PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G M Edelman

Publications and source records attributed to G M Edelman.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Tissue-specific expression of the L1 cell adhesion molecule is modulated by the neural restrictive silencer element.

The cell adhesion molecule L1 mediates neurite outgrowth and fasciculation during embryogenesis and mutations in its gene have been linked to a number of human congenital syndromes. To identify DNA sequences that restrict expression of L1 to the nervous system, we isolated a previously unidentified segment of the mouse L1 gene containing the promoter, the first exon, and the first intron and examined its activity in vitro and in vivo. We found that a neural restrictive silencer element (NRSE) within the second intron prevented expression of L1 gene constructs in nonneural cells. For optimal silencing of L1 gene expression by the NRSE-binding factor RE-1-silencing transcription factor (REST)/NRSF, both the NRSE and sequences in the first intron were required. In transgenic mice, an L1lacZ gene construct with the NRSE generated a neurally restricted expression pattern consistent with the known pattern of L1 expression in postmitotic neurons and peripheral glia. In contrast, a similar construct lacking the NRSE produced precocious expression in the peripheral nervous system and ectopic expression in mesenchymal derivatives of the neural crest and in mesodermal and ectodermal cells. These experiments show that the NRSE and REST/NRSF are important components in restricting L1 expression to the embryonic nervous system.

Animals↗

Barx2, a new homeobox gene of the Bar class, is expressed in neural and craniofacial structures during development.

Homeobox genes are regulators of place-dependent morphogenesis and play important roles in controlling the expression patterns of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). To identify proteins that bind to a regulatory element common to the genes for two neural CAMs, Ng-CAM and L1, we screened a mouse cDNA expression library with a concatamer of the sequence CCATTAGPyGA and found a new homeobox gene, which we have called Barx2. The homeodomain encoded by Barx2 is 87% identical to that of Barx1, and both genes are related to genes at the Bar locus of Drosophila melanogaster. Barx1 and Barx2 also encode an identical stretch of 17 residues downstream of the homeobox; otherwise, they share no appreciable homology. In vitro, Barx2 stimulated activity of an L1 promoter construct containing the CCATTAGPyGA motif but repressed activity when this sequence was deleted. Localization studies showed that expression of Barx1 and Barx2 overlap in the nervous system, particularly in the telencephalon, spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglia. Barx2 was also prominently expressed in the floor plate and in Rathke's pouch. During craniofacial development, Barx1 and Barx2 showed complementary patterns of expression: whereas Barx1 appeared in the mesenchyme of the mandibular and maxillary processes, Barx2 was observed in the ectodermal lining of these tissues. Intense expression of Barx2 was observed in small groups of cells undergoing tissue remodeling, such as ectodermal cells within indentations surrounding the eye and maxillo-nasal groove and in the first branchial pouch, lung buds, precartilagenous condensations, and mesenchyme of the limb. The localization data, combined with Barx2's dual function as activator and repressor, suggest that Barx2 may differentially control the expression of L1 and other target genes during embryonic development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Glucocorticoid receptor pathways are involved in the inhibition of astrocyte proliferation.

In earlier studies, the neural cell adhesion molecule, N-CAM, was found to inhibit the proliferation of rat astrocytes both in vitro and in vivo. To identify the gene targets involved, we used subtractive hybridization to examine changes in gene expression that occur after astrocytes are exposed to N-CAM in vitro. While the mRNA levels for N-CAM decreased after such treatment, the levels of mRNAs for glutamine synthetase and calreticulin increased. Since glutamine synthetase and calreticulin are known to be involved in glucocorticoid receptor pathways, we tested a number of steroids for their effects on astrocyte proliferation. Dexamethasone, corticosterone, and aldosterone were all found to inhibit rat cortical astrocyte proliferation in culture in a dose-dependent manner. RU-486, a potent glucocorticoid antagonist, reversed the inhibitory effects of dexamethasone. These observations prompted the hypothesis that the inhibition of proliferation by N-CAM might be mediated through the glucocorticoid receptor pathway. Consistent with this hypothesis, the inhibition of astrocyte proliferation by N-CAM was reversed in part by a number of glucocorticoid antagonists, including RU-486, dehydroepiandrosterone, and progesterone. In transfection experiments with cultured astrocytes, N-CAM treatment increased the expression of a luciferase reporter gene under the control of a minimal promoter linked to a glucocorticoid response element. The enhanced activity of this construct stimulated by N-CAM was abolished in the presence of RU-486. The combined data suggest that astrocyte proliferation is in part regulated by alterations in glucocorticoid receptor pathways.

Aldosterone↗

Multiple promoter elements differentially regulate the expression of the mouse tenascin gene.

Tenascin (TN) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein that is expressed in a characteristic spatiotemporal pattern during development and is up-regulated in the adult during tumorigenesis, wound healing, and nerve regeneration. In previous studies, we identified a promoter within the proximal 250 bp upstream of the mouse TN gene that contains several putative regulatory elements that are conserved among vertebrate TN genes. We have identified four different DNA elements within this promoter and show that they contribute in different ways to TN gene expression in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, C6 glioma cells, and N2A neuroblastoma cells. These elements comprise a binding site for Krox proteins, one for nuclear factor 1, an octamer motif that binds POU-homeodomain proteins, and a novel TN control element. The nuclear factor 1 and TN control element had positive effects on TN promoter activity and formed similar DNA-protein complexes with nuclear extracts from all three cell lines. The Krox element had a negative effect on TN promoter activity in N2A cells, a positive effect in C6 cells, and no effect in NIH 3T3 cells. Two DNA binding complexes, one correlated with the negative and the other with the positive activities of the Krox element, were found to contain the protein Krox24. In cotransfection experiments, the octamer motif was required for induction of TN promoter activity by the POU-homeodomain protein Brn2 in N2A cells but was inactive in C6 cells. Consistent with these findings, N2A cells transfected with Brn2 formed octamer-binding complexes containing N-Oct3, the transcriptionally active form of Brn2, whereas complexes formed in C6 cells contained only N-Oct5A and N-Oct5B. Our results provide a striking example of the diversity of regulatory mechanisms that can be called forth by combining different promoter motifs with transcriptional activators or repressors.

3T3 Cells↗

A binding site for Pax proteins regulates expression of the gene for the neural cell adhesion molecule in the embryonic spinal cord.

The neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) mediates cell-cell interactions and is expressed in characteristic spatiotemporal patterns during development. In previous studies of factors that control N-CAM gene expression, we identified a binding site for the paired domain of Pax proteins (designated PBS) in the mouse N-CAM promoter. In this study, we demonstrate that a transcription factor known to be important for development of the central nervous system, Pax-6, binds to the N-CAM PBS and show that the PBS can influence N-CAM expression in vivo. Pax-6, produced in COS-1 cells, bound to the PBS through two half-sites, PBS-1 and PBS-2; mutations in both of these sites completely disrupted binding. Moreover, nuclear extracts from embryonic day (E) 11.5 mouse embryos bound to the PBS, and this binding was inhibited by antibodies to Pax-6. To determine the role of the PBS in vivo, we generated transgenic mice with N-CAM promoter/lacZ gene constructs containing either a wild-type or a mutated PBS. Mutations in PBS-1 and PBS-2 decreased the extent of beta-galactosidase expression in the mantle layer of the spinal cord limiting it to ventral regions at E11.5. At E14.5, these mutations eliminated most of the expression that was seen in the wild-type spinal cord. Taken together with our previous observations that the PBS binds multiple Pax proteins, the data indicate that such binding contributes to the regulation of N-CAM gene expression during neural development.

Animals↗

rRNA-like sequences occur in diverse primary transcripts: implications for the control of gene expression.

Many eukaryotic mRNAs contain sequences that resemble segments of 28S and 18S rRNAs, and these rRNA-like sequences are present in both the sense and antisense orientations. Some are similar to highly conserved regions of the rRNAs, whereas others have sequence similarities to expansion segments. In particular, four 18S rRNA-like sequences are found in several hundred different genes, and the location of these four sequences within the various genes is not random. One of these rRNA-like sequences is preferentially located within protein coding regions immediately upstream of the termination codon of a number of genes. Northern blot analysis of poly(A)+ RNA from different vertebrates (chicken, cattle, rat, mouse, and human) revealed that a large number of discrete RNA molecules hybridize at high stringency to cloned probes prepared from the 28S or 18S rRNA sequences that were found to match those in mRNAs. Inhibition of polymerase II activity, which prevents the synthesis of most mRNAs, abolished most of the hybridization to the rRNA probes. We consider the hypotheses that rRNA-like sequences may have spread throughout eukaryotic genomes and that their presence in primary transcripts may differentially affect gene expression.

Amanitins↗

Registration of neural maps through value-dependent learning: modeling the alignment of auditory and visual maps in the barn owl's optic tectum.

In the optic tectum (OT) of the barn owl, visual and auditory maps of space are found in close alignment with each other. Experiments in which such alignment has been disrupted have shown a considerable degree of plasticity in the auditory map. The external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICx), an auditory center that projects massively to the tectum, is the main site of plasticity; however, it is unclear by what mechanisms the alignment between the auditory map in the ICx and the visual map in the tectum is established and maintained. In this paper, we propose that such map alignment occurs through a process of value-dependent learning. According to this paradigm, value systems, identifiable with neuromodulatory systems having diffuse projections, respond to innate or acquired salient cues and modulate changes in synaptic efficacy in many brain regions. To test the self-consistency of this proposal, we have developed a computer model of the principal neural structures involved in the process of auditory localization in the barn owl. This is complemented by simulations of aspects of the barn owl phenotype and of the experimental environment. In the model, a value system is activated whenever the owl carries out a foveation toward an auditory stimulus. A term representing the diffuse release of a neuromodulator interacts with local pre- and postsynaptic events to determine synaptic changes in the ICx. Through large-scale simulations, we have replicated a number of experimental observations on the development of spatial alignment between the auditory and visual maps during normal visual experience, after the retinal image is shifted through prismatic goggles, and after the reestablishment of normal visual input. The results suggest that value-dependent learning is sufficient to account for the registration of auditory and visual maps of space in the OT of the barn owl, and they lead to a number of experimental predictions.

Animals↗

Gene regulation of cell adhesion molecules in neural morphogenesis.

A mounting body of evidence suggests that cell-cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) play critical roles in morphogenetic patterning and in laying down the initial tissue scaffold of the nervous system. Perturbations of CAM binding can lead to altered tissue pattern and interruption of tissue interactions to altered patterns of CAM expression. The combined factors that regulate the expression of CAMs and that drive early neural development are, however, largely unknown. We have hypothesized that the coordinate expression of homeobox (Hox) and paired box (Pax) transcription factors in various axes of the body plan leads to differential expression of particular CAM genes. Following this hypothesis, we have characterized the promoters and other regulatory regions of a number of genes specifying CAMs and have identified cis-regulatory elements that bind and respond to Hox and Pax proteins. Our recent experiments in vitro indicate, for example, that transcription factors encoded by Hox and Pax genes bind to specific DNA sequences in the N-CAM promoter and activate expression of the N-CAM gene. Experiments on transgenic mice carrying either the wild-type N-CAM promoter or a variant with mutations in the homeodomain binding sites (HBS) linked to a lac-Z reporter gene indicate that interactions with these elements are important in establishing and maintaining N-CAM expression in the spinal cord. We have also examined the regulatory sequences controlling expression of the gene for the neuron-glia adhesion molecule (Ng-CAM). Unlike N-CAM, which is also expressed in many non-neural sites, Ng-CAM is restricted to cells of the nervous system. After identifying this promoter for the Ng-CAM gene, we characterized a silencer region in the first intron of the gene that extinguishes the expression of Ng-CAM in fibroblasts but not in neuronal cells. Thus, a default mechanism can account for the restriction of Ng-CAM expression to the nervous system. The silencer region contains five neural-restrictive silencer elements and a binding site for the Pax3 protein, which also appears to have silencing activity. All of these findings suggest that Hox and Pax transcription factors can have both activating and silencing functions in regulating CAM gene expression. The general significance of these accumulated observations is that they connect the place-dependent expression of gene products capable of direct morphoregulation to the function of pattern-forming genes.

Animals↗

Targeted DNA recombination in vivo using an adenovirus carrying the cre recombinase gene.

Conditional gene expression and gene deletion are important experimental approaches for examining the functions of particular gene products in development and disease. The cre-loxP system from bacteriophage P1 has been used in transgenic animals to induce site-specific DNA recombination leading to gene activation or deletion. To regulate the recombination in a spatiotemporally controlled manner, we constructed a recombinant adenoviral vector, Adv/cre, that contained the cre recombinase gene under regulation of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter. The efficacy and target specificity of this vector in mediating loxP-dependent recombination were analyzed in mice that had been genetically engineered to contain loxP sites in their genome. After intravenous injection of the Adv/cre vector into adult animals, the liver and spleen showed the highest infectivity of the adenovirus as well as the highest levels of recombination, whereas other tissues such as kidney, lung, and heart had lower levels of infection and recombination. Only trace levels of recombination were detected in the brain. However, when the Adv/cre vector was injected directly into specific regions of the adult brain, including the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum, recombination was detectable at the injection site. Furthermore, when the Adv/cre vector was injected into the forebrains of neonatal mice, the rearranged toxP locus from recombination could be detected in the injected regions for at least 8 weeks. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the Adv/cre vector expressing a functional cre protein is capable of mediating loxP-dependent recombination in various tissues and the recombined gene locus may in some cases be maintained for an extended period. The use of the adenovirus vector expressing cre combined with localized delivery to specific tissues may provide an efficient means to achieve conditional gene expression or knockout with precise spatiotemporal control.

Adenoviridae↗

Homophilic adhesion mediated by the neural cell adhesion molecule involves multiple immunoglobulin domains.

The neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) mediates homophilic binding between a variety of cell types including neurons, neurons and glia, and neurons and muscle cells. The mechanism by which N-CAM on one cell interacts with N-CAM on another, however, is unknown. Attempts to identify which of the five immunoglobulin-like domains (Ig I-V) and the two fibronectin type III repeats (FnIII 1-2) in the extracellular region of N-CAM are involved in this process have led to ambiguous results. We have generated soluble recombinant proteins corresponding to each of the individual immunoglobulin domains and the combined FnIII 1-2 and prepared polyclonal antibodies specific for each. The purified proteins and antibodies were used in aggregation experiments with fluorescent microspheres and chicken embryo brain cells to determine possible contributions of each domain to homophilic adhesion. The recombinant domains were tested for their ability to bind to purified native N-CAM, to bind to each other, and to inhibit the aggregation of N-CAM on microspheres and the aggregation of neuronal cells. Each of the immunoglobulin domains bound to N-CAM, and in solution all of the immunoglobulin domains inhibited the aggregation of N-CAM-coated microspheres. Soluble Ig II, Ig III, and Ig IV inhibited neuronal aggregation; antibodies against whole N-CAM, the Ig III domain, and the Ig I domain all strongly inhibited neuronal aggregation, as well as the aggregation of N-CAM-coated microspheres. Of all the domains, the third immunoglobulin domain alone demonstrated the ability to self-aggregate, whereas Ig I bound to Ig V and Ig II bound to Ig IV. The combined FnIII 1-2 exhibited a slight ability to self-aggregate but did not bind to any of the immunoglobulin-like domains. These results suggest that N-CAM-N-CAM binding involves all five immunoglobulin domains and prompt the hypothesis that in homophilic cell-cell binding mediated by N-CAM these domains may interact pairwise in an antiparallel orientation.

Animals↗

A complexity measure for selective matching of signals by the brain.

We have previously derived a theoretical measure of neural complexity (CN) in an attempt to characterize functional connectivity in the brain. CN measures the amount and heterogeneity of statistical correlations within a neural system in terms of the mutual information between subsets of its units. CN was initially used to characterize the functional connectivity of a neural system isolated from the environment. In the present paper, we introduce a related statistical measure, matching complexity (CM), which reflects the change in CN that occurs after a neural system receives signals from the environment. CM measures how well the ensemble of intrinsic correlations within a neural system fits the statistical structure of the sensory input. We show that CM is low when the intrinsic connectivity of a simulated cortical area is randomly organized. Conversely, CM is high when the intrinsic connectivity is modified so as to differentially amplify those intrinsic correlations that happen to be enhanced by sensory input. When the input is represented by an individual stimulus, a positive value of CM indicates that the limited mutual information between sensory sheets sampling the stimulus and the rest of the brain triggers a large increase in the mutual information between many functionally specialized subsets within the brain. In this way, a complex brain can deal with context and go "beyond the information given."

Animals↗

Identification and characterization of a RING zinc finger gene (C-RZF) expressed in chicken embryo cells.

To identify changes in gene expression that occur in chicken embryo brain (CEB) cells as a consequence of their binding to the extracellular matrix molecule cytotactin/tenascin (CT/TN), a subtractive hybridization cloning strategy was employed. One of the cDNA clones identified was predicted to encode 381 amino acids and although it did not resemble any known sequences in the nucleic acid or protein data bases, it did contain the sequence motif for the cysteine-rich C3HC4 type of zinc finger, also known as a RING-finger. This sequence was therefore designated the chicken-RING zinc finger (C-RZF). In addition to the RING-finger, the C-RZF sequence also contained motifs for a leucine zipper, a nuclear localization signal, and a stretch of acidic amino acids similar to the activation domains of some transcription factors. Southern analysis suggested that C-RZF is encoded by a single gene. Northern and in situ hybridization analyses of E8 chicken embryo tissues indicated that expression of the C-RZF gene was restricted primarily to brain and heart. Western analysis of the nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions of chicken embryo heart cells and immunofluorescent staining of chicken embryo cardiocytes with anti-C-RZF antibodies demonstrated that the C-RZF protein was present in the nucleus. The data suggest that we have identified another member of the RING-finger family of proteins whose expression in CEB cells may be affected by CT/TN and whose nuclear localization and sequence motifs predict a DNA-binding function in the nucleus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Embryonic expression patterns of the neural cell adhesion molecule gene are regulated by homeodomain binding sites.

During development of the vertebrate nervous system, the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) is expressed in a defined spatiotemporal pattern. We have proposed that the expression of N-CAM is controlled, in part, by proteins encoded by homeobox genes. This hypothesis has been supported by previous in vitro experiments showing that products of homeobox genes can both bind to and transactivate the N-CAM promoter via two homeodomain binding sites, HBS-I and HBS-II. We have now tested the hypothesis that the N-CAM gene is a target of homeodomain proteins in vivo by using transgenic mice containing native and mutated N-CAM promoter constructs linked to a beta-galactosidase reporter gene. Segments of the 5' flanking region of the mouse N-CAM gene were sufficient to direct expression of the reporter gene in the central nervous system in a pattern consistent with that of the endogenous N-CAM gene. For example, at embryonic day (E) 11, beta-galactosidase staining was found in postmitotic neurons in dorsolateral and ventrolateral regions of the spinal cord; at E14.5, staining was seen in these neurons throughout the spinal cord. In contrast, mice carrying an N-CAM promoter-reporter construct with mutations in both homeodomain binding sites (HBS-I and HBS-II) showed altered expression patterns in the spinal cord. At E11, beta-galactosidase expression was seen in the ventrolateral spinal cord, but was absent in the dorsolateral areas, and at E 14.5, beta-galactosidase expression was no longer detected in any cells of the cord. Homeodomain binding sites found in the N-CAM promoter thus appear to be important in determining specific expression patterns of N-CAM along the dorsoventral axis in the developing spinal cord. These experiments suggest that the N-CAM gene is an in vivo target of homeobox gene products in vertebrates.

Animals↗

Developmental control of N-CAM expression by Hox and Pax gene products.

A mounting body of evidence suggests that cell-cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) play critical roles in morphogenetic patterning. Perturbations of CAM binding can lead to altered tissue pattern and interruption of tissue interactions can lead to altered patterns of CAM expression. These observations focus attention on the factors responsible for the place-dependent expression of adhesion molecules such as N-CAM, the neural cell adhesion molecule. Our recent experiments in vitro indicate that transcription factors encoded by Hox and Pax genes bind to specific DNA sequences in the N-CAM promoter and activate that promoter. In particular, a region of the N-CAM promoter designated the homeodomain binding site (HBS) interacts with a variety of different homeodomain proteins. A different region of the N-CAM promoter binds to the paired domain of Pax proteins. These transcription factors differentially regulate the N-CAM gene. Such in vitro studies suggest that the N-CAM gene may be an in vivo target for homeobox and Pax gene products. Recent experiments on transgenic mice carrying normal and mutated segments of the N-CAM promoter linked to a lacZ reporter gene suggest that the N-CAM regulation observed in vitro actually has counterparts in vivo. The significance of these observations is that they connect gene products capable of morphoregulation (such as CAMs) to pattern-forming genes.

Animals↗

Silencer elements modulate the expression of the gene for the neuron-glia cell adhesion molecule, Ng-CAM.

The combined factors that regulate the expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) during development of the nervous system are largely unknown. To identify such factors for Ng-CAM, the neuron-glia CAM, constructs containing portions of the 5' end of the Ng-CAM gene were examined for activity after transfection into N2A neuroblastoma and NIH3T3 cells. Positive regulatory elements active in both cell types included an Ng-CAM proximal promoter with SP1 and cAMP response element motifs extending 447 base pairs upstream of a single RNA start site and a region within the first exon corresponding to 5'-untranslated sequences. Negative regulatory elements included five neuron-restrictive silencer elements (NRSEs) and a binding site for Pax gene products in a 305-base pair segment of the first intron. Constructs containing the promoter together with the entire first intron were active in N2A cells but were silenced in NIH3T3 cells. This silencer activity was mapped to the NRSEs. In contrast, the Pax motif inhibited activity of Ng-CAM constructs in both cell types. The DNA elements defined in these transfection experiments were examined for their ability to bind nuclear factors. The region within the first exon formed a DNA-protein complex after exposure to nuclear extracts prepared from both NIH3T3 and N2A cells. The NRSE region formed a more prominent complex with proteins prepared from NIH3T3 cells than it did with extracts from N2A cells. A member of the Pax protein family, Pax-3 bound to the Pax motif. Mutations introduced within the Pax motif in its ATTA sequence eliminated this binding whereas mutations in its GTTCC sequence did not, suggesting that paired homeodomain interactions are important for the recognition of Pax-3 by this DNA target sequence. The combined data suggest that negative regulation by NRSEs and Pax proteins may play a key role in the place-dependent expression patterns of Ng-CAM during development.

3T3 Cells↗

Neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) inhibits astrocyte proliferation after injury to different regions of the adult rat brain.

After a penetrating lesion in the central nervous system, astrocytes enlarge, divide, and participate in creating an environment that adversely affects neuronal regeneration. We have recently shown that the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) partially inhibits the division of early postnatal rat astrocytes in vitro. In the present study, we demonstrate that addition of N-CAM, the third immunoglobulin-like domain of N-CAM, or a synthetic decapeptide corresponding to a putative homophilic binding site in N-CAM partially inhibits astrocyte proliferation after a stab lesion in the adult rat brain. Animals were lesioned in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, or striatum with a Hamilton syringe and needle at defined stereotaxic positions. On one side, the lesions were concomitantly infused with N-CAM or with one of the N-CAM-related molecules. As a control, a peptide of the same composition as the N-CAM decapeptide but of random sequence was infused on the contralateral side of the brain. We consistently found that the population of dividing astrocytes was significantly smaller on the side in which N-CAM or one of the N-CAM-related molecules was infused than on the opposite side. The inhibition was greatest in the cortical lesion sites (approximately 50%) and was less pronounced in the hippocampus (approximately 25%) and striatum (approximately 20%). Two weeks after the lesion, the cerebral cortical sites infused with N-CAM continued to exhibit a significantly smaller population of dividing astrocytes than the sites on the opposite side. When N-CAM and basic fibroblast growth factor, which is known to stimulate astrocyte division in vitro, were coinfused into cortical lesion sites, astrocyte proliferation was still inhibited. These results suggest the hypothesis that, by reducing glial proliferation, N-CAM or its peptides may help create an environment that is more suitable for neuronal regeneration.

Amino Acid Sequence↗