Biomedical subjects

G K Adler

Publications and source records attributed to G K Adler.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

Regulation of the ectopically expressed human glycoprotein alpha-subunit gene in the human hepatoma cell line NPLC.

The human glycoprotein alpha-subunit is the common subunit of the heterodimeric hormones CG (hCG), TSH, LH, and FSH. Human glycoprotein alpha-subunit is produced eutopically in placenta, pituitary, and choriocarcinoma and ectopically in a large variety of human tumors. We report ectopic glycoprotein alpha-subunit messenger RNA (mRNA) and peptide production in the human hepatoma cell line, NPLC. Neither hCG beta mRNA nor intact hCG peptide was detected. Antimetabolite regulation of glycoprotein alpha-subunit expression in NPLC cells resembled that found in choriocarcinoma cells in that it was stimulated by hydroxyurea. In addition, glycoprotein alpha-subunit mRNA expression and transcription in NPLC were stimulated by activators of the protein kinase A and C second messenger pathways, as well as by glucocorticoid. Glucocorticoid augmented glycoprotein alpha-subunit gene transcription by phorbol ester and forskolin, in contrast to its simultaneous inhibitory effect on phorbol ester activation of the CRH gene, which is also ectopically expressed in these cells. Glucocorticoid thus modulates the activation of these genes by phorbol ester in opposite directions, despite their identical cellular context. The NPLC cell line provides a new model for the study of human glycoprotein alpha-subunit gene regulation and free glycoprotein alpha-subunit secretion. In addition, it should be useful for investigating the role that specific cis-acting DNA sequences play in glucocorticoid modulation of gene induction by second messenger pathways.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

PubMed1992

Effects of glucocorticoid on corticotropin-releasing hormone gene regulation by second messenger pathways in NPLC and AtT-20 cells.

We have examined the regulation of the hypothalamic secretagogue CRH by glucocorticoid and the protein kinase-A and -C second messenger pathways in cultured cells. We show that the human primary liver carcinoma NPLC expresses the endogenous CRH gene. Dexamethasone reduced CRH mRNA levels by more than 90%, with half-maximal suppression at 5 nM. Phorbol ester treatment to activate the protein kinase-C pathway increased CRH mRNA levels up to 30-fold, whereas forskolin treatment to activate the protein kinase-A pathway had no effect. In coincubation experiments, dexamethasone completely suppressed phorbol ester-induced CRH mRNA levels in NPLC cells, maintaining them at the levels seen in untreated cells. We contrasted this regulation with the effects of glucocorticoid on CRH mRNA induction by forskolin in R1, a mouse anterior pituitary cell line (AtT-20) stably transfected with the human CRH gene. Dexamethasone suppressed forskolin-induced CRH mRNA levels by 70% in R1 cells, but only to levels that were still 10-fold greater than those in untreated cells. These results suggest that CRH induction in vivo by ligands that act via protein kinase-A may be less effectively suppressed by glucocorticoid feedback than CRH induction by ligands that act via protein kinase-C. This differential effect of glucocorticoid on CRH mRNA regulation could help explain the abnormal CRH production observed in clinical disorders such as anorexia nervosa and major depression.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Dose effect of adrenocorticotropin on aldosterone and cortisol biosynthesis in cultured bovine adrenal glomerulosa cells: in vitro correlate of hyperreninemic hypoaldosteronism.

In some critically ill patients, aldosterone secretion is diminished despite hyperreninemia. These same patients demonstrate appropriately elevated plasma ACTH and cortisol levels. In addition, infusion of ACTH or angiotensin-II (AII) fails to elicit the normal aldosterone response, implying that the defect is at the level of the zona glomerulosa (ZG) cell. To test the hypothesis that elevated ACTH levels induce this defect, Percoll-purified bovine ZG cells were plated in serum-free defined medium and cultured for 5 days. On days 1-4, cells were exposed to various concentrations of ACTH for 1 h. On the fifth day of culture, half of the wells pretreated with ACTH were treated for 1 h with AII (10(-7) M); the other half of the wells received another dose of ACTH for 1 h. Additionally, cells were exposed to daily 1-h pulses of AII (10(-7) M) alone or in combination with ACTH (10(-8) M) for 5 days. Acutely dispersed bovine ZG cells showed dose-dependent increases in aldosterone when incubated with ACTH, potassium, or AII, with minimal cortisol production. Acutely dispersed bovine fasciculata cells produced no aldosterone, but demonstrated a dose-dependent cortisol response to ACTH and AII, but not potassium. On day 1 of culture, the ZG cells demonstrated a significant (P less than 0.001 in all cases) dose-related increase in aldosterone secretion in response to ACTH. However, continued daily pulsation with ACTH resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in aldosterone secretion, with a concomitant dose- and time-related rise in cortisol production. Indeed, ACTH-induced cortisol production in ZG became similar to ACTH-induced cortisol production in zona fasciculata cells. The addition of AII to the daily ACTH pulse did not significantly alter the aldosterone or cortisol response patterns to ACTH alone. In contrast, ZG cells treated with AII alone for 5 days showed a minimal change in cortisol production and no reduction in aldosterone production until day 4. Northern blot analysis of total RNA isolated from ZG cells pulsed with ACTH for 5 days demonstrated a parallel dose-dependent increase in 17 alpha-hydroxylase mRNA, which did not occur in cells pulsed with AII alone. These in vitro results suggest that elevated ACTH levels over time induce 17 alpha-hydroxylase activity in ZG cells, thereby shifting steroid biosynthesis from an aldosterone-producing to a cortisol-producing pathway. It is likely that the chronically elevated ACTH levels in critically ill patients induce a similar change in ZG cell biosynthesis, resulting in their hyperreninemic hypoaldosterone state.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

PubMed1992

Protein kinase-C activation increases the quantity and poly(A) tail length of corticotropin-releasing hormone messenger RNA in NPLC cells.

We have studied the effect of protein kinase-C activation on the regulation of CRH gene expression in the human hepatoma cell line NPLC/PRF/5 (NPLC), the only cell line known to express the endogenous CRH gene. Incubation of NPLC cells with 100 nM 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate (TPA), a phorbol ester that activates protein kinase-C, resulted in a rapid (1-h) and prolonged (72-h) increase in CRH mRNA levels, with the maximum increase of 16-fold observed at 24 h. In addition, TPA treatment increased the size of CRH mRNA by approximately 100 nucleotides. This size increase, which was blocked by protein synthesis inhibitors, occurred within 1 h of TPA addition and lasted at least 8 h, with a return toward the baseline size by 24 h. Structural analysis of CRH mRNA revealed two poly(A) addition sites and, as found in human placenta, multiple transcription start sites. The increase in CRH mRNA size was not due to changes in the sites of either transcription initiation or poly(A) addition, but, rather, to a 3-fold increase in the length of the poly(A) tail itself. The ability of TPA to increase CRH mRNA levels in NPLC cells suggests that the protein kinase-C second messenger pathway may be involved in the physiological regulation of CRH gene expression. Increases in CRH mRNA poly(A) tail length potentially may influence CRH mRNA stability or translatability and, thus, may represent a general mechanism by which the protein kinase-C pathway can influence gene expression.

Anisomycin↗

PubMed1990

Regulated expression of the human corticotropin releasing hormone gene by cyclic AMP.

The factors controlling the expression of the hypothalamic neuropeptide, corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), are poorly understood. We have used a mouse anterior pituitary cell line, AtT-20, permanently transfected with the human CRH gene as a model for studying the regulation of the CRH gene by cyclic AMP. Previously, we demonstrated that in this system the CRH gene is correctly expressed and appropriately negatively regulated by glucocorticoids. Treatment of five CRH-producing cell lines with an activator of adenylate cyclase (forskolin, 0.1-50 microM for 24 h) caused a dose-dependent and specific increase in the amount of CRH mRNA and radioimmunoassay-detectable CRH peptide secreted into the medium. Ribonuclease protection analysis revealed that the CRH gene was transcribed from multiple transcriptional initiation sites located over several hundred nucleotides. Forskolin treatment resulted in a specific increase in the CRH mRNA transcripts initiating from one of these many transcriptional start sites.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Expression and dexamethasone regulation of the human corticotropin-releasing hormone gene in a mouse anterior pituitary cell line.

The factors controlling the expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), a hypothalamic neuropeptide involved in the regulation of ACTH secretion, are poorly understood partly because a suitable in vitro model is lacking. To study the regulation of CRH gene expression, an 8-kilobase (kb) DNA fragment containing the entire human CRH gene as well as approximately 6 kb of 5' sequence and 0.8 kb of 3' sequence was isolated from a lambda Charon 4A human genomic library and introduced into a mouse anterior pituitary cell line, AtT-20, by CaPO4 transfection with a neomycin-selectable marker. Approximately 10% of the neomycin-resistant lines stably expressed the CRH gene and secreted radioimmunoassay-detectable CRH into culture media at levels greater than 100 pg/ml. By Southern blot analysis the 8-kb DNA fragment containing the CRH gene had been incorporated intact into the AtT-20 genome. In each CRH-producing strain, but not in the parent AtT-20 cell line, we detected by Northern blot analysis an RNA species that hybridized to two radioactive cRNA probes specific for either the 5' or 3' portion of CRH mRNA, and that co-migrated with placental CRH mRNA. Dexamethasone treatment for 24-96 h caused a specific decrease in CRH mRNA and peptide levels of 40-50% in the five CRH-producing cell lines with half-maximal suppression at approximately 10(-9) M dexamethasone, indicating that CRH gene expression is negatively regulated by glucocorticoids. Thus, we have established an in vitro model suitable for studying in detail those cis- and trans-acting factors which regulate CRH gene expression.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Characterization and gestational regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone messenger RNA in human placenta.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), a hypothalamic neuropeptide involved in the regulation of ACTH secretion, has been detected by RIA in extracts of human placenta. We wished to determine whether this immunoreactive substance is a product of CRH gene expression in the placenta. We have found authentic human CRH (hCRH) mRNA in human placental tissue that is similar in size to hypothalamic CRH mRNA. Furthermore, the transcriptional initiation site for placental hCRH mRNA is identical to that previously predicted for hypothalamic hCRH mRNA, 23-26 nucleotides downstream from a canonical promoter element. Placental hCRH mRNA increases more than 20-fold in the 5 wk preceding parturition, in parallel with a rise in placental hCRH peptide content. These data strongly suggest that the hCRH gene is expressed in the placenta and that this expression changes dramatically during gestation.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1987

Influence of infused hypertonic saline on the response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in man.

We studied the influence of a hypertonic saline infusion on the counterregulatory response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in nine normal men. When given hypertonic saline, the men had less hypoglycemia in response to insulin, both acutely and in the recovery phase (P less than 0.01), and released 34% more glucagon (P less than 0.05) than when they were water loaded. The total integrated ACTH, cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and GH responses to hypoglycemia were similar after saline and water loading. After the saline load, the mean plasma vasopressin level rose from 11.0 +/- 2.2 (+/- SEM) to 20.9 +/- 2.9 pg/mL in response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia. In contrast, after the water load, vasopressin levels were undetectable (less than 2 pg/mL) and they increased only to 2.6 +/- 0.4 pg/mL with hypoglycemia. There was a significant positive correlation between basal plasma vasopressin and nadir glucose concentrations and a significant negative correlation between basal plasma vasopressin and the integrated fall in glucose after insulin administration (P less than 0.01 and P less than 0.025, respectively). The difference in the glycemic response to insulin may be related to the high vasopressin levels after saline loading, which could, either directly and/or through enhanced glucagon release, increase hepatic glucose production and thus limit the hypoglycemic response to insulin.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

PubMed1987

Changes in adrenal responsiveness and potassium balance with shifts in sodium intake.

Dietary sodium modulates the aldosterone response to angiotensin, but available evidence does not indicate whether there is a gradual change in adrenal responsiveness with intermediate sodium intakes or a sharp shift from a low to a high responsive level at some threshold sodium intake. Nine normal subjects received angiotensin II infusions while in balance on five levels of sodium intake over two orders of magnitude, 3 to 300 mEq sodium per day. Basal plasma renin activity, plasma aldosterone and plasma angiotensin II concentrations gradually fell as dietary sodium intake increased. The adrenal was quite sensitive to the state of sodium balance since a shift in sodium intake of as little as 20 mEq (e.g. 10 to 30 mEq/day) induced a significant change in basal plasma aldosterone. Adrenal responsiveness to infused angiotensin varied inversely with the log of urinary sodium excretion over the entire range of sodium intake, indicating that there is a gradual modulation of adrenal responsiveness with changes in dietary sodium. In addition, despite a constant dietary potassium intake, serum potassium gradually fell from 4.55 +/- .06 to 3.98 +/- .07 mEq/l, (P less than 0.02), as sodium intake increased, partly due to increased urinary potassium excretion (mean cumulative potassium loss of 129 mEq). Thus, changes in potassium balance may be important in modulating the sodium-associated variation in aldosterone secretion.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMed1984

Control of pT181 replication I. The pT181 copy control function acts by inhibiting the synthesis of a replication protein.

pT181 is a fully sequenced 4.4-kb 20 copy Tcr plasmid from Staphylococcus aureus. Its replication system involves a unique unidirectional origin embedded in the coding sequence for a plasmid-determined protein, RepC, that is required for initiation. When joined to a 55 copy carrier plasmid, pE194, pT181 excludes autonomous isologous replicons by inhibiting their replication. Two types of spontaneous pT181 copy mutants have been isolated, one that eliminates sensitivity to this inhibition and another that does not. A spontaneous 180-bp deletion, delta 144, eliminates both the inhibitory activity and sensitivity to it. This deletion increases copy number by 50-fold and RepC production by at least 10-fold. It is located directly upstream from the repC coding sequence and the deletion-bearing plasmid supports the replication of inhibitor-sensitive plasmids in cells containing active inhibitor. This effect is probably due to the overproduction of RepC by the delta 144 plasmid. On the basis of these results, it is suggested that RepC synthesis is negatively controlled by an inhibitor that is encoded directly upstream from the repC coding sequence and acts as a tareget set in the same region. It is likely, therefore, that pT181 replication rate is determined by the level of RepC.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed1982

Coding sequence for the pT181 repC product: a plasmid-coded protein uniquely required for replication.

pT181 is a 4.4-kilobase plasmid from Staphylococcus aureus specifying tetracycline resistance and present in about 20 copies per cell. The existence of a diffusible pT181 product required for plasmid replication has been proposed on the basis of trans-complementable thermosensitive mutants defective in plasmid maintenance (phenotype Tsr). In this report, the Tsr mutants are shown to have primary replication defects, and the genetic complementation data are confirmed biochemically. All of five mutations are in a single cistron, the repC cistron; interruption of the plasmid DNA molecule at any of three neighboring restriction sites inactivates repC function. Analysis of the DNA sequence in this region reveals an open reading frame of 939 base pairs which encodes the repC product, a 313-amino acid protein. pT181 replication has been demonstrated in cell-free extracts to require specifically a pT181-coded protein of approximately the same size, and it is proposed that this protein is, indeed, the repC product. Preliminary evidence is discussed suggesting that the pT181 replication rate is controlled at the level of synthesis of the repC protein.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed1982

Functional origin of replication of pT181 plasmid DNA is contained within a 168-base-pair segment.

We have used a recently developed in vitro replication system from Staphylococcus aureus to determine the origin and direction of replication of pT181 plasmid DNA. The origin was located to within 168 base pairs by two methods: (i) sequential labeling of restriction endonuclease fragments after synchronous initiation in vitro in the presence of various amounts of dideoxy-TTP and (ii) by constructing in vitro deletions of pT181 DNA close to the origin of replication and testing for their ability to replicate in vitro pT181 plasmid was found to replicate unidirectionally and anticlockwise, as the map is conventionally drawn. The nucleotide sequence of the region containing the origin of replication has been determined and found to be partially or entirely contained within the coding sequence for the repC protein, which is uniquely required for pT181 plasmid replication. Preliminary evidence suggesting that pT181 replicates by a rolling circle mechanism is discussed.

Bacterial Proteins↗