Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2001. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first objective was to determine if Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a useful system for investigating the expression of T-DNA (it takes several months to obtain sufficient bacteria-free transformed plant tissue to investigate T-DNA transcription). A short fragment of T-DNA carrying T-DNA gene 7 was cloned into a yeast plasmid in an attempt to investigate the expression of gene 7 in yeast. The second objective was to determine the significance of a heat shock related sequence identified in the 5¹ region of T-DNA gene 7. Primer extension analysis, SI nuclease mapping, and Northern hybridizations indicate that transcription of T-DNA gene 7 in yeast is different from that of transcription of gene 7 in crown gall tumors. Transcription is different because the distance between the TATA box and the transcription initiation sites must be at least 40 nucleotides in yeast. Therefore, Saccharomyces cerevisiae does not appear to be a useful system for investigating the expression of T-DNA. Crown gall tumors were subjected to a number of stress agents, including heat shock, to determine the significance of the heat shock related sequence identified in gene 7. Primer extension analyses indicate that only cadmium and mercury have a significant effect on the expression of T-DNA gene 7. Although gene 7 responds to cadmium and mercury, the increase in transcription does not appear to be heat shock or metallothionein related, indicating that another mechanism is involved in the enhanced transcription of T-DNA gene 7 in crown gall tumors. / Medicine, Faculty of / Medical Genetics, Department of / Graduate

Miao Ji. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-165). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

A human liver cDNA library was screened by colony hybridization with two mixtures of synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides as probes. These oligonucleotides encoded regions of β-factor Xlla as predicted from the amino acid sequence. Four positive clones were isolated that contained DNA coding for most of factor XII mRNA. A second human liver cDNA library was screened by colony hybridization with ³²P-labeled cDNA clones obtained from the first screen and two identical clones were isolated. DNA sequence analysis of these overlapping clones showed that they contained DNA coding for the signal peptide sequence, the complete amino acid sequence of plasma factor XII, a TGA stop codon, a 3' untranslated region of 150 nucleotides, and a poly A⁺ tail. The cDNA sequence predicts that plasma factor XII consists of 596 amino acid residues. Within the predicted amino acid sequence of factor XII, were identified three peptide bonds that are cleaved by kallikrein during the formation of β-factor Xlla. Comparison of the structure of factor XII with other proteins revealed extensive sequence identity with regions of tissue-type plasminogen activator (the epidermal growth factor-like region and the kringle region) and fibronectin (type I and type II homologies). As the type II region of fibronectin contains a collagen-binding site, the homologous region in factor XII may be responsible for the binding of factor XII to collagen. The carboxyl-terminal region of factor XII shares considerable amino acid sequence homology with other serine proteases including trypsin and many clotting factors. A human genomic phage library was screened by using a human factor XII cDNA as ahybridization probe. Two overlapping phage clones were isolated which contain the entire human factor XII gene. DNA sequence and restriction enzyme analysis of the clones indicate that the gene is approximately 12 kbp in size and is comprised of 13 introns and 14 exons. Exons 3 through 14 are contained in a genomic region of only 4.2 kbp with introns ranging in size from 80 to 554 bp. The multiple regions found in the coding sequence of FXII that are homologous to putative domains in fibronectin and tissue-type plasminogen activator are contained on separate exons in the factor XII gene. The intron/exon gene organization is similar to the serine protease gene family of plasminogen activators and not to the clotting factor family. Analysis of the 5' flanking region of the gene shows that it does not contain the typical TATA and CAAT sequences found in other genes. This is consistent with the finding that transcription of the gene is initiated at multiple start sites. / Medicine, Faculty of / Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of / Graduate

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Indiana University School of Medicine / The islet β cell is central to the maintenance of glucose homeostasis as the β cell is solely responsible for the synthesis of Insulin. Therefore, better understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing β cell function is crucial to designing therapies for diabetes. Pdx1, the master transcription factor of the β cell, is required for the synthesis of proteins that maintain optimal β cell function such as Insulin and glucose transporter type 2. Previous studies showed that Pdx1 interacts with the lysine methyltransferase Set7/9, relaxing chromatin and increasing transcription. Because Set7/9 also methylates non-histone proteins, I hypothesized that Set7/9-mediated methylation of Pdx1 increases its transcriptional activity. I showed that recombinant and cellular Pdx1 protein is methylated at two lysine residues, Lys123 and Lys131. Lys131 is involved in Set7/9 mediated augmented transactivation of Pdx1 target genes. Furthermore, β cell-specific Set7/9 knockout mice displayed glucose intolerance and impaired insulin secretion, accompanied by a reduction in the expression of Pdx1 target genes. Our results indicate a previously unappreciated role for Set7/9 in the maintenance of Pdx1 activity and β cell function. β cell function is regulated on both the transcriptional and translational levels. β cell function is central to the development of type 1 diabetes, a disease wherein the β cell is destroyed by immune cells. Although the immune system is considered the primary instigator of the disease, recent studies suggest that defective β cells may initiate the autoimmune response. I tested the hypothesis that improving β cell function would reduce immune infiltration of the islet in the NOD mouse, a mouse model of spontaneous type 1 diabetes. Prediabetic NOD mice treated with pioglitazone, a drug that improves β cell function, displayed an improvement in β cell function, a reduction in β cell death, accompanied by reductions in β cell autoimmunity, indicating that β cell dysfunction assists in the development of type 1 diabetes. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in β cell function is essential for the development of therapies for diabetes.