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H L Vos

Publications and source records attributed to H L Vos.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Functional characterization of transcription factor binding sites for HNF1-alpha, HNF3-beta (FOXA2), HNF4-alpha, Sp1 and Sp3 in the human prothrombin gene enhancer.

BACKGROUND: Prothrombin is a key component in blood coagulation. Overexpression of prothrombin leads to an increased risk of venous thrombosis. Therefore, the study of the transcriptional regulation of the prothrombin gene may help to identify mechanisms of overexpression. OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to localize the regions within the prothrombin enhancer responsible for its activity, to identify the proteins binding to these regions, and to establish their functional importance. METHODS: We constructed a set of prothrombin promoter 5' deletion constructs containing the firefly luciferase reporter gene, which were transiently transfected in HepG2, HuH7 and HeLa cells. Putative transcription factor (TF) binding sites were evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. The functional importance of each TF binding site was evaluated by site directed mutagenesis and transient transfection of the mutant constructs. RESULTS: We confirmed the major contribution of the enhancer region to the transcriptional activity of the prothrombin promoter. Analysis of this region revealed putative binding sites for hepatocyte nuclear factor HNF4, HNF3-beta and specificity protein(Sp)1. We identified six different TFs binding to three evolutionary conserved sites in the enhancer: HNF4-alpha (site 1), HNF1-alpha, HNF3-beta and an as yet unidentified TF (site 2) and the ubiquitously expressed TFs Sp1 and Sp3 (site 3). Mutagenesis studies showed that loss of binding of HNF3-beta resulted in a considerable decrease of enhancer activity, whereas loss of HNF4-alpha or Sp1/Sp3 resulted in milder reductions. CONCLUSIONS: The prothrombin enhancer plays a major role in regulation of prothrombin expression. Six different TFs are able to bind to this region. At least three of these TFs, HNF4-alpha, HNF3-beta and Sp1/Sp3, are important in regulation of prothrombin expression.

Animals↗

The activated protein C (APC)-resistant phenotype of APC cleavage site mutants of recombinant factor V in a reconstituted plasma model.

Recently, new missense mutations in the activated protein C (APC) cleavage sites of human factor V (FV) distinct from the R506Q (FV Leiden) mutation have been reported. These mutations affect the APC cleavage site at arginine (Arg) 306 in the heavy chain of activated FV. Whether these mutations result in APC resistance and are associated with a risk of thrombosis is not clear. The main objective of the present study was to identify the APC-resistant phenotype of FV molecules with different mutations in APC cleavage sites. To study this, recombinant FV mutants were reconstituted in FV-deficient plasma, after which normalized APC-sensitivity ratios (n-APC-SRs) were measured in activated partial thromboplastin time-based and Russell's Viper Venom time-based APC-resistance tests. The mutations introduced in FV were R306G, R306T, R506Q, R679A and combinations of these mutations. Based on the APC-sensitivity ratios, we conclude that the naturally occurring mutations at Arg306 (i.e. FV HongKong and FV Cambridge) result in a mildly reduced sensitivity for APC (n-APC-SR, 0.74-0.87), whereas much lower values (n-APC-SR, 0.41-0.51) are obtained for the mutation at Arg506 (FV Leiden). No effect on the n-APC-SR was observed for the recombinant FV mutant containing the single Ala679 mutation. Because reduced sensitivity for APC, not due to FV Leiden, is a risk factor for venous thrombosis, these data suggest that mutations at Arg306 might be associated with a mild risk of venous thrombosis.

Activated Protein C Resistance↗

Hormone replacement therapy, prothrombotic mutations, and the risk of incident nonfatal myocardial infarction in postmenopausal women.

CONTEXT: Estrogens are known to be prothrombotic, and findings from the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study suggest that in women with clinically recognized heart disease, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be associated with early harm and late benefit in terms of coronary events. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether, as hypothesized, prothrombotic mutations modify the association between HRT use and incidence of first myocardial infarction (MI). DESIGN AND SETTING: Population-based, case-control study conducted in a Seattle-based health maintenance organization. PARTICIPANTS: Cases were 232 postmenopausal women aged 30 to 79 years who had their first nonfatal MI between 1995 and 1998. Controls were a stratified random sample of 723 postmenopausal women without MI who were frequency-matched to cases by age, calendar year, and hypertension status. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Risk of first nonfatal MI based on current use of HRT and the presence or absence of coagulation factor V Leiden and prothrombin 20210 G-->A variants among cases and controls, stratified by hypertension. RESULTS: One hundred eight MI cases and 387 controls had hypertension and 124 MI cases and 336 controls did not. Among hypertensive women, the prothrombin variant was a risk factor for MI (odds ratio [OR], 4.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-12.1) and, in this stratum, there was also a significant interaction between use of HRT and presence of the prothrombin variant on risk of MI. Compared with nonusers of HRT with wild-type genotype, women who were current users and who had the prothrombin variant (n = 8) had a nearly 11-fold increase in risk of a nonfatal MI (OR, 10.9; 95% CI, 2.15-55.2). The interaction with the prothrombin variant was more pronounced in analyses assuming 100% compliance than in those assuming 80% compliance with HRT. The interaction was absent among nonhypertensive women and was less pronounced if hypertensive and nonhypertensive women were combined into 1 group. No interaction was found for factor V Leiden in either hypertensive or nonhypertensive women. Among hypertensive women, the estimates were affected only in trivial ways by adjustment, and the interaction with the prothrombin variant was specific to HRT. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that among postmenopausal hypertensive women, the association between HRT use and MI risk differed between those with and without the prothrombin 20210 G-->A variant. If these findings are confirmed in other studies, screening for the prothrombin variant may permit a better assessment of the risks and benefits associated with HRT in postmenopausal women.

Adult↗

Biosynthesis and shedding of epiglycanin: a mucin-type glycoprotein of the mouse TA3Ha mammary carcinoma cell.

Epiglycanin is a mucin-type glycoprotein present at the surface of TA3Ha mouse mammary tumour cells. It is a long rod-like glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 500 kDa. Its function has not yet been established but its overexpression can affect cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion. To understand better the biological function of epiglycanin, we have studied the biochemical structure and biosynthesis of epiglycanin in TA3Ha cells. Pulse-chase labelling experiments with [(3)H]threonine revealed an early precursor with a molecular mass of approx. 300 kDa containing approx. 5-10 kDa of N-linked glycans. The precursor was gradually converted into a high-molecular-mass mature form, owing mainly, if not entirely, to O-glycosylation. The mature molecule consists of two major glycoforms that differ in sialylation. Unlike secreted mucins, epiglycanin did not form cysteine-bound multimers, providing further evidence that epiglycanin belongs to the class of membrane-associated mucins. The mature form, but not the precursor form, is shed from the cell surface. The half-life of epiglycanin on the cell surface was found to be approx. 60 h. These results provide the first detailed analysis of the biochemical structure and biosynthesis of epiglycanin.

Animals↗

High factor VIII antigen levels increase the risk of venous thrombosis but are not associated with polymorphisms in the von Willebrand factor and factor VIII gene.

High factor VIII levels increase the risk of venous thromboembolism, but the mechanisms that cause high factor VIII levels are unclear. In 301 thrombosis patients and 301 matched healthy controls, factor VIII antigen (VIII:Ag) levels > or = 150 IU/dl increased the thrombosis risk more than fivefold. We investigated whether high factor VIII:Ag levels result from a genetic variation in the factor VIII or von Willebrand factor (VWF) genes. Six polymorphisms in the VWF gene and two CA-repeats in the factor VIII gene were not associated with plasma VWF levels, factor VIII:Ag levels, or thrombosis risk. Our data do not support the hypothesis that a single functional sequence variation in the factor VIII or VWF gene explains the majority of high factor VIII levels and thrombotic risk.

Biomarkers↗

Factor X levels, polymorphisms in the promoter region of factor X, and the risk of venous thrombosis.

Elevated levels of procoagulant proteins factor II, factor VIII, factor IX, factor XI and fibrinogen are associated with an increased risk of venous thrombosis. In a population-based case-control study on venous thrombosis (Leiden Thrombophilia Study, LETS) we investigated whether elevated coagulation factor X (FX) levels are a risk factor for venous thrombosis and whether FX levels are determined by polymorphisms in the promoter region of the FX gene. We found that subjects with high FX levels (above the 90th percentile, > or = 126 U/dl) had a 1.6-fold increased risk of venous thrombosis. The highest risk (OR = 4.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.5-12) was found in the subgroup of premenopausal women who are not using oral contraceptives. However, these estimated risks disappeared after adjustment for other vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors II, VII and IX. To study the influence of genotypic variation on plasma FX levels we assessed four polymorphisms in the promoter region of the FX gene: a TTGTGA insertion between position -343A and -342G, a C/T polymorphism at position -222, a C/A polymorphism at position -220 and a C/T polymorphism at position -40. No relationship between these investigated genotypes and FX levels was observed. We conclude that high FX levels predict risk of thrombosis, but are not a risk factor for venous thrombosis when the levels of other vitamin K-dependent proteins are taken into account.

Adolescent↗

Polymorphisms in the prothrombin gene and their association with plasma prothrombin levels.

To find genetic causes of high plasma prothrombin levels, an established prothrombotic risk factor. we searched for sequence variations in the prothrombin gene. We selected subjects with the 20210-GG genotype (since the 20210-A allele is already known to be associated with high levels) and elevated prothrombin levels (> or = 130 U/dl) from the Leiden Thrombophilia Study (LETS). No mutations were found in the 1 kb promoter region of the prothrombin gene in seven individuals with an isolated high prothrombin level. Comparison of the allelic frequencies of four different polymorphisms in the prothrombin gene in healthy volunteers and in the control subjects among the selected LETS individuals indicated a higher frequency of the 19911-G allele in the latter group (allele frequency 52 vs. 78%, respectively). Homozygous carriers of the 19911-G allele had 8 U/dl higher plasma prothrombin levels than 19911-AA carriers. This difference in prothrombin levels did not affect the thrombotic risk in 20210-GG carriers. In heterozygous 20210-A carriers the odds ratio increased from 1.6 (95% CI: 0.6-4.3) in subjects with 19911-A to 4.7 (1.6-14.0) in subjects with 19911-G on the other prothrombin allele.

Adult↗

A stat-responsive element in the promoter of the episialin/MUC1 gene is involved in its overexpression in carcinoma cells.

The mucin-like glycoprotein episialin (MUC1) is highly overproduced by a number of human carcinomas. We have shown previously in a variety of mammalian cell lines that overexpression of this very large transmembrane molecule diminishes cellular adhesion, suggesting that episialin/MUC1 overexpression may play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. By using in situ hybridization, we show here that episialin/MUC1 mRNA expression can be increased more than 10-fold in breast carcinoma cells relative to the expression in adjacent normal breast epithelium. In search of the molecular mechanism of this overexpression, we observed that the episialin/MUC1 promoter contains a candidate binding site for transcription factors of the STAT family approximately 500 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site. Cytokines and/or growth factors such as interleukin-6 or interferon-gamma can activate STATs. In the human breast carcinoma cell line T47D, both compounds are able to stimulate transcription of a luciferase reporter gene under the control of a 750-base pair MUC1 promoter fragment proximal to the transcription start site. The observed increase is entirely mediated by the single STAT-binding site, since mutation of this site abolishes stimulation of the reporter by interleukin-6 and interferon-gamma. In addition, mutation of the STAT site also decreased the promoter activity in nonstimulated T47D cells, suggesting that the STAT-binding site is among the elements that are involved in the overexpression of MUC1 in tumor cells.

Binding Sites↗

Association of the alpha-adducin polymorphism with blood pressure and risk of myocardial infarction.

Genetic variation in adducin, a protein associated with the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, may be in part responsible for salt-sensitive hypertension. In the Netherlands, 560 men who survived a myocardial infarction and 646 men who had undergone an orthopaedic intervention participated in a case-control study. In men in this study, the alpha-adducin polymorphism was not associated with the risk of myocardial infarction either among those with or among those without a clinical history of hypertension. In a cross-sectional analysis of blood pressure data from the controls, the alpha-adducin polymorphism was associated neither with self-reported hypertension (OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.51-1.19) nor with mean levels of systolic or diastolic blood pressure. Additional studies in other populations are needed to assess the contribution of alpha-adducin to high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.

Aged↗

The HR2 haplotype of factor V: effects on factor V levels, normalized activated protein C sensitivity ratios and the risk of venous thrombosis.

We studied the HR2 haplotype of the factor V gene in a case-control study for venous thrombosis including 474 patients with a first deep-vein thrombosis and 474 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (Leiden Thrombophilia Study, LETS). We investigated both the original His1299Arg (A4070G) polymorphism and the Met385Thr (T1328C) polymorphism. This latter polymorphism, located in exon 8 (heavy chain), is always present in the HR2 haplotype, but also occurs on its own in a His1299 (wt) background. The HR2 haplotype was not associated with an increased risk of venous thrombosis (OR = 1.2, 95% confidence interval: 0.8-2.0). We did not find an association between the HR2 haplotype and a reduced sensitivity for activated protein C (APC) in non-carriers of factor V Leiden (FVL). However, in compound heterozygous FVL/HR2 carriers the sensitivity for APC was reduced. The HR2 haplotype was also associated with reduced factor V antigen levels in both patients and controls. Sequence analysis of the promoter region of factor V in HR2 homozygotes did not reveal any sequence variations that could explain the reduced FV levels. Our results show that the HR2 haplotype is not associated with an increased risk of venous thrombosis or with a reduced sensitivity for APC in non-FVL carriers. However, the HR2 haplotype is associated with a reduced sensitivity for APC in carriers of FVL and with reduced factor V antigen levels.

Activated Protein C Resistance↗

The HR2 haplotype of factor V is not associated with the risk of myocardial infarction.

The HR2 haplotype of the factor V gene, which contains the histidine to arginine substitution at position 1299, has been reported to be associated with reduced factor V levels. Because high factor V levels have been found to be associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction, we examined how the presence of the R2 allele affected the risk of myocardial infarction in the case-control "Study of Myocardial Infarctions Leiden". Among 560 men with a first myocardial infarction before the age of 70 years, 9.5% were heterozygous carriers of the R2 allele. The control group consisted of 646 men, in which 9.9% were heterozygous and 0.2% homozygous carriers of the R2 allele. The risk of myocardial infarction in the presence of the R2 allele was not increased (odds ratio, 0.9; 95% confidence interval 0.6 to 1.4). Exclusion of factor V Leiden carriers did not change this result. The risk was 4.4-fold increased for smokers who carried the R2 allele compared to non-smoking noncarriers. No synergy was found between metabolic risk factors and the presence of the R2 allele. We conclude that the risk of myocardial infarction for men in the presence of the R2 allele of the His1299Arg polymorphism is neither increased nor decreased.

Adult↗

A novel quantitative multiplex NASBA method: application to measuring tissue factor and CD14 mRNA levels in human monocytes.

A new method to quantify two individual mRNAs in a single NASBA reaction is described. In this study, tissue factor and CD14 mRNAs were used as a model system. RNA ratios of -4 to +4 log units were determined with good precision (within 0.3 log) and accuracy (within 0.2 log). By measuring both mRNAs in human monocytes that were stimulated with LPS, the multiplex Q-NASBA proved to be a successful tool to monitor the expression levels of two individual mRNAs in a single-tube amplification system. The method has potential in all fields in which quantitative information is needed on two individual RNAs.

Biological Assay↗

Lipopolysaccharide induction of tissue factor in THP-1 cells involves Jun protein phosphorylation and nuclear factor kappaB nuclear translocation.

Tissue Factor (TF) gene expression is transiently induced in human monocytic THP-1 cells by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We characterized the transcription factor complexes binding to the TF gene promoter LPS response element (LRE) (-220 to -172), which contains binding sites for nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB) and activator protein 1 (AP1) transcription factors, and examined the nature of the activation of these factors during a 24-h time course of LPS stimulation. We found proteolysis of the cytoplasmic inhibitory protein IkappaBalpha and nuclear translocation of the NFkappaB/Rel family proteins p65 and c-Rel, corresponding to the transient binding of a p65/c-Rel heterodimer to the kappaB-like site of the LRE. AP1 binding to the LRE was found to be constitutive, with the majority of the AP1 complexes being JunD/Fra-2 heterodimers. A change in the activation state of the AP1 complexes was, however, found to be transient, as determined by JunD phosphorylation of AP1 bound to the proximal binding site. This directly correlates to the transient activation of Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK). These data indicate that LPS induction of TF gene expression in monocytic THP-1 cells is regulated by both the transient phosphorylation of Jun-family proteins and the nuclear translocation and transient binding of NFkappaB/Rel proteins.

Base Sequence↗

Compound heterozygosity for one novel and one recurrent mutation in a Thai patient with severe protein S deficiency.

Homozygous or compound heterozygous protein S (PS) deficiency is a very rare disorder in the anticoagulant system, that can lead to life-threatening thrombotic complications shortly after birth. This report describes the results of the genetic analysis of the PROS 1 genes in a Thai girl patient. She was reported in 1990 as the first case with homozygous PS deficiency and neonatal purpura fulminans. In the present report, we identified the mutations in this patient by direct sequencing of PCR products representing all 15 exons of the PROS 1 gene and their flanking intronic regions. The patient turned out to be compound heterozygous for two null mutations. One allele contained a novel sequence variation, an A-insertion in an A5-tract covering codon 146 and 147, that results in a frameshift and a stop codon (TAA) at position 155. The other allele contained a nonsense mutation in exon 12 by a transition at codon 410 CGA (Arg) to TGA (stop). Cosegregation of PS deficiency with these two genetic defects was observed in her family.

Alleles↗