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At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

Tat-dependent adenosine-to-inosine modification of wild-type transactivation response RNA.

Tat is a potent activator of gene expression in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Activation by Tat requires a cis-acting element, the transactivation response (TAR) site, located in the viral long terminal repeat and the 5' end of all viral mRNAs. Sequences in TAR RNA can fold into a specific stem-loop structure, and certain features of the stem-loop are essential for Tat-mediated transactivation. In Xenopus oocytes, TAR sequences can inhibit the translation of 3' cis-linked mRNAs. However, coinjection of Tat and the TAR-containing RNA into oocyte nuclei relieves this translational inhibition [Braddock, M., Chambers, A., Wilson, W., Esnout, M. A., Adams, S.E. & Kingsman, S.M. (1989) Cell 58, 269-279]. We report here that the intramolecular TAR stem-loop structure is a substrate for the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-modifying activity, which converts adenosines to inosines. This activity is located in the nuclei of Xenopus oocytes. The specificity and extent of modification of adenosines in TAR is dependent on Tat. We propose that the dsRNA-modifying activity may be one of the cellular proteins that interacts with TAR in the nucleus. The possible role of TAR RNA modification in the expression of HIV-1 is discussed.

Adenosine↗

siRNA-mediated transcriptional gene silencing: the potential mechanism and a possible role in the histone code.

Epigenetics is the study of meiotically and mitotically heritable changes in gene expression which are not coded for in the DNA. Three distinct mechanisms appear intricately related in initiating and sustaining epigenetic modifications: RNA-associated silencing, DNA methylation and histone modification. Recently, in human cells small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been shown to mediate transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). The observation that siRNAs can function to suppress gene expression at the level of transcription has created a major paradigm shift in mammalian RNA interference. The putative mechanism(s) of siRNA-mediated TGS in both yeast and human cells will be discussed. Undoubtedly, the ramifications from this paradigm shift in which RNA has demonstrated a potent and specific capability to regulate the expression of the gene are immeasurable both therapeutically (i. e. directed control of gene expression) and biologically in understanding the evolution of the cell.

Animals↗

Characterization of the secondary structure features of Escherichia coli, Caldariella acidophila and mammalian ribosomal RNA species by chemical modification of sterically exposed bases.

The helix content of rRNA species (Escherichia coli, Caldariella acidophila, rat liver) and the G . C content of their bihelical domains have been investigated by chemical modification of uracil and cytosine residues with probes specific for sterically exposed bases. By using radioactively labelled rRNA, G . C base pairs and the sum of A . U plus G . U base pairs have been quantified assuming that they are numerically identical with the unreactive cytosine and uracil rings, respectively. Exposed uracil bases were probed by their conversion to alkali-labile, nonultraviolet-absorbing sulphonated adducts, with 1.33 M bisulfite pH 7, at 20 degrees C; the adducts can be separated from unreacted uracil, and quantified, by cation-exchange chromatography of RNase T2 plus pancreatic RNase digests of bisulfite-modified rRNA. Exposed cytosines were probed by their conversion to methoxyaminated, alkali-stable, derivatives with 1 M methoxyamine, pH 5.5, at 37 degrees C, and quantified by monitoring the CMP/AMP radioactivity ratio after alkaline hydrolysis of modified rRNA. Exposed uracil rings can also be estimated spectrophotometrically by the alkali-catalyzed reversal of the non-ultraviolet-absorbing sulphonated adducts after separation of the latter from unreacted uracil. The cytosine deamination reaction, catalyzed by bisulfite at pH 6, has also been investigated and found to exhibit little specificity for sterically exposed bases of rRNA, the (G + C)-richer rRNA species of C. acidophila being considerably less susceptible to non-specific deamination than the (G + C)-poorer rRNA of E. coli. A high degree of congruence is shown to exist between results obtained by chemical modification and melting hyperchromicity experiments.

Animals↗

[Affinity modification of DNA-dependent RNA-polymerase from phage T7 with 5'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyl adenosine: the effect of modification on the interaction with substrates].

T7 RNA polymerase, covalently modified with 5'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyl adenosine, looses the ability of binding the promoter (pGEM-2 plasmid) and poly(dC) template as well as the initiating nucleoside triphosphate (GTP). However the enzyme retains the unspecific binding with DNA fragments of considerable length.

Adenosine↗

Effect of benzo[a]pyrene-diolepoxide on infectivity and in vitro translation of phage MS2 RNA.

Previous studies have shown that alkylation of MS2 RNA by certain derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons renders it noninfectious. Since phage RNA serves as a template for translation and transcription, either of these RNA-directed processes, or both, could be responsible in vivo for the inhibition of phage replication by metabolically activated hydrocarbons. The present study correlates the degree of inhibition of MS2 RNA infectivity, at various levels of alkylation by (+/-)-trans, 7,8-dihydroxy-anti-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzol[a]pyrene, with the translation efficiency in vitro of the same alkylated RNA for the synthesis of viral synthetase and of maturation and coat proteins. The results indicate that dihydroxyepoxy-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene modification of MS2 RNA impairs its template capacity for the synthesis of phage-specific proteins; this inhibition is insufficient, however, to account for the loss of RNA infectivity at lower molar ratios of alkylation. For the three viral proteins synthesized in vitro, the translation of RNA synthetase is much more sensitive to MS2 RNA modification than either coat or maturation protein synthesis. Our results also indicate that the loss of viral RNA infectivity follows a single-hit inactivation mechanism, whereas several alkylation events in the viral RNA synthetase cistron may be necessary to block translation of this gene product.

Alkylation↗

Comparison of eubacterial and eukaryotic 5S RNA structures: a chemical modification study.

The 5S RNAs from Bacillus stearothermophilus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were probed by nucleotide-specific reagents, with a view to compare and contrast their higher order structures. The progressive unfolding of the RNAs during heating, in the presence and absence of magnesium, was monitored. Evidence was provided for the double-helical segments which occur in the secondary structural models of both RNAs. The results also placed constraints on the possible structuring of the remainder of the RNA and yielded some insight into ways of folding up the molecule. Together with the data from our earlier studies, employing ribonucleases, these results provide a detailed picture of the structuring and topography of the 5S RNAs. The main structural differences between the eubacterial and eukaryotic RNAs occur throughout the loop D/helix IV/loop E/helix V arm; in particular strong evidence is provided for loop D of the eukaryotic RNA being involved in a tertiary interaction.

Geobacillus stearothermophilus↗

DNA methylation as a regulatory mechanism for gene expression in mammals.

Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable changes in gene expression that occur without a change in DNA sequence. In the last decade, it has been shown that epigenetic mechanisms provide an "extra" layer of transcriptional control that regulates genes expression. Three distinct mechanisms appear intricately related in initiating and sustaining epigenetic modifications: RNA-associated silencing, DNA methylation and histone modification. These mechanisms are critical components in the normal development and cell growth. DNA methylation is involved in transcriptional silencing of genes, regulation of expression of imprinted genes, a number of tumour suppressor genes in cancer and silencing of genes located on the inactive X chromosome. In this review, we are focused on the basic principles of DNA methylation as the main epigenetic mechanism for normal embryonic development and epigenetic alterations that contribute to carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

Regulation of nuclear receptor activity by a pseudouridine synthase through posttranscriptional modification of steroid receptor RNA activator.

Nuclear receptors (NRs) induce transcription through association with coactivator complexes. We identified a pseudouridine synthase (PUS), mPus1p, as a coactivator for retinoic acid receptor (mRAR)gamma and other NR-dependent transactivation. mPus1p is a member of the truA subfamily of PUSs, a class of enzymes that isomerize uridine to pseudouridine in noncoding RNAs, such as tRNA, to ensure proper folding and function. mPus1p binds the first zinc finger of mRARgamma and also associates with other NRs. Interestingly, mPus1p pseudouridylates coactivator Steroid Receptor RNA Activator (SRA), and when coexpressed, mPus1p and SRA cooperatively enhance mRARgamma-mediated transcription. mPus1p, mRARgamma, and SRA exist in a retinoid-independent, promoter bound complex in the nucleus although mPus1p is also expressed in the nucleolus, where it likely modifies tRNA. Finally, we show that mPus1p-coactivator function required SRA, mPus1p-associated mRARgamma binding, and PUS activities. mPus1p-dependent pseudouridylation of SRA represents an additional type of posttranscriptional modification of a NR-coactivator complex that is important for NR signaling.

Animals↗

Chemical modification of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase by diethyl pyrocarbonate: evidence of histidine requirement for enzyme activity and intrinsic zinc binding.

RNA polymerase (RPase) from Escherichia coli contains five subunits (alpha 2 beta beta' sigma) and two intrinsic Zn ions located in the beta and beta' subunits. This enzyme was rapidly inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEP) at pH 6.0 and 25 degrees C. The difference spectrum of the DEP-inactivated and native RPases showed a single peak at 240 nm indicating the formation of N-carbethoxyhistidines. No decrease in absorbance at 278 nm, due to O-carbethoxytyrosine, or modification of amino and sulfhydryl groups was observed. Inactivated RPase with six to nine histidines being modified could be fully reactivated by incubation with 0.5 M hydroxylamine at pH 6.0 and room temperature for 1 h. No structural difference was detected between the native and modified enzymes as evidenced by UV/visible and fluorescence spectra, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic pattern, or gel filtration properties. Substrate ATP at 0.11 and 1.14 mM concentrations provided, respectively, 25% and 90% protection against DEP inactivation, while template DNA did not. These results suggest that one or more histidine residues is/are in close proximity to the substrate binding site. The pH dependence of the DEP inactivation of RPase suggested the modification of histidine at the active site with a pK value of 6.9. The inactivation of RPase by DEP and the formation of N-carbethoxyhistidine displayed a similar second-order rate constant of approximately 0.9 mM-1 min-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases↗

MapID-based quantitative mapping of chemical modifications and expression of human transfer RNA.

Detection and quantification of tRNA chemical modifications are critical for understanding their regulatory functions in biology and diseases. However, tRNA-seq-based methods for modification mapping encountered challenges both experimentally (poor processivity of heavily modified tRNAs during reverse transcription or RT) and bioinformatically (frequent reads misalignment to highly similar tRNA genes). Here, we report "MapID-tRNA-seq" where we deployed an evolved reverse transcriptase (RT-1306) into tRNA-seq and developed "MapIDs" that reduce redundancy of the human tRNA genome and explicitly annotate genetic variances. RT-1306 generated robust mutations against m1A and m3C, and RT stops against multiple bulky roadblock modifications. MapID-assisted data processing enabled systematic exclusion of false-positive discoveries of modifications which arise from reads misalignment onto similar genes. We applied MapID-tRNA-seq into mapping m1A, m3C and expression levels of tRNAs in three mammary cell lines, which revealed cell-type dependent modification sites and potential translational regulation of the reduced mitochondrial activities in breast cancer.

Humans↗

Secondary structure mapping of an RNA ligand that has high affinity for the MetJ repressor protein and interference modification analysis of the protein-RNA complex.

The secondary structure of an RNA aptamer, which has a high affinity for the Escherichia coli MetJ repressor protein, has been mapped using ribonucleases and with diethyl pyrocarbonate. The RNA ligand is composed of a stem-loop with a highly structured internal loop. Interference modification showed that the bases within the internal loop, and those directly adjacent to it, are important in the binding of the RNA ligand to MetJ. Most of the terminal stem-loop could be removed with little effect on the binding. Ethylation interference suggests that none of the phosphate groups are absolutely essential for tight binding. The data suggest that the MetJ binding site on the aptamer is distinct from that of the natural DNA target, the 8-base pair Met box.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Covalent enzyme-RNA complex: a tRNA modification that prevents a covalent enzyme interaction also prevents aminoacylation.

Previous work indicates that aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases make a transient covalent adduct with cognate tRNAs, through Michael addition of an enzyme nucleophile to the carbon-6 position of uridine 8. We report the selective reduction of the 5,6 double bond of 4-thiouridine at position 8 in Escherichia coli tyrosine tRNA, so as to prevent formation of the presumed covalent enzyme-nucleic acid adduct. The completely reduced tRNA molecules are inactivated for aminoacylation. With partial reduction, a mixed pool of active and inactive molecules is created and the degree of inactivation exactly matches the extent of 4-thiouridine reduction. The active molecules recovered from this mixed pool are specifically unaltered at position 8. The results are consistent with the view that the covalent enzyme-RNA adduct is an obligatory intermediate for aminoacylation of this tRNA.

Borates↗

Modtector: ultra-fast modification signal mining on mapped sequencing reads.

SUMMARY: Existing tools for RNA epitranscriptomic modification and structural signal analysis are often fragmented, inefficiency, and limited to single signal types. We developed Modtector, an unified tool for extracting mutation and reverse-transcription stop signals from aligned sequencing reads. By using a "count-then-correct" strategy, Modtector reduces computational complexity and enables efficient dual-signal analysis. It achieves multi-fold speedups on large-genome and high-coverage datasets, including completing HEK293 22G data analysis in 5 minutes, and show strong scalability on single-cell datasets with speedups exceeding 50-fold. AVAILABILITY: The source code is available at GitHub (https://github.com/TongZhou2017/modtector) and Crates.io (https://crates.io/crates/modtector). The archived source-code snapshot used in this study is available at Zenodo (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20967747), corresponding to GitHub commit 7c60e9d. Workflow examples, datasets, and analysis scripts are available at Zenodo (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17316476 and 10.5281/zenodo.18523297).

Humans↗

[Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of rna polymerase III holoenzyme are modifications regulating the level of transcription in vitro].

Two subforms of RNA polymerase III-IIIa and IIIb--were identified in human placenta nuclei. These subforms differed in molecular weight of one subunit, and in buoyant density in glycerol concentration gradient. Protein kinase activity, which phosphorylates at least four subunits of RNA polymerase IIIa and three subunits of RNA polymerase IIIb in vitro, was copurified with both the subforms. Protein kinase activity was inhibited by wortmannin, a specific PI3-kinase inhibitor. RNA polymerase III dephosphorylation by alkaline phosphatase in vitro decrease the transcription level on specific Alu-template. The associated protein kinase was not able to phosphorylate dephosphorylated RNA polymerase IIIa and to restore the transcription level up to the control one.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Two novel proteins, dos1 and dos2, interact with rik1 to regulate heterochromatic RNA interference and histone modification.

BACKGROUND: Chromosomal behavior during mitosis and meiosis depends in part on heterochromatic modifications such as histone H3 lysine-9 methylation (H3K9me). In fission yeast, the Heterochromatin Protein 1 homolog Swi6 recognizes H3K9me, silences transcription, and retains cohesin at pericentromeric repeats. Heterochromatin formation also depends on processing of transcripts derived from centromeric repeats by the RNAi machinery. The DDB1 homolog, Rik1, and histone methyltransferase, Clr4, act in a complex to promote H3K9me. However, the mechanism underlying this interaction is poorly understood. RESULTS: Using a cytological screen, we have identified two novel genes, dos1(+) and dos2(+), which are required for localization of Swi6. Deletion of either of these genes results in mitotic and meiotic chromosome missegregation, defects in mitotic centromeric cohesion and meiotic telomere clustering, and loss of heterochromatic silencing. Dos1 is predominantly located in the nucleus in a Dos2-dependent manner and directly interacts with Rik1. Each of these genes is required for the association of H3K9me with centromeric repeats, as well as for the production of small interfering RNAs. CONCLUSIONS: Dos1 and Dos2 are required for the formation of heterochromatin in fission yeast. We hypothesize that the physical interaction between Dos1 and Rik1 represents a role in regulating activity of the Rik1/Clr4 complex. Dos2 contributes to this role by regulating Dos1 localization. Our findings suggest a mechanism for recruitment of Clr4 in the RNAi-dependent heterochromatin pathway, in which Dos1 and Dos2 are essential.

Carrier Proteins↗