Search results for "regulation"
showing 10 items of 4463 documents
piRNAclusterDB 2.0: update and expansion of the piRNA cluster database.
2021
Abstract PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and their partnering PIWI proteins defend the animal germline against transposable elements and play a crucial role in fertility. Numerous studies in the past have uncovered many additional functions of the piRNA pathway, including gene regulation, anti-viral defense, and somatic transposon repression. Further, comparative analyses across phylogenetic groups showed that the PIWI/piRNA system evolves rapidly and exhibits great evolutionary plasticity. However, the presence of so-called piRNA clusters as the major source of piRNAs is common to nearly all metazoan species. These genomic piRNA-producing loci are highly divergent across taxa and critically…
Switch between tyrosinase and catecholoxidase activity of scorpion hemocyanin by allosteric effectors
2008
AbstractPhenoloxidases and hemocyanins have similar type 3 copper centers although they perform different functions. Hemocyanins are oxygen carriers, while phenoloxidases (tyrosinase/catecholoxidase) catalyze the initial step in melanin synthesis. Tyrosinases catalyze two subsequent reactions, whereas catecholoxidases catalyze only the second one. Recent results indicate that hemocyanins can also function as phenoloxidases and here we show for the first time that hemocyanin can be converted to phenoloxidase. Furthermore, its substrate specificity can be switched between catecholoxidase and tyrosinase activity depending on effectors such as hydroxymethyl-aminomethan (Tris) and Mg2+-ions. Thi…
Oxygen binding and its allosteric control in hemoglobin of the primitive branchiopod crustacean Triops cancriformis
2007
Branchiopod crustaceans are endowed with extracellular, high-molecular-mass hemoglobins (Hbs), the functional and allosteric properties of which have largely remained obscure. The Hb of the phylogenetically ancient Triops cancriformis (Notostraca) revealed moderate oxygen affinity, cooperativity and pH dependence (Bohr effect) coefficients: P50 = 13.3 mmHg, n50 = 2.3, and ϕ = −0.18, at 20 °C and pH 7.44 in Tris buffer. The in vivo hemolymph pH was 7.52. Bivalent cations increased oxygen affinity, Mg2+ exerting a greater effect than Ca2+. Analysis of cooperative oxygen binding in terms of the nested Monod–Wyman–Changeux (MWC) model revealed an allosteric unit of four oxygen-binding sites and…
Astrocytes in culture express the full-length Trk-B receptor and respond to brain derived neurotrophic factor by changing intracellular calcium level…
2000
Abstract Although cultured astroglial cells were reported to express exclusively the truncated non-catalytic Trk B receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), we detect here, using a sensitive ribonuclease protection assay, mRNAs for both truncated (TrkB–T) and the full length catalytic (TrkB–fl) form of BDNF receptor in developing cortical astrocytes and neurons in culture. Cortical neurons and immature astroglia, such as radial glia and proliferating astrocytes, express both the protein and mRNAs for TrkB-fl and TrkB-T, whereas the differentiation of astrocytes leads to a decrease in the trkB-fl mRNA, being the truncated TrkB the predominant receptor in differentiating and conf…
Construction and expression of a dual vector for chemo-enzymatic synthesis of plant indole alkaloids inEscherichia coli
2010
A dual vector (pQE-70-STR1-SG) containing coding regions of strictosidine synthase (STR1, EC 4.3.3.2) and strictosidine glucosidase (SG, EC 3.2.1.105) from the Indian medicinal plant Rauvolfia serpentina was constructed. Functional expression of the vector in Escherichia coli cells (M15 strain) was proven by isolation of prepurified enzyme extracts, which show both STR1 and SG activities. Incubation of the enzyme in the presence of tryptamine and secologanin delivered the indole alkaloid cathenamine, demonstrating functional co-expression of both STR1- and SG-cDNAs. Cathenamine reduction by sodium borohydride leading to tetrahydroalstonine revealed the chemo-enzymatic indole alkaloid synthe…
A FOX Binding Site is Necessary for the Activation of Pl-Tuba1a Gene in the neurogenic domains
2016
All echinoderm larvae possess a nervous system consisting of a ciliary band and associated sensory ganglia (apical, oral and lateral ganglia) that controls swimming and feeding. Neurons of the larval nervous system first appear as neuroblasts in the thickened ectoderm of the animal plate (anterior neuroectoderm, ANE) at the late blastula – early gastrula stage and then also in the ciliary band. The neural differentiation process of sea urchin embryos has been analysed and the Gene Regulatory Network involved in the differentiation processes is extensively studied. We have previously isolated an alpha tubulin family member of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Pl-Tuba1a, formerly known as…
MMP-10/stromelysin-2 promotes invasion of head and neck cancer.
2011
BackgroundPeriostin, IFN-induced transmembrane protein 1 (IFITM1) and Wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 5B (Wnt-5b) were previously identified as the invasion promoted genes of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) by comparing the gene expression profiles between parent and a highly invasive clone. We have previously reported that Periostin and IFITM1 promoted the invasion of HNSCC cells. Here we demonstrated that Wnt-5b overexpression promoted the invasion of HNSCC cells. Moreover, stromelysin-2 (matrix metalloproteinase-10; MMP-10) was identified as a common up-regulated gene among Periostin, IFITM1 and Wnt-5b overexpressing HNSCC cells by using microarray data s…
Direct Activation of Bax by p53 Mediates Mitochondrial Membrane Permeabilization and Apoptosis
2004
The tumor suppressor p53 exerts its anti-neoplastic activity primarily through the induction of apoptosis. We found that cytosolic localization of endogenous wild-type or trans-activation–deficient p53 was necessary and sufficient for apoptosis. p53 directly activated the proapoptotic Bcl-2protein Bax in the absence of other proteins to permeabilize mitochondria and engage the apoptotic program. p53 also released both proapoptotic multidomain proteins and BH3-only proteins [Proapoptotic Bcl-2family proteins that share only the third Bcl-2homology domain (BH3)] that were sequestered by Bcl-xL. The transcription-independent activation of Bax by p53 occurred with similar kinetics and concentra…
Progression of colorectal cancers correlates with overexpression and loss of polarization of expression of the htid-1 tumor suppressor.
2007
Recently, we identified htid-1, the human counterpart of the Drosophila tumor suppressor gene lethal(2)tumorous imaginal discs [l(2)tid], as a direct molecular ligand of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor. The gene encodes three cytosolic (Tid50, Tid48 and Tid46) and three mitochondrial (Tid43, Tid40 and Tid38) proteins. In the colorectal epithelium the cytosolic forms hTid50/hTid48 interact under physiological conditions with the N-terminal region of APC. This complex which associates with additional proteins such as Hsp70, Hsc70, Actin, Dvl and Axin defines a novel physiological state of APC unrelated to beta-catenin degradation. Here we show that the expression of the …
The tumor suppressor CYLD controls the function of murine regulatory T cells.
2012
Abstract CYLD was originally identified as a tumor suppressor gene mutated in familial cylindromatosis, an autosomal dominant predisposition to multiple benign neoplasms of the skin known as cylindromas. The CYLD protein is a deubiquitinating enzyme that acts as a negative regulator of NF-κB and JNK signaling through its interaction with NEMO and TNFR-associated factor 2. We have previously described a novel mouse strain that expresses solely and excessively a naturally occurring splice variant of CYLD (CYLDex7/8). In this study, we demonstrate that CYLD plays a critical role in Treg development and function. T cells of CYLDex7/8 mice had a hyperactive phenotype manifested by increased prod…