Christian Stratowa

We have cloned a full-length putative rat pancreatic lysophospholipase cDNA by an improved mRNA isolation method and cDNA cloning strategy. These new methods allow the construction of a cDNA library from the adult rat pancreas in which the majority of recombinant clones contained complete sequences for the corresponding mRNAs. A previously recognized but unidentified long and relatively rare cDNA clone containing the entire sequence from the cap site at the 5' end to the poly(A) tail at the 3' end of the mRNA was isolated by single-step screening of the library. The size, amino acid composition, and the activity of the protein expressed in heterologous cells strongly suggest this mRNA codes for lysophospholipase [Van den Bosch, H., Aarsman, A. J., DeJong, G. N., & Van Deenen, L. M. (1973) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 296, 94-104].

Human intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), a specific ligand for the lymphocyte function-associated Ag-1 (LFA-1), plays an important role in leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions. It is induced by proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, TNF-alpha, or IFN-gamma. However, little is known concerning the intracellular regulatory mechanisms which trigger ICAM-1 up-regulation. In order to study potential regulatory elements involved in ICAM-1 induction we have cloned the human ICAM-1 gene and 5 kb of its 5'-regulatory region. The sequence of the cDNA was found to be distributed over seven exons separated by six introns, whereby each of the five extracellular Ig-like domains of ICAM-1 is encoded by its own exon. The upstream sequence harbors a number of sequence motifs implicated in the regulation and expression of eukaryotic genes, including binding sites for the transcription factors SP-1, AP-1, and NF-kB. Primer extension and S1 nuclease analysis revealed two transcription initiation sites 319 bp and 41 bp upstream of the translation start site. Consensus TATA boxes were found at the expected positions about 25 bp upstream of both start sites. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed differential use of the two TATA boxes in A549 and HS913T cells. Both RNA seem to code for the same for of ICAM-1 protein. For regulation studies a 1.3-kb EcoRI/SalI fragment of the 5'-flanking region was used to promote transcription of a linked luciferase reporter gene in transient-transfection assays in A549 and HS913T cells. Treatment of A549 cells with IL-1 or TNF-alpha resulted in a two- or fourfold increase in luciferase activity. Furthermore, a sixfold induction could be achieved after treatment with the phorbol ester PMA. In contrast, agents that increase intracellular cAMP levels did not induce luciferase activity. Northern blot analysis was used to investigate the kinetics of ICAM-1 mRNA synthesis upon induction with TNF-alpha and PMA. These data suggest that the up-regulation of ICAM-1 by cytokines occurs at least partly at the transcriptional level. Deletion analysis of the 1.3-kb fragment of the 5'-flanking region revealed sequences responsible for promotion and inhibition of transcription. In particular, two functionally distinct regions have been characterized: a short fragment containing an NF-kB binding site has been shown to function as an activator, followed immediately downstream by a sequence acting as a silencer element. Therefore, ICAM-1 gene expression seems to be modulated by multiple cis-acting elements.

With the objective of discovering novel putative intervention sites for anticancer therapy, we compared transcriptional profiles of breast cancer, lung squamous cell cancer (LSCC), lung adenocarcinoma (LAC), and renal cell cancer (RCC). Each of these tumor types still needs improvement in medical treatment. Our intention was to search for genes not only highly expressed in the majority of patient samples but which also exhibit very low or even absence of expression in a comprehensive panel of 16 critical (vital) normal tissues. To achieve this goal, we combined two powerful technologies, PCR-based cDNA subtraction and cDNA microarrays. Seven subtractive libraries consisting of approximately 9250 clones were established and enriched for tumor-specific transcripts. These clones, together with approximately 1750 additional tumor-relevant genes, were used for cDNA microarray preparation. Hybridizations were performed using a pool of 16 critical normal tissues as a reference in all experiments. In total, we analyzed 20 samples of breast cancer, 11 of LSCC, 11 of LAC, and 8 of RCC. To select for genes with low or even no expression in normal tissues, expression profiles of 22 different normal tissues were additionally analyzed. Importantly, this tissue-wide expression profiling allowed us to eliminate genes, which exhibit also high expression in normal tissues. Similarly, expression signatures of genes, which are derived from infiltrating cells of the immune system, were eliminated as well. Cluster analysis resulted in the identification of 527 expressed sequence tags specifically up-regulated in these tumors. Gene-wise hierarchical clustering of these clones clearly separated the different tumor types with RCC exhibiting the most homogeneous and LAC the most diverse expression profile. In addition to already known tumor-associated genes, the majority of identified genes have not yet been brought into context with tumorigenesis such as genes involved in bone matrix mineralization (OSN, OPN, and OSF-2) in lung, breast, and kidney cancer or genes controlling Ca(2+) homeostasis (RCN1,CALCA, S100 protein family). EGLN3, which recently has been shown to be involved in regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor, was found to be highly up-regulated in all RCCs and in half of the LSCCs analyzed. Furthermore, 42 genes, the expression level of which correlated with the overall survival of breast cancer patients, were identified. The gene dendogram clearly separates two groups of genes, those up-regulated such as cyclin B1, TGF-beta 3, B-Myb, Erg2, VCAM-1, and CD44 and those down-regulated such as MIG-6, Esp15, and CAK in patients with short survival time.