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An H/ACA guide RNA directs U2 pseudouridylation at two different sites in the branchpoint recognition region in Xenopus oocytes.

U2 is the most extensively modified of all spliceosomal snRNAs. We previously showed that at least some of the internally modified nucleotides in U2 snRNA are required for snRNP biogenesis and pre-mRNA splicing. Recent work from several laboratories suggests that nuclear guide RNAs facilitate U2 snRNA internal modification, including pseudouridylation and 2'-O-methylation. Here, we present a novel approach to identifying guide RNAs for U2 pseudouridylation. Several Xenopus oocyte nuclear RNAs were affinity selected with U2 snRNA substituted with 5-fluorouridine, a pseudouridylation inhibitor that sequesters pseudouridylases. One of these RNAs was sequenced and found to be a novel RNA of 134 nt. This small RNA contains an H/ACA motif and folds into a typical H/ACA RNA structure, and its authenticity as an H/ACA RNA was confirmed by immunoprecipitation analysis. The RNA contains two guide sequences for pseudouridylation (psi) of U2 snRNA at positions 34 and 44 in the branch-site recognition region, and we demonstrate that this RNA indeed guides the formation of psi34 and psi44 in U2 using a Xenopus oocyte reconstitution system. Therefore, this novel RNA was designated pugU2-34/44, for pseudouridylation guide for U2 snRNA U34 and U44. Intranuclear localization analyses indicate that pugU2-34/44 resides within the nucleoplasm rather than nucleoli or Cajal bodies where other guide RNAs have been localized. Our results clarify the mechanism of U2 snRNA pseudouridylation in Xenopus oocytes, and have interesting implications with regard to the intranuclear localization of U2 snRNA pseudouridylation.

Animals↗

ZNF198, a zinc finger protein rearranged in myeloproliferative disease, localizes to the PML nuclear bodies and interacts with SUMO-1 and PML.

The ZNF198/FGFR1 fusion gene in atypical myeloproliferative disease produces a constitutively active cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, unlike ZNF198 which is normally a nuclear protein. We have now shown that the ZNF198/FGFR1 fusion kinase interacts with the endogenous ZNF198 protein suggesting that the function of ZNF198 may be compromised in cells expressing it. Little is currently known about the endogenous function of ZNF198 and to investigate this further we performed a yeast two-hybrid analysis and identified SUMO-1 as a binding partner of ZNF198. These observations were confirmed using co-immunoprecipitation which demonstrated that ZNF198 is covalently modified by SUMO-1. Since many of the SUMO-1-modified proteins are targeted to the PML nuclear bodies we used confocal microscopy to show that SUMO-1, PML and ZNF198 colocalize to punctate structures, shown by immunocytochemistry to be PML bodies. Using co-immunoprecipitation we now show that PML and sumoylated ZNF198 can be found in a protein complex in the cell. Mutation of the SUMO-1 binding site in wild-type ZNF198 resulted in loss of distinct PML bodies, reduced PML levels and a more dispersed nuclear localization of the PML protein. In cells expressing ZNF198/FGFR1, which also lack the SUMO-1 binding site, SUMO-1 is preferentially localized in the cytoplasm, which is associated with loss of distinct PML bodies. Recently, arsenic trioxide (ATO) was proposed as an alternative therapy for APL that was resistant to traditional therapy. Treatment of cells expressing ZNF198/FGFR1 with ATO demonstrated reduced autophosphorylation of the ZNF198/FGFR1 protein and induced apoptosis, which is not seen in cells expressing wild-type ZNF198. Overall our results suggest that the sumoylation of ZNF198 is important for PML body formation and that the abrogation of sumoylation of ZNF198 in ZNF198/FGFR1 expressing cells may be an important mechanism in cellular transformation.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

Subcellular localization of the Bacillus subtilis structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) protein.

The Bacillus subtilis structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) protein is a member of a large family of proteins involved in chromosome organization. We found that SMC is a moderately abundant protein ( approximately 1000 dimers per cell). In vivo cross-linking and immunoprecipitation assays revealed that SMC binds to many regions on the chromosome. Visualization of SMC in live cells using a fusion to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and in fixed cells using immunofluorescence microscopy indicated that a portion of SMC localizes as discrete foci in positions similar to that of the DNA replication machinery (replisome). When visualized simultaneously, SMC and the replisome were often in similar regions of the cell but did not always co-localize. Persistence of SMC foci did not depend on ongoing replication, but did depend on ScpA and ScpB, two proteins thought to interact with SMC. Our results indicate that SMC is bound to many sites on the chromosome and a concentration of SMC is localized near replication forks, perhaps there to bind and organize newly replicated DNA.

Adhesins, Bacterial↗

An immunoelectron study of karyosphere and nuclear bodies in oocytes of mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: polyphaga).

The karyosphere and nuclear bodies (NBs) were studied in Tenebrio molitor oocytes using immunoelectron cytochemistry. During early diplotene (previtellogenic stage), oocyte chromosomes begin to unite in a small nuclear volume forming the karyosphere. In vitellogenic oocyte nuclei, the chromatin undergoes condensation, and the karyosphere acquires a ring-shaped structure. The karyosphere is the only structure containing DNA in the oocyte nucleus. Pre-mRNA splicing factors [small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) and SC35] are not found in the karyosphere itself. In previtellogenic oocyte nuclei, these factors are present in NBs and in a fibrogranular substance surrounding the chromosomes in the early stages of karyosphere formation. At this stage, larger fibrillar NBs contain the non-snRNP splicing factor SC35. Smaller roundish NBs were shown to contain snRNPs. Some NBs with the same morphology contain neither snRNPs nor SC35. In the vitellogenic oocyte, there are fibrogranular NBs containing both snRNPs and SC35 splicing factors, fibrillar NBs containing snRNPs only, and complex NBs containing both. Complex NBs are often connected with the ring-shaped karyosphere. Based on the obtained immunoelectron data, we suggest that T. molitor oocyte NBs containing both snRNPs and the non-snRNP splicing factor SC35 are homologs of the well-characterized B-snurposomes in amphibian germinal vesicles and clusters of interchromatin granules in mammalian oocyte nuclei. Other NBs containing only snRNPs are suggested to represent a special class of insect oocyte snurposomes. The nuclear organelles mentioned seem to play a role as storage domains for pre-mRNA splicing factors during T. molitor oogenesis.

Animals↗

Use of electron microscopic and immunogold labeling techniques to determine polyomavirus recombinant VP1 capsid-like particles entry into mouse 3T6 cell nucleus.

Murine polyomavirus major structural protein VP1 could assemble into capsid-like particles when expressed in the baculovirus system. The recombinant capsid-like particles that were purified by CsCl density gradient centrifugation were capable of packaging host DNA. Electron microscopic and immunogold labeling techniques were used to study the entry of these VP1 recombinant capsid-like particles into mouse 3T6 cells. It was found that these VP1 recombinant capsid-like particles, which lack polyomavirus minor structural proteins (VP2 and VP3), use the same mechanism to enter mouse 3T6 cell cytoplasm and nucleus as that used by native polyomavirus virions.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗

Interaction of the adenovirus type 5 E4 Orf3 protein with promyelocytic leukemia protein isoform II is required for ND10 disruption.

Nuclear domain 10 (ND10s), or promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) nuclear bodies, are spherical nuclear structures that require PML proteins for their formation. Many viruses target these structures during infection. The E4 Orf3 protein of adenovirus 5 (Ad5) rearranges ND10s, causing PML to colocalize with Orf3 in nuclear tracks or fibers. There are six different PML isoforms (I to VI) present at ND10s, all sharing a common N terminus but with structural differences at their C termini. In this study, PML II was the only one of these six isoforms that was found to interact directly and specifically with Ad5 E4 Orf3 in vitro and in vivo; these results define a new Orf3 activity. Three of a series of 18 mutant Orf3 proteins were unable to interact with PML II; these were also unable to cause ND10 rearrangement. Moreover, in PML-null cells that contained neoformed ND10s comprising a single PML isoform, only ND10s formed of PML II were rearranged by Orf3. These data show that the interaction between Orf3 and PML II is necessary for ND10 rearrangement to occur. Finally, Orf3 was shown to self-associate in vitro. This activity was absent in mutant Orf3 proteins that were unable to form tracks and to bind PML II. Thus, Orf3 oligomerization may mediate the formation of nuclear tracks in vivo and may also be important for PML II binding.

Adenovirus E4 Proteins↗

Viruses as hijackers of PML nuclear bodies.

Promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) are discrete interchromosomal macromolecular structures. The integrity of this dynamic nuclear subcompartment critically depends on the presence of the name-giving PML protein. Among the permanent or transient residents of PML-NBs are various regulatory proteins, including Sp100, CBP, pRb, HIPK2, RAD51 and p53. PML-NBs are frequently targeted by viral infections, as a number of different RNA and DNA viruses, including herpesviruses, adenoviruses, papovaviruses, papillomaviruses and arenaviruses, cause changes in PML-NBs. Viruses interfere with PML-NB in two ways: 1) some viral proteins can associate with PML-NB proteins and/or lead to the destruction and lysis of this subnuclear compartment, thus aiding viral gene expression and disabling the host's innate immunity; 2) the parental genomes of some nuclear-replicating DNA viruses associate preferentially with PML-NBs, which presumably serves to assist in viral gene expression or replication. Here we feature the different viral strategies leading to the hijacking of PML-NBs and discuss the consequences for the immune response.

Animals↗

PML nuclear bodies and apoptosis.

Promyelocytic leukaemia nuclear bodies (PML NBs) are structured protein complexes associated with the nuclear matrix. PML constitutes the scaffold component of NBs and recruits onto these domains a striking variety of proteins, many of which are involved in apoptosis control. Several reports have directly implicated PML in apoptosis and senescence, but the mechanisms by which these are conveyed are still largely unsettled. Recruitment of partner proteins onto NBs is regulated by PML sumolation, a specific post-translational modification also found in many NB-associated proteins. Among these, several are implicated in transcription repression or activation, like the transcriptional repressor Daxx or the transcriptional activator P53. Whether NBs constitute platforms where active sites of enzymatic modifications are carried out, as suggested for P53, sites of intranuclear protein sequestration, as proposed for Daxx or organelles specialized in catabolism, is still debated. A variety of stress-related signalling pathways dramatically modulate the formation of PML NBs, which may provide a clue as to their physiological function.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

[Karyosphere and extrachromosomal nuclear bodies in oocytes of the scorpionfly, Panorpa communis].

Oocyte nuclear structures were studied for the scorpionfly Panorpa communis at different stages of oocyte growth, from pachytene to the first meiotic division. Using immunofluorescent and immunogold microscopy, we analyzed the nuclear distribution of RNA polymerase II, splicing factors and coilin. These factors were revealed in close association with perichromatin fibrils and, later, with some elements of the karyosphere and extrachromosomal nuclear bodies (NBs). Besides, it was shown that large amounts of P. communis oocyte NBs represent Cajal bodies (CBs) and contain CB marker protein, coilin, as well as RNA polymerase II, and in some cases an essential splicing factor, SC35. The presence of SC35 is commonly not characteristic of CBs in somatic cells. CB dynamics was traced in inactivated oocyte nuclei, during a gradual condensation of chromosomes and their final assembling into the karyosphere. It has been shown that coilin, RNA polymerase II and SC35 protein are common compounds shared by CBs and some granular material associated with these condensed chromosomes. CB remnants were demonstrated in the ooplasm after the breakdown of nuclear envelope before the first meiotic division. In inactivated oocyte nuclei, CBs serve presumably as storage compartments for some inactive components essential for gene expression.

Animals↗

Cross talk between PML and p53 during poliovirus infection: implications for antiviral defense.

PML nuclear bodies (NBs) are dynamic intranuclear structures harboring numerous transiently or permanently localized proteins. PML, the NBs' organizer, is directly induced by interferon, and its expression is critical for antiviral host defense. We describe herein the molecular events following poliovirus infection that lead to PML-dependent p53 activation and protection against virus infection. Poliovirus infection induces PML phosphorylation through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway, increases PML SUMOylation, and induces its transfer from the nucleoplasm to the nuclear matrix. These events result in the recruitment of p53 to PML NBs, p53 phosphorylation on Ser15, and activation of p53 target genes leading to the induction of apoptosis. Moreover, the knock-down of p53 by small interfering RNA results in higher poliovirus replication, suggesting that p53 participates in antiviral defense. This effect, which requires the presence of PML, is transient since poliovirus targets p53 by inducing its degradation in a proteasome- and MDM2-dependent manner. Our results provide evidence of how poliovirus counteracts p53 antiviral activity by regulating PML and NBs, thus leading to p53 degradation.

Apoptosis↗

Organization of the X and Y chromosomes in human, chimpanzee and mouse pachytene nuclei using molecular cytogenetics and three-dimensional confocal analyses.

We used multicolour fluorescence in-situ hybridization on air-dried pachytene nuclei to analyse the structural and functional domains of the sex vesicle (SV) in human, chimpanzee and mouse. The same technology associated with 3-dimensional analysis was then performed on human and mouse pachytene nuclei from cytospin preparations and tissue cryosections. The human and the chimpanzee SVs were very similar, with a consistently small size and a high degree of condensation. The mouse SV was most often seen to be large and poorly condensed, although it did undergo progressive condensation during pachynema. These results suggest that the condensation of the sex chromosomes is not a prerequisite for the formation of the mouse SV, and that a different specific mechanism could be responsible for its formation. We also found that the X and Y chromosomes are organized into two separate and non-entangled chromatin domains in the SV of the three species. In each species, telomeres of the X and Y chromosomes remain clustered in a small area of the SV, even those without a pseudoautosomal region. The possible mechanisms involved in the organization of the sex chromosomes and in SV formation are discussed.

Animals↗

Recruitment of herpes simplex virus type 1 transcriptional regulatory protein ICP4 into foci juxtaposed to ND10 in live, infected cells.

At the early stages of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection, parental viral genomes have a tendency to become juxtaposed to cellular nuclear structures known as PML (promyelocytic leukemia) nuclear bodies or ND10, while the immediate-early (IE) protein ICP0 precisely colocalizes with these structures. Previous indirect-immunofluorescence studies observed that the HSV-1 transcriptional regulator ICP4 has a mainly diffuse nuclear distribution early in infection and is later recruited into viral replication compartments. We have constructed HSV-1 variants expressing ICP4 and ICP0 linked to ECFP and EYFP, respectively, both singly and in combination. Coupled with an efficient method of expressing autofluorescent PML in ND10, we have studied the dynamics of ICP0, ICP4, and ND10 in live, infected cells. The greater sensitivity and lower background signals in live cells revealed that early in infection, ICP4 forms discrete foci, some of which are juxtaposed to ND10, while ICP0 was found to colocalize precisely with PML. As expected from these results, using a double-labeled virus, we observed that foci of ICP0 and ICP4 were also juxtaposed but not colocalized early in infection. Some of the ICP4 foci must have contained parental viral genomes, because they developed into replication compartments. We propose that a proportion of the ND10-associated ICP4 foci represent ICP4 molecules being recruited onto parental viral genomes, a process likely to be a critical step early in lytic infection. These results may be analogous to the localization of IE1 and IE2 during human cytomegalovirus infection, suggesting a principle common to the alpha- and betaherpesviruses.

Animals↗

Meiotic recombination proteins localize to linear elements in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

In fission yeast, meiotic prophase nuclei develop structures known as linear elements (LinEs), instead of a canonical synaptonemal complex. LinEs contain Rec10 protein. While Rec10 is essential for meiotic recombination, the precise role of LinEs in this process is unknown. Using in situ immunostaining, we show that Rec7 (which is required for meiosis-specific DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation) aggregates in foci on LinEs. The strand exchange protein Rad51, which is known to mark the sites of DSBs, also localizes to LinEs, although to a lesser degree. The number of Rec7 foci corresponds well with the average number of genetic recombination events per meiosis suggesting that Rec7 marks the sites of recombination. Rec7 and Rad51 foci do not co-localize, presumably because they act sequentially on recombination sites. The localization of Rec7 is dependent on Rec10 but independent of the DSB-inducing protein Rec12/Spo11. Neither Rec7 nor Rad51 localization depends on the LinE-associated proteins Hop1 and Mek1, but the formation of Rad51 foci depends on Rec10, Rec7, and, as expected, Rec12/Spo11. We propose that LinEs form around designated recombination sites before the induction of DSBs and that most, if not all, meiotic recombination initiates within the setting provided by LinEs.

Cell Nucleus Structures↗

Distinct roles of the Adenovirus E4 ORF3 protein in viral DNA replication and inhibition of genome concatenation.

Adenovirus early proteins E4 ORF3 and E4 ORF6 have complementary functions during viral infection. Both proteins facilitate efficient viral DNA replication, late protein expression, and prevention of concatenation of viral genomes. Additionally, E4 ORF6 is involved in the shutoff of the host cell protein synthesis through its interaction with the E1B 55K protein. This complex also leads to the degradation of p53. A unique function of E4 ORF3 is the reorganization of nuclear structures known as PML oncogenic domains (PODs). The function of these domains is unclear, but PODs have been implicated in a number of important cellular processes, including transcriptional regulation, apoptosis, transformation, and response to interferon. The goal of this study was to determine the functional significance of the reorganization of PODs by E4 ORF3. Point mutations were made in the E4 ORF3 gene. These mutants were recombined into a virus lacking E4 ORF6 and expressed under the control of the natural virus E4 promoter. The panel of mutant viruses was used to investigate the role of E4 ORF3 during the course of the viral infection program. One of the mutant viruses exhibited aberrant reorganization of PODs and had a severe defect in viral DNA replication, thus leading to a dramatic decrease in virus production. A number of mutants accumulated viral DNA and infectious virus particles to wild-type levels but showed significant viral genome concatenation. These data show that E4 ORF3 is a multifunctional protein and that a specific rearrangement of nuclear PML domains is coupled to efficient viral DNA replication. This function is distinct from the role of E4 ORF3 in the regulation of virus genome concatenation via inhibition of cellular double-strand break repair.

Adenovirus E4 Proteins↗

Inhibition of SUMO-independent PML oligomerization by the human cytomegalovirus IE1 protein.

In human cytomegalovirus-infected cells, the immediate-early IE1 protein disrupts the subnuclear structures known as the PML oncogenic domains or PODs, via the induction of PML desumoylation. This activity correlates with the functions of IE1 in transcriptional regulation and in the stimulation of lytic infection. Here, the effects of IE1 in induction of desumoylation of PML were characterized. IE1 did not interfere with the formation of sumoylated forms of PML in vitro. In in vitro assays using the sumoylated proteins, a SUMO-specific protease SENP1 desumoylated both PML and IE1. However, the IE1 proteins generated from bacteria or insect cells were unable to desumoylate PML in the same conditions. Although both IE1 and SUMO proteases such as SENP1, Axam and SuPr-1 efficiently desumoylated PML in co-transfection assays, they exerted different effects on the localization of PML. In cells transfected with either SENP1 or SuPr-1, the number of PML foci was reduced significantly and these remnant PML foci were devoid of SUMO-1 signals. However, in cells co-transfected with both SUMO proteases and IE1, these SUMO-independent PML foci were also completely disrupted. Furthermore, IE1, but not SENP1, was shown to disrupt the PML foci generated via transfection of a sumoylation-deficient mutant of PML. These data suggest that IE1 exhibits neither an inhibitory effect on sumoylation of PML nor intrinsic SUMO protease activity against PML in vitro. The finding that IE1 is capable of disrupting SUMO-independent PML aggregates suggests that inhibition of PML oligomerization by IE1 may play an important role in inducing PML desumoylation in vivo.

Cell Line↗