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H J Monstein

Publications and source records attributed to H J Monstein.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) stimulates a differential expression of cholecystokinin (CCK) and c-fos mRNA in a human neuroblastoma cell line.

Regulation of cholecystokinin (CCK) and the proto-oncogene c-fos mRNA expression was studied in the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-MC. Cells were treated either with the tumor promoting phorbol-ester phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), the phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutyl-methylxanthine (IBMX), which results in an elevated intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) level, or with a combination of PMA and IBMX. The level of CCK and c-fos mRNA was determined by Northern-blot analysis with CCK and c-fos specific antisense RNA probes after 4-24 h of drug treatment. Treatment with PMA and IBMX for 4-24 hours transiently raised the CCK mRNA level approximately 1.5-3.5 times compared to the controls, and the combination PMA and IBMX had an additive effect and elevated CCK mRNA abundance 1.5-6.5 times. Under the same experimental conditions, both PMA and IBMX elevated the c-fos mRNA level approximately 3-5.5 times. The drug combination showed a pronounced synergistic effect and raised the c-fos mRNA level approximately 3-20 times as compared to controls. Apparently, CCK and c-fos mRNA expression appears to be regulated by similar protein kinase C (PKC) and cAMP-dependent mechanisms in SK-N-MC cells.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1991

The expression of peptide hormones in normal cells and tumour cells.

Insight in the mechanisms of peptide hormone expression has grown explosively by elucidation of gene, mRNA and preprohormone structures for most hormone systems during the 1980s. In addition, information about the structure and substrate specificity of many prohormone processing enzymes is rapidly accumulating in these years. The preprohormones vary considerably in size and organization from poly- to monoprotein structures. According to the structural organization and sequence homology the hormones are grouped in families. The prohormones are processed to bioactive peptides by multiple enzymatic modifications during the intracellular transport from the rough endoplasmatic reticulum to the mature secretory granules. The modifications comprise different proteolytic cleavages and amino acid derivatizations. The same prohormone may be expressed in several different cell types that process the precursor in entirely different ways. Awareness of such cell-specific processing patterns is important for the understanding of ectopic synthesis in neuroendocrine tumours.

Gene Expression Regulation↗
PubMed1990

Expression of the cholecystokinin gene in a human (small-cell) lung carcinoma cell-line.

Expression of the cholecystokinin (CCK), gastrin and enkephalin A genes were studied by Northern blot analysis and a library of sequence-specific radioimmunoassays in human cell lines. The human small-cell lung carcinoma line (SCLC) U-1690 expressed moderate levels of CCK mRNA as compared to the human neuroepithelioma cell line SK-N-MC. Neither gastrin nor (pro)enkephalin A mRNAs were detectable in the U-1690 cell line. In contrast, the SCLC-line H-69 expressed Enk A but no CCK mRNA. The radioimmunoassays showed that the CCK mRNA transcript in the SCLC line U-1690 also is translated, and that preproCCK is processed into bioactive, carboxyamidated CCK peptides. Thus, the human small cell carcinoma cell line U-1690 is a useful model for studies of cell-specific CCK gene expression.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Expression of a human proenkephalin A cDNA in Escherichia coli.

A 1000 base pair cDNA coding for the entire human proenkephalin A(proA) polypeptide was subcloned into the multifunctional pMPV 2911/M E. coli vector. The recombinant plasmid was found to express an approximately 30 kDa prohormone, which was recognized by a Met-Arg6-Phe2 antibody, directed against the C-terminal part of the enkephalin A prohormone. The expression of human proenkephalin A cDNA should thus permit the rapid purification of unfused recombinant enkephalin A prohormone, which itself may provide a model substrate to identify endoproteolytic processing activities.

Chromosome Deletion↗
PubMed1990

Procholecystokinin and proenkephalin A mRNA expression is modulated by cyclic AMP and noradrenaline.

Regulation of the expression of procholecystokinin (proCCK) and proenkephalin A mRNA was studied in the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-MC. Cells were treated with dibutyryl-3',5'-cyclic AMP (dbcAMP), noradrenaline or isoproterenol, a beta-adrenoceptor agonist. Levels of proCCK and proenkephalin A mRNA were determined by Northern blot analysis with proCCK- and proenkephalin A-specific cRNA hybridization probes 9 h after drug treatments. ProCCK and proenkephalin A mRNA were co-expressed in SK-N-MC cells. ProCCK mRNA levels were increased 1.5-2.5 times by dbcAMP, noradrenaline and isoproterenol when compared with controls. The level of proenkephalin A mRNA increased approximately two to three times under the same drug conditions, whereas the level of N-myc mRNA did not change significantly. These results suggest that expression of proCCK and proenkephalin A mRNA may be regulated by a similar cAMP-dependent mechanism in the SK-N-MC cell line.

Bucladesine↗
PubMed1989

Modulation of proenkephalin A gene expression by cyclic AMP.

Regulation of proenkephalin A expression was studied in the human neuroblastoma SK-N-MC cell line with respect to mRNA-level, translation, posttranslational processing of the prohormone and secretion of the processed products into the culture medium. Cells were treated with either norepinephrine (NE), dexamethasone (DEX), dibutyryl-3',5'-cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) or the combination of NE and DEX. In an additional investigation, proenkephalin A mRNA levels were determined after 9 h of treatment with dbcAMP, NE, isoproterenol, NE + propranolol and dbcAMP + DEX. NE or dbcAMP for 1-48 h transiently elevated proenkephalin A mRNA 1.5-4.5 times compared to control. The effect of NE was partially blocked by the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol and was reproduced by the beta-adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol, suggesting involvement of the beta-adrenoceptor. DEX alone had no significant effect. However it markedly antagonized the effect of NE but not that of dbcAMP suggesting an action on the beta-adrenoceptor. The intracellular content of Met-enkephalin-Arg6,Phe7 immunoreactivity was increased during drug treatment in parallel with changes in proenkephalin A mRNA. DEX gave no effect. No significant change in the ratio of low versus high molecular weight immunoreactive material could be detected in the cell extracts as determined at different time points. Secretion of immunoreactivity into the culture medium increased 5-fold after 18 h of treatment with NE, whereas dbcAMP gave a 2-fold increase. The proportion of low-molecular weight secreted material increased markedly. DEX alone did not induce any change but inhibited the effect of NE. Apparently, regulation of gene expression, prohormone processing and secretion are coordinated by a cAMP-dependent mechanism.

Cyclic AMP↗
PubMed1988

A highly sensitive Northern blot assay detects multiple proenkephalin A-like mRNAs in human caudate nucleus and pheochromocytoma.

Total RNA from post mortem human caudate nucleus, cerebellum, cerebral cortex and pheochromocytoma tissues has been prepared. Northern blot analysis, using a single-stranded human proenkephalin A antisense probe (cRNA), revealed the existence of two different proenkephalin A-like sequences in the human caudate nucleus and pheochromocytoma RNA extracts of approximately 1400 and 1000 nucleotides in length respectively, whereas no specific RNA bands could be detected in the cortex and only the 1400 nucleotide band was present in the cerebellum. Under highly stringent hybridization conditions, the proenkephalin A-like RNA bands still appear, indicating that the detected RNA species have either identical or a closely related sequence to that of the well-characterized human proenkephalin A mRNA sequence.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1988

Expression of the proenkephalin gene in human neuroblastoma cell lines.

Several human tumour cell lines were screened for secretion of proenkephalin-derived peptides with an antiserum directed to its N-terminus, Met-enkephalin-Arg6,Phe7 and for proopiomelanocortin-derived peptides with an antiserum to beta-endorphin. The neuroblastoma SK-N-MC cell line secreted Met-enkephalin-Arg6,Phe7-immunoreactive peptides in relatively high amounts into the culture medium, although processing was not complete and there was no evidence for free Met-enkephalin-Arg6,Phe7. Gene expression was confirmed by the presence of proenkephalin mRNA and proenkephalin-derived polypeptides in extracts of the SK-N-MC cells and also in the neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line. In the latter cells, however, the expression was approximately 3 times lower, there was less processing of proenkephalin and no evidence for secretion.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
PubMed1986

Proenkephalin A-like mRNA in human leukemia leukocytes and CNS-tissues.

Total RNA has been prepared from human leukocytes from patients with chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL) as well as from post mortem human caudate nucleus, hypothalamus, cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Dot-blot and Northern blot analysis, using a human proenkephalin A clone and SP-6 derived "complementary" proenkephalin A RNA respectively, revealed the existence of proenkephalin A-like RNA:s in CLL-leukocytes with the same characteristics as in caudate nucleus, hypothalamus, and cortex. Furthermore, RIA and Western blot analysis confirmed that immunoreactive pro-enkephalin A activity is present in human CLL-leukocytes. The progress in DNA recombinant technology has allowed the study of opioid peptide regulation at the transcriptional and translational-posttranslational level. Studies on the distribution and quantitation of preproenkephalin A mRNA in bovine, rat and human central nervous system (CNS) have recently been reported. Different opioid peptides, related to the enkephalins, dynorphins and beta-endorphin have also been detected in tissues outside the CNS including the adrenal medulla and in pheochromocytomas. Northern blot analysis and cDNA-cloning confirmed that the proenkephalin A gene is indeed expressed in these tissues. Proenkephalin A derived peptides are potentially significant in nervous disorders. We have chosen to investigate whether the corresponding gene is expressed not only in CNS-tissues but also in human leukocytes, cells readily obtained in individual patients.

Brain Chemistry↗
PubMed1986

A rapid and inexpensive method for preparing E. coli plasmid-DNA.

A simple, rapid and inexpensive scaled up miniprep procedure for preparing pure E. coli plasmid DNA is described. Bacterial cells were subjected to the boiling procedure and high molecular weight RNA was removed by LiCl-precipitation. Residual RNA and proteins were removed by subsequent treatment with RNase A and proteinase K/SDS respectively, followed by Sephadex G-50 and Sepharose 6B-Cl chromatography. The average yield from a 100 ml over-night bacterial suspension was 100 to 150 micrograms for pBR-322 DNA, and 250-500 micrograms for SP-6 derived recombinant plasmids. In addition, the described "scaled up" preparation does not require CsCl-ethidium bromide centrifugation; pure plasmid DNA can be prepared within 1 to 2 days.

Chromatography, Gel↗
PubMed1984

Clustered genes for human U2 RNA.

Genes for the human small nuclear RNA U2 are present within 6.2-kilobase-pair-long tandem repeats. The haploid human genome contains approximately 20 such repeats, organized in one or a few very large clusters.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1983

Loci for human U1 RNA: structural and evolutionary implications.

Three clones U1-1, U1-6, and U1-8 containing sequences related to human U1 RNA have been studied by sequence analysis. The results show that each of the three clones represents a distinct locus. The U1-6 locus is closely related to the HU1-1 locus, which is believed to represent a functional U1 gene. The U1-1 and U1-8 loci are pseudogenes by definition, since they contain sequences that are closely related to but not identical with the human U1 RNA sequence. The U1-6 locus contains the sequence T-A-T-A-T close to the 5'-end of the U1 sequence but it is unclear if this represents the promoter. When the U1-8 locus was compared to the U1-6 locus, it was observed that the 5'-flanking sequences, except in the immediate vicinity of the pseudogene, are as well-conserved as the U1-related sequence itself, at least up to position -220. The high degree of homology in the 5'-flanking region suggests that U1 genes have a much more strict sequence requirement with regard to 5'-flanking sequences than most other eukaryotic genes. The U1-6 and U1-8 loci contain the sequence T-A-T-G-T-A-G-A-T-G-A between positions -211 and -221. An identical sequence is present in the equivalent position in the HU1-1 locus, and may represent the promoter. The high degree of conservation in the postulated promoter region indicates that pseudogenes like U1-8 possibly could be expressed. A truncated U1-related sequence is present between 106 to 150 nucleotides upstream from the U1 gene/pseudogene in the U1-6, the U1-8 and the HU1-1 loci, suggesting that the U1 genes may have been clustered early in evolution. The U1-1 locus has a strikingly different structure from the U1-8 locus; the pseudogene itself is as closely related to the U1 RNA sequence as is the U1-8 pseudogene but the flanking sequences, both on the 5' and the 3' side, share no detectable homology with the corresponding regions in the U1-6 or U1-8 loci. It may therefore be postulated that small nuclear RNA pseudogenes are created by several different mechanisms.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1982

A candidate gene for human U1 RNA.

Clones containing sequences complementary to the small nuclear RNA U1 were isolated from the human DNA library of Lawn et al. (1978). Three clones were studied by hybridization and restriction enzyme cleavage. The results showed that the inserts in all three clones were different and that each clone contains one single copy of a sequence which hybridizes to U1 RNA. The results revealed moreover that only one of the three clones contains all the cleavage sites which can be predicted from the known sequence of human U1 RNA, suggesting that the three clones comprise one candidate U1 gene and two pseudogenes. A fragment from the recombinant with the candidate U1 gene was subcloned in the pPR322 plasmid and part of its sequence was determined. The results showed that the subclone contains a sequence which matches that of the human U1 RNA perfectly. The sequence "TATAT" which often is found adjacent to RNA polymerase II start sites, was identified 33-37 base pairs upstream from the beginning of the U1 sequence. Two ten base pairs long, nearly perfect, direct repeats were also identified in the vicinity of the U1 sequence and an imperfect inverted repeat follows immediately after the U1 gene.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1982

Small nuclear RNAs are encoded in the nontranscribed region of ribosomal spacer DNA.

The structure of in vitro synthesized mouse small nuclear RNA transcribed by RNA polymerase I (snPI RNA) was studied by T1 RNase digestion pattern analysis. The patterns of four different snPI RNA species were different from those of the U1 and U2 RNA species. In addition, the four different snPI RNA species, ranging from 130 to 240 nucleotides in length, yielded almost identical patterns. The snPI RNA molecules hybridized to cloned mouse ribosomal DNA containing the nontranscribed spacer DNA and 45S ribosomal precursor RNA molecules did not compete with this hybridization. Southern blot analysis of fragments from the ribosomal DNA confirmed that snPI RNA species exclusively hybridized to sequences corresponding to the so-called nontranscribed ribosomal spacer region.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Human DNA sequences complementary to the small nuclear RNA U2.

Clones containing sequences complementary to the small nuclear RNA U2 were isolated from a human DNA library (1). Three clones, designated U2/4, U2/6 and U2/7 were purified and characterized by restriction enzyme cleavage, hybridization and heteroduplex analysis. Hybridization showed that the three clones each contained one single region which is complementary to U2 RNA. Restriction enzyme cleavage revealed furthermore that the inserted fragments in the three recombinants are different. Heteroduplex analysis identified a 240-380 bp long duplex region in each heteroduplex which includes sequences complementary to U2 RNA. Heteroduplexes between clones U2/4 and U2/7 as well as between U2/4 and U2/6 revealed two additional approximately 200 bp long homologies. The remainder of the inserts were found to lack measurable sequence homology. Two fragments from clone U2/4 were subcloned in the pBR322 vector and the subclones were used to determine the nucleotide sequence of a region in clone U2/4 which is complementary to U2 RNA. A comparison between the established sequence and the sequence for rat U2 RNA (2) reveals several discrepancies.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1981

The conformation of adenovirus VAI-RNA in solution.

The secondary structure of an adenovirus associated low molecular weight RNA (VAI-RNA) has been studied by partial digestion with T1-RNase and S1-endonuclease followed by T1-fingerprint analysis. The empirical secondary structure has been compared with two computer generated models based on minimal free energy of the structure. The results suggest that VAI-RNA in solution has a compact structure with a free energy of around -60 kcal with two stems and four bulge regions. The implication of this structure for the function of VAI-RNA is discussed.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed1981

Adenovirus early gene products may control viral mRNA accumulation and translation in vivo.

The mechanisms controlling early adenovirus gene expression in vivo have been studied using inhibitors of protein synthesis. When inhibitors were added shortly before or at the onset of infection, viral mRNA from all early regions was transcribed, spliced and accumulated over a 7 hr period. After longer pretreatment, accumulation of several early mRNAs were suppressed. Addition of inhibitors 1 hr after infection enhanced the accumulation of viral mRNA in the cytoplasm. Translation of early mRNA selected on adenovirus DNA in a cell-free system reflected the amount of viral mRNA present. A viral coded product may therefore control accumulation of viral mRNA. A different pattern emerged when inhibitors of protein synthesis were removed at 5 hr postinfection and cells were removed at 5 hr postinfection and cells were pulse-labeled in vivo. If inhibitors were introduced at or before infection, early viral proteins were synthesized only after a lag of 1-3 hr. However, if treatment was introduced 1 hr postinfection, reversion of the protein synthesis block was instantaneous. It appears that protein synthesis inhibitors reveal an in vivo translational block for viral mRNA. This block could be overcome by preinfection with a related virus. Furthermore, no block was observed in a virus-transformed human embryonic kidney cell line (293) which expresses early region 1 of the viral genome. Viral gene product(s) encoded in early region 1 may control translation of early adenovirus messenger RNA in vivo.

Adenoviruses, Human↗