The mitogen-inducible Fn14 gene encodes a type I transmembrane protein that modulates fibroblast adhesion and migration.

The binding of polypeptide growth factors to their appropriate cell surface transmembrane receptors triggers numerous biochemical responses, including the transcriptional activation of specific genes. We have used a differential display approach to identify fibroblast growth factor-1-inducible genes in murine NIH 3T3 cells. Here, we report that the fibroblast growth factor-inducible-14 (Fn14) gene is a growth factor-regulated, immediate-early response gene expressed in a developmental stage- and adult tissue-specific manner in vivo.

Ionizing radiation stimulates octamer factor DNA binding activity in human carcinoma cells.

In mammalian cells, the octamer motif (ATGCAAAT) binding proteins, Oct-1 and Oct-2, play an important role in the transcriptional transactivation of several ubiquitously expressed genes as well as cell-specifically expressed genes. To date, a role of the octamer binding proteins in damage-stimulated response is not known. In this report, we demonstrate that DNA-binding activity of Oct-1, as demonstrated by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay, is significantly induced in a dose-dependent manner upon treatment of human head and neck squamous carcinoma cells (PCI-04A) with ionizing radiation (5 Gy: 5-fold; 15 Gy: 11-fold).

Differential regulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 activity during 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells.

In this study we have analyzed short- and long-term changes in extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1 and 2 activity during 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-induced differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia cells. Immunoprecipitation of HL-60 cellular extracts with an ERK antibody followed by in vitro myelin basic protein phosphorylation demonstrated a rapid reduction in total ERK activity by 70%. Mitogen-activated protein kinase substrate peptide phosphorylation also demonstrated that this reduction was sustained during differentiation.

Effects of TPA, bryostatin 1, and retinoic acid on PO-B, AP-1, and AP-2 DNA binding during HL-60 differentiation.

PO-B was originally characterized as a transcriptional regulatory factor of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene; however, it has become increasingly clear that this protein may be active in tissues outside the pituitary, since it is present in diverse cell types, including differentiated HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. We previously showed that PO-B DNA-binding is progressively induced during differentiation of promyelomonocytic leukemic HL-60 cells to the macrophage-like lineage (with phorbol esters). We now report that PO-B DNA-binding in HL-60 cells is similarly induced during differentiation to the granulocytic lineage (with either retinoic acid or dimethylsulfoxide).

Expression of aldolase A steady-state mRNA is delayed relative to other muscle-specific genes during differentiation of chicken myoblasts.

Expression of several muscle-specific genes was monitored during chicken muscle development and myoblast differentiation in primary cultures. The individual patterns of expression for many muscle-specific genes are well documented in ovo and in other model systems of muscle development. However, comparison of aldolase A to other muscle-specific genes in one system has not been reported.