TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL; Apo2) has been shown to promote intestinal cell differentiation. Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) participates in the regulation of a variety of cellular processes, including differentiation. Here, we examined the role of NFAT in the regulation of TRAIL in human intestinal cells. Treatment with a combination of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acet...

Vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-cadherin) is a calcium-dependent adhesive molecule, exclusively and constitutively expressed in endothelial cells. Analysis of the VE-cadherin promoter fused to a reporter gene in bovine aortic endothelial cells showed three major functional regions. The proximal region alone (-139, +24) promoted nonspecific transcription; the addition of the (-289, -140) and (...

Denervation by sciatic nerve resection causes decreased muscle glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression, but little is known about the signaling events that cause this decrease. Experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that decreased GLUT4 expression in denervated muscle occurs because of decreased calcium/CaMK activity, which would then lead to decreased activation of the transcription...

BACKGROUND Lead is classified as a probable human carcinogen. However, its role in renal cell cancer (RCC) has not been established. Calcium and vitamin D may off-set toxicity in vivo. METHODS In this nested case-control study, whole blood lead, total serum calcium, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured in blood drawn prior to diagnosis among male smokers participating in the Alp...

Ma, Hailun, Carlota M. Sumbilla, Iain K. G. Farrance, Michael G. Klein, and Giuseppe Inesi. Cell-specific expression of SERCA, the exogenous Ca transport ATPase, in cardiac myocytes. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 286: C556–C564, 2004. First published October 30, 2003; 10.1152/ajpcell.00328.2003.—We evaluated various constructs to obtain cell-specific expression of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum C...

BACKGROUND Central neurocytoma and oligodendroglioma are rare tumors of the central nervous system. However, diagnosis between these two types of tumors is challenging due to their many cytological and histological similarities. Death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) is a calcium/calmodulin-regulated serine/threonine protein kinase involved in many apoptosis pathways, and repressed expression o...

We evaluated various constructs to obtain cell-specific expression of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+ -ATPase (SERCA) gene in cardiac myocytes after cDNA transfer by means of transfections or infections with adenovirus vectors. Expression of exogenous enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and SERCA genes was studied in cultured chicken embryo and neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, skeleta...

High intake of red meat, but not of white meat, is associated with an increased risk of colon cancer. However, red meat does not promote cancer in rodents. Haemin, added to low-calcium diets, increases colonic proliferation, and haemoglobin, added to high-fat diets, increases the colon tumour incidence in rats, an effect possibly due to peroxyl radicals. We thus speculated that haem might be th...

Nur factors are critical for proopiomelanocortin (POMC) induction by CRH in corticotrophs, but the pathways linking CRH to Nur are unknown. In this study we show that in AtT-20 corticotrophs CRH and cAMP induce Nur77 and Nurr1 expression and transcription at the NurRE site by protein kinase A (PKA) and calcium-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Calcium pathways depend on calmodulin kinase I...

objective: the greatest challenge in cancer gene therapy is to achieve the high specificity and efficiency in targeting of cancer cells. because the goal of cancer gene therapy is to eradicate cancer cells, many therapeutic genes could be detrimental if unintentionally expressed in normal cells. using promoter of the genes which are expressed specifically in cancer cells or have much more expre...