To investigate determinants of specific transcriptional regulation, we measured factor occupancy and function at a response element, col3A, associated with the collagenase-3 gene in human U2OS osteosarcoma cells; col3A confers activation by phorbol esters, and repression by glucocorticoid and thyroid hormones. The subunit composition and activity of AP-1, which binds col3A, paralleled the intra...

Glucocorticoids (GCs) exert via glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Emerging evidence indicates that an inflammatory process is involved in dopaminergic nigro-striatal neuronal loss in Parkinson's disease. We here report that the GR deficiency of transgenic (Tg) mice expressing GR antisense RNA from early embryonic life has a dramatic impact in...

Coregulators cooperate with nuclear receptors, such as the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), to enhance or repress transcription. These regulatory proteins are implicated in cancer, yet, their role in lymphoid malignancies, including multiple myeloma (MM) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), is largely unknown. Here, we report the use and extension of the microarray assay for real-time nuclear r...

Some aspects of Aomoto’s generalized hypergeometric functions on Grassmannian spaces Gr(k+1, n+1) are reviewed. Particularly, their integral representations in terms of twisted homology and cohomology are clarified with an example of the Gr(2, 4) case which corresponds to Gauss’ hypergeometric functions. The cases of Gr(2, n + 1) in general lead to (n + 1)-point solutions of the Knizhnik-Zamolo...

Similar to the regulation of vasodilation, the balance between NO and superoxide (O2-) regulates expansion of activated T cells in mice. Reduction of suppressive NO levels by O2- is essential for T cell expansion and development of autoimmunity. In mice primed with heat-killed Mycobacterium, a splenocyte population positive for Gr-1 (Ly-6G/C) is the exclusive source of both immunoregulatory fre...

Recent studies have demonstrated that acquisition of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with drug resistance in pancreatic cancer cells; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs play a crucial role in controlling EMT. The aims of this study were to explore the potential role of miR-223 in governing EMT in gemcit...

________________________ *1) Corresponding author; Associate Professor of Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Gr. T. Popa” Iasi, 16 University Street, Iasi, e-mail: [email protected] 2) Associate Professor of Legal Medicine, Department of Legal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Gr. T. Popa”, Iasi 3) Professor of Legal Medicine, Department of Le...

The action of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) on beta-casein gene transcription serves as a well-studied example of a case where the action of the GR is dependent on the activity of another transcription factor, STAT5. We have investigated the domain-requirement of the GR for this synergistic response in transfection experiments employing GR mutants and CV-1 or COS-7 cells. The results were in...

The mechanism by which glutathione reductase (GR) activity is regulated in relation to fiavin metabolism was studied in red cells of normal adults, cord blood, and patients with severe metabolic disorders using spectrophotometnc, fluorometnc, and radiochemical methods. The increased activity of GR in red cells of adult patients with severe hepatic cirrhosis, chronic uremia, and glucose-6-phosph...

These studies investigated autoregulation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein expression and activation in rat brain using western blot methodology. By comparing GR immunoblot reactivity present in various tissue subcellular preparations we were able to discriminate between corticosterone-induced changes in GR activation or GR protein expression. Our cytosolic tissue preparation yielded a s...