Project description:Inadequate extracellular conditions can adversely affect the environment of the ER and impinge on the maturation of nascent proteins. The resultant accumulation of unfolded proteins activates a signal transduction pathway, known as the unfolded protein response, which serves primarily to protect the cell during stress and helps restore homeostasis to the ER. Microarray analysis of the unfolded protein response in a human medulloblastoma cell line treated with thapsigargin revealed that, in addition to known targets, a large number of proangiogenic factors were up-regulated. Real-time PCR analyses confirmed that four of these factors, VEGF, FGF2, angiogenin and IL-8, were transcriptionally up-regulated in multiple cell lines by various ER stress inducers. Our studies on VEGF regulation revealed that XBP-1(S), a UPR-inducible transcription factor, bound to two regions on the VEGF promoter, and analysis of XBP-1 null mouse embryonic fibroblasts revealed that it contributes to VEGF expression in response to ER stress. ATF4, another UPR-inducible transcription factor, also binds to the VEGF gene, although its contribution to VEGF transcription appeared to be fairly modest. We also found that VEGF mRNA stability is increased in response to UPR activation, via activation of the AMP and p38MAP kinases, demonstrating that increased mRNA levels occur at two regulatory points. In keeping with the mRNA levels, we found that VEGF protein is secreted at levels as high as or higher than that achieved in response to hypoxia. Our results indicate that the UPR plays a significant role in inducing positive regulators of angiogenesis. It also regulates VEGF expression at multiple levels and is likely to have widespread implications for promoting angiogenesis in response to normal physiological cues as well as in pathological conditions like cancer. We used microarrays to perform genome wide expression analysis in Daoy medulloblastoma cells to identify gene profiles that change in response to thapsigargin treatment which causes induction of the unfolded protein response.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of human mesenchymal stem cells comparing normoxic MSCs cells with hypoxic MSCs cells. Hypoxia may inhibit senescence of MSCs during expansion. Goal was to determine the effects of hypoxia on global MSCs gene expression.
Project description:Inadequate extracellular conditions can adversely affect the environment of the ER and impinge on the maturation of nascent proteins. The resultant accumulation of unfolded proteins activates a signal transduction pathway, known as the unfolded protein response, which serves primarily to protect the cell during stress and helps restore homeostasis to the ER. Microarray analysis of the unfolded protein response in a human medulloblastoma cell line treated with thapsigargin revealed that, in addition to known targets, a large number of proangiogenic factors were up-regulated. Real-time PCR analyses confirmed that four of these factors, VEGF, FGF2, angiogenin and IL-8, were transcriptionally up-regulated in multiple cell lines by various ER stress inducers. Our studies on VEGF regulation revealed that XBP-1(S), a UPR-inducible transcription factor, bound to two regions on the VEGF promoter, and analysis of XBP-1 null mouse embryonic fibroblasts revealed that it contributes to VEGF expression in response to ER stress. ATF4, another UPR-inducible transcription factor, also binds to the VEGF gene, although its contribution to VEGF transcription appeared to be fairly modest. We also found that VEGF mRNA stability is increased in response to UPR activation, via activation of the AMP and p38MAP kinases, demonstrating that increased mRNA levels occur at two regulatory points. In keeping with the mRNA levels, we found that VEGF protein is secreted at levels as high as or higher than that achieved in response to hypoxia. Our results indicate that the UPR plays a significant role in inducing positive regulators of angiogenesis. It also regulates VEGF expression at multiple levels and is likely to have widespread implications for promoting angiogenesis in response to normal physiological cues as well as in pathological conditions like cancer.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.