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Medicine and Health Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Medical Sciences

Dartmouth Scholarship

2010

Gene expression regulation

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

H-Ns Binding And Repression Of The Ctx Promoter In Vibrio Cholerae, Emily A. Stonehouse, Robin R. Hulbert, Melinda B. Nye, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor Dec 2010

H-Ns Binding And Repression Of The Ctx Promoter In Vibrio Cholerae, Emily A. Stonehouse, Robin R. Hulbert, Melinda B. Nye, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Expression of the ctx and tcp genes, which encode cholera toxin and the toxin coregulated pilus, the Vibrio cholerae O1 virulence determinants having the largest contribution to cholera disease, is repressed by the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS and activated by the AraC-like transcriptional regulator ToxT. To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which H-NS controls transcription of the ctxAB operon, H-NS repression and binding were characterized by using a promoter truncation series, gel mobility shift assays, and DNase I footprinting. Promoter regions found to be important for H-NS repression correlated with in vitro binding. Four main H-NS binding regions are present at …


Carhsp1 Is Required For Effective Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Mrna Stabilization And Localizes To Processing Bodies And Exosomes, Jason R. Pfeiffer, Bethany L. Mcavoy, Ryan E. Fecteau, Kristen M. Deleault, Seth A. Brooks Nov 2010

Carhsp1 Is Required For Effective Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Mrna Stabilization And Localizes To Processing Bodies And Exosomes, Jason R. Pfeiffer, Bethany L. Mcavoy, Ryan E. Fecteau, Kristen M. Deleault, Seth A. Brooks

Dartmouth Scholarship

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) is a critical mediator of inflammation, and its production is tightly regulated, with control points operating at nearly every step of its biosynthesis. We sought to identify uncharacterized TNF-α 3' untranslated region (3'UTR)-interacting proteins utilizing a novel screen, termed the RNA capture assay. We identified CARHSP1, a cold-shock domain-containing protein. Knockdown of CARHSP1 inhibits TNF-α protein production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cells and reduces the level of TNF-α mRNA in both resting and LPS-stimulated cells. mRNA stability assays demonstrate that CARHSP1 knockdown decreases TNF-α mRNA stability from a half-life (t(1/2)) of 49 min to a t(1/2) …


The Lysr-Type Virulence Activator Aphb Regulates The Expression Of Genes In Vibrio Cholerae In Response To Low Ph And Anaerobiosis, Gabriela Kovacikova, Wei Lin, Karen Skorupski Jun 2010

The Lysr-Type Virulence Activator Aphb Regulates The Expression Of Genes In Vibrio Cholerae In Response To Low Ph And Anaerobiosis, Gabriela Kovacikova, Wei Lin, Karen Skorupski

Dartmouth Scholarship

AphB is a LysR-type activator that initiates the expression of the virulence cascade in Vibrio cholerae by cooperating with the quorum-sensing-regulated activator AphA at the tcpPH promoter on the Vibrio pathogenicity island (VPI). To identify the ancestral chromosomal genes in V. cholerae regulated by AphB, we carried out a microarray analysis and show here that AphB influences the expression of a number of genes that are not associated with the VPI. One gene strongly activated by AphB is cadC, which encodes the ToxR-like transcriptional activator responsible for activating the expression of lysine decarboxylase, which plays an important role in …


Role Of Flgt In Anchoring The Flagellum Of Vibrio Cholerae, Raquel M. Martinez, Brooke A. Jude, Thomas J. Kirn, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor Apr 2010

Role Of Flgt In Anchoring The Flagellum Of Vibrio Cholerae, Raquel M. Martinez, Brooke A. Jude, Thomas J. Kirn, Karen Skorupski, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Flagellar motility has long been regarded as an important virulence factor. In Vibrio cholerae, the single polar flagellum is essential for motility as well as for proper attachment and colonization. In this study, we demonstrate that the novel flagellar protein FlgT is involved in anchoring the flagellum to the V. cholerae cell. A screen for novel colonization factors by use of TnphoA mutagenesis identified flgT. An in-frame deletion of flgT established that FlgT is required for attachment, colonization, and motility. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that while the flgT mutant is capable of assembling a phenotypically normal flagellum, …


Structure Of Vibrio Cholerae Toxt Reveals A Mechanism For Fatty Acid Regulation Of Virulence Genes, Michael J. Lowden, Karen Skorupski, Maria Pellegrini, Michael G. Chiorazzo, Ronald K. Taylor, F. Jon Kull Feb 2010

Structure Of Vibrio Cholerae Toxt Reveals A Mechanism For Fatty Acid Regulation Of Virulence Genes, Michael J. Lowden, Karen Skorupski, Maria Pellegrini, Michael G. Chiorazzo, Ronald K. Taylor, F. Jon Kull

Dartmouth Scholarship

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. In order for V. cholerae to cause disease, it must produce two virulence factors, the toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP) and cholera toxin (CT), whose expression is controlled by a transcriptional cascade culminating with the expression of the AraC-family regulator, ToxT. We have solved the 1.9 A resolution crystal structure of ToxT, which reveals folds in the N- and C-terminal domains that share a number of features in common with AraC, MarA, and Rob as well as the unexpected presence of a buried 16-carbon fatty acid, cis-palmitoleate. The finding that …


Progressive Changes In Microglia And Macrophages In Spinal Cord And Peripheral Nerve In The Transgenic Rat Model Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, David J. Graber, William F. Hickey, Brent T. Harris Jan 2010

Progressive Changes In Microglia And Macrophages In Spinal Cord And Peripheral Nerve In The Transgenic Rat Model Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, David J. Graber, William F. Hickey, Brent T. Harris

Dartmouth Scholarship

The role of neuroinflammation in motor neuron death of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is unclear. The human mutant superoxide dismutase-1 (hmSOD1)-expressing murine transgenic model of ALS has provided some insight into changes in microglia activity during disease progression. The purpose of this study was to gain further knowledge by characterizing the immunological changes during disease progression in the spinal cord and peripheral nerve using the more recently developed hmSOD1 rat transgenic model of ALS. Using immunohistochemistry, the extent and intensity of tissue CD11b expression in spinal cord, lumbar nerve roots, and sciatic nerve were evaluated in hmSOD1 rats that were …