Minor C allele of the SNP rs7873784 associated with rheumatoid arthritis and type-2 diabetes mellitus binds PU.1 and enhances TLR4 expression.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is an innate immunity receptor predominantly expressed on myeloid cells and involved in the development of various diseases, many of them with complex genetics. Here we present data on functionality of single nucleotide polymorphism rs7873784 located in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of TLR4 gene and associated with various pathologies involving chronic inflammation. We demonstrate that TLR4 3'-UTR strongly enhanced the activity of TLR4 promoter in U937 human monocytic cell line while minor rs7873784(C) allele created a binding site for transcription factor PU.

Early B-cell factor 1 (EBF1) is critical for transcriptional control of SLAMF1 gene in human B cells.

Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family member 1 (SLAMF1)/CD150 is a co-stimulatory receptor expressed on a variety of hematopoietic cells, in particular on mature lymphocytes activated by specific antigen, costimulation and cytokines. Changes in CD150 expression level have been reported in association with autoimmunity and with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. We characterized the core promoter for SLAMF1 gene in human B-cell lines and explored binding sites for a number of transcription factors involved in B cell differentiation and activation.

Expression of humanized anti-Her2/neu single-chain IgG1-like antibody in mammary glands of transgenic mice.

A system for production of single-chain antibody in mammary glands of mice was developed on the basis of a hybrid gene constructed from the coding sequence of anti-Her2/neu single-chain antibody inserted into the first exon of the sheep beta-lactoglobulin gene. Lines of transgenic mice were obtained that expressed humanized single-chain anti-Her2/neu IgG1-like antibody in their milk. These antibodies interact with Her2/neu antigen with high affinity (K(d) = 0.

Regulation of oct-1 gene transcription is different in lymphoid and non-lymphoid cells.

Transcription factor Oct-1 is expressed in all eukaryotic cells acting as a positive or negative regulator of gene transcription and DNA replication. Being a ubiquitous nuclear protein, Oct-1 also takes part in the regulation of tissue-specific gene expression. In this paper, we have found that human oct-1 gene is regulated by two promoters, located in OTF-1 locus upstream of 1U and 1L exons, respectively.