1,721,165 research outputs found
Focus on miRNAs evolution: a perspective from amphioxus
No full textMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression and thus control diverse biological processes. The high interest in miRNAs as an important mediator of post-transcriptional gene regulation has led to the discovery of miRNAs in several organisms. The present article outlines and discusses the current status of miRNAs information on the basal chordate amphioxus and the evolution of miRNAs in metazoans
Presenza del fattore di trascrizione Pit-1 in larve ed adulti di Branchiostoma lanceolatum
No full textExpression of the tissue specific transcription factor Pit-1 in the lancelet, Branchiostoma lanceolatum
No full textLancelets, known also as amphioxus, are protochordates that share common archetypal
features with vertebrates. Recently, several developmental and molecular biology studies
have pointed out homologies between anatomical structures of lancelets and vertebrates. We
have studied the head region of the lancelet, Branchiostoma lanceolatum, by means of
scanning electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and Western blotting techniques, to
localize the pituitary-specific transcription factor, Pit-1. Immunoreactive Pit-1 protein has
been found in cells of two typical structures of the lancelets, the Ko ̈lliker’s and Hatschek’s pits.
Moreover, the frontal eye complex, neurons, and the rostral nerves show Pit-1 immunoreactivity.
A band of 33 kilodaltons has been resolved in lancelet extracts by sodium dodecyl
sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and after Western blotting, the bands have been
probed by a monoclonal antibody to rat Pit-1. Our results demonstrate that Pit-1 is expressed
in both neurones and receptosecretory epithelial cells of adult lancelets, and that the cells
lining the two pits display ultrastructural and immunocytochemical features typical of
chemoreceptosecretory/olfactory- and adenohypophyseal-like structures
GenBank Accession Number: EF210456Branchiostoma floridae huntingtin (Htt) mRNA, complete cds (9293 bp)
No full textCloning of huntingtin gene from amphioxu
Preliminary evidence on the morphogenetic role of serotonin in the development and differentiation of the central nervous system of Branchiostoma floridae
No full text
Evidence for the presence of the tissue-specific transcription factor Pit-1 in lancelet larvae
No full textRecent molecular studies have noted the affinity among cephalochordates and vertebrates. In particular, a cluster of vertebrate-like homeobox genes regulates the development of the lancelet Branchiostoma lanceolatum. A previous study has outlined the expression pattern of the pituitary-specific transcription factor Pit-1 in adult lancelets. Pit-1 belongs to the POU family of transcription factors, which, like homeotic proteins, are members of the helix-turn-helix superfamily of proteins. POU is an acronym for Pit-1, Oct-1 and Oct-2, and Unc-86. In the present work, we investigated the head region of premetamorphic larvae of B. lanceolatum, by means of scanning electron microscopy, wholemount and tissue sections immunocytochemistry, and Western blotting assay, to verify the presence and distribution of Pit-1. Immunoreactive Pit-1 protein was detected in the rostral nerves and in a cluster of photoreceptor cells of the frontal eye. At the same time, an electrophoretic band of 33 kDa was shown from extracts of premetamorphic larvae and recognized by a monoclonal antibody to rat Pit-1. On the basis of the immunocytochemical and electrophoretic results, we can assume that Pit-1 may play a neuromodulatory role in the larval central nervous system. Moreover, the spatial and temporal distribution of Pit-1 protein in larva and adult lancelets agrees only in part with that described in embryonic and adult mice, suggesting different molecular controls of regional identity in the nervous system of cephalochordates and vertebrates
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