Biomedical subjects

Osamu Sekine

Publications and source records attributed to Osamu Sekine.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

RBMX is a novel hepatic transcriptional regulator of SREBP-1c gene response to high-fructose diet.

In rodents a high-fructose diet induces metabolic derangements similar to those in metabolic syndrome. Previously we suggested that in mouse liver an unidentified nuclear protein binding to the sterol regulatory element (SRE)-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) promoter region plays a key role for the response to high-fructose diet. Here, using MALDI-TOF MASS technique, we identified an X-chromosome-linked RNA binding motif protein (RBMX) as a new candidate molecule. In electrophoretic mobility shift assay, anti-RBMX antibody displaced the bands induced by fructose-feeding. Overexpression or suppression of RBMX on rat hepatoma cells regulated the SREBP-1c promoter activity. RBMX may control SREBP-1c expression in mouse liver in response to high-fructose diet.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Bidirectional regulation of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 gene at distinct sites of its promoter by nitric oxide in vascular smooth muscle cells.

We have previously reported that chronic activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) by the overexpression of membrane-targeted p110CAAX induced proinflammatory gene expression in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) through the induction of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-beta (C/EBP-beta) and C/EBP-delta. To examine the anti-inflammatory effect of nitric oxide (NO) on proinflammatory gene expression, we have investigated the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) gene expression in VSMCs under chronic activation of PI3-kinase. At low concentrations (0.05 mM) of SNP, but not at high concentrations (0.5-1.0 mM), MCP-1 mRNA and protein expression as well as its transcriptional activity were significantly reduced. We found that SNP induced C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) expression, which inhibited C/EBP binding activity and reduced the C/EBP activity induced by chronic activation of PI3-kinase in a dose-dependent manner up to 1.0 mM. Consistently, the increase in CHOP expression significantly reduced the MCP-1 promoter activity induced by PI3-kinase. However, the overexpression of CHOP alone upregulated MCP-1 promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner up to high concentrations. Deletion analysis of MCP-1 promoter and electrophoretic mobility shift assay identified the CHOP-response element (CHOP-RE) at the region between -190 and -179 bp of MCP-1 promoter. By using CHOP-RE as a decoy, we significantly suppressed the increase in promoter activity of MCP-1 induced by either CHOP or SNP. Thus CHOP induced by an NO donor has bidirectional effects on MCP-1 gene expression: it decreases gene expression by inhibition of C/EBPs, and it increases the gene expression through CHOP-RE.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Single nucleotide polymorphism (-468 Gly to A) at the promoter region of SREBP-1c associates with genetic defect of fructose-induced hepatic lipogenesis [corrected].

To evaluate the genetic susceptibility to metabolic disorders induced by high fructose diet, we investigated the metabolic characteristics in 10 strains of inbred mice and found that they were separated into CBA and DBA groups according to the response to high fructose diet. The hepatic mRNA expression of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) in CBA/JN was remarkably enhanced by high fructose diet but not in DBA/2N. Similar results were observed in primary hepatocytes after exposure to fructose. The nucleotide sequence at -468 bp from the putative starting point of the SREBP-1c gene was adenine in the DBA group while it was guanine in the CBA group. In hepatocytes from CBA/JN, the activity of CBA-SREBP-1c promoter was significantly increased by 2.4- and 2.2-fold, in response to 30 mm fructose or 10 nm insulin, respectively, whereas the activity of DBA-SREBP-1c promoter responded to insulin but not to fructose. In hepatocytes from DBA/2N, both types of SREBP-1c promoter activities in response to insulin were attenuated. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed an unidentified nuclear protein bound to the oligonucleotides made from the region between -453 to -480 bp of the SREBP-1c promoter of CBA/JN but not to the probe from DBA/2N. Thus, in DBA/2N, the reduced mRNA expression of SREBP-1 after fructose refeeding appeared to associate with two independent mechanisms, 1). loss of binding of unidentified proteins to the region between -453 to -480 bp of the SREBP-1c promoter and 2). impaired insulin stimulation of SREBP-1c promoter activity.

5' Flanking Region↗

PubMed2004

Parathyroid adenoma without hyperparathyroidism.

A 45-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital presenting with a right anterior cervical tumor that was elastic, hard, painless and 3.5 x 3.5 cm in size. Laboratory data including serum calcium level, thyroid and parathyroid hormonal functions revealed no abnormalities. Further examination, consisting of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasonography (US) and radioisotope (RI)-imaging demonstrated that it was a solid tumor located behind the right thyroid lobe. The tumor, whose origin was unclear, was successfully removed with right thyroid lobectomy. Macroscopically, it appeared as reddish solid tumor consisting of small cystic lesions storing chocolate-colored mucous. Immunohistology confirmed that there was proliferation of chief cells with positive parathyroid hormone (PTH) staining. Thus the tumor was diagnosed as parathyroid adenoma despite a lack of clinical evidence for hyperparathyroidism. The reason for the lack of clinical features of hyperparathyroidism in this adenoma still remains unclear, however, there might be inactivation of hormone excretion, possibly due to insufficiency of blood supply. This was a very rare case of parathyroid adenoma exhibiting no clinical evidence of hyperparathyroidism.

Adenoma↗

PubMed2002

Insulin activates CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins and proinflammatory gene expression through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is a key molecule mediating signals of insulin in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). To examine the effect of chronic activation of PI3K on the gene expression of VSMCs, membrane-targeted p110CAAX, a catalytic subunit of PI3K, was overexpressed in rat VSMCs by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer. Similar to insulin's effects, cells overexpressing p110CAAX exhibited a 10- to 15-fold increase in monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA expression as compared with the control cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay analysis showed that the overexpression of p110CAAX activated neither the NF-kappaB binding nor the activator protein (AP-1) binding activities. We found that two CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) binding sites located between 2.6 and 3.6 kb upstream of the MCP-1 gene were responsible for the induction by p110CAAX. The overexpression of C/EBP-beta and C/EBP-delta but not C/EBP-alpha caused 6- to 8-fold induction of MCP-1 promoter activity. Consistently, the overexpression of p110CAAX as well as insulin induced mRNA expression and nuclear expression of C/EBP-beta and C/EBP-delta in VSMCs. These results clearly indicate that the activation of PI3K induced proinflammatory gene expression through activating C/EBP-beta and C/EBP-delta but not NF-kappaB, which may explain the proinflammatory effect of insulin in the insulin-resistant state.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Substitution of Gly-548 to Ala in the substrate binding pocket of prothrombin Perijá leads to the loss of thrombin proteolytic activity.

Prothrombin Perijá is a dysprothrombin derived from a homozygous patient that manifests low thrombin activity upon activation in a one-stage assay. Purified prothrombin Perijá showed normal appearance on SDS-PAGE. and was cleaved normally to form alpha-thrombin by the prothrombinase complex. The activated form, thrombin Perijá, however, did not show any proteolytic activity towards native substrates, fibrinogen, protein C or various synthetic substrates for alpha-thrombin, but it was able to bind to antithrombin III, although the binding capacity was markedly reduced even in the presence of heparin. Thrombin Perijá showed full reactivity toward a small inhibitor, DFP, indicating that the molecular defect is in the substrate binding site in the thrombin molecule but not in the active site itself. By DNA sequence analysis of the patient prothrombin gene, we identified a G to C mutation at nucleotide 20016 in exon 14, which predicts a Gly-548 to Ala substitution in the prothrombin Perijá molecule. The structural modeling of thrombin Perijá suggests that Ala-548 is located close to the limb of the cavity wall of the substrate binding pocket, and that the methyl group blocks protrusion of the guanidino group of Arg into the cavity. This steric hindrance may well inhibit the access of Arg-containing substrates to the catalytic Ser-525 leading to the loss of proteolytic activity.

Alanine↗