli
2004
The function of the response regulator DcuR of the DcuSR fumarate two-component sensory system of Escherichia coli was analysed in vitro. Isolated DcuR protein was phosphorylated by the sensory histidine kinase, DcuS, and ATP, or by acetyl phosphate. In gel retardation assays with target promoters (frdA, dcuB, dctA), phosphoryl DcuR (DcuR-P) formed a high-affinity complex, with an apparent K D (app. K D) of 0·2–0·3 μM DcuR-P, and a low-affinity (app. K D 0·8–2 μM) complex. The high-affinity complex was formed only with promoters transcriptionally-regulated by DcuSR, whereas low-affinity binding was seen also with some DcuSR-independent promoters. The binding site of DcuR-P at the dcuB promo…
LrhA as a new transcriptional key regulator of flagella, motility and chemotaxis genes in Escherichia coli
2002
The function of the LysR-type regulator LrhA of Escherichia coli was defined by comparing whole-genome mRNA profiles from wild-type E. coli and an isogenic lrhA mutant on a DNA microarray. In the lrhA mutant, a large number (48) of genes involved in flagellation, motility and chemotaxis showed relative mRNA abundances increased by factors between 3 and 80. When a representative set of five flagellar, motility and chemotaxis genes was tested in lacZ reporter gene fusions, similar factors for derepression were found in the lrhA mutant. In gel retardation experiments, the LrhA protein bound specifically to flhD and lrhA promoter DNA (apparent K-D approximate to 20 nM), whereas the promoters of…