The c-erb-A gene encodes a thyroid hormone receptor

The cDNA sequence of human c-erb-A, the cellular counterpart of the viral oncogene v-erb-A, indicates that the protein encoded by the gene is related to the steroid hormone receptors. Binding studies with the protein show it to be a receptor for thyroid hormones.     

A functional correlate for the dihydropyridine binding site in rat brain

Calcium channels, controlling the influx of extracellular Ca2+ and hence neurotransmitter release, exist in the brain. However, drugs classed as calcium antagonists and which inhibit Ca2+ entry through voltage-activated Ca2+ channels in heart and smooth muscle, seem not to affect any aspect of neuronal function in the brain at pharmacologically relevant concentrations. Yet the dihydropyridine calcium antagonists (for example, nitrendipine) bind stereospecifically with high affinity to a recognition site on brain-cell membranes thought to represent the Ca2+ channel and consequently, the physiological relevance of these sites has been questioned. However, activation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels can increase cytoplasmic Ca2+ and neurotransmitter release in neuronal tissue. We show here that Bay K8644, a dihydropyridine Ca2+-channel activator, can augment K+-stimulated release of serotonin from rat frontal cortex slices and that these effects can be antagonized by low concentrations of calcium antagonists. As 3H-dihydropyridine binding to cortical membrane preparations resembles the binding in heart and smooth muscle where there are good functional correlates we conclude that the dihydropyridine binding sites in the brain represent functional Ca2+ channels that can be unmasked under certain circumstances.     

A novel steroid thyroid hormone receptor-related gene inappropriately expressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma

We have previously isolated from a human hepatocellular carcinoma a hepatitis B virus integration in a 147-base-pair cellular DNA fragment, similar to steroid- and c-erb-A/thyroid-hormone receptor genes. We have now cloned the corresponding complementary DNA from a human-liver cDNA library. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the overall structure of the cellular gene, which we have named hap, is similar to that of the DNA-binding hormone receptors. That is, it displays two highly conserved regions identified as the putative DNA-binding and hormone-binding domains of the c-erb A/steroid receptors. Six out of seven hepatoma and hepatoma-derived cell-lines express a 2.5-kilobase (kb) hap messenger RNA species which is undetectable in normal adult and fetal livers but present in all non-hepatic tissues analysed. The data suggest that the hap gene product may be a novel ligand-responsive regulatory protein whose inappropriate expression in liver may relate to the hepatocellular carcinogenesis.     

猪生长激素cDNA基因的改建

为了将猪生称激素cDNA基因在表达后能一步纯化获得表达产物,对于来自质粒的猪生长激素cDNS基因通过PCR技术进步了改建,进一步的序列分析表明,与GenBank登录的序列不同,改建后的基因不带有突变。     

Rapid growth and sterility of growth hormone gene transgenic triploid carp

Triploid carp (100%) with 150 (3n=150) chromosomes were obtained by crossing the females of improved tetraploid hybrids (♀, 4n=200) of red crucian carp (♀)×common carp (♂) with the males of diploid yellow river carp (♂, 2n=100). The crosses yielded transgenic triploid carp (positive triploid fish, 44.2% of the progeny) and non-transgenic triploid carp (negative triploid fish). Histological examination of the gonads of 24-month-old positive triploid fish suggested they were sterile and the fish were not able to produce mature gametes during the breeding season. Morphologically, both the positive and negative triploid fish were similar. They had a spindle-shaped, laterally compressed, steel grey body with two pairs of barbells. Most of the quantifiable traits of the triploid carp were intermediate between those of the two parents. The positive and negative triploid fish were raised in the same pond for 2 years. The mean body weight of the positive triploid fish was 2.3 times higher than the negative triploid fish. The weight of the largest positive triploid fish was 2.91 times higher than that of the largest negative triploid fish. Thus, we produced fast-growing transgenic triploid carp that have a reduced ecological risk because of their inability to mate and produce progeny.     

High-affinity binding site for a specific nuclear protein in the human IgM gene

Proteins binding to specific regions of DNA with high affinity frequently govern or regulate reactions at the gene level. We have identified a high-affinity binding site in the immunoglobulin mu gene that binds a specific nuclear protein, and have now characterized it fully using nuclear factor 1 (NF-1), a protein purified from the nuclei of HeLa cells and required for the in vitro replication of adenovirus (Ad) DNA. NF-1 protects a 25-base pair (bp) double-stranded segment of DNA which shares a consensus sequence, 5' TGGA/CNNNNNGCCAA 3', with similar binding sites in the Ad-5 terminal repeat and the human c-myc gene. Although this site differs from the enhancer region, a biological function is suggested by the fact that it is DNase I hypersensitive in immunoglobulin-producing lymphoblastoid cells. The binding site for the NF-1 protein in the mu gene, by analogy with the site in the Ad-5 terminal repeat, may represent one component of a cellular origin of replication; alternatively, it may be responsible for the activation of the chromatin in this region.     

不同品种猪生长激素基因的PCR-RFLP分析

采用PCR-RFLPs技术,对临高猪、玉山黑猪、蓝塘猪及国外猪种的生长激素基因-119～＋486区域共605 bp片段的扩增产物用Apa I限制性内切酶检测酶切位点的多态性.结果显示：Apa I酶切时,四个品种的猪都出现了3种基因型（AA、BB和AB）,等位基因B的频率以蓝塘猪最高,等位基因A的频率以玉山黑猪最高,四个猪种间基因型频率、等位基因频率的差异不显著（P＆gt;0.05）.     

Adenohypophyseal degradation of thyrotropin releasing hormone regulated by thyroid hormones

Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone (TRH; pyroGlu-His-Pro-NH2) is important in the regulation of adenohypophyseal hormone secretion and also serves neurotropic functions in extra-hypothalamic brain areas, indicating that it is involved in neurotransmission and other forms of cellular communication. This hypothesis is strengthened by the observation that TRH is hydrolysed at the pyroGlu-His bond by a particulate enzyme located in the synaptosomal and adenohypophyseal plasma membrane. Furthermore, this enzyme has been identified as a heterogeneously distributed ectoenzyme which has a high degree of substrate specificity like the TRH-degrading serum enzyme studied previously. In the rat, the activity of the TRH-degrading serum enzyme has been shown to be influenced by the thyroid status of the animals; here I report that the activity of the membrane-bound TRH-degrading enzyme of the anterior pituitary is stringently controlled by thyroid hormones, but that the activity of the brain enzyme is not.