Journal of Molecular Endocrinology
1479-6813
0952-5041
Anh Quốc
Cơ quản chủ quản: BioScientifica Ltd.
Lĩnh vực:
EndocrinologyMolecular Biology
Các bài báo tiêu biểu
Absolute quantification of mRNA using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the most sensitive method for the detection of low-abundance mRNA, often obtained from limited tissue samples. However, it is a complex technique, there are substantial problems associated with its true sensitivity, reproducibility and specificity and, as a quantitative method, it suffers from the problems inherent in PCR. The recent introduction of fluorescence-based kinetic RT-PCR procedures significantly simplifies the process of producing reproducible quantification of mRNAs and promises to overcome these limitations. Nevertheless, their successful application depends on a clear understanding of the practical problems, and careful experimental design, application and validation remain essential for accurate quantitative measurements of transcription. This review discusses the technical aspects involved, contrasts conventional and kinetic RT-PCR methods for quantitating gene expression and compares the different kinetic RT-PCR systems. It illustrates the usefulness of these assays by demonstrating the significantly different levels of transcription between individuals of the housekeeping gene family, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (GAPDH).
Tập 25 Số 2 - Trang 169-193 - 2000
Quantification of mRNA using real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR): trends and problems The fluorescence-based real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) is widely used for the quantification of steady-state mRNA levels and is a critical tool for basic research, molecular medicine and biotechnology. Assays are easy to perform, capable of high throughput, and can combine high sensitivity with reliable specificity. The technology is evolving rapidly with the introduction of new enzymes, chemistries and instrumentation. However, while real-time RT-PCR addresses many of the difficulties inherent in conventional RT-PCR, it has become increasingly clear that it engenders new problems that require urgent attention. Therefore, in addition to providing a snapshot of the state-of-the-art in real-time RT-PCR, this review has an additional aim: it will describe and discuss critically some of the problems associated with interpreting results that are numerical and lend themselves to statistical analysis, yet whose accuracy is significantly affected by reagent and operator variability.
Tập 29 Số 1 - Trang 23-39 - 2002
Suppression of P450 aromatase gene expression in sex-reversed males produced by rearing genetically female larvae at a high water temperature during a period of sex differentiation in the Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) The phenotypic sex of many teleost fishes including flounders can be experimentally altered by treating embryos or larvae with varied temperatures or sex-steroid hormones. To analyse the sex determination mechanism, especially the role of cytochrome P450 aromatase (P450arom), an enzyme that catalyses the conversion of androgens to estrogens, in temperature-dependent gonadal sex differentiation in the Japanese flounder, we generated two populations of larvae, both having XX (genetic females) but each growing up to display all phenotypic females or males, by rearing the larvae at normal (18 degrees C) or high (27 degrees C) water temperatures from days 30 to 100 after hatching respectively. The larvae (XX) were produced artificially by mating normal females (XX) with gynogenetic diploid males (XX) which had been sex-reversed to phenotypic males by 17alpha-methyltestosterone. To study the role of P450arom in sex determination in the flounder, we first isolated a P450arom cDNA containing the complete open reading frame from the ovary. RT-PCR showed that P450arom mRNA was highly expressed in the ovary and spleen but weakly in the testis and brain. Semi-quantitative analyses of P450arom mRNA in gonads during sex differentiation showed that there was no difference in the levels of P450arom mRNA between the female and male groups when the gonad was sexually indifferent (day 50 after hatching). However, after the initiation of sex differentiation (day 60), the mRNA levels increased rapidly in the female group, whereas they decreased slightly in the male group. Similarly, estradiol-17beta levels rose remarkably in the female group, yet remained constant in the male group. These results suggest that induction of sex reversal of genetically female larvae to phenotypic males by rearing them at a high water temperature caused a suppression of P450arom gene expression. Furthermore, we suggest that the maintenance of P450arom mRNA at very low levels is a prerequisite for testicular differentiation, while the increased levels are indispensable for ovarian differentiation.
Tập 23 Số 2 - Trang 167-176 - 1999
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma: from adipogenesis to carcinogenesis Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear hormone receptors, initially described as molecular targets for synthetic compounds inducing peroxisome proliferation. PPAR-gamma, the best characterized of the PPARs, plays a crucial role in adipogenesis and insulin sensitization. Furthermore, PPAR-gamma has been reported to affect cell proliferation/differentiation pathways in various malignancies. We discuss in the present review recent advances in the understanding of the function of PPAR-gamma in both cell proliferation and adipocyte differentiation.
Tập 27 Số 1 - Trang 1-9 - 2001
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha: role in rodent liver cancer and species differences Peroxisome proliferators (PPs) are chemicals of industrial and pharmaceutical importance that elicit liver carcinogenesis by a non-genotoxic mechanism. One of the intriguing properties of PPs is that the pleiotropic effects of these compounds (including increased DNA synthesis and peroxisome proliferation) are seen in rats and mice only, but not humans. It is important to determine the risks to humans of environmental and therapeutic exposure to these compounds by understanding the mechanisms of non-genotoxic hepatocarcinogenesis in rodents. To understand this apparent lack of human susceptibility, attention has focused on the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha), which appears to mediate the effects of PPs in rodents. It is also known to mediate the hypolipidaemic effects that fibrate drugs exert on humans with elevated plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Human PPARalphas share many functional characteristics with the rodent receptors, in that they can be transcriptionally activated by PPs and regulate specific gene expression. However, one key difference is that PPARalpha is less abundant in human than in rodent liver, which has led to the suggestion that species differences result from quantitative differences in gene expression. In this review we describe the effects of PPs and what is known of the molecular mechanisms of action and species differences with respect to rodents and man. Attention will be given to differences in the amounts of PPARalpha between species as well as the 'qualitative' aspects of PPARalpha-mediated gene regulation which might also explain the activation of some genes and not of others in human liver by PPs.
Tập 22 Số 1 - Trang 1-8 - 1999
Inhibition of proliferation of prostate cancer cells by a 19-nor-hexafluoride vitamin D3 analogue involves the induction of p21waf1, p27kip1 and E-cadherin ABSTRACT
We have synthesized and studied the ability of a series of seven novel 1α,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 analogues to inhibit clonal growth of prostate cancer cells (LNCaP, PC-3 and DU-145). Addition of double and triple bonds to the C/D ring (C-16) and side chain (C-22 and C-23) as well as lengthening of the side chain were important for enhanced activity against LNCaP and PC-3. Reorientation of the side chain in the 20-epi configuration resulted in analogues that were extremely potent only against LNCaP (ED50 ≈ 5 × 10−11 m ). Compounds with six fluorines on the end of the side chain were very active against both PC-3 and LNCaP (ED50 ≈ 2 × 10−8 m ). DU-145 cells were relatively resistant to compounds with all of these modifications, but removal of C-19 (e.g. 1,25(OH)2 -16-ene-23-yne-26,27-F6 -19-nor-D3 ) resulted in an analogue that was inhibitory against all three prostate cell lines. Further analysis showed that pulse exposure (3 days, 10−7 m ) to this analogue was enough to inhibit clonal growth of PC-3 cells by 50%. The same exposure also induced cell cycle arrest of all three cell lines, accompanied by upregulated protein expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI) known as p21waf1 kip1 3 analogues with the ability to inhibit proliferation of LNCaP, PC-3 and DU-145 prostate cancer cell lines. These compounds may mediate their potent anti-proliferative activities through a cell cycle arrest pathway.
Tập 19 Số 1 - Trang 15-27 - 1997
Subtilase-like pro-protein convertases: from molecular specificity to therapeutic applications Limited proteolysis of most large protein precursors is carried out in vivo by the subtilisin-like pro-protein convertases. Many important biological processes such as peptide hormone synthesis, viral protein processing and receptor maturation involve proteolytic processing by these enzymes, making them potential targets for the development of novel therapeutic agents. However, the efficient development of such molecules requires a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of proteolytic protein processing. Herein, we review the most recent findings on the molecular aspects of subtilisin-like convertase activity, such as the structural analysis of the proteases, the mechanisms of enzyme/substrate specificity, their interaction with other proteins such as 7B2, and the comparative tissue and cellular distribution of the enzymes and their substrates. These data are then used as a background for the review of the known biological functions of subtilisin-like pro-protein convertases, the reported clinical cases involving proteolytic processing defects and, finally, the ongoing development of new therapeutic inhibitor molecules based on this knowledge.
Tập 24 Số 1 - Trang 1-22 - 2000
PI3K/PTEN/Akt and TSC/mTOR signaling pathways, ovarian dysfunction, and infertility: an update Abnormalities in ovarian function, including defective oogenesis and folliculogenesis, represent a key female reproductive deficiency. Accumulating evidence in the literature has shown that the PI3K/PTEN/Akt and TSC/mTOR signaling pathways are critical regulators of ovarian function including quiescence, activation, and survival of primordial follicles, granulosa cell proliferation and differentiation, and meiotic maturation of oocytes. Dysregulation of these signaling pathways may contribute to infertility caused by impaired follicular development, intrafollicular oocyte development, and ovulation. This article reviews the current state of knowledge of the functional role of the PI3K/PTEN/Akt and TSC/mTOR pathways during mammalian oogenesis and folliculogenesis and their association with female infertility.
Tập 53 Số 3 - Trang R103-R118 - 2014
Cloning and sequence analysis of the cDNA encoding P-450 aromatase (P450arom) from a rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) ovary; relationship between the amount of P450arom mRNA and the production of oestradiol-17β in the ovary ABSTRACT
The enzyme aromatase P-450 (P450arom) catalyses the conversion of androgen to oestrogen. A cDNA insert encoding P450arom was isolated from a rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss ) ovary cDNA library. The insert was sequenced and found to contain an open-reading frame predicted to encode a protein of 522 amino acid residues. The deduced polypeptide is 52% homologous with human, mouse and rat P450arom and 53% homologous with that of chicken. The insert was confirmed to encode P450arom by introducing it into COS-1 monkey kidney tumour cells (COS-1 cells) and detecting the conversion of testosterone to oestradiol-17β by radioimmunoassay. The N-terminal region of the deduced polypeptide was 19 amino acids longer than that of the other four species, and was found by hydropathy plotting to be very hydrophobic.
Northern blot analysis revealed 2.6kb RNA transcripts which were present in the trout ovary during vitellogenesis and hybridized to the cDNA insert. In preparations from subsequent stages of ovarian development, no RNA transcripts hybridized to the probe. Since the RNA transcripts are present only during the stage of oestradiol-β production by the ovarian follicles, oestradiol-17β production may be regulated, in part, by the amount of P450arom mRNA present.
Tập 8 Số 1 - Trang 53-61 - 1992
Developmental and tissue-regulated expression of IGF-I and IGF-II mRNAs in Sparus aurata ABSTRACT
Recent studies have shown that homologues of the mammalian IGF-I and -II genes are also found in teleosts. We report here the cDNAs coding for IGF-I and IGF-II cloned from the gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata . Sequence comparisons revealed that both IGFs have been well conserved among teleosts, although Sparus IGF-I is shorter by three amino acid residues due to truncated B-and C-domains. Using the cloned cDNAs as probes, the relative expression of IGF-I and IGF-II mRNAs were assayed in different Sparus tissues. Sparus liver clearly contained the highest level of IGF-I mRNA while relatively high levels of IGF-II mRNA were found in liver, heart and gill using the ribonuclease protection assay. After GH administration the amount of IGF-I mRNA was increased by 220% in liver but no changes in IGF-II mRNA levels were detected in any tissue. We also assayed the expression of IGF-I and IGF-II in Sparus during early development. The IGF-II mRNA level was highest in larva 1 day after hatching and decreased thereafter. In contrast, IGF-I mRNA was detected in 1-day-old larva but there was an increase in expression in 12- and 16-day-old larva. These results demonstrated that the expression of IGF-I and IGF-II is highly regulated in teleosts and suggest that they play distinct roles during growth and development.
Tập 16 Số 2 - Trang 123-132 - 1996