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K R Lynch

Publications and source records attributed to K R Lynch.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Molecular cloning of rat type 2C (IA) protein phosphatase mRNA.

A full-length cDNA encoding rat type 2C (IA) protein phosphatase was isolated from a kidney cDNA library. The cDNA was identified by screening the library with oligonucleotides based on a partial amino acid sequence determined from purified rat liver phosphatase. This clone is 2.35 kilobase pairs long and has a single extended translation reading frame that predicts a 382-amino acid protein of 42,416 daltons. The deduced amino acid sequence contains segments corresponding to three peptides from rat liver type 2C protein phosphatase and two peptides from rabbit skeletal muscle type 2C phosphatase. Rat kidney type 2C protein phosphatase is distantly related to yeast adenylate cyclase but is not related to the catalytic subunits of two other protein phosphatases (types 1 and 2A).

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Angiotensinogen gene expression in 3T3-L1 cells.

It has previously been established that angiotensinogen mRNA is present in brown and white adipose tissue of the rat. To determine whether angiotensinogen gene expression is present in adipocytes as compared with other cell elements, we have examined angiotensinogen mRNA in 3T3-L1 cells. These cells undergo adipocyte differentiation when the culture reaches confluence. To accelerate the differentiation process, cells were treated with dexamethasone and isobutylmethylxanthine for 3 days. On the 7th day after drug treatment, RNA was extracted from cells and was examined for angiotensinogen mRNA using a full-length rat angiotensinogen cDNA. Angiotensinogen mRNA was readily detected in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. To determine when the gene is expressed, a 7-day time course from day 0 (before drug treatment) to day 7 was examined for the presence of angiotensinogen mRNA. In addition, C2 cells, a clonal cell line that does not differentiate into adipocytes, were examined. Angiotensinogen mRNA was detected on days 2-7 after drug treatment in 3T3-L1 cells, with no detectable levels in untreated 3T3-C2 cells. When 3T3-C2 cells were subjected to the same drug regimen, angiotensinogen mRNA levels increased in the same time course as 3T3-L1 cells. However, the increase in angiotensinogen message was greater in differentiating 3T3-L1 cells than in the nondifferentiating 3T3-C2 cells. Thus angiotensinogen mRNA is present in both adipocytes and in fibroblast-like cells and appears to be regulated by steroids.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

Distribution of renin mRNA and its protein in the developing kidney.

The intrarenal distribution of renin changes markedly during maturation. To determine whether renin gene expression changes along the developing renal vasculature, renin mRNA distribution was assessed using in situ hybridization histochemistry. Fetal, newborn, and adult kidney tissue sections from Wistar-Kyoto rats were hybridized with an oligonucleotide complementary to rat renin mRNA. In fetal kidneys, renin mRNA was found in the vascular pole of juxtamedullary glomeruli and along afferent, interlobular, and arcuate arteries. In kidneys from newborn rats, renin mRNA localized throughout the whole length of afferent arterioles, but was not detected in interlobular or arcuate arteries. In adult kidneys, hybridization signals were less intense and confined to the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Immunolocalization of renin with a polyclonal anti-rat renin antibody paralleled closely the mRNA distribution. Northern blot analyses demonstrated that renin mRNA levels were higher in fetal and newborn (20- and 10-fold, respectively) than in adult kidneys. We conclude the following. 1) The fetal kidney expresses the renin gene. 2) Expression of the renin gene is subjected to developmental changes. 3) As maturation progresses, localization of renin synthesis and storage shifts from large intrarenal arteries to a restricted, classical juxtaglomerular site in the afferent arteriole.

Animals↗

Astrocytes synthesize angiotensinogen in brain.

Cell types associated with angiotensinogen mRNA in rat brain were identified in individual brain sections by in situ hybridization with tritiated RNA probes or with a sulfur-35--labeled oligonucleotide combined with immunocytochemical detection of either glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) for astrocytes or microtubule-associated protein (MAP-2) for neurons. Autoradiography revealed silver grains clustered primarily over GFAP-reactive soma and processes; most grain clusters were not associated with MAP-2--reactive cells. These results demonstrate that, in contrast to other known neuropeptide precursors, angiotensinogen is synthesized by glia.

Angiotensinogen↗

Cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding bovine endonexin (chromobindin 4).

Endonexin is a 32kDa, calcium-dependent membrane-binding protein that is one of a group of proteins that binds to chromaffin granule membranes and may regulate membrane fusion events occurring during exocytosis. In this study an oligonucleotide probe that codes for a highly conserved, repeated sequence present in this and related proteins was used to isolate a 2,048 nucleotide cDNA encoding endonexin from a bovine liver cDNA library. The translated amino acid sequence of endonexin shows the four domain structure characteristic of proteins in this class. The nucleotide sequence is 55 to 61% identical to that of the related membrane-binding proteins lipocortin, calpactin, endonexin II and (half of) 68kDa calelectrin. Southern blot analysis of bovine genomic DNA suggests the presence of a single gene for this protein. A consensus nucleotide sequence (TCTGGGAACTTC) was identified in the 5' nontranslated portion of the endonexin mRNA that is also represented in the messages for calpactin and endonexin II.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Interleukin 5 and interleukin 2 cooperate with interleukin 4 to induce IgG1 secretion from anti-Ig-treated B cells.

We have analyzed requirements for IL-4-induced secretion of IgG1 from anti-Ig-activated B cells. Activated B cell blasts prepared by culture of high density B cells with anti-Ig failed to secrete IgG1 upon subsequent culture with LPS and IL-4. However, IL-4 markedly suppressed IgM secretion in the same cultures. Addition of a mixture of T cell-derived lymphokines or rIL-5 to LPS-stimulated anti-Ig blasts restored IL-4-stimulated IgG1 secretion; rIL-2 further enhanced the response to IL-4 + rIL-5. These results suggest that IL-4, IL-5, and IL-2 cooperate in the regulation of B lymphocyte Ig isotype expression.

Animals↗

Renin and angiotensinogen gene expression in maturing rat kidney.

To determine whether angiotensinogen (Ao) and renin are synthesized by the immature kidney and to assess the changes in intrarenal renin distribution that occur with maturation, the kidneys from 24 newborn and 12 adult Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were processed for renin immunocytochemistry using a highly specific anti-rat renin antibody. Kidney renin and Ao relative mRNA levels (mRNA/total RNA) were detected by Northern and dot blot techniques, using full-length rat renin and Ao cDNAs. Renal renin concentration (RRC) was measured by radioimmunoassay of angiotensin I (ANG I) and expressed as ng ANG I.h-1.mg protein-1 in the incubation media. RRC was higher in newborn than in adult SHR (979 +/- 164 vs. 206 +/- 47) and WKY (573 +/- 69 vs. 297 +/- 74) (P less than 0.05). In the newborn kidneys of both rat strains, renin was distributed throughout the entire length of the afferent arterioles and interlobular arteries, whereas in the adult kidneys renin was confined to the classical juxtaglomerular position. With maturation, there was a decrease in the proportion of immunoreactive juxtaglomerular apparatuses and arterial segments that contained renin. Kidney renin mRNA levels were 7.9-fold higher in the newborn than in the adult animal. Ao mRNA was detected in the newborn and adult kidneys of both rat strains. This study demonstrates conclusively that both renin and Ao genes are expressed in the newborn kidney, providing evidence for a local renin-angiotensin system that is subjected to developmental changes.

Aging↗

Renin and angiotensinogen gene expression and intrarenal renin distribution during ACE inhibition.

To define whether intrarenal renin and angiotensinogen synthesis and distribution are affected by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition, a control group of adult, male Wistar-Kyoto rats (n = 7) was compared with a group of rats treated with enalapril (n = 8) for 5 days. Kidney renin and angiotensinogen mRNA levels were detected by Northern and dot blot analysis, using full-length rat renin and angiotensinogen cDNAs. Renin mRNA levels in the enalapril-treated group were 4.6-fold higher than in the control group (P less than 0.05). Angiotensinogen mRNA levels were not significantly different. The intrarenal distribution of renin assessed by immunocytochemistry was markedly different between the two groups of rats. Whereas in the control kidney renin was localized in a juxtaglomerular position, in the kidneys from enalapril-treated rats, renin immunoreactivity of the afferent arteriole extended well beyond the juxtaglomerular loci in the direction of the interlobular artery. The percent of afferent arteriolar length immunostained for renin was higher in the enalapril-treated (53 +/- 17%) than in the control (33 +/- 15) group. Similarly, the ratio of immunostained juxtaglomerular apparatuses (JGA) over total number of JGA and the ratio of immunostained arteries over total number of arteries were higher in the enalapril-treated (0.84 +/- 0.017; 0.68 +/- 0.03) than in the control (0.67 +/- 0.034; 0.43 +/- 0.045) group (P less than 0.05). We conclude that chronic ACE inhibition enhances intrarenal renin synthesis and increases renin expression upstream from the glomerulus and in new sites in blood vessels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angiotensinogen↗

Localization of angiotensinogen messenger RNA in rat aorta.

The distribution of angiotensinogen messenger (mRNA) was determined in the rat aorta. Other investigators have demonstrated the presence of angiotensinogen mRNA in whole rat aorta; however, its precise location in the blood vessel wall has not been defined. When various layers of the vessel wall were separated by dissection or cell dispersion, angiotensinogen mRNA levels were greatest in the periaortic adipose tissue. Angiotensinogen mRNA was present in very small levels in the adventitia, with no detectable levels in the muscle layer. In addition to periaortic adipose tissue, angiotensinogen mRNA was also present in the interscapular brown fat pad of the rat. The high levels of angiotensinogen mRNA in periaortic brown adipose tissue suggests that angiotensin may be synthesized there and responses may exist in this tissue or adjacent sympathetic nerve terminals.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗

Fetal expression of the angiotensinogen gene.

To determine whether the angiotensinogen (Ao) gene is expressed in multiple organs of the fetal rat and the changes associated with maturation, fetal (15-20 days of gestation), newborn (1-10 days old), and adult (90 days old) rat tissues were subjected to Northern analysis and hybridization with a full length Ao complementary DNA (cDNA). Whereas Ao messenger RNA (mRNA) was undetectable in fetal livers, Ao sequences were readily detectable 1 h after birth and reached a peak at 24 h of birth. Levels remained elevated at 5 and 10 days after birth to decrease slightly at 90 days of postnatal life. Poly A+ enriched liver RNA was subjected to a similar analysis demonstrating that fetal liver Ao mRNA levels were 50-fold less than the corresponding adult levels. In contrast to the finding in the fetal liver, Ao mRNA was found in fetal brown fat, brains, and kidneys. We conclude that 1) Expression of the Ao gene is developmentally regulated in a tissue-specific manner; 2) Unlike the adult animal, the liver may not be the primary source of Ao in the fetus; 3) Alternate sources of Ao synthesis include fetal brown fat, brain, and kidneys.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗

Phorbol esters induce interleukin 2 mRNA in sensitive but not in resistant EL4 cells.

Phorbol ester sensitive EL4 cells become growth-inhibited and produce interleukin 2 when treated with phorbol-12, 13-dibutyrate. Resistant cells lack both responses. To determine whether the defect in phorbol ester-resistant EL4 cells occurs pre- or post-transcriptionally, a hybridization assay for interleukin 2 mRNA was developed using two synthetic oligonucleotides complementary to mouse interleukin 2 mRNA as probes. Both probes hybridized to a 1-kilobase band in RNA from phorbol ester-treated sensitive cells. This RNA was detectable within 3 h of phorbol ester administration, and accumulation peaked by 12 h. The 1-kilobase band was induced in a concentration-dependent manner by 4-beta-phorbol-12, 13-dibutyrate but not by the inactive analog, 4-alpha-phorbol-12, 13-dibutyrate. No bands hybridizing with the interleukin 2 probe were detected in RNA isolated from unstimulated cells or from phorbol ester-resistant EL4 cells at any time up to 24 h following phorbol ester stimulation. The accumulation of the RNA in sensitive cells was blocked when the protein synthesis inhibitors, cycloheximide (75 microM) or puromycin (90 microM) were added within 1 h of the addition of phorbol ester. If cycloheximide was added 2 or more h after phorbol ester treatment, superinduction of the 1-kilobase band was observed. These results indicate that the failure of phorbol ester-resistant EL4 cells to produce interleukin 2 is due to a defect proximal to interleukin 2 transcription and that the accumulation of interleukin 2 mRNA in phorbol ester-sensitive EL4 cells requires protein synthesis.

Animals↗

Localization of brain angiotensinogen mRNA by hybridization histochemistry.

The topographical distribution of rat brain angiotensinogen (Ao) mRNA was determined using hybridization histochemistry (in situ hybridization) with two different hybridization probes, a 32P-labelled 42 residue oligonucleotide and a full-length complementary (antisense) RNA labelled with either sulfur 35 or phosphorus 32. Low levels of Ao mRNA sequences were detected throughout the brain while high levels were restricted to specific areas often corresponding to classical nuclear boundaries. All areas in which angiotensin II-like immunoreactivity had been previously detected contained moderate to high levels of Ao mRNA and many previously undetected areas were also found to contain high levels of this mRNA. The results underline the ubiquitous presence of angiotensinogen-synthesizing cells in the brain and support previous evidence that the angiotensinogen gene could be expressed by several types of brain cells.

Angiotensinogen↗

Molecular cloning of rat renin cDNA and its gene.

Renin (EC 3.4.23.15) is an aspartyl protease that cleaves its only known substrate, angiotensinogen, to release the vasopressor hormone angiotensin. We have isolated full-length cDNAs for renin from a rat kidney cDNA library. The cDNAs are complementary to a 1434-nucleotide rat kidney mRNA that encodes preprorenin, the 402-amino acid precursor of renin. This rat cDNA was used to isolate the complete copy of a renin gene from a rat genomic library, and a comparison of this genomic clone with rat genomic DNA showed that renin is a single-copy gene in the rat. Rat renin is 85% identical to one mouse renin isozyme (renin-1) and 81% identical to the second mouse renin isozyme (renin-2), suggesting that the duplication of the mouse renin genes is a more recent event than the speciation of rats and mice. Analyses of rat, human, and mouse renin sequences revealed that the potential to form two-chain renin is apparently peculiar to mouse renin, and the expression of a tenth exon (which results in a three-amino acid insertion) is observed only in the human renin gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Presence of angiotensinogen messenger RNA in various cultured cell lines.

The presence of angiotensinogen messenger RNA (mRNA) was assessed in total RNA extracted from hepatoma, glioma, neuroblastoma, and glioma-neuroblastoma hybrid cell lines. Total RNA from 1 X 10(7) cells was extracted, transferred to a membrane, and hybridized with a 32P-labeled, full-length (1650-base pair) rat angiotensinogen complementary DNA (cDNA). Angiotensinogen RNA sequences could be definitively detected only in hepatoma cells. Steroids were used in an attempt to increase the angiotensinogen mRNA level. Dexamethasone (2 X 10(-6) M) or 17 beta-estradiol (1 X 10(-7) M) was added to the cultures 18 to 24 hours prior to harvest. Dexamethasone treatment of the hepatoma cells resulted in a large increase in angiotensinogen mRNA, whereas estradiol had no effect. Steroids failed to induce detectable levels of angiotensinogen mRNA in total RNA from the other cell lines. That the RNA was intact was ensured by hybridizing duplicate Northern blots to a 32P-labeled actin cDNA. Actin mRNA sequences were detected in all cell lines. Blot hybridization of poly(A)+RNA resulted in the visualization of a weak angiotensinogen mRNA signal for a glioma cell line and a glioma-neuroblastoma hybrid line. However, the ability to detect angiotensinogen mRNA in a cell may depend on the phenotype expressed, which can be governed by culture conditions.

Angiotensinogen↗

Localization of preangiotensinogen messenger RNA sequences in the rat brain.

Angiotensinogen (renin substrate) and its messenger RNA are known to accumulate in the rat brain. We have cloned rat preangiotensinogen cDNAs and used them as probes to measure the accumulation of preangiotensinogen messenger RNA sequences in eight regions of rat brain, as well as in liver and kidney. The brain regions examined were the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum, cerebellum, diencephalon (including basal forebrain structures), midbrain, brainstem, and pituitary. On a tissue weight basis, the accumulation of preangiotensinogen RNA sequences was greatest in the liver, midbrain, and brainstem. The relative concentrations of messenger RNA were ranked as follows: liver, brainstem, midbrain greater than cerebellum, diencephalon greater than hippocampus greater than cortex, striatum, kidney greater than pituitary. Relative RNA concentrations from liver to kidney varied over a 16-fold range. Liver and brain preangiotensinogen RNA sequences were indistinguishable in size as measured by gel electrophoresis; however, the kidney sequences appeared some 100 nucleotides larger. Our data agree with previous measurements of angiotensinogen in the rat brain as assayed by renin-catalyzed angiotensin I release.

Angiotensinogen↗

Differential regulation of alpha 2u globulin gene expression in liver, lachrymal gland, and salivary gland.

The alpha 2u globulins, products of a highly homologous multigene family, are synthesized in the liver and submaxillary salivary glands of the rat. Although their precise function has not been ascertained, they are of interest because of the complex developmental and hormonal regulation of their tissue levels. We now report that alpha 2u globulin is synthesized in a third tissue of the rat, the extraorbital lachrymal gland. Immunocytochemical studies indicate that the distribution of alpha 2u globulin is more homogeneous in the lachrymal gland than in the liver or submaxillary gland. In situ hybridization to alpha 2u globulin RNA reveals specific signal only over the acinar cells of the lachrymal gland. Several different isoelectric forms of alpha 2u globulin are encoded by lachrymal gland mRNA. The major lachrymal and salivary gland isoforms are indistinguishable from one another, but more acidic than the hepatic isoforms. In addition, analysis of double-stranded cDNAs with a diagnostic restriction-enzyme pair detects no differences between the alpha 2u globulin mRNAs of lachrymal and salivary gland, but clearly distinguishes these from their hepatic counterparts. In spite of the similarity between the lachrymal and salivary gland alpha 2u globulin gene products, we find that the hormonal and developmental regulation of alpha 2u globulin expression differs markedly in these two tissues. In the liver, where a different subset of alpha 2u globulin genes is expressed, a third regulatory phenotype is observed.

Alpha-Globulins↗

Tissue-specific control of alpha 2u globulin gene expression: constitutive synthesis in the submaxillary gland.

Synthesis of alpha 2u globulin, previously thought to occur only in the male rat liver, has now been demonstrated in the submaxillary salivary gland. Unlike liver, submaxillary synthesis of alpha 2u globulin mRNA is constitutive--that is, independent of the endocrine state, age and sex. Liver and submaxillary alpha 2u globulin mRNAs are of similar size, and their 5' ends map to the same region of the gene. Isoelectric focusing of in vitro translation products revealed that submaxillary mRNA encodes a more acidic subset of alpha 2u globulins than does liver. Salivary alpha 2u globulin mRNA manifests 5% nucleotide divergence, encoding 20 amino acid substitutions, which specifies a more acidic polypeptide than its hepatic counterpart. Thus the liver and submaxillary gland synthesize alpha 2u globulin from different sets of genes that are subject to very different developmental and hormonal control.

Alpha-Globulins↗