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D Alcorta

Publications and source records attributed to D Alcorta.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Mutational analysis of the p21/WAF1/CIP1/SDI1 coding region in human tumor cell lines.

p21/WAF1/CIP1/SDI1 is an important cell-cycle mediator with tumor suppressor gene capabilities, and its inactivation could potentially lead to tumor progression. Because tumor suppressor genes are commonly inactivated by somatic and germline mutations, we analyzed a variety of human tumor cell lines for p21 mutations. We used single-strand conformational analysis and direct sequencing to identify possible mutations in the p21 coding region. Two base-alterations were observed in 41 immortalized human tumor cell lines. A previously reported polymorphism that results in a serine-to-arginine amino-acid substitution at codon 31 was found in 24% (10 of 41) of the tumor cell lines but was also found in 10% (six of 62) of normal parental DNAs tested and 7% (three of 43) of normal DNAs from patients with primary endometrial tumors. Another nucleotide substitution found at codon 80 resulted in the replacement of threonine with methionine. Codon 80 changes were found in 7% (three of 41) of the tumor cell lines (all endometrial) and in 2% (one of 62) of the normal parental DNAs. This change was not found in any of the primary endometrial tumors examined. The biological activity of these base changes was analyzed by using in vitro cyclin-dependent kinase 2-cyclin A kinase assays and calcium phosphate transfections. We observed that wild-type p21 and the p21 variants had similar growth-inhibitory abilities. Thus, our results suggest that mutation of the p21 gene is not prevalent in human tumor cell lines and is not a probable mechanism of inactivation of this gene.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Molecular analyses of gene products associated with the response of cells to mitogenic stimulation.

We have completed the molecular analysis of a ribosomal protein S6 kinase identified in unfertilized Xenopus eggs. Although some of our results support the notion that an antigenically related enzyme is present in animal cells, we are uncertain if such an enzyme accounts for all of the mitogen-stimulated phosphorylation of 40S subunits. Other experiments have led to the identification of mRNAs that are rapidly expressed in mitogen-stimulated cells. The relevance of such genes and their products is in doubt, however, until a function can be demonstrated for each of them. Preliminary experiments with the pCEF-4 gene product described here have failed to show that it acts as a mitogen for cells in culture, for example. Thus, although studies such as these may lead to the identification of novel genes, we may need to search elsewhere for a physiologically significant function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Constitutive expression of a gene encoding a polypeptide homologous to biologically active human platelet protein in Rous sarcoma virus-transformed fibroblasts.

A molecular clone corresponding to a 1.2-kilobase mRNA enriched in Rous sarcoma virus-transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF) was identified by differential screening of a cDNA library. The induction of the cloned sequence (denoted pCEF-4) in CEF infected by the temperature-sensitive mutant NY72-4 Rous sarcoma virus is rapid and independent of protein synthesis. DNA sequencing of the 1.2-kilobase insert of CEF-4 revealed an open reading frame that predicts an 11-kDa protein. The predicted pCEF-4 gene product is homologous to human connective tissue-activating peptide III (CTAP-III) and platelet factor 4 (PF-4). Serum stimulation of quiescent normal CEF results in a rapid but transient expression of pCEF-4 mRNA. Hence, pCEF-4 mRNA is expressed at the G0-G1 transition and during the first G1 phase of normal CEF reentering the cell cycle. The expression of pCEF-4 mRNA in Rous sarcoma virus-transformed CEF appears to be the result of transcriptional activation and stabilization of the transcript.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1980

Cytoskeletal F-actin patterns quantitated with fluorescein isothiocyanate-phalloidin in normal and transformed cells.

Actin in cultured fibroblasts is organized into a complex set of fibers. Patterns of organization visualized with antibody to actin are similar but not identical to those visualized with fluorescein isothiocyanate-phalloidin (Fl-phalloidin), a chemical that binds to F-actin polymer with a dissociation constant of 2.7 X 10(-7) M [Wulf, E., Deboben, A., Bautz, F. A., Faulstich, H. & Wieland, T. (1979) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76, 4498-4502]. Fl-phalloidin reveals that transformed cells have fewer, finer, and shorter F-actin-containing structures than do normal cells. Two-color fluorescence microscopy of single cells reveals that F-actin staining by Fl-phalloidin picks out the cytoskeletal cables more sharply than does antibody to actin, due to a reduced intracellular background fluorescence. This improved resolution permits sorting of cellular Fl-phalloidin patterns into four classes ranging in organization from 90% of the cytoplasm occupied by large cables to the absence of detectable cables. Reproducible differences in pattern distributions between normal and transformed cell lines have been quantitated. Fl-phalloidin together with rhodamine-based indirect antibody to simian virus 40 tumor antigen reveals a direct relationship between the degree of pattern change and simian virus 40 nuclear antigen expression in intermediate transformed 3T3 cell lines [Risser, R. & Pollack, R. (1974) Virology 59, 477-489].

Actins↗