Biomedical subjects

Jianguo Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Jianguo Yang.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

p27Kip1 repression of ErbB2-induced mammary tumor growth in transgenic mice involves Skp2 and Wnt/beta-catenin signaling.

Expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor (p27(Kip1)) is frequently reduced in human tumors, often correlating with poor prognosis. p27(Kip1) functions as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor; however, the mechanism by which one allele of p27(Kip1) regulates oncogenic signaling in vivo is not well understood. We therefore investigated the mechanisms by which p27(Kip1) inhibits mammary tumor onset. Using the common background strain of FVB, p27(Kip1) heterozygosity (p27(+/-)) accelerated ErbB2-induced mammary tumorigenesis. We conducted microarray analyses of mammary tumors developing in mice with genetic haploinsufficiency for p27(Kip1) expressing a mammary-targeted ErbB2 oncogene. Global gene expression profiling and Western blot analysis of ErbB2/p27(+/-) tumors showed that the loss of p27(Kip1) induced genes promoting lymphangiogenesis, cellular proliferation, and collaborative oncogenic signaling (Wnt/beta-catenin/Tcf, Cdc25a, Smad7, and Skp2). Skp2 expression was induced by ErbB2 and repressed by p27(Kip1). Degradation of p27(Kip1) involves an SCF-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, including Skp2. The Skp2 component of the SCF(SKP2) complex that degrades p27(Kip1) was increased in ErbB2 tumors correlating with earlier tumor onset. In both murine and human ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancers, p27(Kip1) levels correlated inversely with Skp2. p27(Kip1) haploinsufficiency activated Wnt/beta-catenin/hedgehog signaling. Reintroduction of p27(Kip1) inhibited beta-catenin induction of Tcf-responsive genes (Siamosis, c-Myc, and Smad7). p27(Kip1) is haploinsufficient for ErbB2 mammary tumor suppression in vivo and functions to repress collaborative oncogenic signals including Skp2 and Wnt/beta-catenin signaling.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Cyclin D1 repression of nuclear respiratory factor 1 integrates nuclear DNA synthesis and mitochondrial function.

Cyclin D1 promotes nuclear DNA synthesis through phosphorylation and inactivation of the pRb tumor suppressor. Herein, cyclin D1 deficiency increased mitochondrial size and activity that was rescued by cyclin D1 in a Cdk-dependent manner. Nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1), which induces nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes, was repressed in expression and activity by cyclin D1. Cyclin D1-dependent kinase phosphorylates NRF-1 at S47. Cyclin D1 abundance thus coordinates nuclear DNA synthesis and mitochondrial function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

Cyclin D1 determines mitochondrial function in vivo.

The cyclin D1 gene encodes a regulatory subunit of the holoenzyme that phosphorylates and inactivates the pRb tumor suppressor to promote nuclear DNA synthesis. cyclin D1 is overexpressed in human breast cancers and is sufficient for the development of murine mammary tumors. Herein, cyclin D1 is shown to perform a novel function, inhibiting mitochondrial function and size. Mitochondrial activity was enhanced by genetic deletion or antisense or small interfering RNA to cyclin D1. Global gene expression profiling and functional analysis of mammary epithelial cell-targeted cyclin D1 antisense transgenics demonstrated that cyclin D1 inhibits mitochondrial activity and aerobic glycolysis in vivo. Reciprocal regulation of these genes was observed in cyclin D1-induced mammary tumors. Cyclin D1 thus integrates nuclear DNA synthesis and mitochondrial function.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Cyclin D1 regulates cellular migration through the inhibition of thrombospondin 1 and ROCK signaling.

Cyclin D1 is overexpressed in human tumors, correlating with cellular metastasis, and is induced by activating Rho GTPases. Herein, cyclin D1-deficient mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) exhibited increased adhesion and decreased motility compared with wild-type MEFs. Retroviral transduction of cyclin D1 reversed these phenotypes. Mutational analysis of cyclin D1 demonstrated that its effects on cellular adhesion and migration were independent of the pRb and p160 coactivator binding domains. Genomewide expression arrays identified a subset of genes regulated by cyclin D1, including Rho-activated kinase II (ROCKII) and thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1). cyclin D1(-/-) cells showed increased Rho GTP and ROCKII activity and signaling, with increased phosphorylation of LIM kinase, cofilin (Ser3), and myosin light chain 2 (Thr18/Ser19). Cyclin D1 repressed ROCKII and TSP-1 expression, and the migratory defect of cyclin D1(-/-) cells was reversed by ROCK inhibition or TSP-1 immunoneutralizing antibodies. cyclin E knockin to the cyclin D1(-/-) MEFs rescued the DNA synthesis defect of cyclin D1(-/-) MEFs but did not rescue either the migration defect or the abundance of ROCKII. Cyclin D1 promotes cellular motility through inhibiting ROCK signaling and repressing the metastasis suppressor TSP-1.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Cyclin D1 represses p300 transactivation through a cyclin-dependent kinase-independent mechanism.

Cyclin D1 encodes a regulatory subunit, which with its cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)-binding partner forms a holoenzyme that phosphorylates and inactivates the retinoblastoma protein. In addition to its Cdk binding-dependent functions, cyclin D1 regulates cellular differentiation in part by modifying several transcription factors and nuclear receptors. The molecular mechanism through which cyclin D1 regulates the function of transcription factors involved in cellular differentiation remains to be clarified. The histone acetyltransferase protein p300 is a co-integrator required for regulation of multiple transcription factors. Here we show that cyclin D1 physically interacts with p300 and represses p300 transactivation. We demonstrated further that the interaction of the two proteins occurs at the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-responsive element of the lipoprotein lipase promoter in the context of the local chromatin structure. We have mapped the domains in p300 and cyclin D1 involved in this interaction. The bromo domain and cysteine- and histidine-rich domains of p300 were required for repression by cyclin D1. Cyclin D1 repression of p300 was independent of the Cdk- and retinoblastoma protein-binding domains of cyclin D1. Cyclin D1 inhibits histone acetyltransferase activity of p300 in vitro. Microarray analysis identified a signature of genes repressed by cyclin D1 and induced by p300 that promotes cellular differentiation and induces cell cycle arrest. Together, our results suggest that cyclin D1 plays an important role in cellular proliferation and differentiation through regulation of p300.

Cyclin D1↗

PubMed2005

ArcA works with Fnr as a positive regulator of Vitreoscilla (bacterial) hemoglobin gene expression in Escherichia coli.

Low oxygen induction of the bacterial (Vitreoscilla) hemoglobin gene (vgb) by the Arc system was investigated, as the presumptive vgb Crp site was found to have 73% identity to the Escherichia coli consensus ArcA site. The role of ArcA by itself and with Fnr was examined in E. coli using the wild type vgb promoter and promoter mutants affecting the Fnr and Crp (presumptive ArcA) sites and E. coli strains with all combinations of fnr+/fnr-, arcA+/arcA- genotypes. High-level transcription required both ArcA and Fnr systems to be functional; low oxygen induction required at least one of ArcA and Fnr to be intact. Levels of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin protein (VHb) followed the same trends as seen with mRNA, although the relative decreases in the mutants relative to wild type were less than with transcription. Growth of cells was stimulated by VHb, generally to a greater extent as VHb levels increased.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗

PubMed2004

Development of a tightly regulated U6 promoter for shRNA expression.

Short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) have been used to achieve stable target knockdown in a variety of biological systems. Here, we report the development of a tightly regulated tetracycline-responsive human U6 promoter for shRNA expression. By engineering two copies of the tet operators flanking the TATA box of the human U6 promoter, we created a U6 promoter derivative (2O2) that exhibited much lower basal transcriptional activity compared with recently reported inducible pol III dependent promoters. As a consequence of its tighter regulation, the 2O2 system greatly improved the success rate in making inducible knockdown cell lines.

Blotting, Western↗

PubMed2004

Characterization of protein kinase A phosphorylation: multi-technique approach to phosphate mapping.

A multi-technique approach to identification and mapping of phosphorylation on protein kinase A (PKA) is described. X-ray crystallography revealed phosphorylation at T197 and S338 while mass spectrometry (MS) on the intact protein suggested phosphorylation at three sites. Tryptic digestion, followed by MS, confirmed the presence of three phosphates. However, metal affinity treatment of the digest prior to MS revealed the presence of a fourth phosphopeptide. Subsequent analysis of the digests using liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with quadrupole ion trap (QIT) MS confirmed phosphorylation at S10 and S338 and suggested phosphorylation at S139 and T195/197. Unfortunately, identification of pS139 was inconclusive due to low signal intensity and early elution in reversed-phase LC while poor MS/MS data prevented localization of the phosphate to T195 or T197. Phosphopeptide modification with ethanethiol, followed by LC QIT-MS/MS, identified four phosphopeptides in a single experiment. In addition, the fragmentation data provided significantly more sequence information than data obtained from unmodified peptides. Data from this study suggested that PKA was completely phosphorylated at S10, T197, and S338 and partially phosphorylated at S139. These results illustrate that critical information can be lost unless multiple MS techniques are used for identification and validation of phosphorylation.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Discovery of aminoglycoside mimetics by NMR-based screening of Escherichia coli A-site RNA.

A method is described for the NMR-based screening for the discovery of aminoglycoside mimetics that bind to Escherichia coli A-site RNA. Although aminoglycosides are clinically useful, they exhibit high nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity, and their overuse has led to the development of resistance to important microbial pathogens. To identify a new series of aminoglycoside mimetics that could potentially overcome the problems associated with toxicities and resistance development observed with the aminoglycosides, we have prepared large quantities of E. coli 16 S A-site RNA and conducted an NMR-based screening of our compound library in search for small-molecule RNA binders against this RNA target. From these studies, several classes of compounds were identified as initial hits with binding affinities in the range of 70 microM to 3 mM. Lead optimization through synthetic modifications of these initial hits led to the discovery of several small-molecule aminoglycoside mimetics that are structurally very different from the known aminoglycosides. Structural models of the A-site RNA/ligand complexes were prepared and compared to the three-dimensional structures of the RNA/aminoglycoside complexes.

Aminoglycosides↗

PubMed2002

Interventional and synthetic therapy of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of interventional therapy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Thirty-three patients with HCC were synthetically treated by systematic measures. Among them, percutaneous port-catheter system (PCS) implantation via the femoral artery was performed in 21 cases. Patients with haemorrhage were treated with prothrombin complex concentrate and fibroraas, and patients with hepatic encephalopathy by branched-chain amino acids and arginine. RESULTS: All indwelling catheters of PCS were patent and no catheter tip dislocations were observed. Of 33 patients with advanced HCC, the mean survival rate was 20.1 months and 12 (36%) patients survived more than 2 years. CONCLUSION: Patients with advanced HCC were treated by synthetic measures. Survival was prolonged, quality of life was improved significantly, and the effectiveness of interventional therapy was further improved.

Adult↗