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Biomedical subjects

G I Fishman

Publications and source records attributed to G I Fishman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Expression of protein kinase C beta in the heart causes hypertrophy in adult mice and sudden death in neonates.

Protein kinase C (PKC) activation in the heart has been linked to a hypertrophic phenotype and to processes that influence contractile function. To establish whether PKC activation is sufficient to induce an abnormal phenotype, PKCbeta was conditionally expressed in cardiomyocytes of transgenic mice. Transgene expression in adults caused mild and progressive ventricular hypertrophy associated with impaired diastolic relaxation, whereas expression in newborns caused sudden death associated with marked abnormalities in the regulation of intracellular calcium. Thus, the PKC signaling pathway in cardiocytes has different effects depending on the timing of expression and, in the adult, is sufficient to induce pathologic hypertrophy.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Modulation of cardiac ryanodine receptors by sorcin.

Sorcin is a widely expressed, 22-kDa Ca2+-binding protein initially identified in multidrug-resistant cells. In the heart, sorcin localizes to the dyadic junctions of transverse tubules and sarcoplasmic reticulum and coimmunoprecipitates with the Ca2+ release channel/ryanodine receptor (RyR) (Meyers, M. B., Pickel, V. M., Sheu, S.-S., Sharma, V. K., Scotto, K. W., and Fishman, G. I. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 26411-26418). We have investigated a possible functional interaction between sorcin and cardiac RyR using purified recombinant sorcin in [3H]ryanodine binding experiments and single channel recordings of RyR. The open probability of single RyR was decreased significantly by the addition of sorcin to the cytoplasmic side of the channel (IC50 approximately 480 nM). In addition, sorcin completely inhibited [3H]ryanodine binding with an IC50 approximately 700 nM. Inhibition occurred over a wide range of [Ca2+], and sorcin-modulated RyR remained Ca2+-dependent. Furthermore, caffeine-activated RyRs were also inhibited by sorcin at low [Ca2+] (pCa 7), suggesting that Ca2+ is not an obligatory factor for sorcin inhibition of RyR. Comparisons of these inhibitory effects with those of calmodulin and calpain, proteins structurally related to sorcin, suggested that the interaction of sorcin with cardiac RyR was distinct from and independent of either of these modulatory proteins. Phosphorylation of sorcin with the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A significantly decreased the ability of sorcin to modulate RyR. These results suggest that sorcin may modulate RyR function in a normal cell environment and that the level of modulation is in turn influenced by signaling pathways that increase protein kinase A activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

A minK-HERG complex regulates the cardiac potassium current I(Kr).

MinK is a widely expressed protein of relative molecular mass approximately 15K that forms potassium channels by aggregation with other membrane proteins. MinK governs ion channel activation, regulation by second messengers, and the function and structure of the ion conduction pathway. Association of minK with a channel protein known as KvLQT1 produces a voltage-gated outward K+ current (I[sK]) resembling the slow cardiac repolarization current (I[Ks]). HERG, a human homologue of the ether-a-go-go gene of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, encodes a protein that produces the rapidly activating cardiac delayed rectifier (I[Kr]). These two potassium currents, I(Ks) and I(Kr), provide the principal repolarizing currents in cardiac myocytes for the termination of action potentials. Although heterologously expressed HERG channels are largely indistinguishable from native cardiac I(Kr), a role for minK in this current is suggested by the diminished I(Kr) in an atrial tumour line subjected to minK antisense suppression. Here we show that HERG and minK form a stable complex, and that this heteromultimerization regulates I(Kr) activity. MinK, through the formation of heteromeric channel complexes, is thus central to the control of the heart rate and rhythm.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Phosphorylation of connexin43 and the regulation of neonatal rat cardiac myocyte gap junctions.

The functional state of gap junctions and the state of phosphorylation of connexin43 (Cx43), the major gap junction protein in rat heart, were evaluated in primary cultures of neonatal rat cardiocytes. Functional coupling was greatly reduced after treatment with staurosporine (ST), a protein kinase inhibitor. The ST-induced reduction in cell coupling was reversed by activation of protein kinase C (PKC) with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). The cellular distribution of Cx43, as detected by immunofluorescence, was not grossly affected by either ST alone or ST plus TPA. Although immunoblot analysis did not detect significant changes in the relative amounts of the unphosphorylated and individual phosphorylated forms of Cx43 after each treatment, the level of 32P-incorporation into Cx43 of radiolabeled cells was significantly affected. Consistent with their known properties, treatment with ST reduced, and combined treatment with TPA and ST increased, the level of 32P-incorporation into Cx43. Two-dimensional tryptic phosphopeptide maps of 32P-labeled Cx43 indicated that a distinct subset of the phosphopeptides that are present under basal conditions were affected by ST or ST/TPA treatments, with TPA-induced phosphorylation occurring at the ST-sensitive sites. However, the ST/TPA-sensitive tryptic phosphopeptides did not comigrate with others that were derived from in vitro phosphorylation by PKC of a recombinant C-terminal Cx43 peptide (Cx43[243-382]). Although a PKC-dependent mechanism appears to be involved in the regulation of functional coupling between neonatal rat cardiocytes, PKC itself may not be the final mediator of Cx43 phosphorylation.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Activation of protein kinase C in human uterine smooth muscle induces connexin-43 gene transcription through an AP-1 site in the promoter sequence.

Myometrial connexin-43 gap junctions are scarce throughout gestation but appear in large numbers at term to facilitate contractions during labor. The mechanisms that regulate this process are incompletely characterized. This report investigates the effects of protein kinase C activation on the regulation of connexin-43 gene transcription in human uterine smooth muscle cells. In primary myometrial cells treated with phorbol ester, transient increases in c-Fos and c-Jun protein levels were observed at 2-4 h, followed by significant increases in connexin-43 protein levels at 6-8 h. Nuclear run-on transcription analysis showed an increase in connexin-43 transcription 3 h after phorbol ester treatment. AP-1 sites were identified in the sequence of the 5'-flanking promoter region of the human connexin-43 gene at 44 and 1000 base pairs upstream of transcription start. Transcription from a reporter plasmid containing the proximal human connexin-43 promoter was increased in transfected primary cultures treated with phorbol ester. Mutation of the proximal AP-1 site in the promoter abolished the phorbol ester-dependent transactivation. This work provides evidence that transcription of the human connexin-43 gene is induced through protein kinase C activation in uterine smooth muscle cells, and that the induction involves up-regulation and activation of c-Jun and c-Fos.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Conditional transgene expression in the heart.

Conditional transgene expression is a potentially useful approach to investigate complex biological systems in vivo. We recently demonstrated that tetracycline-responsive promoters could be employed to achieve regulated, cardiac-specific expression of target genes in transgenic mice. To more fully define the quantitative and spatial parameters associated with tetracycline-regulated gene expression in the heart, we crossed transgenic mice harboring either a firefly luciferase or a nuclear-localized bacterial lacZ target gene with strains expressing a tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) under the regulatory control of 2.9 kb of 5' flanking sequence from the rat alpha-myosin heavy chain gene. Luciferase activity was induced nearly 300-fold in the hearts of binary-transgenic mice compared with mice carrying only the luciferase reporter gene. No significant transactivation was observed in any other tissues examined. Binary transgenics harboring the lacZ reporter gene showed substantial beta-galactosidase activity throughout the heart, but the response of individual cardiac myocytes was heterogeneous. For both reporter genes, tetracycline treatment fully repressed tTA-dependent transactivation. These data provide important insights into the nature of studies that can be successfully addressed using the tetracycline-regulated gene expression system in the heart.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Gap junctions play a role in the 'bystander effect' of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir system in vitro.

Tumor cells transduced with the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene are sensitive to the anti-viral drug ganciclovir (GCV). However, nearby untransduced tumor cells are also efficiently killed. The mechanism of this 'bystander effect' was studied by comparing pairs of tumor cell lines transfected with connexin genes that differed only in their degree of gap junctional communication. More efficient cell killing was uniformly seen in connexin transfectants compared with the less coupled cell lines. These results provide direct evidence that gap junctional communication plays an important role in mediating the bystander effect of the HSVtk/GCV system in vitro and have important prognostic and therapeutic implications for future gene therapy trials.

Adenoviruses, Human↗
PubMed1995

Association of sorcin with the cardiac ryanodine receptor.

Sorcin is a 22-kDa calcium-binding protein initially identified in multidrug-resistant cells; however, its patterns of expression and function in normal tissues are unknown. Here we demonstrate that sorcin is widely distributed in rodent tissues, including the heart, where it was localized by immunoelectron microscopy to the sarcoplasmic reticulum. A > 500-kDa protein band immunoprecipitated from cardiac myocytes by sorcin antiserum was indistinguishable in size on gels from the 565-kDa ryanodine receptor/calcium release channel recognized by ryanodine receptor-specific antibody. Association of sorcin with a ryanodine receptor complex was confirmed by complementary co-immunoprecipitations of sorcin with the receptor antibody. Forced expression of sorcin in ryanodine receptor-negative Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts resulted in accumulation of the predicted 22-kDa protein as well as the unexpected appearance of ryanodine receptor protein. In contrast to the parental host fibroblasts, sorcin transfectants displayed a rapid and transient rise in intracellular calcium in response to caffeine, suggesting organization of the accumulated ryanodine receptor protein into functional calcium release channels. These data demonstrate an interaction between sorcin and the ryanodine receptor and suggest a role for sorcin in modulation of calcium release channel activity, perhaps by stabilizing the channel protein.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Effects of cGMP-dependent phosphorylation on rat and human connexin43 gap junction channels.

The effects of 8-bromoguanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (8Br-cGMP), a membrane-permeant activator of protein kinase G (PKG), were studied on rat and human connexin43 (Cx43), the most abundant gap junction protein in mammalian heart, which were exogenously expressed in SKHep1 cells. Under dual whole-cell voltage-clamp conditions, 8Br-cGMP decreased gap junctional conductance (gj) in rat Cx43-transfected cells by 24.0 +/- 3.7% (mean +/- SEM, n = 5), whereas gj was not affected in human Cx43-transfected cells by the same treatment. The relaxation of gj in response to steps in transjunctional voltage observed in rat Cx43 transfectants was best fitted with three exponentials. Time constants and amplitudes of the decay phases changed in the presence of 8Br-cGMP. Single rat and human Cx43 gap junction channels were resolved in the presence of halothane. Under control conditions, three single-channel conductance states (gammaj) of about 20, 40-45 and 70 pS were detected, the events of the intermediate size being most frequently observed. In the presence of 8Br-cGMP, the gammaj distribution shifted to the lower size in rat Cx43 but not in human Cx43 transfectants. Immunoblot analyses of Cx43 in subconfluent cultures of rat Cx43 or human Cx43 transfectants showed that 8Br-cGMP did not induce changes in the electrophoretic mobility of Cx43 in either species. However, the basal incorporation of [32P] into rat Cx43 was significantly altered by 8Br-cGMP, whereas this incorporation of [32P] into human Cx43 was not affected. We conclude that 8Br-cGMP modulates phosphorylation of rat Cx43 in SKHep1 cells, but not of human Cx43. This cGMP-dependent phosphorylation of rat Cx43 is associated with a decreased gj, which results from both an increase in the relative frequency of the lowest conductance state and a change in the kinetics of these channels.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1995

Reversible intercellular coupling by regulated expression of a gap junction channel gene.

Direct intercellular coupling through gap junction channels has been implicated in diverse processes including cellular differentiation, growth control, metabolic cooperativity and electronic coupling and natural and induced mutations in connexin genes have been described in human and experimental disease states. Genetic systems in which the extent of coupling could be reversibly regulated would provide an important approach for examining these potential functional roles, both in vitro and in vivo. Here we describe the generation and characterization of cell lines in which the extent of coupling is reversibly controlled at the transcriptional level. Plasmids encoding a tetracycline-controlled transactivator and a tetracycline-responsive connexin32 target gene were introduced in the communication-deficient SKHep1 cell line. Quantitative immunoblotting and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy with connexin32-specific antibodies demonstrated that expression of connexin32 in stable transfectants was tightly regulated by tetracycline treatment. Moreover, transfectants exhibited a highly coupled phenotype which was rapidly and reversibly converted to the communication deficient parental state after tetracycline treatment. Time constants for decay of the messenger RNA, protein and functional coupling were similar (approximately 4 hrs), implying that transcription was rate-limiting and that separate long-lived pools of connexin32 protein were absent. In contrast to other approaches in which the extent of coupling is pharmacologically regulated by altering channel gating characteristics or by generalized blockade of transcription or translation, in this system intercellular communication is regulated by directly controlling connexin gene expression.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗
PubMed1994

Cloning and in situ localization of a brain-derived porin that constitutes a large-conductance anion channel in astrocytic plasma membranes.

We have cloned a protein from bovine brain, brain-derived voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (BR1-VDAC), that is identical to a recently sequenced plasmalemmal-bound porin from human lymphocytes. mRNA hybridization indicates that BR1-VDAC is widely distributed throughout nervous and nonnervous tissues. In situ localization substantiated that the BR1-VDAC is associated with the plasmalemma of astrocytes. A monoclonal antibody that recognizes the N terminus of the BR1-VDAC protein completely blocks an astrocytic high-conductance anion channel that has electrophysiological similarities with the mitochondrial VDAC. Since the high-conductance anion channel in astrocytes has been shown to respond to hypoosmotic solutions, its molecular identification provides the basis for a better understanding of volume regulation in brain tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Cardiac and skeletal myopathy in beta myosin heavy-chain simian virus 40 tsA58 transgenic mice.

The mechanisms regulating cardiac muscle differentiation and development are incompletely understood. To examine the relationships between cardiocyte proliferation and differentiation, we tested the ability of a fragment from the rat beta myosin heavy-chain (MHC beta) gene to correctly target expression of a thermolabile simian virus 40 large tumor antigen allele (tsA58) in the developing mouse. Transgene expression in the heart was observed as early as 10 days postconception and was developmentally regulated in parallel with the endogenous MHC beta gene. Expression was also detected in developing skeletal muscle, although at low levels. Despite the temperature sensitivity of the mutant large tumor antigen protein, a subset of transgenic mice in several lineages developed marked cardiac and skeletal myopathies.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Functional analysis of the connexin43 gene promoter in vivo and in vitro.

Connexin43 is the principal gap junction protein found in the mammalian heart. The regulation of connexin43 gene expression may be an important determinant of normal and altered cardiac development and electrophysiology. We constructed a series of chimeric luciferase reporter genes containing nested deletions from the human connexin43 gene (-2400 to -50 basepairs, relative to transcription initiation). The transcriptional activity of the chimeric genes was assayed in several cell types and systems, including rat cardiocytes in vitro and adult rat heart in vivo. In both systems, high levels of luciferase activity required at least 175 base-pairs of 5'-flanking sequence. Constructs including 2400 base-pairs of upstream sequence increased activity two-fold in vivo, but not in vitro. Chimeric genes were also assayed in cultured cardiac non-myocytes. This population of cells accumulates significant levels of connexin43 mRNA when propagated in vitro and promoter constructs were correspondingly active. Elements within the proximal promoter may also confer tissue-specificity. Transfectional analysis of the SKHep1 cell line, which does not express connexin43, demonstrated reduced reporter gene activity, especially for the longest constructs. These studies begin to define the cis-acting elements of the connexin43 gene which regulate its strength and specificity of transcription.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Gap junction channels: distinct voltage-sensitive and -insensitive conductance states.

All mammalian gap junction channels are sensitive to the voltage difference imposed across the junctional membrane, and parameters of voltage sensitivity have been shown to vary according to the gap junction protein that is expressed. For connexin43, the major gap junction protein in the cardiovascular system, in the uterus, and between glial cells in brain, voltage clamp studies have shown that transjunctional voltages (Vj) exceeding +/- 50 mV reduce junctional conductance (gj). However, substantial gj remains at even very large Vj values; this residual voltage-insensitive conductance has been termed gmin. We have explored the mechanism underlying gmin using several cell types in which connexin43 is endogenously expressed as well as in communication-deficient hepatoma cells transfected with cDNA encoding human connexin43. For pairs of transfectants exhibiting series resistance-corrected maximal gj (gmax) values ranging from < 2 to > 90 nS, the ratio gmin/gmax was found to be relatively constant (about 0.4-0.5), indicating that the channels responsible for the voltage-sensitive and -insensitive components of gj are not independent. Single channel studies further revealed that different channel sizes comprise the voltage-sensitive and -insensitive components, and that the open times of the larger, more voltage-sensitive conductance events declined to values near zero at large voltages, despite the high gmin. We conclude that the voltage-insensitive component of gj is ascribable to a voltage-insensitive substate of connexin43 channels rather than to the presence of multiple types of channels in the junctional membrane. These studies thus demonstrate that for certain gap junction channels, closure in response to specific stimuli may be graded, rather than all-or-none.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Human connexin43 gap junction channels. Regulation of unitary conductances by phosphorylation.

Connexin43 is the major gap protein in the heart and cardiovascular system. Single channel recordings of human connexin43 gap junction channels exogenously expressed in transfected SKHep1 cells demonstrate two discrete classes of channel events, with unitary conductances of predominantly 60 to 70 and 90 to 100 pS when recorded with an internal solution containing CsCl as the major current-carrying ionic species and at moderate transjunctional voltages (< 60 mV). Human connexin43 expressed in SKHep1 cells displays multiple electrophoretic mobilities (apparent M(r), approximately 41 to 45 kD) when resolved in Western blots. Treatment of connexin43 from these cells with alkaline phosphatase collapses the bands into a single 41-kD species; application of alkaline phosphatase to the cell interior through patch pipettes yields channels that are predominantly of the larger unitary conductance. The smaller 60- to 70-pS unitary conductance values correspond to the most common channel size seen in cultured rat cardiac myocytes; these channels were more frequently observed after treatment with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid, which was shown to increase phosphorylation of human connexin43 in these cells under similar conditions. Exposure to the protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine shifted the proportion of events toward the largest unitary conductance and resulted in decreased phosphorylation of human connexin43 in seryl residues in these cells. Thus, the unitary conductance of human connexin43 gap junction channels covaries with the phosphorylation state of the protein. This change in unitary conductance appears to be a unique effect of phosphorylation on gap junction channels, since it has not been observed for other ion channels that have thus far been evaluated.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1994

Tetracycline-regulated cardiac gene expression in vivo.

Tight regulation of foreign genes expressed in vivo would facilitate studies of many biologic processes and would be useful for gene transfer-based therapies. To test the ability of a tetracycline-regulated gene expression system to function in vivo, we directly injected chimeric tet repressor-VP16 transactivator expression plasmids and luciferase target genes into the hearts of adult rats. Cardiac luciferase activity increased over two orders of magnitude in response to small changes in input tetracycline-controlled transactivator DNA. Transactivation was repressed to background levels by subtherapeutic concentrations of tetracycline in a dose-dependent manner. Target gene expression could be rapidly and reversibly controlled by manipulating antibiotic administration. This system may be particularly useful for in vivo studies of gene function or gene therapies where the timing or extent of expression are critical variables.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Regulated expression of foreign genes in vivo after germline transfer.

Tight transcriptional control of foreign genes introduced into the germline of transgenic mice would be of great experimental value in studies of gene function. To develop a system in which the spatial and temporal expression of candidate genes implicated in cardiac development or function could be tightly controlled in vivo, we have generated transgenic mice expressing a tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) under the control of a rat alpha myosin heavy chain promoter (MHC alpha-tTA mice), as well as mice harboring a candidate target gene implicated in the control of differentiation, Id1 (tet-Id1 mice). No expression of the target transgene was detected in any tissues of hemizygous tet-Id1 mice. Genetic crosses with MHC alpha-tTA mice resulted in transactivation of the Id1 transgene, but expression was restricted to heart, where tTA was expressed. Furthermore, transactivation of the target gene was tightly and reversibly controlled by systemic therapy with tetracycline, both in utero and postnatally. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of such a binary approach for tightly controlling the timing and extent of expression of transgenes in vivo. This approach should be generally useful for the ectopic expression of candidate genes in selected tissues during delineated developmental stages.

Animals↗