title: CMX-8933, a peptide fragment of the glycoprotein ependymin, promotes activation of AP-1 transcription factor in mouse neuroblastoma and rat cortical cell cultures.
abstract: An 8-amino acid peptide fragment (CMX-8933) of Ependymin, a glycoprotein component of the extracellular fluid and cerebrospinal fluid of goldfish brain, was synthesized and tested for its capacity to activate AP-1 transcription factor in cell cultures. Dose-response and time-course studies of AP-1's binding to DNA were carried out in neuroblastoma (NB2a/dl) and primary rat brain cortical cultures using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). A 13-14-fold increase in AP-1's DNA binding was obtained when NB2a cells were incubated for 4 h with 6-10 microg/ml CMX-8933. Primary rat brain cortical cultures were much more sensitive to the effects of CMX-8933 than transformed (NB2a) cultures; here a 26.7+/-5.2-fold increase in binding was observed following a 3-h treatment with as little as 10 ng/ml peptide. These findings are consistent with an activation of this transcription factor, a characteristic that has been previously correlated with functional aspects of full-sized neurotrophic factors (nerve growth factor and brain-derived nerve growth factor) in neuronal differentiation and regeneration. Such data suggest a role for Ependymin in transcriptional control.
authors.affiliation: CereMedix Research Laboratories, 317 Egan Research Center, Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA 02115, USA. veshashoua@aol.com
authors.forename: V E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Shashoua
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boyer-Boiteau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D051379:Mice; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009447:Neuroblastoma; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C443842:CMX8933; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; C031632:ependymins