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E Lamar

Publications and source records attributed to E Lamar.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Nrarp is a novel intracellular component of the Notch signaling pathway.

The Lin12/Notch receptors regulate cell fate during embryogenesis by activating the expression of downstream target genes. These receptors signal via their intracellular domain (ICD), which is released from the plasma membrane by proteolytic processing and associates in the nucleus with the CSL family of DNA-binding proteins to form a transcriptional activator. How the CSL/ICD complex activates transcription and how this complex is regulated during development remains poorly understood. Here we describe Nrarp as a new intracellular component of the Notch signaling pathway in Xenopus embryos. Nrarp is a member of the Delta-Notch synexpression group and encodes a small protein containing two ankyrin repeats. Nrarp expression is activated in Xenopus embryos by the CSL-dependent Notch pathway. Conversely, overexpression of Nrarp in embryos blocks Notch signaling and inhibits the activation of Notch target genes by ICD. We show that Nrarp forms a ternary complex with the ICD of XNotch1 and the CSL protein XSu(H) and that in embryos Nrarp promotes the loss of ICD. By down-regulating ICD levels, Nrarp could function as a negative feedback regulator of Notch signaling that attenuates ICD-mediated transcription.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Identification of NKL, a novel Gli-Kruppel zinc-finger protein that promotes neuronal differentiation.

The proneural basic helix-loop-helix proteins play a crucial role in promoting the differentiation of postmitotic neurons from neural precursors. However, recent evidence from flies and frogs indicates that additional factors act together with the proneural bHLH proteins to promote neurogenesis. We have identified a novel zinc finger protein, neuronal Kruppel-like protein (NKL), that positively regulates neurogenesis in vertebrates. NKL is expressed in Xenopus primary neurons and in differentiating neuronal precursors in the intermediate zone of the mouse and chick neural tube. In frog embryos, NKL is induced by overexpression of Neurogenin (Ngn), arguing that NKL is downstream of the proneural determination genes. Our results show that NKL and a NKL/VP16 fusion protein promote differentiation of neuronal precursors in the embryonic chick spinal cord. Following in ovo misexpression of NKL, neuroepithelial cells exit the cell cycle and differentiate into neurons. Similarly, NKL/VP16 induces extra primary neurons in frogs and upregulates expression of the neural differentiation factors, Xath3 and MyT1, as well as the neuronal markers, N-tubulin and elrC. Our findings establish NKL as a novel positive regulator of neuronal differentiation and provide further evidence that non-bHLH transcription factors function in the neuronal differentiation pathway activated by the vertebrate neuronal determination genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Sequence and analysis of chromosome 5 of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

The genome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has been sequenced by an international collaboration, The Arabidopsis Genome Initiative. Here we report the complete sequence of chromosome 5. This chromosome is 26 megabases long; it is the second largest Arabidopsis chromosome and represents 21% of the sequenced regions of the genome. The sequence of chromosomes 2 and 4 have been reported previously and that of chromosomes 1 and 3, together with an analysis of the complete genome sequence, are reported in this issue. Analysis of the sequence of chromosome 5 yields further insights into centromere structure and the sequence determinants of heterochromatin condensation. The 5,874 genes encoded on chromosome 5 reveal several new functions in plants, and the patterns of gene organization provide insights into the mechanisms and extent of genome evolution in plants.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Neurofilament M mRNA is expressed in conduction system myocytes of the developing and adult rabbit heart.

We previously demonstrated that conduction-system myocytes of the rabbit heart express cytoskeletal proteins immunologically related to neurofilaments. In order to determine more precisely the nature of these proteins, we screened an expression cDNA library, prepared from the sino-atrial node region of the rabbit heart, using a monoclonal antibody which reacts with the M subunit of neurofilaments. Sequence analysis of the isolated cDNA clones shows high homology with rat and human neurofilament M mRNAs. Northern blot analysis demonstrates hybridization with a transcript expressed in brain, with the size expected for neurofilament M mRNA. An mRNA species of the same size is also detectable in the Northern blot of the sino-atrial node region RNA. In situ hybridization documents that in the adult rabbit the transcript accumulates in neurons and is localized in myocytes of the sino-atrial and atrio-ventricular nodes and of the atrio-ventricular bundle and bundle branches, but not in working atrial and ventricular myocytes. Developmental analysis was undertaken in order to determine the distribution of the neurofilament M mRNA in the rabbit embryonic heart. In situ hybridization shows that neurofilament M mRNA is detectable in a few ventricular myocytes in proximity to the atrio-ventricular groove after 9.5 days of embryonic development and it is accompanied by the presence of the protein. At subsequent stages of development neurofilament M mRNA is detectable in a number of cardiac myocytes, which are mainly localized at the atrio-ventricular junction and in the ventricular subendocardium and presumably correspond to myocytes of the heart conduction system.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Pax-3 is necessary for migration but not differentiation of limb muscle precursors in the mouse.

The limb muscles of vertebrates are derived from precursor cells that migrate from the lateral edge of the dermomyotome into the limb bud. Previous studies have shown that the paired domain-containing transcription factor Pax-3 is expressed in the limb in cells that are precursors for limb muscles (Williams, B. and Ordahl, C.P. (1994) Development 120, 785-796). In splotch (Pax-3-) embryos, the limb muscles fail to develop and cells expressing Pax-3 are no longer found in the limb. In this paper we have analyzed the role of Pax-3 in the migration and subsequent differentiation of limb muscle precursors. By labeling somites adjacent to the prospective forelimb with the lipophilic dye DiI, we have shown that cells derived from these somites do not migrate into the limbs of splotch mice. The failure of limb muscle precursors to invade the limb in splotch mice is associated with the absence of c-met expression in premigratory cells, together with a change in the morphology of the ventral dermomyotome. In addition, we have shown the lateral half of somites derived from day E9.25 splotch embryos can undergo muscle differentiation when grafted into the limb bud stage 20 chick host embryos. Our results indicate that Pax-3 regulates the migration of limb muscle precursors into the limb and is not required for cells in the lateral somite to differentiate into muscle.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Isolation and analysis of the gene encoding peripheral myelin protein zero.

We have isolated the gene encoding the Schwann cell glycoprotein P0, the major structural protein of the peripheral myelin sheath. In rats and mice, this gene is split into six exons distributed over 7 kb of DNA. The segregation of these exons is consistent with the functional segregation of the P0 protein into extracellular, membrane-spanning, and cytoplasmic domains. We find that the P0 extracellular domain is similar in structure to a single immunoglobulin variable region domain. In contrast to prototypical immunoglobulin domains, however, this P0 domain is encoded by two exons, the partitioning of which provides genetic evidence for the evolution of immunoglobulin-related domains from an ancestral half-domain. We also describe procedures for transfection of cultures of nontransformed rat Schwann cells and use these procedures to show that the Schwann cell-specific expression of the P0 gene is controlled by cis-acting elements localized upstream of exon I.

Amino Acid Sequence↗