Alternative initiations of translation of the human fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) mRNA, at three CUG start codons and one AUG start codon, result in the synthesis of four isoforms of FGF-2. This process has important consequences on the fate of FGF-2: the CUG-initiated products are nuclear and their constitutive expression is able to induce cell immortalization, whereas the AUG-initiated product, mostly cytoplasmic, can generate cell transformation. Thus, the different isoforms probably have distinct targets in the cell. We show here that translation initiation of the FGF-2 mRNA breaks the rule of the cap-dependent ribosome scanning mechanism. First, translation of the FGF-2 mRNA was shown to be cap independent in vitro. This cap-independent translation required a sequence located between nucleotides (nt) 192 and 256 from the 5' end of the 318-nt-long 5' untranslated region. Second, expression of bicistronic vectors in COS-7 cells indicated that the FGF-2 mRNA is translated through a process of internal ribosome entry mediated by the mRNA leader sequence. By introducing additional AUG codons into the RNA leader sequence, we localized an internal ribosome entry site to between nt 154 and 318 of the 5' untranslated region, just upstream of the first CUG. The presence of an internal ribosome entry site in the FGF-2 mRNA suggests that the process of internal translation initiation, by controlling the expression of a growth factor, could have a crucial role in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation.

This study demonstrates that ERalpha but not ERbeta mediates the beneficial effect of E(2) on reendothelialization and potentially the prevention of atherosclerosis.

Nodular adrenal hyperplasia and Cushing's syndrome may be food-dependent as a result of abnormal responsiveness of adrenal cells to physiologic secretion of GIP. "Illicit" (ectopic) expression of GIP receptors on adrenal cells presumably underlies this disorder.

Alternative splicing of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA results in three distinct molecular forms of 121 or 165 (V165) amino acids that are released in the conditioned medium of cultured cells and one longer isoform of 189 amino acids (V189) that remains cell-associated. V189 has been expressed in wild type CHO-K1 cells and in glycosaminoglycan-deficient pgsA-745 Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) mutant cells. It could be released from CHO-K1 cell membranes by heparin or a synthetic peptide designed on the sequence encoded by exon 6 but was freely released from CHO mutant cells. In both cases, the immunoreactive V189 was mainly released as a 40-kDa cleaved form, provided that the serine protease urokinase, but not plasmin, was active. Recombinant V189 was purified from insect cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus as a nonmitogenic 50-kDa precursor that binds to the receptor Flt-1 but not to Flk-1. It could be matured by urokinase as a 38-kDa fragment able to bind to Flk-1 and to trigger cell proliferation. V165 and V189, however, could be cleaved by plasmin as 34-kDa fragments that exhibit a decreased mitogenic activity. These findings indicate that the carboxyl-terminal domain of V189 masks its binding domain to Flk-1.

It is widely accepted that females have superior immune responses than males, but the ways by which sex hormones may enhance T cell responses are still poorly understood. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of estrogens on CD4 T cell activation and differentiation after immunization with exogenous antigens. We show that administration of low doses of 17ß-estradiol (E2) to castrated female mice results in a striking increase of antigen-specific CD4 T cell responses and in the selective development of IFN-+ -producing cells. Quantitative assessment of the frequency of T cells bearing a public TCR ß chain CDR3 motif demonstrated that the clonal size of primary antigen-specific CD4 T cells was dramatically increased in immune lymph nodes from E2-treated mice. By using mice with disrupted estrogen receptor (ER) § or ß genes, we show that ER § , but not ER g , was necessary for the enhanced E2-driven Th1 cell responsiveness. Furthermore, ER § expression in hematopoietic cells was essential, since E2 effects on Th1 responses were only observed in mice reconstituted with bone marrow cells from ER § +/+ , but not ER § -deficient mice. These results demonstrate that estrogen administration promotes strong antigen-specific Th1 cell responses in a mechanism that requires functional expression of ER § in hematopoietic cells.

Two isoforms of estrogen receptor (ER) have been described: ER␣ and ER␤. The initial gene targeting of ER␣, consisting in the introduction of a Neo cassette in exon 1 [␣ERKO, hereafter called ER␣-Neo KO (knockout)], was reported in 1993. More recently, another mouse deficient in ER␣ because of the deletion of exon 2 (ER␣KO, hereafter called ER␣-⌬2 KO) was generated. In ovariectomized ER␣-wild-type mice, estradiol (E2) increases uterine weight and basal production of endothelial nitric oxide (NO). Both of these effects are abolished in ER␣-⌬2 KO mice. In contrast, we show here that both of these effects of E 2 are partially (uterine weight) or totally (endothelial NO production) preserved in ER␣-Neo KO. We also confirm the presence of two ER␣ mRNA splice variants in uterus and aorta from ER␣-Neo KO mice. One of them encodes a chimeric ER␣ protein (ER␣55), partially deleted in the A͞B domain, that was detected in both uterus and aorta by Western blot analysis. The other ER␣ mRNA splice variant codes for an isoform deleted for the A͞B domain (ER␣46), which was detected in uterus of ER␣-Neo KO, and wild-type mice. This protein isoform was not detected in aorta. The identification of these two N-terminal modified isoforms in uterus, and at least one of them in aorta, probably explains the persistence of the E 2 effects in ER␣-Neo KO mice. Furthermore, ER␣-Neo KO mice may help in the elucidation of the specific functions of full-length ER␣ (ER␣66) and ER␣46, both shown to be physiologically generated in vivo.

No abstract

17β-estradiol (E2) has been shown to promote the expression of inflammatory mediators by LPS-activated tissue resident macrophages through estrogen receptor α (ERα) signaling. However, it remained to be determined whether E2 similarly influences macrophages effector functions under inflammatory conditions in vivo, and whether this action of E2 resulted from a direct effect on macrophages. We show in this study that chronic E2 administration to ovariectomized mice significantly increased both cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) and inducible NO synthase mRNA abundance in thioglycolate (TGC)-elicited macrophages. The proinflammatory action of E2 was also evidenced at the level of released IL-1β and IL-6 by ex vivo LPS-activated macrophages. E2 concomitantly inhibited PI3K activity as well as Akt phosphorylation in TGC-elicited macrophages, suggesting that E2 promoted TLR-dependent macrophage activation by alleviating this suppressive signaling pathway. Indeed, this effect was abolished in the presence of the inhibitor wortmannin, demonstrating a key functional link between inhibition of PI3K activity and the E2 action on macrophage functions. Endogenous estrogens levels circulating in ovary-intact mice were sufficient to promote the above described actions. Finally, thanks to a CreLox strategy, targeted disruption of ERα gene in macrophages totally abolished the effect of E2 on the expression of inflammatory mediators by both resident and TGC-elicited peritoneal macrophages. In conclusion, we demonstrate that estrogens, through the activation of ERα in macrophages in vivo, enhance their ability to produce inflammatory mediators and cytokines upon subsequent TLR activation.