RARs (retinoic acid receptors) mediate the effect of their ligand RA (retinoic acid) on gene expression. We previously showed that RA inhibited cellular proliferation in part by decreasing expression of the mitogen activated protein kinase ERK1 (extracellular signal regulated kinase 1). However, the mechanism by which RA regulates ERK1 expression is largely uncharacterized. The present study ch...

Research into the pathologic mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases has revealed that CREB binding protein (CBP) plays an important role in cognitive dysfunction. Loss of one copy of this gene leads to a syndrome with severe cognitive dysfunction. We investigated the association between four common variants in the CBP gene and cognitive function in 5804 participants of the PROspective Study o...

A carotenoid binding protein (CBP) has been isolated from the silk glands of Bombyx mori larvae. The protein has an apparent molecular mass of 33 kDa and binds carotenoids in a 1:1 molar ratio. Lutein accounts for 90% of the bound carotenoids, whereas alpha-carotene and beta-carotene are minor components. Immunological analysis demonstrated the presence of CBP only in the yellow-colored tissues...

Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS, MIM 180849) occurs in 1/125 000 births and is characterised by growth retardation and psychomotor developmental delay, broad and duplicated distal phalanges of the thumbs and halluces, typical facial dysmorphism, and an increased risk of neoplasia. RTS has been shown to be associated with chromosomal rearrangements in cytogenetic band 16p13.3, all involving the C...

During cell specification, temporal and spatially restricted gene expression programs are set up, forming different cell types and ultimately a multicellu-lar organism. In this thesis, we have studied the molecular mechanisms by which sequence specific transcription factors and coactivators regulate RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription to establish specific gene expression programs and what...

The CBP gene at 16p13 fuses to MOZ and MLL as a result of the t(8;16)(p11;p13) in acute (myelo)monocytic leukemias (AML M4/M5) and the t(11;16)(q23;p13) in treatment-related AML, respectively. We show here that a novel t(10;16)(q22;p13) in a childhood AML M5a leads to a MORF-CBP chimera. RT-PCR using MORF forward and CBP reverse primers amplified a MORF-CBP fusion in which nucleotide 3103 of MO...

In an effort to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of expression of the gene encoding hepatocyte growth factor-like protein (HGFL), it was found that all-trans-retinoic acid dramatically represses expression of the endogenous HGFL gene in HepG2 cells, a human hepatocyte-derived cell line. This repression requires the sequence between nucleotides -135 and -105 in the ...

The cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathway is central in beta-cell gene expression and function. In the nucleus, protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylates CREB, resulting in recruitment of the transcriptional coactivators p300 and CREB binding protein (CBP). CBP, but not p300, is phosphorylated at serine 436 in response to insulin action. CBP phosphorylation disrupts CREB-CBP interaction and thus redu...

Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS, MIM 180849) occurs in 1/125 000 births and is characterised by growth retardation and psychomotor developmental delay, broad and duplicated distal phalanges of the thumbs and halluces, typical facial dysmorphism, and an increased risk of neoplasia. RTS has been shown to be associated with chromosomal rearrangements in cytogenetic band 16p13.3, all involving the C...

According to recent estimates, a human cell has between 30,000 and 40,000 coding genes, but only a fraction of these are expressed in any cell lineage. Gene expression profiles of a given cell type undergo dramatic changes throughout development, differentiation, and the cell cycle, presenting the gene regulatory apparatus of a cell with a phenomenal degree of complexity. Cells deal efficiently...