Glycosaminoglycans are important structural components in the skin and exist as various proteoglycan forms, except hyaluronic acid. Heparan sulfate (HS), one of the glycosaminoglycans, is composed of repeated disaccharide units, which are glucuronic acids linked to an N-acetyl-glucosamine or its sulfated forms. To investigate acute ultraviolet (UV)-induced changes of HS and HS proteoglycans (HSPGs), changes in levels of HS and several HSPGs in male human buttock skin were examined by immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) after 2 minimal erythema doses (MED) of UV irradiation (each n = 4-7). HS staining revealed that 2 MED of UV irradiation increased its expression, and staining for perlecan, syndecan-1, syndecan-4, CD44v3, and CD44 showed that UV irradiation increased their protein levels. However, analysis by real-time qPCR showed that UV irradiation did not change mRNA levels of CD44 and agrin, and decreased perlecan and syndecan-4 mRNA levels, while increased syndecan-1 mRNA level. As HS-synthesizing or -degrading enzymes, exostosin-1 and heparanase mRNA levels were increased, but exostosin-2 was decreased by UV irradiation. UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase-1 expression was confirmed for proper experimental conditions. Acute UV irradiation increases HS and HSPG levels in human skin, but their increase may not be mediated through their transcriptional regulation.
Adult ; Agrin/genetics ; Antigens, CD44/genetics ; Base Sequence ; DNA Primers/genetics ; Gene Expression/radiation effects ; Glucuronidase/genetics ; Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans/genetics/*metabolism ; Heparitin Sulfate/metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1/genetics ; N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases/genetics ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Skin/*metabolism/*radiation effects ; Skin Aging/genetics/physiology ; Syndecan-1/genetics ; Syndecan-4/genetics ; Ultraviolet Rays/*adverse effects ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To observe growth inhibition effect of perlecan anti-sense cDNA (pAP) on human laryngeal carcinoma xnografted in nude mice. To vertify its antitumor effect and mechanism in vivo, and it may be useful as a biomarker in carcinoma of larynx cancer. METHOD: Created the model of human laryngeal carcinoma xnograft in nude mice. To observe growth of those xnografts in nude mice and draw growth curve of xnografted. The expression of perlecan mRNA and portein in xnografts were examined by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. RESULT: Volume of xnografts in the group transfected by the plasmids of pAP were significant small as compared with other two groups made by the wild type cells and phpApr-neol cells (P < 0.05). It was showed that the expression of perlecan mRNA and protein were significantly reduced in the tumor of pAP transfected Hep-2 cells as compared with the tumors transfected by the wild type cells and phβApr-neol cells (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION These data raise the possibility that pAP many play key roles in the growth of those xnografts in nude mice.
Animals ; DNA, Antisense ; therapeutic use ; DNA, Complementary ; Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans ; genetics ; Heterografts ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Plasmids ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transfection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the prototype of hepatotropic DNA viruses (hepadnaviruses) infecting a wide range of human and non-human hosts. Previous studies with duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) identified duck carboxypeptidase D (dCPD) as a host specific binding partner for full-length large envelope protein, and p120 as a binding partner for several truncated versions of the large envelope protein. p120 is the P protein of duck glycine decarboxylase (dGLDC) with restricted expression in DHBV infectible tissues. Several lines of evidence suggest the importance of dCPD, and especially p120, in productive DHBV infection, although neither dCPD nor p120 cDNA could confer susceptibility to DHBV infection in any cell line. Recently, sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) has been identified as a binding partner for the N-terminus of HBV large envelope protein. Importantly, knock down and reconstitution experiments unequivocally demonstrated that NTCP is both necessary and sufficient for in vitro infection by HBV and hepatitis delta virus (HDV), an RNA virus using HBV envelope proteins for its transmission. What remains unclear is whether NTCP is the major HBV receptor in vivo. The fact that some HBV patients are homozygous with an NTCP mutation known to abolish its receptor function suggests the existence of NTCP-independent pathways of HBV entry. Also, NTCP very likely mediates just one step of the HBV entry process, with additional co-factors for productive HBV infection still to be discovered. NTCP offers a novel therapeutic target for the control of chronic HBV infection.
Animals ; Carboxypeptidases/genetics/*metabolism ; Gene Products, pol/genetics/metabolism ; Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans/metabolism ; Hepatitis B virus/*physiology ; Hepatocytes/metabolism/virology ; Organic Anion Transporters, Sodium-Dependent/antagonists & inhibitors/genetics/metabolism ; RNA Interference ; Symporters/antagonists & inhibitors/genetics/metabolism ; Viral Envelope Proteins/metabolism ; Virus Internalization

Exposure of endothelial cells (ECs) to hypoxia leads to a decrease in EC proliferation. However, the mechanism by which hypoxia inhibits EC proliferation is unclear. Perlecan has been reported to play an important role in regulating EC proliferation. We hypothesized that perlecan was involved in the hypoxia-induced inhibition of EC proliferation. To test this hypothesis, rat cardiac microvascular ECs were cultured under normoxic or hypoxic conditions for 12 h and harvested for determination of perlecan mRNA expression using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that exposure of ECs to hypoxia for 12 h induced a decrease in perlecan mRNA expression (61.72%, P<0.05). Concomitantly, the down-regulation of endogenous perlecan induced by hypoxia or the neutralization of endogenous perlecan with anti-perlecan antibody significantly inhibited EC proliferation and responsiveness to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and decreased focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) activation. These data indicate that down-regulation of perlecan expression contributes to hypoxia-induced inhibition of rat cardiac microvascular EC proliferation by suppressing FAK-mediated and ERK1/2-dependent growth signals.
Animals ; Capillaries ; cytology ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Coronary Circulation ; Down-Regulation ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Focal Adhesion Kinase 1 ; metabolism ; Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans ; genetics ; metabolism ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Male ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction