まとめ
特定のタンパク質因子は遺伝子転写を調節する. 研究者らは,ポリオマウイルス増強剤Aの重要な要因が胚性がん細胞に欠けているが,分化時に現れ,ウイルスの遺伝子発現制御に不可欠であることを発見した.
科学分野:
- 分子生物学は分子生物学である.
- ウイルス学 ウイルス学 ウイルス学
- 発達生物学 発達生物学とは
背景:
- 強化剤は,特定のタンパク質因子と相互作用することによって遺伝子転写を制御するDNA配列です.
- ポリオーマウイルス増強剤 (PyAとPyB) は転写因子の標的であるが,その機能は胚性がん (EC) 細胞で阻害される.
- ポリオーマウイルスの宿主範囲の変異体は,このブロックを克服し,その強化器領域の変化を示します.
研究 の 目的:
- EC細胞のポリオマウイルス感染における宿主制限の分子基礎を調査する.
- EC細胞と線維芽細胞の間のウイルス増強剤配列の核タンパク質結合パターンを比較する.
- 細胞分化中にウイルスの遺伝子発現を調節する特定の転写因子を特定する.
主な方法:
- ポリオマウイルス増強剤の配列とその核タンパク質との相互作用の分析.
- EC細胞とマウス・フィブロブラストの核抽出物を用いたタンパク質結合パターンの比較.
- EC細胞が parietal endodermに微分化する際のタンパク質因子誘導の評価.
主要な成果:
- PyA増強剤の機能に不可欠な特定の線維芽細胞因子は,EC細胞ではほとんど存在しない.
- この重要な要因は,EC細胞が parietal endodermに分化する過程で誘発される.
- EC細胞と線維芽細胞の核タンパク質結合パターンの違いは,ウイルス増強剤の配列で観察されました.
結論:
- 特定された線維芽細胞因子は,EC細胞におけるポリオーマウイルス遺伝子発現の調節に重要な役割を果たします.
- 微分化中のこの因子の誘導は,胚の発達初期にウイルスの遺伝子発現を制御する上でその重要性を示唆している.
- これらの相互作用を理解することで,宿主ウイルス相互作用と,発達中の遺伝子調節に関する洞察が得られます.
関連する概念動画
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins
Proteins that regulate transcription can do so either via direct contact with RNA Polymerase or through indirect interactions facilitated by adaptors, mediators, histone-modifying proteins, and nucleosome remodelers. Direct interactions to activate transcription is seen in bacteria as well as in some eukaryotic genes. In these cases, upstream activation sequences are adjacent to the promoters, and the activator proteins interact directly with the transcriptional machinery. For example, in...
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Retroviruses are RNA viruses that have been shown to cause cancers in diverse species, including chickens, mice, cats, and monkeys. The RNA genomes of these viruses are first reverse-transcribed into single and then double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) copies. This dsDNA called proviral DNA then integrates into the host genome. Subsequently, the host cell transcribes the proviral DNA in concert with the chromosomal DNA. This leads to the production of viral RNA and proteins that assemble at the host...
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer
Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different cell types. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are terminally differentiated; however, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they dedifferentiate and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Somatic cells are...
Somatic cells are...
Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012 for this...
Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming
Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for injury repair.


