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Y Andéol

Publications and source records attributed to Y Andéol.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Post-transcriptional control of c-myc RNA during early development analyzed in vivo with a Xenopus-axolotl heterologous system.

We have set up a heterologous in vivo system to study gene regulation at the post-transcriptional level during early development. This system uses two amphibian species, Xenopus laevis and Ambystoma mexicanum (axolotl), the development of which is three to four times slower than that of X. laevis. The stability of three different synthetic X. laevis c-myc transcripts was followed after injection into fertilized axolotl eggs. One transcript is 2.2 kilobases (kb) long (full-length). The second is 1.5-kb long with most of the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) removed, and the third corresponds to the 3'UTR (0.7-kb). The behavior of the endogenous axolotl c-myc RNA was compared with the exogenous injected c-myc transcripts. Our results show the existence of several developmental timers controlling degradation of the c-myc molecules. The first is activated at oocyte maturation and affects both the endogenous and exogenous (2.2- and 1.5-kb) transcripts containing the coding regions. A second timer could be linked to the number of cell divisions since fertilization (6th-7th cleavages) and involves the endogenous c-myc RNAs. Another timer could involve the c-myc mRNA molecule itself, because when injected into axolotl eggs, the half-life of the 2.2-kb X. laevis transcript appears to be independent of the axolotl context. After injection into axolotl fertilized eggs, the behavior of this X. laevis full-length c-myc molecule reveals an unexpected increase in the intensity of its autoradiographic signals. This increase occurs independently of events linked to mid-blastula transition and preliminary investigations are discussed.

Amanitins↗
PubMed1998

Evidence for introduction of a variable G1 phase at the midblastula transition during early development in axolotl.

After fertilization in axolotl, the synchronous cell cleavages are triphasic (S, G2 and M phases). Midblastula transition (MBT) begins at the ninth cleavage and is the consequence of lengthening of cell cycles. By spectrofluorometry and incorporation of 3H thymidine into the nuclear DNA followed by autoradiography on individual cells, the time at which a G1 phase appears during early development was investigated. The present results show that the G1 phase was introduced for the first time at MBT and its duration was variable from one blastomere to another. This variability could account for lengthening of cell cycles and be required for zygotic transcriptions necessary for DNA replication. From this point of view, axolotl represents an interesting alternative amphibian model to identify regulators involved in the G1-S transition at MBT during early development.

Ambystoma↗
PubMed1992

Localization of ras proto-oncogene expression during development in Xenopus laevis.

The expression of the ras protooncogene was investigated in Xenopus laevis, throughout development, by in situ hybridization using a 35S-labelled antisense RNA probe. During oogenesis, the ras RNA was strongly expressed in the cytoplasm of previtellogenic oocytes and further diluted between yolk platelets; no specific localization of transcripts was observed. The signal density was particularly weak over embryo sections until the tailbud stage. On the other hand, a high level of ras RNA expression was detected on sections through the young tadpoles. An intense labelling was observed in several areas, including the branchial apparatus, gut, somites, nervous system, and lens. It is noteworthy that the heterogeneity of labelling increases as tadpoles grow older. Together, these results are discussed in relation to cellular events appearing throughout the early development.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Characterization and expression of a Xenopus ras during oogenesis and development.

We have characterized a cDNA which contains the entire coding sequence of a Xenopus laevis ras protein. The deduced amino acid sequence reveals a strong homology (92%) to human Ki-ras 2B protein. ras expression has been studied both qualitatively and quantitatively during Xenopus development. ras is expressed as a maternal mRNA in oocytes and early embryos at a level up to 1.5 x 10(7) copies per mature oocyte, corresponding to the level of ras mRNA found in 4 x 10(5) somatic growing cells. This level remains constant throughout the first rapid cleavage stages of the blastula before the midblastula transition (MBT). After this stage, the amount of ras RNA decreases gradually until the hatching tadpole stage, when a new zygotic expression is detected in the embryo. From that stage, a constitutive amount of 30-50 ras RNA transcripts per embryonic cell is registered, as observed in Xenopus proliferative somatic cells. The 23-kDa Xenopus ras protein has also been identified by both specific monoclonal antibody and in vitro transcription-translation experiments. It is expressed in oocytes before maturation, indicating that maturation is not the trigger for ras expression. The expression of Xenopus ras at a high level during oogenesis and early development suggests a major function of this gene both in meiosis and in mitosis events during embryonic development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Genes and mechanisms involved in early embryonic development in Xenopus laevis.

Our laboratory is studying genes involved in the regulation of the balance between cell growth and differentiation during embryonic development in Xenopus. We have analyzed the developmental expression of the proto-oncogenes c-myc, and KiRas 2B, the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and the tumor suppressor gene p53. These genes, usually expressed during cell proliferation, are expressed in the oocyte in large quantities, but the majority of their maternal RNAs are degraded by the gastrula stage. The expression of c-myc and the localization of the protein indicate that c-myc has the characteristics expected for a gene involved in the regulation of the mid-blastula transition, when zygotic expression is turned on in the embryo. Its expression during late development or during regeneration indicates that it enables the cells to remain competent for cycling during organogenesis. In vitro systems that reproduce the principal cellular functions during early development are used as model systems to understand the mechanisms involved in early embryogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Proto-oncogenes and embryonic development.

The role of proto-oncogenes in embryonic development was investigated using one of the most characterized vertebrates, the amphibian Xenopus laevis. Genes which belong to the major proto-oncogene families have been detected in Xenopus genome. The developmental control of the myc gene was assayed using a characterized Xenopus myc probe and specific antibodies. The myc gene is highly expressed as a stable maternal mRNA in oocyte, and an unfertilized egg contains 5 X 10(5)-fold the myc RNA content of a proliferative somatic cell. The myc RNA store is evenly distributed in the oocyte and the egg. Fertilization triggers a post-transcriptional control of the gene and the RNA store is progressively degraded to a constitutive value of 10 to 30 myc RNA copies registered per gastrula embryonic cell. The 62K myc protein is accumulated late in oogenesis. This uncoupling of myc expression and cell proliferation appears as a specific developmental regulation of the myc gene, adapted to the series of rapid cell cleavages occurring after fertilization.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

A c-ras-Ki oncogene is activated, amplified and overexpressed in a human osteosarcoma cell line.

We present a characterization of an activated oncogene which we found to be present in DNA of the OHA osteosarcoma cell line. We identify this tumor oncogene which transforms Swiss mouse 3T3-cells, with c-ras-Ki 2, one of two known members of the Kirsten ras family of human proto-oncogenes. Its structural outlines are given and we show that: 1) a single point mutation causing a substitution of valine for glycine in codon 12 was found by DNA sequencing; 2) the c-ras-Ki gene is amplified and overexpressed in the original OHA tumor cells and its transformants and 3) the gene product is an abnormal form of the p21 protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗