Search results for "molecular sequence data"
showing 10 items of 1928 documents
Two tyrosinase nonapeptides recognized on HLA-A2 melanomas by autologous cytolytic T lymphocytes
1994
A number of cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones derived from several melanoma patients have been found to recognize a majority of melanomas from HLA-A2 patients. We have reported previously that two such CTL clones recognize a product of the tyrosinase gene that is presented by HLA-A2. Here we show that one of these CTL clones recognizes a peptide encoded by the first nine amino acids of the putative signal sequence of tyrosinase. The other CTL clone recognizes a different tyrosinase peptide corresponding to amino acids 368-376. Both peptides contain consensus motifs of HLA-A2 binding peptides.
The sequence alteration associated with a mutational hotspot in p53 protects cells from lysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for a flanking pept…
1998
A high proportion of tumors arise due to mutation of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. A p53 hotspot mutation at amino acid position 273 from R to H, flanking a peptide epitope that spans residues 264–272, renders cells resistant to killing by human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*0201–restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific for this epitope. Acquisition of the R to H mutation at residue 273 of the human p53 protein promotes tumor growth in vivo by selective escape from recognition by p53.264–272 peptide-specific CTLs. Synthetic 27-mer p53 polypeptides covering the antigenic nonamer region 264–272 of p53 were used as proteasome substrates to investigate whether the R…
Nuclear Localization of PTEN by a Ran-dependent Mechanism Enhances Apoptosis: Involvement of an N-Terminal Nuclear Localization Domain and Multiple N…
2006
The targeting of the tumor suppressor PTEN protein to distinct subcellular compartments is a major regulatory mechanism of PTEN function, by controlling its access to substrates and effector proteins. Here, we investigated the molecular basis and functional consequences of PTEN nuclear/cytoplasmic distribution. PTEN accumulated in the nucleus of cells treated with apoptotic stimuli. Nuclear accumulation of PTEN was enhanced by mutations targeting motifs in distinct PTEN domains, and it was dependent on an N-terminal nuclear localization domain. Coexpression of a dominant negative Ran GTPase protein blocked PTEN accumulation in the nucleus, which was also affected by coexpression of importin…
Establishment and functional validation of a structural homology model for human DNA methyltransferase 1
2003
Changes in DNA methylation patterns play an important role in tumorigenesis. The DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) protein represents a major DNA methyltransferase activity in human cells and is therefore a prominent target for experimental cancer therapies. However, there are only few available inhibitors and their high toxicity and low specificity have so far precluded their broad use in chemotherapy. Based on the strong conservation of catalytic DNA methyltransferase domains we have used a homology modeling approach to determine the three-dimensional structure of the DNMT1 catalytic domain. Our results suggest an overall structural conservation with other DNA methyltransferases but also in…
Molecular and functional analysis of the (6-4) photolyase from the hexactinellid Aphrocallistes vastus.
2003
The hexactinellid sponges (phylum Porifera) represent the phylogenetically oldest metazoans that evolved 570-750 million years ago. At this period exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light exceeded that of today and it may be assumed that this old taxon has developed a specific protection system against UV-caused DNA damage. A cDNA was isolated from the hexactinellid Aphrocallistes vastus which comprises high sequence similarity to genes encoding the protostomian and deuterostomian (6-4) photolyases. Subsequently functional studies were performed. It could be shown that the sponge gene, after transfection into mutated Escherichia coli, causes resistance of the bacteria against UV light. Recombinan…
Fen1 is induced p53 dependently and involved in the recovery from UV-light-induced replication inhibition.
2005
Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) that lack p53 are hypersensitive to the cytotoxic and genotoxic effect of ultraviolet (UV-C) light. They also display a defect in the recovery from UV-C-induced DNA replication inhibition. An enzyme involved in processing stalled DNA replication forks is flap endonuclease 1 (Fen1). Gene expression profiling of UV-C-irradiated MEFs revealed fen1 to be upregulated, which was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot experiments. Increased Fen1 levels upon UV-C exposure are due to transcriptional activation, as revealed by inhibitor studies. Fen1 induction was dose- and time-dependent; it occurred on protein level already 3 h after irradiation. Induction of Fen1 b…
Origin of the integrin-mediated signal transduction. Functional studies with cell cultures from the sponge Suberites domuncula
1999
Sponges (phylum Porifera) represent the phylogenetically oldest metazoan animals. Recently, from the marine sponge Geodia cydonium a first cDNA encoding a putative integrin receptor molecule was isolated. In the present study basic functional experiments have been conducted to test the hypothesis that in sponges integrin polypeptides also function as adhesion molecules and as outside-in signaling molecules. The sponge Suberites domuncula has been used for the experiments because from this sponge only has a cell culture been established. Here we report that aggregation factor (AF)-mediated cell-cell adhesion is blocked by the RGDS peptide which is known to interact with beta integrin. Both R…
How DNA lesions are turned into powerful killing structures: Insights from UV-induced apoptosis
2008
Mammalian cells treated with ultraviolet (UV) light provide one of the best-known experimental systems for depicting the biological consequences of DNA damage. UV irradiation induces the formation of DNA photoproducts, mainly cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and (6-4) pyrimidine-pyrimidone photoproducts [(6-4)PPs], that drastically impairs DNA metabolism, culminating in the induction of cell death by apoptosis. While CPDs are the most important apoptosis-inducing lesions in DNA repair proficient cells, recent data indicates that (6-4)PPs also signals for apoptosis in DNA repair deficient cells. The toxic effects of these unrepaired DNA lesions are commonly associated with transcription …
Spontaneous Quinolone Resistance in the Zoonotic Serovar of Vibrio vulnificus
2009
ABSTRACT This work demonstrates that Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2, serovar E, an eel pathogen able to infect humans, can become resistant to quinolone by specific mutations in gyrA (substitution of isoleucine for serine at position 83) and to some fluoroquinolones by additional mutations in parC (substitution of lysine for serine at position 85). Thus, to avoid the selection of resistant strains that are potentially pathogenic for humans, antibiotics other than quinolones must be used to treat vibriosis on farms.
Induction of DNA strand breaks and expression of HSP70 and GRP78 homolog by cadmium in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula
1998
The marine sponge Suberites domuncula was used as a bioindicator to study the effects of cadmium on the occurrence of DNA strand breakage and on the induction of the expression of the stress biomarkers, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) homolog. The cDNA encoding GRP78 homolog from S. domuncula was isolated and characterized. The GRP78 cDNA has a length of 2.1 kb and displays characteristic features of the HSP70 family ; it encodes an aa sequence of M-r 72, 000. Exposure of S. domuncula to 1 mg/L of cadmium chloride for 24 h caused a strong(16.6-fold) increase in cadmium content to 7.7 mu g/g wet weight of sponge tissue ; after an incubation period of 6 …