Developmental Expression of an Amphioxus (Branchiostoma belcheri) Gene Encoding a GATA Transcription Factor

GATA基因在脊椎动物和非脊椎动物的发育中行使重要的功能,该家族的成员在进化上也足非常保守的.脊椎动物的GATA基因分为两个亚群:GATA1/2/3和GATA4/5/6.通过生物信息分析,在文吕鱼的基因缓中找到了3个GATA基因:一个GATA1/2/3业家族基因,两个GATA4/5/6亚家族基因:还找到一个类GATA基因.还克隆了白氏文昌鱼(Branchiostoma belcheri)GATA123的一段序列,并研究了它在早期胚胎发育中的表达图式.结果表明GATA123在原肠胚的中内胚层表达,而在神经胚晚期和幼体早期,GATA123在脑泡和消化道中部区域表达.这种表达模式与头部发育的重要基因Otx相类似.结果提示在文吕鱼脑泡的发育过程中GATA123和Otx很可能共同发挥着重要的作用.

Molecular cloning and characterization of crucian carp (Carassius auratus L.) interferon regulatory factor 7

Interferon (IFN) can induce an antiviral state via interferon-regulatory transcription factors (IRFs), which bind to and control genes directed by the interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE). Here we describe a fish IRF, termed CaIRF7, cloned from a subtractive cDNA library which is constructed with mRNAs obtained from crucian carp (Carassius auratus L.) blastulae embryonic (CAB) cells infected by UV-inactivated GCHV and mock-infected cells. CaIRF7 cDNA was found to be 1816 bp in length, with a 42 bp 5' UTR and a 508 bp 3' UTR. The open reading frame translates into 421 amino acids in which a DNA-binding domain (DBD) containing the repeated tryptophan motif and IRFs association domain have been identified. Like chicken GgIRF3, CaIRF7 was most similar to mammalian IRF7 with 27 to 30% identity overall and some 37% identity in their DBDs. A single transcript of 1.9 kb was detected in virally induced CAB cells by virtual Northern blotting. RT-PCR analysis revealed a wide tissue distribution of CaIRF7 constitutive expression, with detectable transcript in non-infected CAB cells and various tissues of healthy crucian carp. In addition, CaIRF7 expression was differentially increased by stimulation of the CAB cells with active GCHV, UV-inactivated GCHV or CAB IFN, indicating that the activation of CaIRF7 was directly regulated by IFN. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Comparative expression analysis of transcription factor genes in the endostyle of invertebrate chordates

The endostyle of invertebrate chordates is a pharyngeal organ that is thought to be homologous with the follicular thyroid of vertebrates. Although thyroid-like features such as iodine-concentrating and peroxidase activities are located in the dorsolateral part of both ascidian and amphioxus endostyles, the structural organization and numbers of functional units are different. To estimate phylogenetic relationships of each functional zone with special reference to the evolution of the thyroid, we have investigated, in ascidian and amphioxus, the expression patterns of thyroid-related transcription factors such as TTF-2/MoxE4 and Pax2/5/8, as well as the forkhead transcription factors FoxQ1 and FoxA. Comparative gene expression analyses depicted an overall similarity between ascidians and amphioxus endostyles, while differences in expression patterns of these genes might be specifically related to the addition or elimination of a pair of glandular zones. Expressions of Ci-FoxE and BbFoxE4 suggest that the ancestral FoxE class might have been recruited for the formation of thyroid-like region in a possible common ancestor of chordates. Furthermore, coexpression of FoxE4, Pax2/5/8, and TPO in the dorsolateral part of both ascidian and amphioxus endostyles suggests that genetic basis of the thyroid function was already in place before the vertebrate lineage. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Elongation Factor ELL (Eleven-Nineteen Lysine-rich Leukemia) Acts as a Transcription Factor for Direct Thrombospondin-1 Regulation

The eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia (ELL) gene undergoes translocation and fuses in-frame to the multiple lineage leukemia gene in a substantial proportion of patients suffering from acute forms of leukemia. Studies show that ELL indirectly modulates transcription by serving as a regulator for transcriptional elongation as well as for p53, U19/Eaf2, and steroid receptor activities. Our in vitro and in vivo data demonstrate that ELL could also serve as a transcriptional factor to directly induce transcription of the thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) gene. Experiments using ELL deletion mutants established that full-length ELL is required for the TSP-1 up-regulation and that the trans-activation domain likely resides in the carboxyl terminus. Moreover, the DNA binding domain may localize to the first 45 amino acids of ELL. Not surprisingly, multiple lineage leukemia-ELL, which lacks these amino acids, did not induce expression from the TSP-1 promoter. In addition, the ELL core-response element appears to localize in the -1426 to -1418 region of the TSP-1 promoter. Finally, studies using zebrafish confirmed that ELL regulates TSP-1 mRNA expression in vivo, and ELL could inhibit zebrafish vasculogenesis, at least in part, through up-regulating TSP-1. Given the importance of TSP-1 as an anti-angiogenic protein, our findings may have important ramifications for better understanding cancer.

Biophysical studies on the full-length human cyclin A(2): Protein stability and folding/unfolding thermodynamics

Human cyclin A(2) participates in cell cycle regulation, DNA replication, and transcription. Its overexpression has been implicated in the development and progression of a variety of human cancers. However, cyclin A(2) or its truncated form is very unstable in the absence of binding partner, which makes it difficult to get a deep insight of structural basis of the interactions. Therefore, biophysical studies of the full-length human cyclin A, would provide important information regarding protein stability and folding/unfolding process.

Characterization of an ETS transcription factor in the sea scallop Chlamys farreri

We have cloned and characterized a cDNA encoding a putative ETS transcription factor, designated Cf-ets. The Cf-ets encodes a 406 amino acid protein containing a conserved ETS domain and a Pointed domain. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Cf-ets belongs to the ESE group of ETS transcription factor family. Real-time PCR analysis of Cf-ets expression in adult sea scallop tissues revealed that Cf-ets was expressed mainly in gill and hemocytes, in a constitutive manner. Cf-ets mRNA level in hemocytes increased drastically after microbial challenge indicated its indispensable role in the anti-infection process. Simultaneously, the circulating hemocyte number decreased. In mammals, most ETS transcription factors play indispensable roles in blood cell differentiation and linage commitment during hematopoisis. Cf-ets is therefore likely to be a potential biomarker for hematopoiesis studies in scallops. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laser action from 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-2,6-diethyl-8-n-propyl pyrromethene-BF2

We measured spectroscopic and laser action properties of a novel 8-position substituted pyrromethene-BF2, namely 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-2,6-diethyl-8-n-propyl pyrromethene-BF2 complex. The laser action was performed with the corresponding dye solution in ethanol, which was placed in a Littman-type laser cavity pumped by the second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The spectroscopic measurements clearly indicated that the corresponding dye solution in ethanol exhibited intense absorption in the visible spectral region with large fluorescence quantum yield. It possesses rather low triplet-triplet absorption in the spectral region 460-550 nm and almost negligible triplet-triplet absorption in the lasing spectral region. As a consequence, it lases nearly as efficiently as commercially available benchmark laser dyes such as Rhodamine-6G and outperformed them in wavelength tunability in our laser cavity and pump geometry. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.

Green light-emitting polyfluorenes with improved color purity incorporated with 4,7-diphenyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole moieties

By incorporating 4,7-diphenyl- 2,1,3 benzothiadiazole instead of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole into the backbone of polyfluorene, we developed a novel series of green light- emitting polymers with much improved color purity. Compared with the state-of-the-art green light-emitting polymer, poly(fluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (lambda max = 537 nm), the resulting polymers (lambda(max) = 521 nm) showed 10-20 nm blueshifted electroluminescence (EL) spectra and greatly improved color purity because the insertion of two phenylene units between the 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole unit and the fluorene unit reduced the effective conjugation length in the vicinity of the 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole unit. As a result, the resulting polymers emitted pure green light with CIE coordinates of (0.29, 0.63), which are very close to (0.26, 0.65) of standard green emission demanded by the National Television System Committee (NTSC). Moreover, the insertion of the phenylene unit did not affect the photoluminescence (PL) and EL efficiencies of the resulting polymers. PL quantum efficiency in solid films up to 0.82 was demonstrated. Single-layer devices (ITO/PEDOT/ polymer/Ca/Al) of these polymers exhibited a turn-on voltage of 4.2 V, luminous efficiency of 5.96 cd A(-1) and power efficiency of 2.21 lm W-1. High EL efficiencies and good color purities made these polymers very promising for display applications.

Gene structure and transcription of IRF-1 and IRF-7 in the mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi

The genes of IRF-1 and IRF-7 have been cloned from the mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi). The IRF-1 gene has 4919 nucleotides (nt) and contains 10exons and 9introns, with an open reading frame (ORF) of 903 ntencoding301 aa. The IRF-7 gene has 6057 nt and also contains 10exons and 9introns, with an ORF of 1308 nt encoding 436 aa. The IRF-1 and IRF-7 genes have only one copy each in the genome. The transcription of IRF-1 and IRF-7 in different organs was analyzed by real-time PCR, and both molecules were constitutively expressed. The IRF-I and IRF-7 mRNAs were abundant in gill, spleen, kidney and pronephros. The temporal transcriptional changes for IRF-1, IRF-7 and Mx were investigated within 48 h after poly I: C stimulation in liver, gill, spleen and pronephros. An increased transcription was detected for IRF-1 and IRF-7 12 h post-stimulation, being earlier than the transcription of Mx protein; however, IRF-1 and IRF-7 transcription decreased while the Mx protein was stable at 48 h post-stimulation. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.