Evidence that a starfish egg Src family tyrosine kinase associates with PLC-gamma1 SH2 domains at fertilization.
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The initiation of calcium release at fertilization in the eggs of most animals relies on the production of IP3, implicating the activation of phospholipase C. Recent work has demonstrated that injection of PLC-gamma SH2 domain fusion proteins into starfish eggs specifically inhibits the initiation of calcium release in response to sperm, indicating that PLC-gamma is necessary for Ca2+ release at fertilization [Carroll et al. (1997) J. Cell Biol. 138, 1303-1311]. Here we investigate how PLC-gamma may be activated, by using the PLC-gamma SH2 domain fusion protein as an affinity matrix to identify interacting proteins. A tyrosine kinase activity and an egg protein of ca. Mr 58 K that is recognized by an antibody directed against Src family tyrosine kinases associate with PLC-gamma SH2 domains in a fertilization-dependent manner. These associations are detected by 15 s postfertilization, consistent with a function in releasing Ca2+. Calcium ionophore treatment of eggs did not cause association of the kinase activity or of the Src family protein with the PLC-gamma SH2 domains. These data identify an egg Src family tyrosine kinase as a potential upstream regulator of PLC-gamma in the activation of starfish eggs. (+info)
Stimulation of Na,K-ATPase by hypothyroidism in the thyroid gland.
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Although studies have documented the regulatory effects of thyroid hormones on the Na,K-ATPase in peripheral tissues, there is little information on the regulation of this transporter in the thyroid gland itself. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of thyroid status on Na,K-ATPase specific activity and the abundance of its constituent subunits in rat thyroid. Exogenous tri-iodothyronine (T3) was administered daily to produce hyperthyroidism. 6n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU), an inhibitor of thyroid hormone synthesis, was used to induce hypothyroidism. There was a four-fold increase in Na,K-ATPase specific activity in the follicular membranes from PTU-treated animals after 7 days. Enzymatic activities were not changed in the T3-treated glands. Immunoblotting of membranes from T3-treated rats revealed a 75% reduction in alpha1 subunit abundance and a slight, but nonsignificant reduction in beta1 abundance. On the other hand, the membranes from PTU-treated rats displayed 136 and 567% increases in the abundance of the alpha1 and beta1 subunits respectively. These data demonstrate that thyroid hormone status regulates Na,K-ATPase in the gland, but the effects are in direct contrast to those seen in the periphery. (+info)
Modification of left ventricular hypertrophy by chronic etomixir treatment.
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1. Etomoxir (2[6(4-chlorophenoxy)hexyl]oxirane-2-carboxylate), an irreversible carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1 inhibitor, reduces the expression of the myocardial foetal gene programme and the functional deterioration during heart adaption to a pressure-overload. Etomoxir may, however, also improve the depressed myocardial function of hypertrophied ventricles after a prolonged pressure overload. 2. To test this hypothesis, we administered racemic etomoxir (15 mg kg(-1) day(-1) for 6 weeks) to rats with ascending aortic constriction beginning 6 weeks after imposing the pressure overload. 3. The right ventricular/body weight ratio increased (P<0.05) by 20% in etomoxir treated rats (n = 10) versus untreated rats with ascending aortic constriction (n = 10). Left ventricular weight was increased (P<0.05) by 8%. Etomoxir blunted the increase in left ventricular chamber volume. Etomoxir raised the proportion of V1 isomyosin (35+/-4% versus 24+/-2%; P<0.05) and decreased the percentage of V3 isomyosin (36+/-4% versus 48+/-3%; P<0.05). 4. Maximum isovolumically developed pressure was higher in etomoxir treated rats than in untreated pressure overloaded rats (371+/-22 versus 315+/-23 mmHg; P<0.05). Maximum rates of ventricular pressure development (14,800+/-1310 versus 12,340+/-1030mmHg s(-1); P<0.05) and decline (6440+/-750 versus 5040+/-710 mmHg s(-1); P<0.05) were increased as well. Transformation of pressure values to ventricular wall stress data revealed an improved myocardial function which could partially account for the enhanced function of the whole left ventricle. 5. The co-ordinated action of etomoxir on ventricular mass, geometry and myocardial phenotype enhanced thus the pressure generating capacity of hypertrophied pressure-overloaded left ventricles and delayed the deleterious dilative remodelling. (+info)
Induction of an acetaminophen-sensitive cyclooxygenase with reduced sensitivity to nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs.
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The transformed monocyte/macrophage cell line J774.2 undergoes apoptosis when treated for 48 h with competitive inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (COX) isoenzymes 1 and 2. Many of these nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but in particular diclofenac, induce during this time period a COX activity that coincides with a robust induction of COX-2 protein. Induction of this activity requires high, apoptosis-inducing concentrations of diclofenac (>100 microM). Prolonged treatment of J774.2 cells with lower doses of diclofenac inhibits COX activity, indicating that diclofenac is a time-dependent, pseudoirreversible inhibitor of COX-2. It is difficult to wash out the inhibition. However, the activity evoked by high concentrations of diclofenac has a profoundly distinct COX active site that allows diclofenac, its inducer, to be washed readily from its active site. The diclofenac-induced activity also has the unusual property of being more sensitive to inhibition by acetaminophen (IC50 = 0.1-1.0 mM) than COX-2 induced with bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Moreover, relative to COX-1 or COX-2, diclofenac-induced enzyme activity shows significantly reduced sensitivity to inhibition by diclofenac or other competitively acting nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the enzyme activity is insensitive to aspirin. If the robust induction of COX-2 observed is responsible for diclofenac-induced COX enzyme activity, it is clear that COX-2 can, therefore, exist in two catalytically active states. A luciferase reporter-construct that contains part of the COX-2 structure and binds into the membrane showed that chronic diclofenac treatment of fibroblasts results in marked mobilization of the fusion protein. Such a mobilization could result in enzymatically distinct COX-2 populations in response to chronic diclofenac treatment. (+info)
Genetic regulation of tissue-specific expression of amylase structural genes in Drosophila melanogaster.
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Laboratory strains of Drosophila melanogaster were screened for spatial variations in adult midgut alpha-amylase (1,4-alpha-D-glucan glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.1) expression. No strain-specific differences were found anteriorly, but three patterns of activity were discerned in the posterior midgut: A, activity throughout most of the region; B, activity in the anterior part of the region; and C, little or no activity. Alleles of a control gene, map, are responsible for this tissue-specific regulation of activity; e.g., mapA homozygotes produce the A pattern and mapC homozygotes the C pattern. The map locus was placed at 2--80 +/- on the genetic map of chromosome 2R, about two crossover units distal to the Amy structural gene region for alpha-amylase. Electrophoretic studies showed that mapA is trans acting in mapA/mapC flies, allowing expression of amylase isozymes coded for by genes on the opposite chromosome. The map gene behaves as a temporal gene that is clearly separable from the tightly linked, duplicated Amy structural genes. (+info)
Major DQ8-restricted T-cell epitopes for human GAD65 mapped using human CD4, DQA1*0301, DQB1*0302 transgenic IA(null) NOD mice.
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The 65KD isoform of GAD is considered to be a major target autoantigen in many humans with autoimmune prediabetes or diabetes. The major histocompatibility complex class II allele DQA1*0301, DQB1*0302, which encodes HLA-DQ8, confers susceptibility to type 1 diabetes and occurs in up to 80% of affected individuals. To map T-cell epitopes for GAD65 restricted to the diabetes-associated DQ8 heterodimer, we generated transgenic NOD mice expressing HLA-DQ8 and human CD4 while having the mouse class II gene (IA(beta)) deleted. These mice were immunized with full-length purified recombinant GAD65, and the fine specificity of T-cell responses was mapped by examining recall responses of bulk splenocytes to an overlapping set of 20-mer peptides encompassing the entire GAD65 protein. Four different peptides (P121-140, P201-220, P231-250, and P471-490) gave significant T-cell recall responses. P201-220 and P231-250 have been shown previously to bind DQ8, whereas the other two peptides had been classified as nonbinders. Interestingly, the peptide giving the greatest response (P201-220) encompasses residues 206-220 of GAD65, a region that has been shown to be a dominant T-cell epitope in wild-type IA(g7) NOD mice. Overlap in this T-cell epitope likely reflects structural similarities between DQ8 and IA(g7). The fine specificity of antibody responses in the GAD65-immunized mice was also examined by testing the antisera by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against the same overlapping set of peptides. The two dominant B-cell epitopes were P361-380 and P381-400; P121-140 and P471-490 appeared to correspond to both B- and T-cell epitopes. Although the NOD human CD4, DQ8, IA(null) transgenic mice generated in these studies do not develop autoimmune diabetes either spontaneously or after cyclophosphamide treatment, they can be used to map DQ8-restricted T-cell epitopes for a variety of human islet autoantigens. They can also be used to test T-cell-specific reagents, such as fluorescently labeled DQ8 tetramers containing GAD65 peptides or other beta-cell peptides, which we believe will be useful in analyzing human immune responses in diabetic and prediabetic patients. (+info)
Selective activation and functional significance of p38alpha mitogen-activated protein kinase in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated neutrophils.
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Activation of leukocytes by proinflammatory stimuli selectively initiates intracellular signal transduction via sequential phosphorylation of kinases. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation of human neutrophils is known to result in activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPk); however, the upstream activator(s) of p38 MAPk is unknown, and consequences of p38 MAPk activation remain largely undefined. We investigated the MAPk kinase (MKK) that activates p38 MAPk in response to LPS, the p38 MAPk isoforms that are activated as part of this pathway, and the functional responses affected by p38 MAPk activation. Although MKK3, MKK4, and MKK6 all activated p38 MAPk in experimental models, only MKK3 was found to activate recombinant p38 MAPk in LPS-treated neutrophils. Of p38 MAPk isoforms studied, only p38alpha and p38delta were detected in neutrophils. LPS stimulation selectively activated p38alpha. Specific inhibitors of p38alpha MAPk blocked LPS-induced adhesion, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) activation, and synthesis of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Inhibition of p38alpha MAPk resulted in a transient decrease in TNF-alpha mRNA accumulation but persistent loss of TNF-alpha synthesis. These findings support a pathway by which LPS stimulation of neutrophils results in activation of MKK3, which in turn activates p38alpha MAPk, ultimately regulating adhesion, NF-kappaB activation, enhanced gene expression of TNF-alpha, and regulation of TNF-alpha synthesis. (+info)
Multiple roles for PI 3-kinase in the regulation of PLCgamma activity and Ca2+ mobilization in antigen-stimulated mast cells.
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Cross-linking the IgE-bound FcepsilonRI with polyvalent antigen leads to Ca2+-dependent degranulation from mast cells and basophils, initiating the allergic response. This overview addresses novel roles for PI 3-kinase in the regulation of signaling events that lie downstream of FcepsilonRI-mediated tyrosine kinase activation. The first novel role for PI 3-kinase is in the regulation of PLCgamma activity and is demonstrated by a dramatic inhibition of FcepsilonRI-induced Ins(1,4,5)P3 production after treatment of RBL-2H3 cells with wortmannin, a PI 3-kinase inhibitor. We show that PI 3-kinase lipid products support Ins(1,4,5)P3 production in at least two ways: by promoting translocation and phosphorylation of PLCgamma1 and by direct stimulation of both PLCgamma isoforms. In vitro stimulation of PLCgamma activity by PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 synergizes with activation by in vivo tyrosine phosphorylation for maximal enzymatic activity. A second novel role for PI 3-kinase is in the regulation of antigen-stimulated Ca2+ influx. Compared with control cells, Ca2+ responses are markedly diminished in antigen-stimulated cells after wortmannin pretreatment. Differences include both a longer lag time to the initial elevation in Ca2+ after antigen and an inhibition of the sustained Ca2+ influx phase. However, thapsigargin challenge during the sustained phase demonstrates no difference in the state of the Ca2+ stores in antigen-stimulated cells in the presence or absence of wortmannin. These data suggest that sufficient Ins(1,4,5)P3 is synthesized in wortmannin-treated cells to mobilize intracellular calcium stores and, furthermore, that the affected phase of Ca2+ influx is unlikely to be attributed to capacitative mechanisms. These data are consistent with a model where at least two pathways mediate Ca2+ influx in antigen-stimulated RBL-2H3 cells, one that is dependent on signals from empty stores (capacitative influx) and another that is downstream of PI 3-kinase. (+info)