BACKGROUND: Reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide (O(2)(-)), are involved in the abnormal growth of various cell types. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is one of the most potent inducers of oxidative stress in the vasculature. The molecular events involved in Ang II-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are ... More
Regulation of cortical dendrite development by Slit-Robo interactions.
Slit proteins have previously been shown to regulate axon guidance, branching, and neural migration. Here we report that, in addition to acting as a chemorepellant for cortical axons, Slit1 regulates dendritic development. Slit1 is expressed in the developing cortex, and exposure to Slit1 leads to increased dendritic growth and branching. ... More
Vinexin beta Regulates the Anchorage Dependence of ERK2 Activation Stimulated by Epidermal Growth Factor.
Authors Suwa Akira; Mitsushima Masaru; Ito Takuya; Akamatsu Masahiko; Ueda Kazumitsu; Amachi Teruo; Kioka Noriyuki;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11825889
'ERK is activated by soluble growth factors in adherent cells. However, activation of ERK is barely detectable and not sufficient for cell proliferation in non-adherent cells. Here, we show that exogenous expression of vinexin beta, a novel focal adhesion protein, allows anchorage-independent ERK2 activation stimulated by epidermal growth factor. In ... More
Hypoxia induces cyclooxygenase-2 via the NF-kappaB p65 transcription factor in human vascular endothelial cells.
Authors Schmedtje J F Jr; Ji Y S; Liu W L; DuBois R N; Runge M S;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8995303
'The inducible cyclooxygenase, COX-2, has been associated with vascular inflammation and cellular proliferation. We have discovered that hypoxia increases expression of the COX-2 gene in human vascular endothelial cells in culture independent of other stimuli. Western analysis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) revealed a greater than 4-fold induction ... More
The proximal promoter of the human transglutaminase 3 gene. Stratified squamous epithelial-specific expression in cultured cells is mediated by binding of Sp1 and ets transcription factors to a proximal promoter element.
Authors Lee J H; Jang S I; Yang J M; Markova N G; Steinert P M;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8626812
'The transglutaminase 3 enzyme is expressed during the late stages of the terminal differentiation of the epidermis and in certain cell types of the hair follicle. The enzyme is thought to be critically involved in the cross-linking of structural proteins and in the formation of the cornified cell envelope, thereby ... More
Molecular requirements for the interaction of class II major histocompatibility complex molecules and invariant chain with calnexin.
Authors Arunachalam B; Cresswell P;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID7852350
'Molecular chaperones are believed to retain misfolded and incompletely assembled oligomeric proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we have further analyzed the association of one such chaperone, calnexin, with human major histocompatibility complex class II alpha and beta subunits and the invariant chain. Calnexin associates with transport-competent invariant chain ... More
Glycine-extended progastrin processing intermediates induce H+,K(+)-ATPase alpha-subunit gene expression through a novel receptor.
Authors Kaise M; Muraoka A; Seva C; Takeda H; Dickinson C J; Yamada T;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID7744746
'Although plasma levels of G-Gly are equivalent to those of gastrin, G-Gly has essentially no acute effect on gastric acid secretion. However, we have observed that inhibition of gastrin amidation leads to increased plasma concentrations of G-Gly and enhanced gastric acid secretion. We hypothesized, therefore, that G-Gly might have a ... More
Noninfectious virus-like particles produced by Moloney murine leukemia virus-based retrovirus packaging cells deficient in viral envelope become infectious in the presence of lipofection reagents.
AuthorsSharma S, Murai F, Miyanohara A, Friedmann T
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID9380714
Retrovirus packaging cell lines expressing the Moloney murine leukemia virus gag and pol genes but lacking virus envelope genes produce virus-like particles constitutively, whether or not they express a transcript from an integrated retroviral provirus. In the absence of a proviral transcript, the assembled particles contain processed gag and reverse ... More
Evolution of human-chimpanzee differences in malaria susceptibility: relationship to human genetic loss of N-glycolylneuraminic acid.
AuthorsMartin MJ, Rayner JC, Gagneux P, Barnwell JW, Varki A,
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID16126901
Chimpanzees are the closest evolutionary cousins of humans, sharing >99% identity in most protein sequences. Plasmodium falciparum is the major worldwide cause of malaria mortality. Plasmodium reichenowi, a morphologically identical and genetically very similar parasite, infects chimpanzees but not humans. Conversely, experimental P. falciparum infection causes brief moderate parasitization and ... More
Distinct functional properties of Rab3A and Rab3B in PC12 neuroendocrine cells.
AuthorsWeber E, Jilling T, Kirk KL
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8636125
Rab3A and Rab3B are highly homologous monomeric GTPases that are putative regulators of exocytosis in those tissues in which they are expressed. We have characterized and directly compared the targeting and functional properties of these isoforms in PC12 neuroendocrine cells. Rab3A and Rab3B both targeted to norepinephrine (NE)-containing large dense ... More
Hsp105alpha suppresses the aggregation of truncated androgen receptor with expanded CAG repeats and cell toxicity.
AuthorsIshihara K, Yamagishi N, Saito Y, Adachi H, Kobayashi Y, Sobue G, Ohtsuka K, Hatayama T,
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12714591
Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine tract in the androgen receptor (AR). The N-terminal fragment of AR containing the expanded polyglutamine tract aggregates in cytoplasm and/or in nucleus and induces cell death. Some chaperones such as Hsp40 and Hsp70 ... More
Identification of promoter elements involved in cell-specific regulation of rat smooth muscle myosin heavy chain gene transcription.
Authors White S L; Low R B;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8663099
In order to identify cis-acting regulatory elements involved in smooth muscle cell-specific gene regulation, we have cloned a 4. 7-kilobase pair fragment of the promoter for the rat smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, a protein expressed in differentiated smooth muscle cells. Sequence analysis of a 1.7-kilobase pair portion of this ... More
Cloning and identification of regulatory sequences of the human thrombin receptor gene.
Authors Li F; Baykal D; Horaist C; Yan C N; Carr B N; Rao G N; Runge M S;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8824285
Thrombin, via activation of vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cell thrombin receptors, modulates vascular wall healing. To understand the mechanisms that regulate human thrombin receptor (HTR) expression, we cloned and characterized the HTR gene. The HTR gene consists of Exon I, which contains the 5'-regulatory region and 85 nucleotides of ... More
Mouse very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.
Authors Heinzer Ann K; Kemp Stephan; Lu Jyh-Feng; Watkins Paul A; Smith Kirby D;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID12048192
X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by accumulation of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA). This accumulation has been attributed to decreased VLCFA beta-oxidation and peroxisomal very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (VLCS) activity. The X-ALD gene, ABCD1, encodes a peroxisomal membrane ATP binding cassette transporter, ALDP, that is hypothesized to ... More
Differential effects of changes in the length of a signal/anchor domain on membrane insertion, subunit assembly, and intracellular transport of a type II integral membrane protein.
Authors Parks G D;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID8636156
The length requirement for a functional uncleaved signal/anchor (S/A) domain of the paramyxovirus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) type II glycoprotein was analyzed. HN mutants with progressive NH2-terminal S/A deletions or insertions were expressed in HeLa cells, and the membrane targeting, folding, tetramer assembly, and intracellular transport of the proteins were examined. Changing ... More
The Caenorhabditis elegans gene, gly-2, can rescue the N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V mutation of Lec4 cells.
Authors Warren Charles E; Krizus Aldis; Roy Peter J; Culotti Joseph G; Dennis James W;
JournalJ Biol Chem
PubMed ID11937505
UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:alpha-6-d-mannoside beta-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (GlcNAc-TV) is a regulator of polylactosamine-containing N-glycans and is causally involved in T cell regulation and tumor metastasis. The Caenorhabditis elegans genome contains a single orthologous gene, gly-2, that is transcribed and encodes a 669-residue type II membrane protein that is 36.7% identical to mammalian GlcNAc-TV (Mgat-5). ... More