Biomedical subjects

J Kirfel

Publications and source records attributed to J Kirfel.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

New options for prenatal diagnosis in autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease by mutation analysis of the PKHD1 gene.

Due to the poor prognosis of severe autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), there is a strong demand for prenatal diagnosis (PD). Reliable PD testing is possible by molecular genetic analysis only. Although haplotype-based analysis is feasible in most cases, it is associated with a risk of misdiagnosis in families without pathoanatomically proven diagnosis. Linkage analysis is impossible in families where DNA of the index patient is not available. Direct mutation analysis of the recently identified polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1 gene opens new options in families to whom a reliable PD cannot be offered on the basis of linkage analysis. We for the first time report two cases with PD based on mutation detection, illustrating the new options for PD in ARPKD.

Consanguinity↗

PubMed2003

Keratins: a structural scaffold with emerging functions.

Intermediate filament proteins form an essential part of the cytoskeleton and provide topological order to cells and tissues. These features result from their intrinsic property of self-organization and their response to extrinsic cues. Keratins represent the largest subgroup among all intermediate filament proteins and are differentially expressed as pairs of type I and type II intermediate filament proteins in epithelia. Their primary function is to impart mechanical strength to cells. This function is illustrated by patients with keratin mutations and by gene-deficient mice. Additional functions include their participation in the response to stress, cell signalling and apoptosis, and thus the keratin cytoskeleton appears far more dynamic than previously anticipated. This may result from hyperphosphorylation and possibly from interaction with associated proteins. How signalling networks affect keratin organization, turnover and function and vice versa will be a major challenge for future investigations.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2001

Complete cytolysis and neonatal lethality in keratin 5 knockout mice reveal its fundamental role in skin integrity and in epidermolysis bullosa simplex.

In human patients, a wide range of mutations in keratin (K) 5 or K14 lead to the blistering skin disorder epidermolysis bullosa simplex. Given that K14 deficiency does not lead to the ablation of a basal cell cytoskeleton because of a compensatory role of K15, we have investigated the requirement for the keratin cytoskeleton in basal cells by inactivating the K5 gene in mice. We report that the K5(-/-) mice die shortly after birth, lack keratin filaments in the basal epidermis, and are more severely affected than K14(-/-) mice. In contrast to the K14(-/-) mice, we detected a strong induction of the wound-healing keratin K6 in the suprabasal epidermis of cytolyzed areas of postnatal K5(-/-) mice. In addition, K5 and K14 mice differed with respect to tongue lesions. Moreover, we show that in the absence of K5 and other type II keratins, residual K14 and K15 aggregated along hemidesmosomes, demonstrating that individual keratins without a partner are stable in vivo. Our data indicate that K5 may be the natural partner of K15 and K17. We suggest that K5 null mutations may be lethal in human epidermolysis bullosa simplex patients.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Differential ligand-dependent protein-protein interactions between nuclear receptors and a neuronal-specific cofactor.

Nuclear receptors are transcription factors that require multiple protein-protein interactions to regulate target gene expression. We have cloned a 27-kDa protein, termed NIX1 (neuronal interacting factor X 1), that directly binds nuclear receptors in vitro and in vivo. Protein-protein interaction between NIX1 and ligand-activated or constitutive active nuclear receptors, including retinoid-related orphan receptor beta (RORbeta) (NR1F2), strictly depends on the conserved receptor C-terminal activation function 2 (AF2-D). NIX1 selectively binds retinoic acid receptor (RAR) (NR1A) and thyroid hormone receptor (TR) (NR1B) in a ligand-dependent manner, but does not interact with retinoid X receptor (RXR) (NR2B) or steroid hormone receptors. Interestingly, NIX1 down-regulates transcriptional activation by binding to ligand-bound nuclear receptors. A 39-aa domain within NIX1 was found to be necessary and sufficient for protein-protein interactions with nuclear receptors. Northern blot analysis demonstrates low-abundance RNA messages only in brain and neuronal cells. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry revealed that NIX1 expression is restricted to the central nervous system and could be confined to neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, the amygdala, thalamic, and hypothalamic regions. In summary, protein-protein interactions between the neuronal protein NIX1 and ligand-activated nuclear receptors are both specific and selective. By suppressing receptor-mediated transcription, NIX1 implements coregulation of nuclear receptor functions in brain.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1998

Physical interaction between retinoic acid receptor and the oncoprotein myb inhibits retinoic acid-dependent transactivation.

The c-myb protooncogene is predominantly expressed in hematopoietic cells and plays a vital role in hematopoiesis. Retinoic acid (RA) is able to induce differentiation of several hematopoietic cells. This differentiation is linked to decreased c-myb expression, suggesting that retinoid receptors (RAR/RXR) may down-regulate c-myb gene expression. Furthermore, recent data indicate that RAR inhibits the function of the Myb protein itself. In addition, the Myb-Ets oncogenic fusion protein has been shown to inhibit transcriptional activation by RAR and thyroid hormone receptor. Myb-Ets also antagonizes the biological response of erythrocytic progenitor cells to RA and thyroid hormone. This prompted us to investigate a possible cross talk between RAR and Myb. Here, we demonstrate that RA inhibits the expression of the endogenous Myb target gene tom-1. Conversely, Myb functions as a potent inhibitor of RA-induced biological responses. Functional analysis of Myb mutants in transfection studies revealed that the Myb DNA-binding domain (DBD) is necessary for repression whereas the transactivation domain is dispensable. Furthermore, we show that v-Myb and RAR interact in vitro and in vivo. This interaction requires the DBD of RAR. In contrast, glutathione S-transferase-pulldown assays with v-Myb mutants indicate that the DBD and the C terminus of Myb directly interact with RAR. Our results suggest that the physical interaction between Myb and RAR may play a role in the regulation of hematopoietic gene expression.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1997

Identification of a novel negative retinoic acid responsive element in the promoter of the human matrix Gla protein gene.

The vitamin K-dependent matrix Gla protein (MGP) is synthesized in a wide variety of tissues such as lung, heart, kidney, cartilage, and bone. Expression of the MGP gene is regulated by various growth factors, steroid hormones, and the vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid (RA). In this report, we present evidence that RA down-regulates MGP gene expression in different rat and human cell lines via endogenous retinoid receptors [RA receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR)]. Repression of the human MGP (hMGP) gene is specifically mediated by ligand-activated RAR and RXR. Deletion analysis led to the identification of a novel negative response element (NRE) within the hMGP promoter. DNA binding studies performed with bacterially expressed RAR/RXR reveal the formation of a specific heterodimer/NRE complex. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility-shift assays performed with proteins from RA-treated cells show that endogenous RAR/RXR binds to the NRE. We demonstrate that the NRE contains a CCAAT box and that both RAR/RXR and CCAAT-binding proteins such as c/EBP beta recognize this common regulatory sequence in the hMGP promoter. Our results indicate that RA-mediated repression of the hMGP gene is due to binding of liganded RAR/RXR to a novel negative RA response element.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

The helix-loop-helix transcription factor SEF-2 regulates the activity of a novel initiator element in the promoter of the human somatostatin receptor II gene.

The effects of somatostatin hormones are mediated by a family of five different seven-helix transmembrane spanning receptors (SSTR1-5). The expression of the five different SSTR subtypes displays a complex temporal- and tissue-specific pattern. To investigate the molecular mechanisms controlling the different expression patterns of the SSTRs, we cloned the 5'-flanking region of the human SSTR2 gene. Characterization of the SSTR2 promoter resulted in the identification of a novel initiator element (SSTR2inr). Transcriptional activity of the SSTR2inr is dependent on the presence of a binding site (E-box) for basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors. By screening a mouse brain cDNA expression library we isolated a cDNA coding for the bHLH transcription factor SEF-2. SEF-2 binds to the E-box present in the SSTR2inr, both in vitro and in vivo and activates transcription from the SSTR2inr. A single point mutation within the E-box eliminates binding of SEF-2 and results in a complete loss of transcriptional activity of the SSTR2inr. Furthermore, DNA binding studies demonstrate that the basal transcription factor TFIIB can be tethered to the SSTR2inr through physical interaction with SEF-2. In summary, the SSTR2inr represents a novel type of initiator element that confers gene expression in the absence of a TATA-box or binding sites for other known initiator factors, like YY-1 or USF.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

Functional analysis of retinoid Z receptor beta, a brain-specific nuclear orphan receptor.

The retinoid Z receptor beta (RZR beta), an orphan receptor, is a member of the retinoic acid receptor (RAR)/thyroid hormone receptor (TR) subfamily of nuclear receptors. RZR beta exhibits a highly restricted brain-specific expression pattern. So far, no natural RZR beta target gene has been identified and the physiological role of the receptor in transcriptional regulation remains to be elucidated. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays reveal binding of RZR beta to monomeric response elements containing the sequence AnnTAGGTCA, but RZR beta-mediated transactivation of reporter genes is only achieved with two property spaced binding sites. We present evidence that RZR beta can function as a cell-type-specific transactivator. In neuronal cells, GaI-RZR beta fusion proteins function as potent transcriptional activators, whereas no transactivation can be observed in nonneuronal cells. Mutational analyses demonstrate that the activation domain (AF-2) of RZR beta and RAR alpha are functionally interchangeable. However, in contrast to RAR and TR, the RZR beta AF-2 cannot function autonomously as a transactivation domain. Furthermore, our data define a novel repressor function for the C-terminal part of the putative ligand binding domain. We propose that the transcriptional activity of RZR beta is regulated by an interplay of different receptor domains with coactivators and corepressors.

3T3 Cells↗