Subcellular targeting of RGS9-2 is controlled by multiple molecular determinants on its membrane anchor, R7BP.
AuthorsSong JH, Waataja JJ, Martemyanov KA,
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID16574655
'RGS9-2, a member of the R7 RGS protein family of neuronal RGS (Regulators of G protein Signaling), is a critical regulator of G protein signaling. In striatal neurons, RGS9-2 is tightly associated with a novel palmitoylated protein - R7BP (R7 family Binding Protein). Here we report that R7BP acts to ... More
Cloning the vaccinia virus genome as a bacterial artificial chromosome in Escherichia coli and recovery of infectious virus in mammalian cells.
Authors Domi Arban; Moss Bernard;
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID12196634
'The ability to manipulate the vaccinia virus (VAC) genome, as a plasmid in bacteria, would greatly facilitate genetic studies and provide a powerful alternative method of making recombinant viruses. VAC, like other poxviruses, has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome with covalently closed hairpin ends that are resolved from transient head-to-head ... More
The regulated secretion and vectorial targeting of neurotrophins in neuroendocrine and epithelial cells.
Authors Heymach J V Jr; Krüttgen A; Suter U; Shooter E M;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8810312
'The varied roles that neurotrophins play in the development and activity-dependent plasticity of the nervous system presumably require that the sites and quantity of neurotrophin release be precisely regulated. As a step toward understanding how different neurotrophins are sorted and secreted by neurons, we expressed nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived ... More
Tyrphostins protect neuronal cells from oxidative stress.
AuthorsSagara Y, Ishige K, Tsai C, Maher P,
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12121989
'Tyrphostins are a family of tyrosine kinase inhibitors originally synthesized as potential anticarcinogenic compounds. Because tyrphostins have chemical structures similar to those of the phenolic antioxidants, we decided to test the protective efficacy of tyrphostins against oxidative stress-induced nerve cell death (oxytosis). Many commercially available tyrphostins, at concentrations ranging from ... More
The Plexin-B1/Rac interaction inhibits PAK activation and enhances Sema4D ligand binding.
Authors Vikis Haris G; Li Weiquan; Guan Kun-Liang;
JournalGenes Dev
PubMed ID11937491
'The small GTPase Rac has been implicated in growth cone guidance mediated by semaphorins and their receptors. Here we demonstrate that plexin-B1, a receptor for Semaphorin4D (Sema4D), and p21-activated kinase (PAK) can compete for the interaction with active Rac and plexin-B1 can inhibit Rac-induced PAK activation. We have also demonstrated ... More
Improvements in siRNA properties mediated by 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-beta-D-arabinonucleic acid (FANA).
AuthorsDowler T, Bergeron D, Tedeschi AL, Paquet L, Ferrari N, Damha MJ,
JournalNucleic Acids Res
PubMed ID16554553
RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged recently as an efficient mechanism for specific gene silencing. Short double-stranded small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are now widely used for cellular or drug target validation; however, their use for silencing clinically relevant genes in a therapeutic setting remains problematic because of their unfavourable metabolic stability ... More
beta-Thymosins are not simple actin monomer buffering proteins. Insights from overexpression studies.
AuthorsSun HQ, Kwiatkowska K, Yin HL
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8621581
beta-Thymosins are the currently favored candidates for maintaining the large actin monomer (G-actin) pool in living cells. To determine if beta-thymosin behaves like a simple G-actin buffering agent in the complex environment of a cell, we overexpressed thymosin beta10 (Tbeta 10) in NIH3T3 cells and determined the effect on the ... More
c-Myc sensitizes cells to tumor necrosis factor-mediated apoptosis by inhibiting nuclear factor kappa B transactivation.
Authors You Zongbing; Madrid Lee V; Saims Daniel; Sedivy John; Wang Cun-Yu;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12149248
Nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) plays a key role in suppression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-mediated apoptosis by inducing a variety of anti-apoptotic genes. Expression of c-Myc has been shown to sensitize cells to TNF-mediated apoptosis by inhibiting NF-kappaB activation. However, the precise step in the NF-kappaB signaling pathway and apoptosis ... More
Ligand stimulation of a Ret chimeric receptor carrying the activating mutation responsible for the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B.
Authors Rizzo C; Califano D; Colucci-D'Amato G L; De Vita G; D'Alessio A; Dathan N A; Fusco A; Monaco C; Santelli G; Vecchio G; Santoro M; de Franciscis V;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8910618
Inherited activating mutations of Ret, a receptor tyrosine kinase, predispose to multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) types 2A and 2B and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. To investigate the effects induced by acute stimulation of Ret, we transfected both PC12 and NIH 3T3 cells with a molecular construct in which the ligand-binding ... More
Peg3/Pw1 is involved in p53-mediated cell death pathway in brain ischemia/hypoxia.
Emerging evidence has shown that tumor suppressor p53 expression is enhanced in response to brain ischemia/hypoxia and that p53 plays a critical role in the cell death pathway in such an acute neurological insult. However the mechanism remains unclear. Recently it was reported that Peg3/Pw1, originally identified as a paternally ... More
HIV-1 Vpr Induces Apoptosis through Caspase 9 in T Cells and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells.
Authors Muthumani Karuppiah; Hwang Daniel S; Desai Brijal M; Zhang Donghui; Dayes Nathanael; Green Douglas R; Weiner David B;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12095993
Human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1), vpr gene encodes a 14-kDa virion-associated protein, which exhibits significant effects on human cells. One important property of Vpr is its ability to induce apoptosis during infection. Apoptotic induction is likely to play a role in the pathogenesis of AIDS. However, the pathway of ... More
In vivo footprinting of the human 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 promoter: evidence for cell-specific regulation by Sp1 and Sp3.
Authors Nawrocki Andrea R; Goldring Christopher E; Kostadinova Radina M; Frey Felix J; Frey Brigitte M;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11850421
11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 is selectively expressed in aldosterone target tissues, where it confers aldosterone selectivity for the mineralocorticoid receptor by inactivating 11beta-hydroxyglucocorticoids with a high affinity for the mineralocorticoid receptor. The present investigation aimed to elucidate the mechanisms accounting for the rigorous control of the HSD11B2 gene in humans. ... More
High glucose stimulates synthesis of fibronectin via a novel protein kinase C, Rap1b, and B-Raf signaling pathway.
Authors Lin Sun; Sahai Atul; Chugh Sumant S; Pan Xiaomin; Wallner Elisabeth I; Danesh Farhad R; Lomasney Jon W; Kanwar Yashpal S;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12196513
The molecular mechanism(s) by which high glucose induces fibronectin expression via G-protein activation in the kidney are largely unknown. This investigation describes the effect of high glucose (HG) on a small GTP-binding protein, Rap1b, expression and activation, and the relevance of protein kinase C (PKC) and Raf pathways in fibronectin ... More