Biomedical subjects

Xinghua Hou

Publications and source records attributed to Xinghua Hou.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Activation of bombesin receptor subtype-3 stimulates adhesion of lung cancer cells.

Bombesin receptor subtype-3 (BRS-3) is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor having sequence homologies to gastrin-releasing peptide and neuromedin B receptors. [d-Phe6, beta-Ala11, Phe13, Nle14]bombesin(6-14) is known to act as a synthetic receptor agonist for BRS-3. To characterize BRS-3-mediated biological responses, we examined the effect of BRS-3 activation by [d-Phe6, beta-Ala11, Phe13, Nle14]Bn(6-14) on the adhesion of the small cell lung cancer NCI-N417 cells that express native BRS-3. We found that the BRS-3 agonist stimulated adhesion of NCI-N417 cells in laminin-coated culture wells. The adhesion of the cells to laminin induced by BRS-3 activation was accompanied by an increase in vinculin-like immunoreactivity and diminished in the presence of an anti-beta1 integrin antibody, suggesting that the receptor activation stimulates focal adhesion formation. We suggest that BRS-3 may be involved in invasion and metastasis of certain cancer cells, like small cell lung cancer cells, upon attachment to laminin.

Bombesin↗

PubMed2006

Interactions between E2F1 and SirT1 regulate apoptotic response to DNA damage.

The nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent deacetylase Sir2 (silent information regulator 2) regulates gene silencing in yeast and promotes lifespan extension during caloric restriction. The mammalian homologue of Sir2 (SirT1) regulates p53, NF-kappaB and Forkhead transcription factors, and is implicated in stress response. This report shows that the cell-cycle and apoptosis regulator E2F1 induces SirT1 expression at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, SirT1 binds to E2F1 and inhibits E2F1 activities, forming a negative feedback loop. Knockdown of SirT1 by small interference RNA (siRNA) increases E2F1 transcriptional and apoptotic functions. DNA damage by etoposide causes E2F1-dependent induction of SirT1 expression and knockdown of SirT1 increases sensitivity to etoposide. These results reveal a mutual regulation between E2F1 and SirT1 that affects cellular sensitivity to DNA damage.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2005

Regulation of apelin mRNA expression by insulin and glucocorticoids in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

The novel 36-amino acid peptide, apelin, is the endogenous ligand for the orphan receptor APJ. Apelin may play important roles in the regulation of the cardiovascular system and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. It is a potent hypotensive agent and one of the most potent stimulators of cardiac contractility. In this study, we investigated the roles of apelin derived from adipocytes in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis. We found that both apelin and APJ mRNAs were expressed in isolated mouse adipocytes and that apelin mRNA levels increased during the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells to adipocytes. We also found that the administration of insulin (1 nM-100 nM) increased, while that of dexamethasone (0.1 nM-100 nM) decreased the apelin mRNA levels in 3T3-L1 adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that insulin and glucocorticoids regulate apelin gene expression in adipocytes. We speculate that high glucocorticoid levels suppress apelin production and stimulate angiotensin II production in adipocyte, decreasing the counter-regulatory activity of apelin against the pressor action of angiotensin II, which might partly be involved in the mechanism underlying the development of obesity-related hypertension.

3T3-L1 Cells↗

PubMed2005

Activation of p27Kip1 Expression by E2F1. A negative feedback mechanism.

The E2F1 transcription factor is a critical regulator of cell cycle due to its ability to promote S phase entry. However, E2F1 overexpression also sensitizes cells to apoptosis and E2F1-null mice are predisposed to tumor development, suggesting that it also has properties of a growth suppressor. E2F1 transcription function is regulated by interaction with hypophosphorylated pRb. Cdk inhibitors such as p16INK4a and p27Kip1 inhibit pRb phosphorylation by the cyclin D/Cdk4 and cyclin E/Cdk2 complexes, thus keeping E2F1 in an inactive state. We found that E2F1 binds to the p27 promoter in vivo and activates p27 mRNA and protein expression. Depletion of endogenous E2F1 by siRNA causes a reduction in basal p27 expression level. Inhibition of endogenous p27 expression by siRNA increases E2F1 transcriptional activity and permits accelerated cell cycle progression by exogenous E2F1. These observations suggest that induction of p27 acts as a negative feedback mechanism for E2F1 and may also contribute to other functions of E2F1.

Animals↗