Search results for "silencing"
showing 10 items of 253 documents
Generation and characterization of tTS-H4: a novel transcriptional repressor that is compatible with the reverse tetracycline-controlled TET-ON system
2007
Background Conditional gene regulatory systems ensuring tight and adjustable expression of therapeutic genes are central for developing future gene therapy strategies. Among various regulatory systems, tetracycline-controlled gene expression has emerged as a safe and reliable option. Moreover, the tightness of tetracycline-regulated gene switches can be substantially improved by complementing transcriptional activators with antagonizing repressors. Methods To develop novel tetracycline-responsive transcriptional repressors, we fused various transcriptional silencing domains to the TetR (B/E) DNA-binding and dimerization domain of the Tn10-encoded tetracycline resistance operon (TetR (B/E)).…
RNA memory model: a RNA-mediated transcriptional activation mechanism involved in cell identity.
2010
Position-effect variegation (PEV) was discovered in Drosophila melanogaster in 1930 in a study of X-ray-induced chromosomal rearrangements. If a rearrangement places euchromatic genes adjacent to a region of centromeric heterochromatin, it gives a variegated phenotype that results from the random inactivation of genes by heterochromatin spreading from the breakpoint. After the establishment, the inactivation is henceforth clonally inherited. The vast majority of these modifiers were originally isolated in Drosophila as dominant mutations that suppressed or enhanced the variegation caused by a variegating white allele called white-mottled 4 (wm4). A large number of modifier genes alter PEV p…
Melatonin induces transcriptional regulation of Bim by FoxO3a in HepG2 cells
2012
Background: Melatonin induces apoptosis in many different cancer cell lines, including hepatocellular carcinoma cells. However, the responsible pathways have not been clearly elucidated. A member of the forkhead transcription factors' family, FoxO3a, has been implicated in the expression of the proapoptotic protein Bim (a Bcl-2-interacting mediator of cell death). In this study, we used human HepG2 liver cancer cells as an in vitro model to investigate whether melatonin treatment induces Bim through regulation by the transcription factor FoxO3a. Methods: Cytotoxicity of melatonin was compared in HepG2 hepatoblastoma cells and primary human hepatocytes. Proapoptotic Bim expression was analys…
CD8 T Cells Control Cytomegalovirus Latency by Epitope-Specific Sensing of Transcriptional Reactivation
2006
ABSTRACT During murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV) latency in the lungs, most of the viral genomes are transcriptionally silent at the major immediate-early locus, but rare and stochastic episodes of desilencing lead to the expression of IE1 transcripts. This low-frequency but perpetual expression is accompanied by an activation of lung-resident effector-memory CD8 T cells specific for the antigenic peptide 168-YPHFMPTNL-176, which is derivedfrom the IE1 protein. These molecular and immunological findings were combined in the “silencing/desilencing and immune sensing hypothesis” of cytomegalovirus latency and reactivation. This hypothesis proposes that IE1 gene expression proceeds to cell surfac…
Regulation of the sea urchin early H2A histone gene expression depends on the modulator element and on sequences located near the 3' end
1999
Abstract Transcription of the sea urchin early histone genes occurs transiently during early cleavage, reaching the maximum at the morula stage and declining to an undetectable level at the gastrula stage. To identify the regulatory elements responsible for the timing and the levels of transcription of the H2A gene, we used promoter binding studies in nuclear extracts and microinjection of a CAT transgene driven by the early H2A promoter. We found that morula and gastrula nuclear proteins produced indistinguishable DNase I footprint patterns on the H2A promoter. Two sites of interactions, centred on the modulator/enhancer and on the CCAAT box respectively, were detected. Deletion of the mod…
Development of S/MAR minicircles for enhanced and persistent transgene expression in the mouse liver.
2010
We have previously described the development of a scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) episomal vector system for in vivo application and demonstrated its utility to sustain transgene expression in the mouse liver for at least 6 months following a single administration. Subsequently, we observed that transgene expression is sustained for the lifetime of the animal. The level of expression, however, does drop appreciably over time. We hypothesised that by eliminating the bacterial components in our vectors, we could improve their performance since bacterial sequences have been shown to be responsible for the immunotoxicity of the vector and the silencing of its expression when applied i…
Retrotransposon silencing and telomere integrity in somatic cells of Drosophila depends on the cytosine-5 methyltransferase DNMT2
2009
Here we show that the cytosine-5 methyltransferase DNMT2 controls retrotransposon silencing in Drosophila somatic cells. In Drosophila, significant DNMT2-dependent DNA methylation occurs during early embryogenesis. Suppression of white gene silencing by Mt2 (Dnmt2) null mutations in variegated P[w(+)] element insertions identified functional targets of DNMT2. The enzyme controls DNA methylation at retrotransposons in early embryos and initiates histone H4K20 trimethylation catalyzed by the SUV4-20 methyltransferase. In somatic cells, loss of DNMT2 eliminates H4K20 trimethylation at retrotransposons and impairs maintenance of retrotransposon silencing. In Dnmt2 and Suv4-20 null genotypes, re…
The Norway spruce genome sequence and conifer genome evolution
2013
Conifers have dominated forests for more than 200 million years and are of huge ecological and economic importance. Here we present the draft assembly of the 20-gigabase genome of Norway spruce (Picea abies), the first available for any gymnosperm. The number of well-supported genes (28,354) is similar to the >100 times smaller genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, and there is no evidence of a recent whole-genome duplication in the gymnosperm lineage. Instead, the large genome size seems to result from the slow and steady accumulation of a diverse set of long-terminal repeat transposable elements, possibly owing to the lack of an efficient elimination mechanism. Comparative sequencing of Pinu…
Protease-mediated processing of Argonaute proteins controls small RNA association
2020
SummarySmall RNA pathways defend the germlines of animals against selfish genetic elements and help to maintain genomic integrity. At the same time, their activity needs to be well-controlled to prevent silencing of ‘self’ genes. Here, we reveal a proteolytic mechanism that controls endogenous small interfering (22G) RNA activity in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline to protect genome integrity and maintain fertility. We find that WAGO-1 and WAGO-3 Argonaute (Ago) proteins are matured through proteolytic processing of their unusually proline-rich N-termini. In the absence of DPF-3, a P-granule-localized N-terminal dipeptidase orthologous to mammalian DPP8/9, processing fails, causing a cha…
Les microARN, une nouvelle voie de signalisation cellulaire empruntée par le resvératrol
2011
Les microARN (miARN), decouverts en 1993 dans le laboratoire de V. Ambros [1], ont d'abord ete identifies comme regulateurs du developpement chez Caenorhabditis elegans. Les recherches recentes confirment que ces petits ARN non codants simple-brins sont des elements de signalisation cellulaire fondamentaux dans la regulation de processus tels que le developpement, la differenciation ou la proliferation cellulaire. Ces ARN de 22 nucleotides en moyenne s'apparient de facon specifique a des ARN messagers cibles entrainant le blocage de leur traduction (en cas de complementarite parfaite) ou la degradation des transcrits (en cas de un ou quelques mesappariement[s]). Ils pourraient aussi reguler…