The fragile X syndrome is an X-linked inherited disease and is the result of transcriptional inactivation of the FMR1 gene and the absence of its encoded FMR protein (FMRP). Using a specific monoclonal antibody directed against human FMRP, we have studied the steady-state levels of its murine homolog in several tissues and organs of adult and young mice. In immunoblot analyses, the antibody recognizes a heterogeneous subset of proteins with apparent molecular weights ranging from 80 to 70 kDa. These proteins are detected in all the 27 tissues tested; however, the relative proportion of each polypeptide recognized varies between tissues, and a significantly higher expression is observed in young animals. Northern blot analysis of RNA extracted from selected tissues from adult mouse shows that these tissues express the major 4.8 kb mRNA, although at different levels, and contain several additional shorter transcripts, particularly in muscular tissues. We also report that expression of the FMR1 gene is modulated in proliferating and quiescent primary mouse kidney cell cultures with an inverse relationship between levels of FMR1 mRNA and of its encoded proteins. This suggests that FMRPs are highly stable in quiescent cells and that FMR1 expression is likely post-transcriptionally controlled. Our results document the widespread expression of the FMR1 gene, and suggest that it is controlled by different mechanisms implicated in cell growth and differentiation.
Gastric ezrin, a membrane-cytoskeletal linker with sequence homology to talin and erythrocyte band 4.1, has been associated with the remodeling of parietal cell apical membrane that occurs with adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase stimulation. Here we examine the interrelationship between parietal cell ezrin and Ca(2+)-dependent protease activity. Addition of Ca2+ to sonicated gastric gland preparations rendered a relatively selective proteolysis of the 80-kDa ezrin, accompanied by the appearance of a 55-kDa breakdown product. Ca(2+)-dependent proteolysis of ezrin was blocked by E64, a cysteine protease inhibitor, or calpastatin, indicating calpain as the responsible protease. Degradation of ezrin in intact gastric glands was achieved by varying extracellular [Ca2+] and [ionomycin]. Ezrin degradation in situ was rapid and relatively selective, although Ca(2+)-dependent degradation of some spectrin-like bands was also observed. The effect of activated calpain I on parietal cell function was assessed by probing the secretory response to histamine stimulation using [14C]aminopyrine uptake, along with parallel measurements of calpain activity, over a wide range of ionomycin. Activation of calpain, as evidenced by loss of parietal cell ezrin, was correlated with decreased AP uptake by stimulated gastric glands, supporting a role for ezrin in the oxyntic secretory process. The calpain-ezrin interaction established here, and the similarities of calpain with talin and erythrocyte band 4.1, suggest a common feature to this family of ezrin/band 4.1/talin proteins that have been implicated in membrane-cytoskeletal association.
Our results show that AE -941 has anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Antiangiogenesis agents such as AE -941 provide an entirely new class of agents to treat cutaneous and systemic diseases associated with altered vascularity.
It is generally believed that histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion involves a transient elevation of intracellular Ca2+ and the adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKA) cascade through phosphorylation, whose actions ultimately effect the fusion of H(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase)-containing vesicles to the apical plasma membrane of parietal cells. To dissect the signaling events underlying gastric acid secretion, we have developed a permeabilized gastric gland model using Staphylococcus alpha-toxin. The advantage of this model is its ability to retain cytosolic components that are required for the secretory machinery. Here we show that acid secretion in alpha-toxin-permeabilized glands is a cAMP-dependent process, reaching a maximal stimulation at 100 microM cAMP. The cAMP-elicited acid secretion, as monitored by the accumulation of the weak base aminopyrine (AP), required functional mitochondria or exogenously supplied ATP. Maximal stimulation elicited by cAMP for AP uptake by permeabilized glands was 51-85% of intact glands. Moreover, secretory activity was potentiated by 0.1 mM ATP. The recruitment of H(+)-K(+)-ATPase-rich tubulovesicles into the apical plasma membrane was measured using biochemical and morphological assays, thus validating the cell activation processes in response to cAMP. From this permeabilized model, [gamma-32P]ATP was used to directly phosphorylate target proteins. A number of proteins whose phosphorylation-dephosphorylation is specifically modulated by cAMP were found. These studies establish the first permeabilized gland model in which the resting-to-secreting transition can be triggered and show that cAMP-mediated phosphorylation is correlated with secretory activity.
Rabbit gastric glands were treated with alpha-toxin to test for permeabilization of basolateral membrane and retention of functional activity of parietal cells. Treatment with up to 400 U alpha-toxin/mL resulted in a dose-dependent increase in permeabilization, as judged by nuclear uptake of trypan blue (960 daltons), while causing relatively little loss of cytoplasmic macromolecules in the size range of lactate dehydrogenase (134,000 daltons). In the presence of cAMP and ATP, alpha-toxin-permeabilized resting gastric glands were stimulated to accumulate aminopyrine by approximately 10-fold over glands incubated without added nucleotides. Aminopyrine accumulation in stimulated permeabilized glands was inhibited by specific H+,K(+)-ATPase inhibitors, omeprazole and SCH-28080, and by the selective inhibitor of protein kinase A, H-89 (IC50 = 7.17 +/- 2.05 microM; n = 4). Aminopyrine accumulation in the alpha-toxin-treated glands was dependent on both exogenous ATP and cAMP; however, when no exogenous ATP was present, cAMP-activated aminopyrine accumulation reached approximately 50% of maximum, and at levels of ATP > 0.05 mM, maximal aminopyrine accumulation occurred without exogenous cAMP. In the presence of ATP alone, aminopyrine accumulation in permeabilized glands achieved 61.1 +/- 3.2% (n = 10; range, 50-70%) of the values measured on paired samples of intact glands stimulated with histamine plus isobutylmethylxanthine. These results demonstrate the functional responsiveness of alpha-toxin-permeabilized resting gastric glands. The participation of a protein kinase A dependent pathway during activation of permeabilized parietal cell is proposed.
The phosphorylation of the carboxy-terminal domain of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II plays an important role in the regulation of transcriptional activity and is also implicated in pre-mRNA processing. Different stresses, such as a heat shock, induce a marked alteration in the phosphorylation of this domain. The expression of stress genes by RNA polymerase II, to the detriment of other genes, could be attributable to such modifications of the phosphorylation sites. Using two phosphodependent antibodies recognizing distinct hyperphosphorylated forms of RNA polymerase II largest subunit, we studied the phosphorylation state of the subunit in different species after heat shocks of varying intensities. One of these antibodies, CC-3, preferentially recognizes the carboxy-terminal domain of the largest subunit under normal conditions, but its reactivity is diminished during stress. In contrast, the other antibody used, MPM-2, demonstrated a strong reactivity after a heat shock in most species studied. Therefore, CC-3 and MPM-2 antibodies discriminate between phosphoisomers that may be functionally different. Our results further indicate that the pattern of phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II in most species varies in response to environmental stress.
In a search for molecules with restricted patterns of expression during development, monoclonal antibodies were raised against different transitory structures of the chick embryo. Mice were immunized with cell suspensions from lightly homogenized embryonic tissues explanted from morphogenetically active regions. A convenient immunohistochemical assay was used to screen the hybridoma supernatants on a large scale. It relied on the use of poly(ethylene glycol) as embedding medium. Its water miscibility allowed, in a one-step incubation with antibody-containing supernatants, the dewaxing and rehydration of the tissue sections as well as antibody binding. We report here the usefulness of this approach in selecting monoclonals with unique patterns of immunoreactivity. In this study, cephalic neural crest cells in early or late phase of migration, together with their surrounding tissues, were used as immunogens. The monoclonal antibodies obtained have been classified into regional, cell-lineage, cell-cycle or extracellular material-associated markers. The information provided by the direct visualization of the immunoreactivity of the various monoclonal antibodies on tissue sections, as early as the first round of screening, allows rapid determination of the subsequent strategy to be followed for further characterization of the individual markers.
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