Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C E Samuel.
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The initiation of protein synthesis by Streptococcus faecalis R grown in folate-free culture occurs without N-formylation or N-acylation of methionyl-tRNA(f) (Met). Methionyl-tRNA synthetase and methionyl-tRNA formyltransferase were partially purified from S. faecalis grown under normal culture conditions in the presence of folate (plus-folate); the general properties of the enzymes were determined and compared with the properties of the enzymes purified from wild-type cells grown in the absence of folate (minus-folate). S. faecalis methionyl-tRNA synthetase displays optimal activity at pH values between 7.2 and 7.8, requires Mg(2+), and has an apparent molecular weight of 106,000, as determined by gel filtration, and 127,000, as determined by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The K(m) values of plus-folate methionyl-tRNA synthetase for each of the three substrates in the aminoacylation reaction (l-methionine, adenosine triphosphate, and tRNA) are nearly identical to the respective substrate Michaelis constants of minus-folate methionyl-tRNA synthetase. Furthermore, both plus- and minus-folate S. faecalis methionyl-tRNA synthetases catalyze, at equal rates, the aminoacylation of tRNA(f) (Met) and tRNA(m) (Met) isolated from either plus-folate or minus-folate cells. S. faecalis methionyl-tRNA formyltransferase displays optimal activity at pH values near 7.0, is stimulated by Mg(2+), and has an apparent molecular weight of approximately 29,900 when estimated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The K(m) value of plus-folate formyltransferase for plus-folate Met-tRNA(f) (Met) does not differ significantly from that of minus-folate formyltransferase for minus-folate Met-tRNA(f) (Met). Both enzymes can utilize either 10-formyltetrahydrofolate or 10-formyltetrahydropteroyltriglutamate as the formyl donor; the Michaelis constant for the monoglutamyl pteroyl coenzyme is slightly less than that of the triglutamyl pteroyl coenzyme for both transformylases. Tetrahydrofolate and uncharged tRNA(f) (Met) are competitive inhibitors of both plus- and minus-folate S. faecalis formyltransferase; folic acid, pteroic acid, aminopterin, and Met-tRNA(m) (Met) are not inhibitory. These results indicate that the presence or absence of folic acid in the culture medium of S. faecalis has no apparent effect on either methionyl-tRNA synthetase or methionyl-tRNA formyltransferase, the two enzymes directly involved in the formation of formylmethionyl-tRNA(f) (Met). Therefóre, the lack of N-formylation of Met-tRNA(f) (Met) in minus-folate S. faecalis is due to the absence of the formyl donor, a 10-formyl-tetrahydropteroyl derivative. Although the general properties of S. faecalis methionyl-tRNA synthetase are similar to those of other aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, S. faecalis methionyl-tRNA formyltransferase differs from other previously described transformylases in certain kinetic parameters.
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The NH(2)-terminal amino acid distribution of Streptococcus faecalis R soluble and ribosomal proteins isolated from cells at different stages of growth on either folate-sufficient or folate-deficient medium was determined by the dinitrophenyl method. The NH(2)-terminal residues do not follow the random distribution observed for the total amino acid composition of S. faecalis soluble and ribosomal proteins. Methionine and alanine occur most frequently; serine, threonine, aspartic and glutamic acids, and glycine are also present at the NH(2)-terminal position of S. faecalis R proteins. The absence of folic acid yields cells that are incapable of formylating methionyl-transfer ribonucelic acid tRNA(f) (Met), but does not affect either the qualitative or quantitative NH(2)-terminal distribution of total soluble or total ribosomal proteins compared to cells grown with folate. A small quantitative difference was observed in the frequency of distribution of certain amino acids at the NH(2)-termini between log and stationary phase soluble proteins. The amino acid residues found at the NH(2)-terminal position of S. faecalis proteins are qualitatively similar to those reported for several other organisms.
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The molecular basis of the inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) replication by purified recombinant alpha interferon (IFN-alpha A/D) in human fibroblast GM2767A cells was examined. A saturating concentration of IFN-alpha A/D inhibited infectious VSV yield by about four to five log10. By use of the VSV mutant tsG41, which is competent in RNA transcription but defective in RNA replication at 40 degrees C, it was shown that IFN-alpha A/D treatment significantly inhibited primary viral protein synthesis. However, the apparent IFN-induced inhibition of VSV protein synthesis was due primarily to a reduction in the accumulation of VSV primary transcripts in IFN-alpha A/D treated GM2767A cells rather than to a direct effect on translation per se. The IFN-induced reduction in VSV primary genome expression was detectable after only 1 hour of IFN treatment; actinomycin D treatment of GM2767A cells prior to IFN-alpha A/D treatment blocked the establishment of the IFN-induced inhibition of VSV. In contrast to the results obtained with GM2767A cells, IFN-alpha A/D produced no detectable effect on the accumulation of VSV primary transcripts in human amnion U cells even though VSV primary protein synthesis and infectious virus yield were significantly reduced. In summary, the principal cause of the IFN-alpha induced inhibition of VSV replication in protein P1/eIF-2 alpha kinase-deficient human fibroblast GM2767A cells appears to be at or prior to primary transcript accumulation; thus, the antiviral mechanisms of IFN-alpha in GM2767A cells is fundamentally different from the IFN-alpha induced translation inhibition observed in kinase-sufficient human amnion U cells.
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The interferon-inducible, RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is an important regulator of viral protein synthesis. Activated PKR inhibits protein synthesis by phosphorylating initiation factor eIF-2 alpha. The reovirus S4 gene, whose 1196 nucleotide mRNA transcript does not activate the PKR kinase, is efficiently expressed in vector-transfected monkey COS cells. By contrast, the 1463 nucleotide S1 gene of reovirus, which is a potent activator of PKR, is poorly expressed in COS cells. Virus genetic engineering was therefore used to examine the effect of the PKR activator sequence from the reovirus S1 gene on the expression of chimeric genes of reovirus in transfected COS cells. Chimeric S1/S4 and S4/S1/S4 reovirus constructions that included the PKR activator sequence from S1 in the sigma 3 ORF of S4 were expressed much less efficiently than wild-type S4. However, expression of sigma 3 from S4 (3'UTR/S1), which included the PKR activator sequence from S1 within the 3'-UTR of S4, was comparable to that from wild-type S4. Treatment of COS cells with 2-aminopurine, an inhibitor of PKR, increased the expression of the reovirus S1, S1/S4, and S4/S1/S4 chimeric genes but not the S4 gene or S4 (3'UTR/S1) chimera in transfected COS cells. Likewise, coexpression of the phosphotransfer-negative mutant PKR (K296R) increased the expression of reovirus S1, S1/S4 and S4/S1/S4 chimeric genes but not the S4 gene or S4 (3'UTR/S1) chimera in cotransfected COS cells. Truncated PKR(1-243) which includes the dsRNA binding domain but not the kinase catalytic subdomains was able to enhance the expression of reovirus S1, but did not affect S4 expression. The dsRNA binding protein E3L encoded by vaccinia virus also increased S1 expression similar to PKR (1-243) and PKR(K296R). These results suggest that the translational repression in vivo mediated by PKR is selective for mRNAs that possess the kinase activator region, and that the dominant negative effect of PKR on gene expression is likely mediated by the RNA binding activity of the PKR protein.