Project description:Wnt signaling plays important roles in development and cancer. We found hiNOS is a wnt target gene. We tried to clarify the role of the so far iNOS in Wnt signaling in colorectal cancer. We performed SuperArray limited gene array analysis of SW480 cells with/without hiNOS overexpression. Oligo GEArray expression array systems (cat#OHS-043) SuperArray, Bethesda, MD) consisted of spotted cDNA fragments encoding 114 genes involved in and downstream of Wnt signaling. Control sequences (PUC18, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and ?-actin) were also included. These Superarrays were employed to compare wnt signaling genes expression between with iNOS and without iNOS. Total RNA was isolated by Trizol (Invitrogen) and processed for microarray hybridization following the manufacturer’s instructions. Arrays were visualized by autoradiography, and hybridization signals were scanned and analyzed for density in GEArray Expression Analysis Suite 2.0. The normalized value for each gene was calculated by dividing the value of each gene by the average value of the housekeeping genes GAPDH, and ?-actin. To obtain a gene profile, analysis was performed on three separate RNA samples isolated from different SW480 cells, with replicate assays conducted on each RNA preparation.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
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.
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.