抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

The HER-2/neu oncogene is a member of the erbB-like oncogene family, and is related to, but distinct from, the epidermal growth factor receptor. This gene has been shown to be amplified in human breast cancer cell lines. In the current study, alterations of the gene in 189 primary human breast cancers were investigated. HER-2/neu was found to be amplified from 2- to greater than 20-fold in 30% of the tumors. Correlation of gene amplification with several disease parameters was evaluated. Amplification of the HER-2/neu gene was a significant predictor of both overall survival and time to relapse in patients with breast cancer. It retained its significance even when adjustments were made for other known prognostic factors. Moreover, HER-2/neu amplification had greater prognostic value than most currently used prognostic factors, including hormonal-receptor status, in lymph node-positive disease. These data indicate that this gene may play a role in the biologic behavior and/or pathogenesis of human breast cancer.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/235/4785/177.full.pdf

Human breast cancer: correlation of relapse and survival with amplification of the HER-2/neu oncogene

Through the study of transcriptional activation in response to interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), a previously unrecognized direct signal transduction pathway to the nucleus has been uncovered: IFN-receptor interaction at the cell surface leads to the activation of kinases of the Jak family that then phosphorylate substrate proteins called STATs (signal transducers and activators of transcription). The phosphorylated STAT proteins move to the nucleus, bind specific DNA elements, and direct transcription. Recognition of the molecules involved in the IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma pathway has led to discoveries that a number of STAT family members exist and that other polypeptide ligands also use the Jak-STAT molecules in signal transduction.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/264/5164/1415.full.pdf

Jak-STAT pathways and transcriptional activation in response to IFNs and other extracellular signaling proteins

Apoptosis plays an important role during neuronal development, and defects in apoptosis may underlie various neurodegenerative disorders. To characterize molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal apoptosis, the contributions to cell death of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family members, including ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase), JNK (c-JUN NH2-terminal protein kinase), and p38, were examined after withdrawal of nerve growth factor (NGF) from rat PC-12 pheochromocytoma cells. NGF withdrawal led to sustained activation of the JNK and p38 enzymes and inhibition of ERKs. The effects of dominant-interfering or constitutively activated forms of various components of the JNK-p38 and ERK signaling pathways demonstrated that activation of JNK and p38 and concurrent inhibition of ERK are critical for induction of apoptosis in these cells. Therefore, the dynamic balance between growth factor-activated ERK and stress-activated JNK-p38 pathways may be important in determining whether a cell survives or undergoes apoptosis.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/270/5240/1326.full.pdf

Opposing Effects of ERK and JNK-p38 MAP Kinases on Apoptosis

Protein kinase C, an enzyme that is activated by the receptor-mediated hydrolysis of inositol phospholipids, relays information in the form of a variety of extracellular signals across the membrane to regulate many Ca2+-dependent processes. At an early phase of cellular responses, the enzyme appears to have a dual effect, providing positive forward as well as negative feedback controls over various steps of its own and other signaling pathways, such as the receptors that are coupled to inositol phospholipid hydrolysis and those of some growth factors. In biological systems, a positive signal is frequently followed by immediate negative feedback regulation. Such a novel role of this protein kinase system seems to give a logical basis for clarifying the biochemical mechanism of signal transduction, and to add a new dimension essential to our understanding of cell-to-cell communication.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/233/4761/305.full.pdf

Studies and perspectives of protein kinase C

Receptor trafficking and the plasticity of excitatory synapses.

https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/0092-8674(85)90219-3.pdf

Adenovirus E1a proteins repress transcription from the SV40 early promoter

Identification and Verification of Novel Rodent Postsynaptic Density Proteins

Differential screening of cDNA libraries was used to detect and prepare probes for mRNAs that are regulated in PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells by long-term (2-week) treatment with nerve growth factor (NGF). In response to NGF, PC12 cells change from a chromaffin cell-like to a sympathetic-neuron-like phenotype. Thus, one aim of this study was to identify NGF-regulated mRNAs that may be associated with the attainment of neuronal properties. Eight NGF-regulated mRNAs are described. Five of these increase 3- to 10-fold and three decrease 2- to 10-fold after long-term NGF exposure. Each mRNA was characterized with respect to the time course of the NGF response, regulation by agents other than NGF, and rat tissue distribution. Partial sequences of the cDNAs were used to search for homologies to known sequences. Homology analysis revealed that one mRNA (increased 10-fold) encodes the peptide thymosin beta 4 and a second mRNA (decreased 2-fold) encodes tyrosine hydroxylase. Another of the increased mRNAs was very abundant in sympathetic ganglia, barely detectable in brain and adrenals, and undetectable in all other tissues surveyed. One of the decreased mRNAs, by contrast, was very abundant in the adrenals and nearly absent in the sympathetic ganglia. With the exception of fibroblast growth factor, which is the only other agent known to mimic the differentiating effects of NGF on PC12 cells, none of the treatments tested (epidermal growth factor, insulin, dibutyryl cyclic AMP, dexamethasone, phorbol ester, and depolarization) reproduced the regulation observed with NGF. These and additional findings suggest that the NGF-regulated mRNAs may play roles in the establishment of the neuronal phenotype and that the probes described here will be useful to study the mechanism of action of NGF and the development and differentiation of neurons.

Identification and characterization of mRNAs regulated by nerve growth factor in PC12 cells

The products of the fos and jun protooncogenes form a stable heterodimer which binds to the TPA-responsive element (TRE) TGACTCA with high affinity. These two proteins, together with the yeast GCN4 protein, belong to a growing family of transcription factors, including FosB, Fra1, JunB and JunD, whose members share a highly conserved DNA-binding domain. This domain is composed of two structures: a basic motif, which is thought to bind directly to DNA; and a leucine zipper, which provides a dimerization interface. Although this domain is highly conserved in Fos, Jun and GCN4, each of these three proteins has very different relative affinities for the TRE. To understand these differences, we used 'domain-swapping' experiments designed to test the relative contributions of the basic motif and the leucine zipper to TRE-binding affinity. Here we show that fos, jun and GCN4 have different affinities for the TRE due to differences in the hetero- or homo-dimerization capacity of their leucine zipper domains; the basic motifs of these three proteins have comparable DNA binding potential. These results indicate that leucine zippers control the types of protein complexes which can associate with a TRE and regulate gene expression.

Edward B. Ziff

Papers

Receptor trafficking and the plasticity of excitatory synapses.

Adenovirus E1a proteins repress transcription from the SV40 early promoter

Identification and Verification of Novel Rodent Postsynaptic Density Proteins

Identification and characterization of mRNAs regulated by nerve growth factor in PC12 cells

Leucine zippers of fos , jun and GCN4 dictate dimerization specificity and thereby control DNA binding