Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) gene expression and chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system are characteristics of the development of heart failure. We studied the role of the beta-adrenergic signaling pathway in regulation of the human BNP (hBNP) promoter. An hBNP promoter (-1818 to +100) coupled to a luciferase reporter gene was transferred into neonatal cardiac myocytes, and luc...

Adiponectin is a fat-derived hormone with antidiabetic and antiatherogenic properties. Hypoadiponectinemia seen in obesity is associated with insulin-resistant diabetes and atherosclerosis. Thiazolidinediones, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) agonists, have been shown to increase plasma adiponectin levels by the transcriptional induction in adipose tissues. However,...

Gonadotropin secretion and gene expression are differentially regulated by hypothalamic GnRH pulses by unknown mechanisms. GnRH stimulates calcium influx through L-type voltage-gated channels and activates phospholipase C, leading to increased protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein kinase activity. We found differential contributions of these pathways to GnRH-stimulated rat LH sub...

Despite the established interindividual variability and ontogeny of the CYP3A enzymes, the most abundant phase I drug-metabolizing enzymes in human liver and intestine, the mechanisms that regulate basal expression remain poorly understood. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using nuclear proteins extracted from human prenatal and postnatal liver samples identified multiple, developmentally ...

The promoter of the galactose-inducible yeast GCY1 gene allows high rates of basal transcription and is kept free of nucleosomes regardless of growth conditions. The general regulatory factor, Reb1p, as well as the nucleotide sequence of a single Gal4p-binding site, structurally cooperate to exclude nucleosomes from about 480 bp of DNA that spans the UAS(GAL), the Reb1p-binding site, the TATA-b...

The E2 open reading frame (ORF) of the bovine papillomavirus (BPV-1) encodes a family of site-specific DNA-binding proteins. The full-length protein is a transcriptional activator, whereas the polypeptides that contain only the carboxy-terminal domain are repressors. Here we show that the trans-activator can work as a repressor of transcription for one of the BPV-1 promoters by binding to a DNA...

Cytochrome P450c17, encoded by the CYP17 gene, is a component of the 17alpha-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase enzyme complex essential for production of adrenal glucocorticoids and androgens as well as gonadal androgens. The expression of CYP17 in adrenocortical cells is stimulated by corticotropin (ACTH) via the signal transduction pathway involving cAMP and protein kinase A (PKA). Thus, in addition to...

TATA-binding protein-associated factors (TAFIIs) within TFIID control differential gene transcription through interactions with both activators and core promoter elements. In particular, TAFII150 contributes to initiator-dependent transcription through an unknown mechanism. Here, we address whether TAFIIs within TFIID are sufficient, in conjunction with highly purified general transcription fac...

BACKGROUND Ethanolamine kinase (EK) catalyzes the phosphorylation of ethanolamine, the first step in the CDP-ethanolamine pathway for the biosynthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Human EK exists as EK1, EK2α and EK2β isoforms, encoded by two separate genes, named ek1 and ek2. EK activity is stimulated by carcinogens and oncogenes, suggesting the involvement of EK in carcinogenesis. Curren...

Increased B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) gene expression is regarded as one of the hallmarks of cardiac myocyte hypertrophy. Here we demonstrate that both basal- and endothelin-1-dependent stimulation of human (h) BNP gene transcription requires the presence of an intact Yin Yang 1 (YY1) binding site positioned at -62 bp relative to the transcription start site. Mutation of this site reduced ...