PubMed HealthSearch

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Developmental programming”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Developmental changes in K+-selective channel activity during differentiation of the Purkinje neuron in culture.

The cerebellar Purkinje neuron cultured from 20 d rat embryos is electrically inexcitable when immature, and acquires excitable membrane properties according to a programmed developmental sequence, thus providing a useful model for investigating mechanisms of CNS neuronal development. Using conventional patch-clamp techniques, we have characterized the the predominant classes of active K+-selective channels at a range of ages encompassing the entire developmental process from 5 to 29 d in vitro (DIV), and have shown pharmacologically that these channels are important contributors to the patterns of spontaneous activity generated by the Purkinje neurons. The 4 predominant classes of K+ channels that are active during steady-state depolarizing voltage commands are identified by unit conductances as the 27, 44, 70, and 100 pS channels, and show differences in several properties, including voltage dependence, sensitivity to tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA), mean open time, and time of appearance during development. Intracellular current-clamp recordings show that physiological maturation of the Purkinje neuron entails increases in the firing rate, the diversity of spike events that comprise spontaneous activity, and the sensitivity of spontaneous activity to disruption by the K+ channel blocker TEA. This increase in sensitivity to TEA correlates with the new expression of activity of the larger-conductance TEA-sensitive classes of K+ channel (70 and 100 pS types). These data show that developmental regulation of the activity of K+-selective channels contributes significantly to the ionic mechanisms that underlie the developmental transitions in spontaneous activity patterns in the Purkinje neuron.

Animals

Variations of cervical vertebrae after expression of a Hox-1.1 transgene in mice.

To understand the function of murine homeobox genes, a genetic analysis is mandatory. We generated gain-of-function mutants by introducing genomic sequences of the Hox-1.1 gene under the control of a chicken beta-actin promoter into mice. Our previous data had shown that these transgenic mice are nonviable after birth and are born with craniofacial abnormalities. In a subsequent detailed analysis of severely affected animals, malformations of the basioccipital bone, the atlas, and the axis were observed. Manifestation of an additional vertebra, a proatlas, occurred at the craniocervical transition. The dominant interference of the Hox-1.1 transgene with developmental programs seems to occur around day 9 of gestation, the time of neural crest migration and somite differentiation. We discuss the resulting phenotype with respect to a developmental control function of Hox-1.1.

Animals

Steroid hormones as mediators of neural plasticity.

Steroid and thyroid hormone receptors are expressed in the developing brain and persist throughout adult life. They mediate a variety of effects on the brain, ranging from developmental effects of thyroid hormone and the process of sexual differentiation to the cyclic changes during reproductive cycles in adult female animals. This review summarizes data from the author's laboratory on three topics: (1) actions of extradiol and progesterone on the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in adult female and male rats, showing both the cyclicity and the consequences of brain sexual differentiation; (2) actions of estradiol on the cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain of the female and male rat, reflecting the plasticity of the adult cholinergic system as well as sex differences which are developmentally programmed; and (3) diverse actions of estrogens, thyroid hormone and glucocorticoids on the morphology of hippocampal neurons. The review concludes by discussing the interactions between "organizational" (i.e. developmental) effects and the "activational" effects of steroids on the mature nervous system in relation to the environmental control of brain gene expression.

Animals

Alterations of cell-surface carbohydrates during differentiation and development.

Expression of many cell-surface carbohydrates is controlled temporally and spatially by developmental programs. This subject is reviewed from 5 viewpoints: structural changes revealed by chemical analysis, cell-surface markers useful for cell identification and separation, core proteins carrying the developmentally regulated carbohydrate chain, glycosyltransferases responsible for the change and the biological meaning of the phenomenon. The differentiation systems covered are mainly early mammalian embryogenesis and the differentiation of blood and nerve cells.

Animals

Complex and diversified regulatory programs control the expression of vertebrate collagen genes.

The collagens represent a family of structurally related but genetically distinct proteins whose function is essential to maintaining the integrity of vertebrate organs. In addition to their supportive roles, collagens influence a variety of developmental programs and physiological processes. Transcription of collagen genes is controlled by a series of complex interactions between cis-acting regulatory elements and trans-acting nuclear factors that have positive or negative effects on gene expression. Collagen synthesis relies on the timely utilization of diversified regulatory programs that employ tissue and cell-type specific promoters and enhancers. Some of these programs lead to the production of structurally variant chains in different tissues, while others shut down synthesis of a specific collagen type during cell differentiation. Still others control collagen expression in distinct cell lineages. The number, complexity, and variety of the mechanisms leading to the diversified expression of the collagen genes illustrate the unique contribution of this family of proteins to multicellular organogenesis.

Animals

Spore type-specific gene expression profiles underlying development and leaf infection processes of Colletotrichum graminicola.

Colletotrichum graminicola causes significant losses of the staple crop maize worldwide. The fungus produces two distinct asexual spore types, oval and falcate conidia, which show unique processes in development and plant interaction. Based on genome resequencing of our laboratory strain (CgM2/M1.001), we investigated the gene expression profiles of oval and falcate conidia during development and early leaf infection using RNA-seq. Our results reveal specific gene expression profiles between the two spore types, indicating fundamental differences in their developmental programs that reflect different modes of infection. We identified expression patterns discriminating both conidia types from mycelium and spore type-specific ones for genes encoding transcription factors, conserved fungal developmental genes, transporters, genes of secondary metabolite clusters, and pathogenicity-related functions, including effectors and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes). Our study shows that despite the identical genomic basis, oval and falcate conidia show unique transcriptomes across vegetative development and early plant interaction. Taking together, these results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms determining the biology of C. graminicola and its interaction with the plant host.

Colletotrichum graminicola

Characterization of genes which are transiently expressed during the preaggregative phase of development of Dictyostelium discoideum.

We have identified and characterized three genes, the I genes (I for induced), which are induced during the preaggregative phase of the developmental program of Dictyostelium discoideum. None of these genes are expressed in cells growing vegetatively on bacteria or in axenic broth, and their induction during early development is due to transcriptional activation. Developmental expression of I6, I8, and I11 occurs even in the absence of protein synthesis. Their induction is very rapid and occurs essentially at the onset of development. The expression is transient, peaking between 2 and 4 hr followed by a rapid loss of expression. These characteristics suggest that the induction of I6, I8, and I11 is a primary result of the initiation of development, and thus they represent the first such genes isolated. Although their expression behavior shares these characteristics, examination of their expression under various conditions of development and in a variety of aggregation-deficient mutant strains reveals that the details of the regulation and developmental control of these three genes are distinct.

Cyclic AMP

Cellular regulation of fetal hemoglobin production.

In this paper, we put together several observations from studies in erythroid cultures that suggest that the major regulatory events determining Hb F and Hb A formation in the red cells are taken at the level of erythroid stem cells. We outlined the evidence that suggests that the program of Hb F expression changes during the differentiation of the primitive progenitors, known as burst-forming units, and we raised several possibilities on how this differentiation-dependent change in developmental programs could be accomplished. Although many questions remain still unanswered, the work done so far suggests that the mechanisms of regulation of Hb F at the cellular level can be successfully probed with existing methodologies. Delineation of the cellular mechanism of Hb F regulation is required in order to find out whether the therapeutic manipulation of Hb F in the patient with Cooley's anemia is possible or not.

Animals

Chromosomal organization of the heavy chain variable region gene segments comprising the human fetal antibody repertoire.

The adult repertoire of antibody specificities is acquired in a developmentally programmed fashion that, in mouse and man, parallels the ordered rearrangement of a limited number of germ-line heavy chain variable region (VH) gene segments during development. It has been hypothesized that this developmental bias is a consequence of gene organization. In the mouse, rearrangement of VH gene segments proximal to the heavy chain joining region (JH) locus precedes rearrangement of genes located more distal to the JH locus. Similarly, in man, two VH elements located proximal to JH are expressed during fetal development. To test further this hypothesis in man, we have determined in a single individual the positions of an additional eight distinct VH elements known to comprise a significant fraction of the human developmental repertoire. These developmentally expressed VH elements were found to be dispersed over a region of 890 kilobases of the VH locus and were interspersed with other VH elements that are not known to be developmentally expressed. Thus, the ordered developmental expression of VH gene segments in man must involve mechanisms beyond physical proximity to the JH locus. Further, these results support the notion that fetal expression of VH gene segments is a regulated process and suggest that this regulation is important in the acquisition of immunocompetence.

Base Sequence

Increasing team skills: an evaluation of program effectiveness.

The need for health professionals with caring values and good communication skills is well established. To develop these skills requires building self-esteem, as is supported by the work of Carl Rogers, Maslow, and Jourard, and the development of communication skills, as is supported by Carkhuff. A six-hour developmental program was evaluated using alternate forms of the highly validated Personal Skills Map. The differences in participants' scores showed increases in self-esteem, comfort, and management skills (p less than .00), while aggression (p = .05) and deference (p less than .00) decreased. A longitudinal follow-up of participants showed that 65% continued to use the assessment tool six months to one year later. The program appears to be well suited for service settings, continuing education, and academic settings, and meets the need of a high tech, high touch era of change.

Allied Health Personnel

Neuronal cell cultures: a tool for investigations in developmental neurobiology.

The aim of this review is to describe environmental requirements for survival of neuronal cells in culture, and secondly to survey the complex interplay between hormones, neurotrophic factors, transport- and extracellular matrix- proteins, which characterize the developmental program of differentiating neurons. An overall reconsideration of the literature in this vast field is above the limits of the present paper; since progress and refinement in the techniques of neuronal cell cultures have paralleled the advancement in Developmental Neurobiology, we will run instead through the main steps which form the conceptual framework of neuronal cell cultures.

Animals

The developmental fate of fission yeast cells is determined by the pattern of inheritance of parental and grandparental DNA strands.

A key feature for development consists of producing sister cells that differ in their potential for cellular differentiation. Following two cell divisions, a haploid Schizosaccharomyces pombe cell produces one cell in four 'granddaughters' with a changed mating cell type, implying nonequivalence of sister cells in each of two consecutive cell divisions. The observed pattern of switching is analogous to the mammalian 'stem cell' lineage by which a cell produces one daughter like itself while the other daughter is advanced in its developmental program. It is tested here whether sisters differ because of unequal distribution of cytoplasmic and/or nuclear components to them or due to inheriting a specific parental DNA chain at the mating type locus. Only the DNA strand-segregation model predicts that those cells engineered to contain an inverted tandem duplication of the mating type locus should produce equivalent sisters. Consequently, two 'cousins' in four related granddaughter cells should switch. The results verified the prediction, thus establishing that all cells otherwise fully possess the potential to switch. Therefore, the program of cell type change in S.pombe cell lineages is determined by the pattern of DNA strand inheritance at the mating type locus. A specific DNA sequence present at the mating type locus is postulated to be the cause of developmental asymmetry between sister cells. A general model for cellular differentiation is proposed in which the act of DNA replication itself is hypothesized to produce developmentally nonequivalent sister genomes.

DNA, Fungal

Linkage of genetic determinants for mouse beta-galactosidase electrophoresis and activity.

An electrophoretic polymorphism for beta-galactosidase has been identified among common inbred strains of mice. It is inherited as a single Mendelian factor with two alleles showing codominant expression. This structural gene, Bge, is closely linked (0/163 recombinants) with the Bgs site on chromosome 9 which regulates systemic levels of beta-galactosidase. The distribution of electrophoretic and activity phenotypes among inbred strains is not concordant, indicating that they result from separate mutations. Three aspects of beta-galactosidase realization, its structure, systemic regulation and developmental program, are now known to be organized in close proximity on chromosome 9. Considered in conjuction with evidence from other mammalian systems, this suggests that the mammalian genome, like Drosophila, is organized into large functional units in which relevant regulatory and developmental information is closely associated with individual structural genes.

Alleles

Hormonal control of adipogenesis.

The concept that hormonal substances can alter the expression of entire developmental programs is in itself not particularly new. The ability to define conditions under which a specific hormone can precociously activate the differentiation of a well-defined population of cells and under which another hormone can both block and reverse such a developmental progression, however, provides a major step forward toward unraveling the biochemical events that define the transition from a committed precursor to a fully differentiated cell. Further analysis of the molecular events initiated by glucocorticoids and TNF should provide insights into the control of adipogenesis and may generate a foundation for understanding the mechanisms by which other cells enter a particular differentiative lineage. In a more applied sense, such knowledge may also provide a rational approach to controlling metabolic disease syndromes related to adipogenesis gone awry such as obesity-associated diabetes and cachexia.

Adipose Tissue

Control of epithelial development.

Interactions between epidermal and dermal cells of integumental systems exert finely regulated controls over epithelial development. Experimental reconstruction of skin tissues, in vitro and in vivo, from selected populations of dissociated embryonic chick and mouse cells provides a unique opportunity for analyzing the morphogenetic information intrinsic to individual cells. Dermal cells are shown not only to induce and specify particular epithelial structures; they also exercise the power to suppress potential developmental programs. Epidermal cells not only recognize and respond to dermal directives; they are also critical agents in the communication of cues for histogenetic patterning to both neighboring epithelial cells and subadjacent dermal elements. The role of the cell surface as a site for developmental control is discussed in the context of current evidence.

Animals

Cell interactions in the sea urchin embryo studied by fluorescence photoablation.

In many organisms, interactions between cells play a critical role in the specification of cell fates. In the sea urchin embryo, primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) regulate the developmental program of a subpopulation of secondary mesenchyme cells (SMCs). The timing of this cell interaction was analyzed by means of a fluorescence photoablation technique, which was used to specifically ablate PMCs at various stages of development. In addition, the PMCs were microinjected into PMC-depleted recipient embryos at different developmental stages and their effect on SMC fate was examined. The critical interaction between PMCs and SMCs was brief and took place late in gastrulation. Before that time, SMCs were insensitive to the suppressive signals transmitted by the PMCs.

Animals

Molecular cloning and genetic analysis of the suppressor-of-white-apricot locus from Drosophila melanogaster.

We report genetic and molecular analysis of the suppressor-of-white-apricot [su(wa)] locus, one of several retrotransposon insertion allele-specific suppressor loci in Drosophila melanogaster. First, we isolated and characterized eight new mutations allelic to the original su(wa)1 mutation. These studies demonstrated that su(wa) mutations allelic to su(wa)1 affected a conventional D. melanogaster complementation group. Second, we cloned the chromosomal region containing the su(wa) complementation group by P element transposon tagging. The ca. 14-kilobase region surrounding the su(wa) complementation group contained five distinct transcription units, each with a different developmentally programmed pattern of expression. Third, we used a modified procedure for P-mediated gene transfer to identify the transcription unit corresponding to su(wa) by gene transfer. Fourth, we found that the presumptive su(wa) transcription unit produced a family of transcripts (ranging from ca. 3.5 to ca. 5.2 kilobases) in all developmental stages, tissue fractions, and cell lines we examined, suggesting that the gene is universally expressed.

Animals

Lurcher Purkinje cells express glutamic acid decarboxylase and calbindin mRNAs.

Purkinje neurons in immature Lurcher (Lc/+) mice are destined to die as a result of a defect intrinsic to the dying cells. We have used in situ hybridization to determine whether the Lc allele interferes with the normal program of gene expression in the doomed Purkinje cells. In P21 mice, degeneration of Purkinje cells is well underway, but the surviving Purkinje cells continue to express the mRNAs for both glutamate decarboxylase and calbindin D28K, two proteins whose expression is characteristic of normal Purkinje neurons. We conclude that the Lc allele probably does not interfere with the developmental program but acts to cause cell death in already differentiated Purkinje neurons.

Alleles