Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)

Editor

Personal info

View

About

Terms

Javascript disabled

Please enable Javascript support in your browser to use this application.

Instructions on how to enable JavaScript on different browsers can be found here: http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=23852.

[edit this page]

Leonard, J.H. et al.

Leonard, Cook, Van Gele, Boyle, Inglis, Speleman, Sturm,

Proneural and proneuroendocrine transcription factor expression in cutaneous mechanoreceptor (Merkel) cells and Merkel cell carcinoma.

Merkel cells form part of the peripheral neuroendocrine system of the skin and act as mechanoreceptors in touch response. Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive disease with similarities to small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which is also of neuroendocrine origin. We previously identified a novel DNA binding protein complex specific for MCC suspension cell lines, termed Merkel nuclear factor (MNF) by its binding to the POU-IV family DNA binding consensus sequence. Here we report that MNF contains the POU-IV family member Brn-3c and that Brn-3c is expressed in normal Merkel cells. Additionally, Brn-3c protein reactivity is restricted to a subset of MCC biopsies and is not seen in biopsies revealing adherent, variant cell lines lacking neuroendocrine markers. Recently, proper development of murine Merkel cells was shown to require the proneural basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, atonal family member, MATH1. We demonstrate a correlation between Brn-3c and HATH1 reactivity in MCC biopsies and cell lines with retention of neuroendocrine phenotype. In SCLC, the related basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor HASH1 is responsible for neuroendocrine phenotype, but HASH1 transcripts were not detected in MCC cell lines. We propose that HATH1 and Brn-3c may form a transcriptional hierarchy responsible for determining neuroendocrine phenotype in Merkel cells and that lack of Brn-3c and/or HATH1 in MCC may indicate a more aggressive disease requiring closer patient follow-up.[1]

References

Proneural and proneuroendocrine transcription factor expression in cutaneous mechanoreceptor (Merkel) cells and Merkel cell carcinoma. Leonard, J.H., Cook, A.L., Van Gele, M., Boyle, G.M., Inglis, K.J., Speleman, F., Sturm, R.A. Int. J. Cancer (2002) [Pubmed]

Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenes Open Access Licence Privacy Policy Terms of Use apsburg

The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.