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D M Ornitz

Publications and source records attributed to D M Ornitz.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Int-2, an autocrine and/or ultra-short-range effector in transgenic mammary tissue transplants.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown associations between overexpression of int-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) and murine mammary tumors and between amplification of the int-2 genomic locus and human breast cancers. The Int-2 protein (fibroblast growth factor 3) is a member of the heparin-binding growth factor family of proteins. The export of these growth factors from cells may depend on the presence of amino terminal sequences containing hydrophobic signal peptides. Although Int-2 has a putative signal sequence, it is not known whether or how this protein is secreted from cells. PURPOSE: Assuming that the Int-2 protein is secreted from mammary epithelial cells in a basolateral direction so that it is available to affect adjacent cells, we investigated whether it acts in a paracrine manner, exerting its effect externally on adjacent cells, or in an autocrine manner, exerting its effect internally within the same cell. METHODS: Using in situ hybridization with 35S-labeled RNA antisense probes that specifically detect mRNA coding for the Int-2 protein, we determined the cell-specific localization of int-2 mRNA expression in the mammary gland of transgenic FVB/N mice overexpressing int-2 mRNA. Then we transplanted pieces of mammary epithelial tissue expressing int-2 mRNA into the mammary fat-pad of wild-type, syngeneic animals. The mammary glands of host animals were examined as whole-mounts and as histologic sections 2-6 months after transplantation. In situ hybridization was used to confirm which cells continued to express int-2 mRNA following transplantation. RESULTS: Int-2 mRNA expression in transgenic mice was localized to the mammary epithelial cells. Transplants expressing int-2 mRNA were similar to wild-type transplants in that they had no observable effect on either the growth or the morphology of host mammary epithelium. Abnormal growth occurred only in transplanted tissue expressing int-2 mRNA but not in adjacent host mammary epithelium. CONCLUSION: Given the limitations of our experimental system and the limited information available to date on the secretion of Int-2 protein, these results suggest that, although the Int-2 protein contains a putative signal peptide, it may act primarily as an autocrine or as an ultra-short-range paracrine growth factor in mammary epithelium.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Heparin is required for cell-free binding of basic fibroblast growth factor to a soluble receptor and for mitogenesis in whole cells.

Heparin is required for the binding of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to high-affinity receptors on cells deficient in cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan. So that this heparin requirement could be evaluated in the absence of other cell surface molecules, we designed a simple assay based on a genetically engineered soluble form of murine FGF receptor 1 (mFR1) tagged with placental alkaline phosphatase. Using this assay, we showed that FGF-receptor binding has an absolute requirement for heparin. By using a cytokine-dependent lymphoid cell line engineered to express mFR1, we also showed that FGF-induced mitogenic activity is heparin dependent. Furthermore, we tested a series of small heparin oligosaccharides of defined lengths for their abilities to support bFGF-receptor binding and biologic activity. We found that a heparin oligosaccharide with as few as eight sugar residues is sufficient to support these activities. We also demonstrated that heparin facilitates FGF dimerization, a property that may be important for receptor activation.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1992

Brain tumours and lymphomas in transgenic mice that carry HTLV-I LTR/c-myc and Ig/tax genes.

The human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) is associated with adult CD4+ T-cell leukemia (ATL) and tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP). In as much as only a small percentage of individuals infected with HTLV-I develop either disease, we set out to model a genetic partner for this virus in an effort to understand and possibly reproduce its pathophysiology. To this end we have developed a binary set of transgenic mice, one bearing the relatively inactive HTLV-I long terminal repeat (LTR) positioned to drive the c-myc oncogene and another bearing a fusion transgene consisting of the immunoglobulin promoter/enhancer driving the gene for the HTLV-I transcription activator, tax. Alone, the tax construct, though expressed in the thymus, spleen, lung and brain, has no deleterious effect. Alone, the HTLV-I LTR/c-myc construct is expressed at very low levels in lymphoid cells and occasionally induces lymphomas in older animals. When these two transgenic lines are mated, bigenic offspring harboring both transgenes exhibit dramatic tumor formation. As in the human, these animals develop CD4+ T-cell lymphomas, but they also develop central nervous system tumors by 25-90 days of age. The syndrome, which is 100% penetrant and lethal, provides an animal model for adult T-cell lymphoma and a source of cultured cells of neurogenic origin.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Cell surface, heparin-like molecules are required for binding of basic fibroblast growth factor to its high affinity receptor.

The role of low affinity, heparin-like binding sites for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was investigated in CHO cells mutant in their metabolism of glycosaminoglycans. Heparan sulfate-deficient mutants transfected to express a cloned mouse FGF receptor cDNA are not able to bind bFGF. It is demonstrated that free heparin and heparan sulfate can reconstitute a low affinity receptor that is, in turn, required for the high affinity binding of bFGF. These studies suggest that the low affinity receptor is an accessory molecule required for binding of bFGF to the high affinity site. Such an obligatory interaction of low and high affinity FGF receptors suggests a physiological role for heparin-like, low affinity receptors and constitutes a novel mechanism for the regulation of growth factor-receptor interactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Binary system for regulating transgene expression in mice: targeting int-2 gene expression with yeast GAL4/UAS control elements.

We have developed a binary transgenic system that activates an otherwise silent transgene in the progeny of a simple genetic cross. The system consists of two types of transgenic mouse strains, targets and transactivators. A target strain bears a transgene controlled by yeast regulatory sequences (UAS) that respond only to the yeast transcriptional activator GAL4. A transactivator strain expresses an active GAL4 gene that can be driven by any selected promoter. The current paradigm uses the murine growth factor int-2 cDNA as the target gene and the GAL4 gene driven by the mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat as the transactivator. Both target and transactivator strains are phenotypically normal. By contrast, the bigenic offspring of these two strains express high levels of the target int-2 gene in each organ expressing the GAL4 transactivator. They also display a characteristic dominant int-2 phenotype that consists of epithelial hyperplasia in mammary and salivary glands, as well as prostatic and epididymal hypertrophy, which results in male sterility.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Pancreatic neoplasia induced by SV40 T-antigen expression in acinar cells of transgenic mice.

Three lines of transgenic mice were produced that develop pancreatic neoplasms as a consequence of expression of an elastase I-SV40 T-antigen fusion gene in the acinar cells. A developmental analysis suggests at least a two-stage process in the ontogeny of this disease. The first stage is a T antigen-induced, preneoplastic state characterized by a progression from hyperplasia to dysplasia of the exocrine pancreas, by an increased percentage of tetraploid cells, and by an arrest in acinar cell differentiation. The second stage is characterized by the formation of tumor nodules that appear to be monoclonal, because they have discrete aneuploid DNA contents. The cells within the nodules as compared to normal pancreatic tissue have less total RNA by a factor of 5, less pancreas-specific messenger RNA by a factor of about 50, and increased levels of T-antigen messenger RNA. A tumor cell line has been derived that retains both pancreatic and neoplastic properties.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Pancreatic neoplasia induced by ras expression in acinar cells of transgenic mice.

Expression of an activated human c-H-ras oncogene under control of rat elastase I regulating elements leads to neoplasia of the fetal exocrine pancreas. In most transgenic mice bearing this gene construct, massive tumors involving all the pancreatic acinar cells develop within a few days of pancreatic differentiation. Expression of the normal c-H-ras proto-oncogene in acinar cells leads to more subtle anomalies, but no tumors develop. Thus modest amounts of the mutant ras proteins are sufficient, in an otherwise normal genetic background, to lead to neoplastic transformation of differentiating pancreatic acinar cells. In contrast, a comparable elastase-myc construct produces no pancreatic tumors in transgenic mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

An albumin enhancer located 10 kb upstream functions along with its promoter to direct efficient, liver-specific expression in transgenic mice.

Transgenic mice were used to locate the cis-acting DNA elements that are important for efficient, tissue-specific expression of the mouse albumin gene in the adult. Chimeric genes with up to 12 kb of mouse albumin 5'-flanking region fused to a human growth hormone (hGH) reporter gene were tested. Remarkably, a region located 8.5-10.4 kb upstream of the albumin promoter was essential for high-level expression in adult liver and the region in between -8.5 and -0.3 kb was dispensable. The far-upstream region behaved like an enhancer in that its position and orientation relative to the albumin promoter were not critical; however, it did not function well with a heterologous promoter. Two of four DNase hypersensitive sites found in the 5'-flanking region of the albumin gene map to the far-upstream and promoter regions; the others may reflect regions involved in developmental or environmental control of this gene.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Promoter and enhancer elements from the rat elastase I gene function independently of each other and of heterologous enhancers.

An elastase-human growth hormone (hGH) fusion gene containing 205 base pairs of elastase 5' flanking region is expressed exclusively in pancreatic acinar cells of transgenic mice. This paper shows that the promoter region (-72 to +8) and the enhancer (-205 to -73) function independently of each other. The elastase enhancer can activate the heterologous mouse metallothionein gene and the hGH gene promoters; conversely, enhancers from the thymocyte-specific murine leukemia virus MCF13 and the metal regulatory elements from the metallothionein gene can activate the elastase promoter in a variety of cell types. Combinations of immunoglobulin and elastase enhancers with a heterologous promoter and the hGH gene result in expression in all of the tissues predicted by the sum of each enhancer acting alone. Thus these enhancer elements act independently of each other, suggesting that they do not have silencing activity in cells in which they are normally inactive.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The rat elastase I regulatory element is an enhancer that directs correct cell specificity and developmental onset of expression in transgenic mice.

A total of 134 base pairs of the 5' flanking sequence of the elastase I gene is sufficient and necessary to direct expression of the passive human growth hormone gene (hGH) to the exocrine pancreas. We demonstrate that this elastase I regulatory region contains a transcriptional enhancer which directs acinar cell-specific expression in transgenic animals. The elastase I enhancer specifies correct expression of the linked hGH gene in an orientation- and position-independent manner and can activate a heterologous promoter. The enhancer also directs the appropriate temporal activation of the hGH gene in the developing pancreas. Transcription is initiated correctly for the elastase I or hGH promoter, and the transcripts are correctly processed regardless of the enhancer position within or outside the fusion gene. The elastase I enhancer generates coincident DNase I-hypersensitive sites in pancreatic chromatin when moved 3 kilobases upstream or within the first intron of the hGH gene and when associated with the hGH promoter.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Nitrate reductase from Penicillium chrysogenum. Purification and kinetic mechanism.

Nitrate reductase (NADPH:nitrate oxidoreductase; EC 1.6.6.1-3) was purified to apparent homogeneity from mycelium of Penicillium chrysogenum. The final preparation catalyzed the NADPH-dependent, FAD-mediated reduction of nitrate with a specific activity of 170-225 units X mg of protein-1. Gel filtration and glycerol density centrifugation yielded, respectively, a Stokes radius of 6.3 nm and an s20,w of 7.4. The molecular weight was calculated to be 199,000. On sodium dodecyl sulfate gels, the enzyme displayed two almost contiguous dye-staining bands corresponding to molecular weights of about 97,000 and 98,000. The enzyme prefers NADPH to NADH (kspec ratio = 2813), FAD to FMN (kspec ratio = 141), FAD (+ NADPH) to FADH2 (kspec ratio = 12,000), and nitrate to chlorate (kspec ratio = 4.33), where the kspec (the specificity constant for a given substrate) represents Vmax/Km. The Penicillium enzyme will also catalyze te NADPH-dependent, FAD-mediated reduction of cytochrome c with a specific activity of 647 units X mg of protein-1 (Kmcyt = 1.25 X 10(-5) M), and the reduced methyl viologen (MVH2, i.e. methyl viologen + dithionite)-dependent, NADPH and FAD-independent reduction of nitrate with a specific activity of 250 units X mg of protein-1 kmMVH2 = 3.5 X 10(-6) M). Initial velocity studies showed intersecting NADPH-FAD and nitrate-FAD reciprocal plot patterns. The NADPH-nitrate pattern was a series of parallel lines at saturating and unsaturating FAD levels. NADP+ was competitive with NADPH, uncompetitive with nitrate (at saturating and unsaturating FAD levels), and a mixed-type inhibitor with respect to FAD. Nitrite was competitive with nitrate, uncompetitive with NADPH (at saturating and unsaturating FAD levels), and a mixed-type inhibitor with respect to FAD. At unsaturating nitrate and FAD, NADPH exhibited substrate inhibition, perhaps as a result of binding to the FAD site(s). At very low FAD concentrations, low concentrations of NADP+ activated the reaction slightly. The initial velocity and product inhibition patterns are consistent with either of the two kinetic mechanisms. One (rather unlikely) mechanism involves the rapid equilibrium random binding of all ligands with (a) NADP+ and NADPH mutually exclusive, (b) nitrate and nitrite mutually exclusive, (c) the binding of NADPH strongly inhibiting the binding of nitrate and vice versa, (d) the binding of NADPH strongly promoting the binding of nitrite and vice versa, and (e) the binding of nitrate strongly promoting the binding of NADP+ and vice versa...

Binding Sites↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Specific expression of an elastase-human growth hormone fusion gene in pancreatic acinar cells of transgenic mice.

Transfection of genes into tissue culture cell lines has demonstrated that relatively short DNA sequences can allow expression of immunoglobulin, insulin and chymotrypsin genes in their appropriate cell types. A definitive test of cell-specific gene expression, however, requires testing genes in every possible cell type, an experiment performed easily by introducing the gene in question into the germ line of an animal. Transfer of intact genes into mice has demonstrated that a mouse immunoglobulin kappa gene is expressed specifically in B lymphocytes, a rat elastase I gene is expressed specifically in pancreas and a chicken transferrin gene is expressed preferentially in liver. Mouse metallothionein-growth hormone fusion genes introduced into mice are preferentially expressed in the liver, consistent with the expression of endogenous metallothionein genes, but initial experiments with beta-globin genes have not revealed proper regulation. To identify the DNA elements required for pancreas-specific expression of the rat elastase I gene, we joined the 5'-flanking region of this gene to the human growth hormone (hGH) structural gene and introduced the fusion gene into mice. Here we demonstrate that a fusion gene containing only 213 base pairs (bp) of elastase I gene sequence directs expression of hGH in pancreatic acinar cells.

Animals↗