Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Immunodetection of Outer Membrane Proteins by Flow Cytometry of Isolated Mitochondria
11:53

Immunodetection of Outer Membrane Proteins by Flow Cytometry of Isolated Mitochondria

Published on: September 18, 2014

MafG-2 is a novel Maf protein that is expressed by stimulation of extracellular H(+)

N Shimokawa1, I Kumaki, K Takayama

  • 1Physiology 1st Division, Gunma University School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, 371-8511, Maebashi, Japan.

Cellular Signalling
|October 5, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Researchers discovered MafG-2, a new MafG protein variant, in rat brains. Its expression increases with higher proton levels, suggesting a role in extracellular proton signaling.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • MafG is a transcription factor involved in various cellular processes.
  • Novel splice variants of transcription factors can exhibit distinct functions.
  • Extracellular proton concentration changes are implicated in cellular signaling pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize novel splice variants of MafG.
  • To investigate the cellular localization and potential function of the identified variant.
  • To determine if extracellular proton levels influence the expression of the novel MafG variant.

Main Methods:

  • Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for cloning.
  • Sequence analysis of cDNA.
  • Transient transfection assays with GFP-MafG-2 chimera.
  • Analysis of mafG-2 mRNA expression in PC12 cells under varying extracellular pH conditions.

Main Results:

  • A novel splice variant, MafG-2, was cloned from rat brain.
  • MafG-2 possesses a basic domain and a basic leucine zipper (bZip) motif.
  • MafG-2 localizes to the nucleus in transfected COS-7 cells.
  • MafG-2 mRNA expression significantly increased as extracellular pH decreased from 7.40 to 7.20.
  • A strong correlation was observed between extracellular pH and mafG-2 mRNA expression.

Conclusions:

  • MafG-2 is a novel nuclear-localized splice variant of MafG.
  • Increased extracellular protons (decreased pH) induce mafG-2 mRNA expression.
  • MafG-2 may play a role in the signal transduction pathway of extracellular protons (H+).

More Related Videos

Methods to Study Mrp4-containing Macromolecular Complexes in the Regulation of Fibroblast Migration10:43

Methods to Study Mrp4-containing Macromolecular Complexes in the Regulation of Fibroblast Migration

Published on: May 19, 2016

Screening Peptides that Activate MRGPRX2 using Engineered HEK Cells12:38

Screening Peptides that Activate MRGPRX2 using Engineered HEK Cells

Published on: November 6, 2021

Related Concept Videos

Master Transcription Regulators02:23

Master Transcription Regulators

Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a  complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs01:15

Receptor Downregulation in MVBs

Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are mature endosomes that sort ubiquitinated proteins and then fuse with lysosomes to degrade the sorted proteins. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGFR) form a complex that can be internalized through endocytosis, sorted into an MVB, and later degraded.
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that  lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR  stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive  EGFR activation may...
MAPK Signaling Cascades01:07

MAPK Signaling Cascades

Mitogen-activated protein kinase, or MAPK pathway, activates three sequential kinases to regulate cellular responses such as proliferation, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis. The canonical MAPK pathway starts with a mitogen or growth factor binding to an RTK. The activated RTKs stimulate Ras, which recruits Raf or MAP3 Kinase (MAPKKK), the first kinase of the MAPK signaling cascade. Raf further phosphorylates and activates MEK or MAP2 Kinases (MAPKK), which in turn phosphorylates MAP...
Calmodulin-dependent Signaling01:16

Calmodulin-dependent Signaling

Calmodulin (CaM) is a calcium-binding protein in eukaryotes that controls various calcium-regulated cellular processes. It has four calcium-binding sites that bind calcium to form the calcium-calmodulin ( Ca2+-CaM) complex. GPCR stimulation increases the calcium levels in the cells that bind to CaM and induces a conformational change.
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
Tagging and Fusion Proteins01:24

Tagging and Fusion Proteins

Proteins are involved in several cellular processes and biochemical reactions. Analyzing a specific protein of interest requires it to be isolated from the other proteins in the cell. This is achieved by overexpressing the specific gene in a suitable host to produce large quantities of the target protein. A tag or label is recombined with the gene to produce a fusion protein containing the target protein and the tag. The tags on these fusion proteins can then be used for easy detection and...