The Wilms tumor suppressor gene wt1 encodes a zinc finger DNA binding protein, WT1, that functions as a transcriptional repressor. The fetal mitogen insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) is overexpressed in Wilms tumors and may have autocrine effects in tumor progression. The major fetal IGF-II promoter was defined in transient transfection assays as a region spanning from nucleotides -295 to +135, relative to the transcription start site. WT1 bound to multiple sites in this region and functioned as a potent repressor of IGF-II transcription in vivo. Maximal repression was dependent on the presence of WT1 binding sites on each side of the transcriptional initiation site. These findings provide a molecular basis for overexpression of IGF-II in Wilms tumors and suggest that WT1 negatively regulates blastemal cell proliferation by limiting the production of a fetal growth factor in the developing vertebrate kidney.

ABSTRACT. To determine the effects of dietary and biliary lipid absorption on intestinal apo B-48 and apo A-I synthesis in the newborn piglet, 2-d-old female piglets were prepared with a duodenal infusion catheter. After recovery, animals were given either low triglyceride (Vivonex; VIV group) or high triglyceride (Intralipid; FAT group) diets by continuous intraduodenal infusion for 24 h. A bilediverted group was also studied. Segments of proximal jejunum and distal ileum were then pulse-radiolabeled in vivo with 'H-leucine. Mucosal apo B-48 and apo A-I were immunoprecipitated, and apoprotein synthesis was expressed as percentage of total protein synthesis. Mucosal apoprotein content (ng apoprotein/pg total protein) was measured by competitive ELISA assays. In jejunum and ileum, apo B-48 synthesis was not different in the three groups. However, apo B content increased 2.4-fold in jejunum and 1.7-fold in ileum in the FAT group compared with the VIV group. Immunoblotting revealed the majority of jejunal apo B to be apo B-48, not apo B-100 from contaminating plasma lipoproteins, in all three experimental groups. Bile-diverted animals had decreased jejunal apo B content compared with the VIV group. Jejunal apo A-I synthesis and content were approximately 2-fold higher in FAT animals compared with the VIV group. Although ileal apo A-I synthesis was also 2-fold higher in the FAT group, apo A-I content was not different from the VIV group. Neither jejunal nor ileal apo A-I synthesis was significantly affected by bile diversion, even though jejunal apo A-I content was decreased by over two thirds compared with the VIV animals. In the newborn piglet, intestinal synthesis of apo B-48 and apo A-I is differentially regulated by luminal lipid absorption. Although fat feeding and bile diversion regulate mucosal apo B-48 content, synthesis is unchanged, indicating a posttranslational regulatory mechanism. In contrast, apo A-I synthesis generally parallels mucosal apo A-I content except in distal ileum. Changes in jejunal apo B content and apo A-I content and synthesis parallel changes in mucosal triglyceride content. However, changes in ileal apo B content and apo A-I synthesis were not accompanied by changes in ileal triglyceride content, suggesting other regulatory factors in the distal small intestine. (Pediatr Res 29: 32-38, 1991) Abbreviations VIV, receiving Vivonex FAT, receiving Intralipid BID, bile-diverted Apolipoproteins are the protein surface components of lipoprotein particles and serve essential functions in the secretion, metabolism, and receptor-mediated uptake of these particles. Apo B is a component of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and exists as two distinct forms in the human, rat, and swine (1-3). Apo B-100 is the larger species and is a component of plasma VLDL and LDL and contains the LDL receptor binding domain (4). Apo B-48 is the smaller form and is found in intestinal chylomicrons and does not contain the LDL receptor binding sequence (5). In the postnatal human and swine, apo B-100 is of hepatic...

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The envelope proteins of hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the likely targets of neutralizing antibodies and their molecular and functional characterization is relevant for vaccine development. We previously showed that surface-expressed E2 is a better immunogen than intracellular E2 and, therefore, we were interested in exploring more efficient ways to present E2 protein on the cell surface. We found that E2 targeted to the cell surface by replacement of its transmembrane domain did not bring E1 to the surface although E1 could be expressed independently on the cell surface if its transmembrane domain was similarly replaced. FACS analysis suggested that E2 expressed on the cell surface acquired its native conformation more efficiently when truncated at aa 661 than when truncated at aa 715. The shorter form of truncated E2 better retained the ability to bind the second extracellular loop (EC2) of CD81, the putative HCV receptor. Interestingly, deletion of the hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) did not perceptibly alter E2 structure; cell-surface forms of E2 lacking the HVR1 remained reactive with conformation-sensitive MAbs and were able to bind recombinant EC2 of CD81.