A novel mutation in the RDS gene in an Italian family with pattern dystrophy.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C Garré.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
We analyzed lactoferrin expression in 78 samples from patients with sporadic breast cancer and found 31/78 negative for mRNA expression. Similar results were obtained by immuno-histochemical localization of the lactoferrin protein. We did not find relationship between lactoferrin expression and clinical parameters. We investigated for the absent lactoferrin expression in some cases of breast cancer. In 68 of the samples analyzed, we found an inverse correlation between estrogen receptor expression and lactoferrin expression (P < 0,0001), thus indicating that regulation by the estrogen receptor is not the main element responsible for the expression of lactoferrin in breast cancer. Analysis of methylation of the lactoferrin genomic DNA extracted from the same patients revealed that the degree of methylation does not explain the observed absence of lactoferrin. The 937 bp lactoferrin promoter was investigated for possible mutations. By single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis one polymorphic site was found and characterized.
To further clarify the complex transcriptional regulation of the human GM-CSF gene, which was extensively investigated in activated T cells, we have studied the role of an upstream NF-kappaB like site in the 5637 non-lymphoid cell line, which derives from a bladder carcinoma and constitutively produces GM-CSF. This sequence, named the A element, has an active role on GM-CSF transcription and is responsive to the tumor promoter PMA in transient transfection experiments. We describe here a heterodimeric binding complex of NF-kappaB subunits (c-Rel and p65) which is identical to the one obtained using the HIV-LTR-kappaB site as recognition sequence and different from the one (c-Rel and p50) observed with nuclear extracts from Mo T-lymphoid HTLV-II infected cells.
To further extend the previous analysis of cis-acting elements and cognate trans-acting factors that contribute to GM-CSF transcriptional regulations, we have examined a promoter region between -1742 and -2010. DNase I footprinting assays showed four protected sequences named A, B, C and D. DNA transfections in the T-lymphoid Mo cell line, which constitutively expresses GM-CSF, indicated that the A element, located between -2002 and -1984, has a positive role on transcription. Further characterization by electrophoretic mobility shift assays in the presence of different competitor oligonucleotides showed that this element binds a factor of the NF-kappa B/Rel family.
The 5'-flanking region of the human GM-CSF gene was subcloned from the phagic clone lambda J1-16 to detect cis-elements involved in GM-CSF constitutive expression. We determined and sequenced an uncharacterized promoter region of 1381 bp (-2010 to -630), named pPF2000. Putative binding sites of several transcriptional factors were found. Progressive deletion mutants of the PF2000 were analyzed by measuring the linked CAT activities, in constitutive (5637) and inducible (PEU) GM-CSF-producing cells. A positive distal sequence (268 bp), between -2010 and -1742, responsible for the high constitutive expression of GM-CSF in 5637 carcinoma cell line was found.
Ferritin is an ubiquitous protein that has been shown to regulate cell differentiation in several experimental systems. In this study we have investigated the expression of ferritin genes encoding the heavy (H) and light (L) chains in t'B U937 cell line, induced to differentiate to macrophage-like cells by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), retinoic acid (RA) or 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C). An increase in the level of H ferritin mRNA was detected in U937 cells that had been incubated with Ara-C. Treatment of U937 cells with Actinomycin D suggested that the H ferritin mRNA increase was mediated by post-transcriptional mechanisms. The L ferritin mRNA level increased only following stimulation of U937 cells with RA. Immunophenotypic and cytochemical analyses showed that Ara-C was the strongest inducer of the macrophagic differentiation of U937 cells. These results suggest that the increase of H ferritin mRNA expression may represent a sensitive marker of myeloid cells differentiating along the monocyte-macrophage lineage.
Lactoferrin, a single chain cationic glycoprotein, present in the secondary granules of neutrophils, acts as a negative feedback regulator of myelopoiesis. Specific receptors for lactoferrin were detected on the surface of different hematopoietic cell types. The influence of lactoferrin on cell growth in culture has been reported. Interactions of lactoferrin with DNA were also demonstrated. In the present paper we confirm the presence of lactoferrin specific binding sites on K562 cells and we estimate the number of binding sites and the dissociation constant. By Western blotting analysis performed on K562 lysates we find a band of about 120 kDa responsible for specific binding of lactoferrin. We also show that lactoferrin, after binding at the cell surface, is internalized in a temperature dependent way and is immunologically detectable as a DNA-linked protein in nuclear extracts.
K 562 cell acetylcholinesterase (AChE), identifiable by active site labeling with radioactive diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP), showed a Mr around 55,000 in both a crude lysate and a purified sample. The K 562 AChE was reactive with one polyclonal and two monoclonal antibodies produced against human erythrocyte AChE. Subcellular localization, investigated by assay on cell fractions, showed that AChE is membrane bound and that it is located on the cell surface as well as on microsomal and Golgi membranes. Biosynthesis of new enzyme molecules, after inactivation of the constitutive AChE with the irreversible inhibitor DFP, allowed us to follow the kinetics of reappearance in the intracellular compartment and at the cell surface (4 and 8 h, respectively).
Four variants of the Ph chromosome translocation in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients are described. Two had an unusual simple translocation involving chromosomes #7 and #17. In two cases, the translocation, aside from involving #9 and #22, involved a third chromosome, chromosome #6 and chromosome #11, respectively. Three cases showed also karyotypic evolution during the blastic phase of the disease: in two cases, a new reciprocal translocation was found that involved a chromosome #9 at band q34. The clinical and cytogenetic significance of these results is briefly discussed.
The membrane bound enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of human erythrocytes shows a lower level of activity in the newborn than in the adult. To evaluate if the decreased activity is correlated with changes in other properties of the enzyme, an electrophoretic method, recently devised to detect AChE activity, was used. Our results revealed an electrophoretic difference between adult and fetal enzymes. Sialic acid removal through neuraminidase treatment reduced the electrophoretic mobility of both forms rendering them identical in migration without, however, altering the activity.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.