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Biomedical subjects

H Takebe

Publications and source records attributed to H Takebe.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Mechanisms of hereditary tumorigenesis].

Hereditary cancers have been shown to develop through at least two mechanisms. Development of retinoblastoma and Wilms' tumor is usually not accompanied by other hereditary symptoms. Although they are inherited autosomal dominantly, gene mutations in recessive tumor suppressor genes were found to be responsible for these tumors. The other mechanism is the enhanced mutation in the cancer-prone hereditary diseases, such as xeroderma pigmentosum, Bloom's syndrome, etc. In xeroderma pigmentosum, for example, defects in DNA repair has been shown to enhance the frequency of mutation in the oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Recently, another repair-related mechanism, involving the mismatch repair, was found to be involved in the hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer.

DNA Damage

Mutations in ras genes in cells cultured from mouse skin tumors induced by ultraviolet irradiation.

Mutations in ras oncogenes were detected in cultured cells of mouse skin tumors induced by near-UV irradiation. DNA extracted from the UV-induced tumor cells was transfected to golden hamster embryo cells, and focus-forming ability was confirmed in 22 of 26 cell strains, 15 of which had the repetitive mouse sequence. Mouse ras genes were detected in 10 of these 22 cell strains. Point mutations in the ras genes were at Ha-ras codon 13 (GGC-->GTC in two strains, GGC-->AGC in one strain), Ki-ras codon 61 (CAA-->GAA in two strains), and N-ras codon 61 (CAA-->CAT in two strains, CAA-->AAA in two strains). In one tumor cell strain no base change was directed. Most mutations occurred at dipyrimidine sites. Pyrimidine dimers or pyrimidine(6-4)pyrimidone photoproducts are the likely cause of the skin cancers. The base change occurred preferentially at G.C base pairs, and transversions predominated.

Animals

X-ray-induced transcriptional activation of c-myc and XRCC1 genes in ataxia telangiectasia cells.

The transcriptional level of c-myc, c-jun and XRCC1 genes after X-irradiation was compared in human cells originating from subjects presumably with different DNA repair abilities. The mRNA amount of the beta-actin gene was used as an internal standard of transcription. The relative mRNA level of c-myc and XRCC1 genes was significantly increased 15 min after X-irradiation with doses of 2-8 Gy in ataxia telangiectasia (AT) cells (AT5BIVA and TAT2SF), in contrast to little change in xeroderma pigmentosum (XP2OS(SV) and XP2YO(SV)) and normal cells (WI38VA13 and GM0637). The increased mRNA level of the XRCC1 gene in AT5BIVA and of the c-myc and XRCC1 genes in TAT2SF cells was maintained for up to 8 h after X-irradiation with 2 Gy. For the c-jun mRNA level after X-irradiation with 2-8 Gy, no significant change was observed in all cell lines tested. These results indicate that AT cells show a high transcriptional response of certain genes in response to X-irradiation, and suggest that the transcriptional activation of c-myc and XRCC1 genes after X-irradiation may be related to the hyper-radiosensitivity of AT cells.

Actins

Far less frequent mutations in ras genes than in the p53 gene in skin tumors of xeroderma pigmentosum patients.

Mutations in Ha-ras, Ki-ras, and N-ras genes in squamous and basal cell carcinomas in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) were examined by the polymerase chain reaction followed by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and direct base sequencing. No mutation was detected in codons 12, 13, and 61 of the ras genes in XP skin tumors. This was in contrast with previous findings of a high frequency of mutation in the p53 gene in skin tumors in XP patients. A novel mutation in codon 6 of the Ki-ras gene was detected in a squamous cell carcinoma. The mutation was a C-->T transition at a dipyrimidine (5'-CT) sequence and could have been produced by solar ultraviolet light. The mutated ras gene did not have the ability to transform NIH/3T3 cells. In three tumors, multiple base substitutions were detected in exon 1 of the Ki-ras and N-ras genes. These results and our previous work on p53 gene mutations suggest that mutations in ras genes are far less frequent than in the p53 gene in the skin tumors in XP patients and that ras genes are less important in skin tumorigenesis in XP patients than is the p53 gene.

3T3 Cells

Functional analysis of the cell-specific enhancer in the human proopiomelanocortin gene by beta-galactosidase histochemical staining.

Nucleotide sequences responsible for the cell-specific expression of the human proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene were analyzed by histochemical staining of beta-galactosidase in culture cells transfected with chimeric genes containing the 5'-flanking regions of the human POMC gene fused to the Escherichia coli lacZ gene. The chimeric genes were stably introduced into various culture cells, including AtT-20 cells, which express the endogenous mouse POMC gene. Whereas the control gene containing the cytomegalovirus enhancer was expressed in all cell lines tested, only AtT-20 cells supported the efficient transcription of the gene containing 2.9 kb of the human POMC 5'-flanking region. These results indicate that the stable transfection-expression system utilizing the histochemical detection of the gene expression is a useful method for the analysis of cell-specific gene expression. These results have also confirmed that the trans-acting factors in mouse AtT-20 cells interact with the human POMC gene promoter region and activate the transcription of the gene. Deletion analysis has demonstrated that the profiles of the transcriptional activity of the various human POMC-lacZ fusion genes are similar to those of the rat POMC gene described previously. Comparison of the human and the rat 5'-flanking sequences revealed close homology in several regions, which might be involved in the efficient transcription of the POMC gene in AtT-20 cells.

Animals

Similarity in the molecular profile of mutations induced by UV light in shuttle vector plasmids propagated in mouse and human cells.

Shuttle vector plasmids pYZ289 were irradiated with UV and transfected to mouse cells to permit repair of damage, mutation and replication in the cells. The frequency and types of mutations were compared with those of UV-irradiated shuttle vector plasmids pZ189 which were propagated in normal human and xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) patient cells defective in DNA repair. Both shuttle vector plasmids contain a bacterial suppressor tRNA gene supF as a common mutation target. pYZ289 propagated in the mouse cells showed survival and mutation frequency similar to pZ189 propagated in the normal human cells. All single base substitution mutations were induced in dipyrimidine sequences and G:C to A:T transition was most frequently observed (47%) in the mouse cells; however, the frequency was significantly lower than that in the XP cells. The frequency of the base substitution mutations at A:T base pairs was significantly higher in the mouse cells (29%) than in the normal human (12%) and the XP cells (6%). These results show that similar types of mutations are induced by UV in mouse and normal human cells, and that the A:T base pair is relatively more mutable in mouse than in normal human and XP cells.

Animals

Increased rate of spontaneous mitotic recombination in T lymphocytes from a Bloom's syndrome patient using a flow-cytometric assay at HLA-A locus.

Bloom's syndrome (BS) is an autosomal recessive disorder conferring high propensity for cancer and displaying a high degree of genetic instability; the frequency of sister chromatid exchange is characteristically 10 times above background. The symmetrical four-armed chromatid interchanges are much more readily detected in peripheral blood lymphocytes of BS patients, suggesting that the frequency of somatic recombination is also increased. In the present study, the rate of spontaneous loss of HLA-A allele expression was estimated following fluctuation analysis in cultured T lymphocytes using a flow-cytometric assay. It was found to be 10 times or more higher than normal in lymphocytes from a BS patient. Molecular and chromosome analyses showed that all 13 independent variants from the patient were most likely derived from somatic recombinations. Further tests for loss of heterozygosity at a closely linked proximal locus, HLA-DQA1, showed that as many as half of the recombinants retained heterozygosity irrespective of the donor. The results suggest that the HLA region is hyperrecombinogenic in somatic cells and that the elevated recombination rate in BS cells results from the general increase at ordinary sites and not from random creation of unusual sites for recombination.

Adult

An androgen receptor mutation causing androgen resistance in undervirilized male syndrome.

The molecular basis of androgen resistance was investigated in a patient with undervirilized male syndrome. Binding studies of the androgen receptors in the patient's genital skin fibroblasts revealed a normal binding capacity of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, although the affinity to androgen was slightly lower than the normal control value. The androgen binding of the patient's receptor showed a moderate thermal instability when the assay temperature was raised from 30 to 41 C. Nucleotide sequencing analysis of the androgen receptor gene revealed a single nucleotide substitution in exon F, resulting in an amino acid alteration from leucine (CTC) to phenylalanine (TTC) at position 789 within the steroid-binding domain of androgen receptor. When expressed in COS-7 cells, the mutant androgen receptor harboring phenylalanine at position 789 showed thermolabile androgen-binding properties similar to those observed in the patient's genital skin fibroblasts. Cotransfection experiments with an androgen-inducible reporter gene demonstrated a decreased transactivational capability of the mutant receptor. These results indicate that this point mutation modified the receptor function and caused androgen resistance in this patient. This mutation caused the mildest form of all androgen insensitivity syndromes ever examined for mutations in the androgen receptor gene.

Adult

A newly designed experimental system for exposure of mammalian cells to extremely low frequency magnetic fields.

To examine the biological effects of extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELFMF), we have designed and manufactured a new equipment for long-term and high-density exposure of cells to ELFMF. The ELFMF exposure system consists of a generator of magnets with a built-in CO2 incubator, an alternating current (AC) power supply, a gas compressor and a thermocontroller for the incubator, and a cooling unit for the magnets. The CO2 incubator made of acrylic resin is inserted into the inner-space of the silicon steel strip-cores. In this system, the temperature of the incubator is maintained at 37 +/- 0.5 degrees C. The maximum magnetic flux density on the exposure area of the incubator is 500 mT (T; tesla) at a current of 556 Arms (rms; root mean square) at 50 Hz. The long-term (up to 120 hr) exposure of 400 mT ELFMF did not affect the growth of both HL60RG and CCRF-CEM cells originated from human leukemia. The post-X-irradiation exposure of 400 mT ELFMF for 2 hr also did not affect the radiation sensitivity of GM0637 and TAT2SF cells originated from a normal human and an ataxia telangiectasia patient.

Cell Division

Gene alterations and clinical characteristics of xeroderma pigmentosum group A patients in Japan.

BACKGROUND AND DESIGN: The responsible gene for xeroderma pigmentosum group A was recently identified. This study was performed to detect the gene alteration of xeroderma pigmentosum group A complementing gene in 29 xeroderma pigmentosum group A patients in Japan and to analyze whether genetic alterations in the xeroderma pigmentosum group A complementing gene are related to the clinical features. RESULTS: Of 29 patients, 25 (86%) had a mutation at the splicing junction of intron 3 and exon 4 in the homozygous state that was detected by the polymerase chain reaction and the AlwN I-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Patients having a splicing mutation at intron 3 in the homozygous state develop severe skin manifestations from early infancy and severe progressive neurologic abnormalities, including sensorineural hearing impairment, brain atrophy, mental retardation, areflexia, and ataxia. Four patients were heterozygous for splicing mutation in intron 3. Among them, at least three patients showed milder skin symptoms and milder neurologic abnormalities than patients with the homozygous splicing mutation. Two patients (single-ovum twins) revealed a compound heterozygote of splicing mutation of intron 3 and a nonsense mutation of exon 6. One patient had the splicing mutation and another mutation at the last codon of exon 5, a type of mutation that has never been reported. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that different genetic alterations in the xeroderma pigmentosum group A complementing gene may induce different clinical features.

Adolescent

Ultraviolet-specific mutations in p53 gene in skin tumors in xeroderma pigmentosum patients.

Mutations in the p53 gene were identified in five of eight non-melanoma skin tumors in the sun-exposed areas of xeroderma pigmentosum patients by the polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformation polymorphism analysis followed by sequencing of the DNA. All mutations occurred at the dipyrimidine sites, indicating that they were caused by UV irradiation. Two tumors had multiple mutations, and four tumors had nonsense mutations. Since xeroderma pigmentosum patients are extremely sensitive to UV, the solar UV should have caused the mutations in the p53 gene and the mutations must have played a significant role in UV tumorigenesis.

Adolescent

Analysis of mutations caused by DNA double-strand breaks produced by a restriction enzyme in shuttle vector plasmids propagated in ataxia telangiectasia cells.

Rejoining of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) produced by a restriction endonuclease AvaI in the supF gene in a plasmid pZ189Ava, and mutations presumably due to the altered rejoinings were analyzed. After allowing the rejoining and replication of the plasmids in human cells originating from normal subjects and ataxia telangiectasia (AT) patients, the plasmids were retrieved and those containing mutated supF were screened in an indicator strain of Escherichia coli. The proportion of correctly rejoined plasmids was significantly lower in AT cells than in normal cells, suggesting that AT cells have lower fidelity in rejoining DSB. DNA sequencing of the mutated supF genes revealed that all mutations were deletions or insertions occurring exactly or closely at the rejoining site in both normal and AT cells. In AT cells, the majority of mutations were deletions, while deletions and insertions were evenly formed in normal cells. AT cells may be deficient in the mechanism to protect the broken ends of DNA strands from the exonucleolytic digestion.

Ataxia Telangiectasia

Absence of DNA repair deficiency in the confirmed heterozygotes of xeroderma pigmentosum group A.

This study was performed to elucidate whether xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A (XPA) carrier has DNA repair abnormality against sun-exposure and ultraviolet (UV)-mimetic chemical carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO). Here we report three sporadic cases of XP that were defined as group A by genetic complementation test as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis to detect the point mutation in the responsible gene for XPA. DNA repair analyses in the skin fibroblasts revealed that the cells from the patients were much more sensitive to UV and 4NQO and had extremely low UV-induced unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) than control cells, whereas the cells from the carriers (heterozygotes of XP) had sensitivity to UV and 4NQO and levels of UV-induced UDS similar to normal cells. These results indicate that the obligate heterozygotes, despite having a mutated allele in XPA complementing gene demonstrated by PCR, have no DNA repair abnormality after UV irradiation and UV-mimetic 4NQO treatment. Our observations imply that XPA heterozygotes do not have higher risk of skin cancers than normal subjects based on their DNA repair abnormality.

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide

A case of xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group F with neurological abnormalities.

We report a 48-year-old Japanese man suffering from xeroderma pigmentosum associated with mental retardation, cerebral atrophy and cerebellar ataxia. Cultured fibroblasts from an unexposed area of skin had reduced DNA repair capacity after UV irradiation, with higher sensitivity to UV than normal cells in colony-forming ability and host cell reactivation using herpes simplex virus. Genetic complementation tests by cell fusion with polyethylene glycol revealed that the patient belonged to group F. He died of bile duct cancer at the age of 50. This is the first report of an XP-F patient with neurological abnormalities.

Brain Diseases

High prevalence of the point mutation in exon 6 of the xeroderma pigmentosum group A-complementing (XPAC) gene in xeroderma pigmentosum group A patients in Tunisia.

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) patients in Tunisia who belong to the genetic complementation group A (XPA) have milder skin symptoms than do Japanese XPA patients. Such difference in the clinical features might be caused by the difference in the site of mutation in the XP A-complementing (XPAC) gene. The purpose of this study is to identify the genetic alterations in the XPAC gene in the Tunisian XPA patients and to investigate the relationship between the clinical symptoms and the genetic alterations. Three sites of mutation in the XPAC gene have been identified in the Japanese XPA patients, and about 85% of them have a G-->C point mutation at the splicing acceptor site of intron 3. We found that six (86%) of seven Tunisian XPA patients had a nonsense mutation in codon 228 in exon 6, because of a CGA-->TGA point mutation, which can be detected by the HphI RFLP. This type of mutation is the same as those found in two Japanese XPA patients with mild clinical symptoms. Milder skin symptoms in the XPA patients in Tunisia than in those in Japan, despite mostly sunny weather and the unsatisfactory sun protection in Tunisia, should be due to the difference in the mutation site.

Adolescent

A case of Rothmund-Thomson syndrome with reduced DNA repair capacity.

BACKGROUND: Rothmund-Thomson syndrome is an autosomal recessively inherited disease with multiple skin disorders, and little has been known about the cause of the clinical features. We cultured the cells from a patient with Rothmund-Thomson syndrome and examined the ultraviolet repair characteristics. OBSERVATIONS: A 5-year-old boy with Rothmund-Thomson syndrome is presented. He has had reticular pigmentation and hypopigmentation on his cheeks, upper aspect of the trunk, palms, and soles since 6 months of age. Cells originating from the patient had reduced unscheduled DNA synthesis, 37% of normal, after exposure to ultraviolet C (predominantly at 254 nm), and they were slightly more sensitive to ultraviolet C than were normal cells in cell ultraviolet survival. CONCLUSION: Such repair deficiency might account for the mild sun sensitivity in early childhood. Heterogeneity in the repair mechanism as well as in clinical features in this syndrome was suggested.

Cells, Cultured

Activation of c-mos oncogene by integration of an endogenous long terminal repeat element during transfection of genomic DNA from mouse skin tumor cells.

An activated c-mos oncogene was identified in a transformed clone of golden hamster embryo cells transfected with DNA extracted from cells cultured from a UV-induced mouse skin tumor. Southern blot hybridization with a v-mos oncogene probe showed that the mos oncogene was amplified in the primary and secondary transformed cells but not in the original tumor cells. Expression of the mos oncogene was very high in the primary and secondary transformants, but mos mRNA was undetectable in the original tumor cells. A genomic DNA fragment containing the activated mos oncogene was cloned and sequenced. The upstream mouse sequence of the mos oncogene, which functions as the transcription terminator, was lost and replaced by a mouse endogenous long terminal repeat (LTR) element that provides the promoter sequence, resulting in high expression of the gene. The rearrangement apparently occurred during transfection, since the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product encompassing the junction region was present in the primary and secondary transformants but not in the original tumor cells. The LTR element is likely to have been amplified during the skin tumor development caused by UV irradiation. Southern blot hybridization showed that the copy number of LTR in the tumor cells was significantly higher than that in normal skin cells. The amplification of the LTR in the cells may have increased the chance of recombination between the LTR and c-mos gene during the DNA transfection.

Animals

Induction of c-fos gene expression by exposure to a static magnetic field in HeLaS3 cells.

Effects of a static magnetic field on cell growth and c-fos oncogene expression were investigated. HeLaS3 cells exposed to the magnetic field of 0.18-0.2 T for 1-6 days were not affected in the cell growth. Exposure to the magnetic field did not enhance the effects of X-rays or heat treatment which caused the transient cell growth delay. c-fos mRNA in the HeLaS3 cells was undetectable in untreated cells, but the expression was induced in cells by the magnetic field exposure for 2-24 h. The amounts of the mRNA expression changed time dependently with a peak at a 6-h exposure. c-fos was expressed following the heat treatment at 45 degrees C for 10 and 15 min, and the expression was further enhanced by the treatment of cells with heating followed by 4 h of the magnetic field exposure. Exposure of the cells to a static magnetic field may affect some cellular metabolic events leading to the c-fos gene expression.

Cell Division