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RBR3, a member of the retinoblastoma-related family from maize, is regulated by the RBR1/E2F pathway.

Retinoblastoma-related (RBR) proteins regulate cell division in higher eukaryotes by controlling the adenovirus E2 promoter binding factor (E2F)/dimerization partner (DP) family of transcription factors that regulate expression of many genes involved in cell-cycle progression. We identified a previously undescribed member of the maize RBR family, RBR3, which has the characteristic structure and binding activities of pocket proteins, where interaction depends on a LxCxE motif in the partner proteins and a critical cysteine within the B pocket domain. Like other RBR proteins, RBR3 appears to be regulated by phosphorylation mediated by cyclin-dependent kinases. During endosperm development, RBR3 expression is restricted to the mitotic stage preceding the onset of endoreduplication. This finding suggests a role distinct from RBR1, which is constitutively expressed. Two sites in the RBR3 promoter bind to complexes containing maize E2F1 and DP proteins. Expression of wheat dwarf virus RepA protein, which blocks RBR1 activity and stimulates cell proliferation, dramatically up-regulates RBR3, but not RBR1, RNA in embryogenic maize calli. The results indicate that RBR3 expression is controlled by RBR1 through the activity of E2F/DP and that RBR3 is the maize equivalent of mammalian p107. Furthermore, maize and related grasses might have evolved a compensatory mechanism among distinct types of RBR proteins to ensure robust control of pocket protein activity.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Diverse origins of multiple ovarian teratomas in a single individual.

Centromere heteromorphisms and enzyme markers were examined in cells cultured from seven benign ovarian teratomas arising in a single patient. Three of the teratomas were homozygous for all eight enzyme and centromere markers found to be heterozygous in the host. The other four tumors were heterozygous at the centromeres of chromosomes 1, 16, 17, and 18, as in the patient, but were homozygous for at least one of the enzyme markers. The linkage phases of the heterozygous enzyme markers phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and phosphoglucomutase 1 and the chromosome 1 centromere heteromorphism were established for the patient and for three of the heterozygous teratomas by analysis of Chinese hamster-human somatic cell hybrids. The linkage phase of these markers in homozygous and heterozygous tumors was in every case different from that in the host. The finding of heterozygous centromeres in ovarian teratomas excludes suppression of meiosis II as a mechanism for their origin, and we suggest rather that they arise by failure of meiosis I. The linkage phases in the fully homozygous tumors are most readily derived from that in the patient, we suggest, by endoreduplication of a haploid gamete. The varied origin of ovarian teratomas has important implications for the suitability of such material for centromere-based gene mapping.

Adult↗

Characterization of maize (Zea mays L.) Wee1 and its activity in developing endosperm.

We report the characterization of a maize Wee1 homologue and its expression in developing endosperm. Using a 0.8-kb cDNA from an expressed sequence tag project, we isolated a 1.6-kb cDNA (ZmWee1), which encodes a protein of 403 aa with a calculated molecular size of 45.6 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence shows 50% identity to the protein kinase domain of human Wee1. Overexpression of ZmWee1 in Schizosaccharomyces pombe inhibited cell division and caused the cells to enlarge significantly. Recombinant ZmWee1 obtained from Escherichia coli is able to inhibit the activity of p13(suc1)-adsorbed cyclin-dependent kinase from maize. ZmWee1 is encoded by a single gene at a locus on the long arm of chromosome 4. RNA gel blots showed the ZmWee1 transcript is about 2.4 kb in length and that its abundance reaches a maximum 15 days after pollination in endosperm tissue. High levels of expression of ZmWee1 at this stage of endosperm development imply that ZmWee1 plays a role in endoreduplication. Our results show that control of cyclin-dependent kinase activity by Wee1 is conserved among eukaryotes, from fungi to animals and plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

G2/M transition requires multisite phosphorylation of oncoprotein 18 by two distinct protein kinase systems.

Oncoprotein 18 (Op18) is a conserved cytosolic protein that is a target for both cell cycle and cell surface receptor-regulated phosphorylation events. The four residues Ser16, Ser25, Ser38, and Ser63 are all subject to cell cycle-regulated phosphorylation. Ser25 and Ser38 are targets for cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs), while Ser16 and Ser63 are phosphorylated by an unidentified protein kinase. We have recently shown that induced expression of a CDK target site-deficient mutant, Op18-S25A,S38A, blocks human cell lines during G2/M transition. In the present report we show that mitosis is associated with complete phosphorylation of the two Op18 CDK target sites Ser25 and Ser38 and that Ser16 and Ser63 are also phosphorylated to a high stoichiometry. To evaluate the function of multisite phosphorylation of Op18, we expressed and analyzed the cell cycle phenotype of different kinase target site-deficient mutants. The data showed that induced expression of the S16A,S63A, S25A,S38A, and S16A,S25A,S38A,S63A mutants all resulted in an indistinguishable phenotype, i.e. immediate G2/M block and subsequent endoreduplication, a given fraction of G2 versus M-phase blocked cells, and a characteristic nuclear morphology of M-blocked cells. This result was unexpected; however, a likely explanation was provided by analysis of Op18 phosphoisomers, which revealed that mutations of the CDK sites interfere with phosphorylation of Ser16 and Ser63. The simplest interpretation of our results is that phosphorylation of Ser16 and Ser63 is essential during G2/M transition and that the phenotype of the S25A,S38A mutant is mediated by the observed block of Ser16/Ser63 phosphorylation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The cell cycle in polyploid megakaryocytes is associated with reduced activity of cyclin B1-dependent cdc2 kinase.

The platelet precursor, the megakaryocyte, matures to a polyploid cell as a result of DNA replication in the absence of mitosis (endomitosis). The factors controlling endomitosis are accessible to analysis in our megakaryocytic cell line, MegT, generated by targeted expression of temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 large T antigen to megakaryocytes of transgenic mice. We aimed to define whether endomitosis consists of a continuous phase of DNA synthesis (S) or of S phases interrupted by gaps. Analysis of the cell cycle in MegT cells revealed that, upon inactivation of large T antigen, the cells shifted from a mitotic cell cycle to an endomitotic cell cycle consisting of S/Gap phases. The level of the G1/S cyclin, cyclin A, as well as of the G1 phase cyclin, cyclin D3, were elevated at the onset of DNA synthesis, either in MegT cells undergoing a mitotic cell cycle or during endomitosis. In contrast, the level of the mitotic cyclin, cyclin B1, cycled in cells displaying a mitotic cell cycle while not detectable during endomitosis. Comparable levels of the mitotic kinase protein, Cdc2, were detected during the mitotic cell cycle or during endomitosis; however, cyclin B1-dependent Cdc2 kinase activity was largely abolished in the polyploid cells. Fibroblasts immortalized with the same heat-labile oncogene do not display reduced levels of cyclin B1 upon shifting to high temperature nor do they become polyploid, indicating that reduced levels of cyclin B1 is a property of megakaryocytes and not of the T-antigen mutant. We conclude that cellular programming during endoreduplication in megakaryocytes is associated with reduced levels of cyclin B1.

Animals↗

Sequence of lethal events in HeLa cells exposed to the G2 blocking cytolethal distending toxin.

The bacterial cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) was previously shown to block the cell cycle of several cell lines at stage G2 through inactivation of the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdkl and without induction of DNA strand breaks. In the present study, we have analyzed, using various methods of analytical cytometry, the progressive transformation and delayed lethal events in the tumor-derived HeLa cell line temporarily exposed to CDT. The cell proliferation arrest induced by CDT was irreversible but, starting about two days after exposure, the G2 block released partially, concomitantly with a decline in the level of Cdkl phosphorylation. This partial release resulted in endoreduplication, leading to the emergence of a significant subpopulation of cells with a 8C DNA content, and by multipolar abortive mitosis which accounted for the mortality recorded 2 and 3 days after exposure. The other major lethal event was a micronucleation process which started to be significant about 3 days after exposure and amplified later on. Both multipolar abortive mitosis and micronucleation appeared topologically related to centrosomal amplification.

Antimetabolites↗

Chromosome mutations and pH disturbances.

Chromosomal anomalies, namely hypodiploidies, hyperdiploidies, and endoreduplications, developed in nearly 25% of metaphase plates of replicating human lymphocytes exposed in vitro to either acid (6.5 to 6.9) or alkaline (8.4 to 8.8) pH equilibriums. The G group was most susceptible to aneuploid formation. Mammalian mutations may develop as the result of a pH disturbance during cleavage of the fertilized zygote.

Aneuploidy↗

Sodium pentobarbital-induced mutations in the hamster.

When virgin Syrian hamsters aged 6 to 8 wk were mated during estrus and anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (Nembutal) 4 to 5 hr before estimated ovulation, pregnancy wastage in the newly conceived litter was observed. This was manifested by polyspermy of moribund eggs and death of fertilized eggs, deficits of expected zygotes, and triploidy and tetraploidy in 3-day-old surviving embryos. Multiple factors determined the nature of this wastage, including dosage of Nembutal [sodium 5-ethyl-5-(1-methyl butal) barbiturate], route of its administration, degree of resulting respiratory depression, and ultimately a pH imbalance (below 7) in the mother. Polyspermy appeared to result from the penetration of degenerating ova by 10-20 sperm, triploidy to polar body retention, and tetraploidy to endoreduplication of chromosomes before cell cleavage; identification of 2N/4N mosaics supports this inference.

Animals↗

p-Aramid RFP do not induce chromosomal aberrations in a standardized in vitro genotoxicity assay using human lymphocytes.

Genotoxicity evaluations have been proposed as regulatory requirements for establishing German MAK values for inhaled fibrous dusts. The objective of this in vitro assay was to assess the potential for para-aramid (p-aramid) respirable-sized, fiber-shaped particulates (RFP) to induce chromosomal aberrations in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes without metabolic activation. The highest concentration tested in this assay was limited by the physical characteristics of p-aramid RFP. The test substance was suspended in fully supplemented RPMI culture medium with 1% Pluronic F68. All dosing was achieved using a dosing volume of 90% (900 microl/ml), and the vehicle control cultures were treated with 900 microl/ml of fully supplemented RPMI culture medium with 1% Pluronic F68. In the chromosomal aberrations assay, the treatments were either 3 or 19 h without metabolic activation. Cultures were harvested 22 h from the initiation of treatment. Replicated cultures of human whole blood lymphocytes were incubated with p-aramid RFP concentrations of 6.30, 12.6, 25.2, 50.4, 101, 201, and 401 microg/ml. Cultures treated with concentrations to 50.4 microg/ml for 3 h and 6.30, 12.6, 25.2, and 201 microg/ml for 19 h were analyzed for structural and numerical chromosomal aberrations. No significant increase in cells with chromosomal aberrations, polyploidy, or endoreduplication was observed in the cultures analyzed. The results demonstrated that p-aramid RFP was negative for inducing chromosomal aberrations in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes without metabolic activation. In addition, we conclude that the utility of these tests for evaluating the genotoxicity of fibrous or particulate materials is questionable.

Adult↗

Mutagenicity and chemical analysis of aliphatic and aromatic fractions of Prudhoe Bay crude oil and fuel oil no. 2.

The mutagenicity of aliphatic (fraction 1), one- to three-ring aromatic (fraction 3), and four- to five-ring aromatic (fraction 4) fractions of Prudhoe Bay crude oil and of a fuel oil no. 2 was investigated with a battery of in vitro mammalian and microbial assays. Chemical analysis of the fractions was carried out by gas capillary chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the Salmonella/mammalian microsome test, both first fractions were negative, while fraction 3 of Prudhoe Bay crude and fraction 4 of both oils exhibited mutagenic activity with metabolic activation. In Chinese hamster ovary cells, all of the aromatic fractions, in the presence of metabolic activation, caused a significant increase in the number of sister chromatid exchanges. Chromosome aberrations were not caused by any of the aromatic fractions; however, fraction 3 of fuel oil no. 2 induced endoreduplication in the presence of metabolic activation.

Animals↗

A cytochemical study of the stem cell concept in specimens of a human ovarian tumor.

The amounts of DNA in interphase nuclei were compared with the amounts of DNA in metaphase and anaphase figures in Feulgen-stained tissue sections of 5 specimens of the human ovarian papillary serous adenocarcinoma. The relative amounts of DNA per cell were determined by cytophotometric measurements of interphase nuclei at a single wavelength and of mitotic figures by the two wavelength method. The 5 specimens conformed to the stem cell concept of cell proliferation since anaphase distributions of amounts of DNA were restricted to a narrow range of DNA values indicating the successful mitosis of a single cell type (stem cell) out of several cell types whose presence were suggested by the wide spread of interphase and metaphase values. In addition, the data indicated that, in some instances, only the amounts of DNA in anaphase figures can reliably identify the stem cell. Changes in the frequency of dividing cells having doubled amounts of DNA, and/or the presence of cells resulting from endoreduplication can distort the interphase distribution of amounts of DNA and thus give rise to a modal DNA interphase value which is not the same as the DNA value of the stem cell (anaphase figures).

Anaphase↗

Molecular cloning, developmental expression, and cellular localization of the 70-kDa RPA-1 subunit of Drosophila melanogaster.

Replication protein A (RPA) is a highly conserved multifunctional heterotrimeric complex, involved in DNA replication, repair, recombination, and possibly transcription. Here, we report the cloning of the gene that codes for the largest subunit of the Drosophila melanogaster RPA homolog, dmRPA70. In situ hybridization showed that dmRPA70 RNA is present in developing embryos during the first 16 cycles. After this point, dm-RPA70 expression is downregulated in cells that enter a G1 phase and exit the mitotic cycle, becoming restricted to brief bursts of accumulation from late G1 to S phase. This pattern of regulated expression is also observed in the developing eye imaginal disc. In addition, we have shown that the presence of cyclin E is necessary and sufficient to drive the expression of dmRPA70 in embryonic cells arrested in G1 but is not required in tissues undergoing endoreduplication. Immunolocalization showed that in early developing embryos, the dmRPA70 protein associates with chromatin from the end of mitosis until the beginning of the next prophase in a dynamic speckled pattern that is strongly suggestive of its association with replication foci.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Centromere positioning and dynamics in living Arabidopsis plants.

The organization and dynamics of the genome have been shown to influence gene expression in many organisms. Data from mammalian tissue culture cells have provided conflicting conclusions with regard to the extent to which chromatin organization is inherited from mother to daughter nuclei. To gain insight into chromatin organization and dynamics, we developed transgenic Arabidopsis lines in which centromeres were tagged with a green fluorescent protein fusion of the centromere-specific histone H3. Using four-dimensional (4-D) live cell imaging, we show that Arabidopsis centromeres are constrained at the nuclear periphery during interphase and that the organization of endoreduplicated sister centromeres is cell type dependent with predominant clustering in root epidermal cells and dispersion in leaf epidermal cells. 4-D tracking of the entire set of centromeres through mitosis, in growing root meristematic cells, demonstrated that global centromere position is not precisely transmitted from the mother cell to daughter cells. These results provide important insight into our understanding of chromatin organization among different cells of a living organism.

Arabidopsis↗

Comparison of arsenic-induced cell transformation, cytotoxicity, mutation and cytogenetic effects in Syrian hamster embryo cells in culture.

Sodium arsenite and sodium arsenate were observed to induce morphological transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells in a dose-dependent manner. A linear dose-dependence with a slope of approximately 1 was observed with both compounds when the data were plotted on a log-log graph. The trivalent sodium arsenite was greater than 10-fold more potent than the pentavalent sodium arsenate. The compounds also exhibited toxicity; however, transformation was observed at non-toxic as well as toxic doses. At low doses, enhanced colony-forming efficiency of the cells was observed. To understand the mechanism of arsenic-induced transformation, the genetic effects of the two arsenicals were examined over the same doses that induced transformation. No arsenic-induced gene mutations were detected at two genetic loci. However, cell transformation and cytogenetic effects, including endoreduplication, chromosome aberrations, and sister chromatid exchanges were induced by the arsenicals with similar dose-responses. These results support a possible role for chromosomal changes in arsenic-induced transformation.

Animals↗

Inability to enter S phase and defective RNA polymerase II CTD phosphorylation in mice lacking Mat1.

The trimeric Cdk7-cyclin H-Mat1 complex comprises the kinase subunit of basal transcription factor TFIIH and has been shown to function as a cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)-activating kinase. Herein we report that disruption of the murine Mat1 gene leads to peri-implantation lethality coincident with depletion of maternal Mat1 protein. In culture, Mat1(-/-) blastocysts gave rise to viable post-mitotic trophoblast giant cells while mitotic lineages failed to proliferate and survive. In contrast to wild-type trophoblast giant cells, Mat1(-/-) cells exhibited a rapid arrest in endoreduplication, which was characterized by an inability to enter S phase. Additionally, Mat1(-/-) cells exhibited defects in phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II on both Ser5 and Ser2 of the heptapeptide repeat. Despite this, Mat1(-/-) cells demonstrated apparent transcriptional and translational integrity. These data indicate an essential role for Mat1 in progression through the endocycle and suggest that while Mat1 modulates CTD phosphorylation, it does not appear to be essential for RNA polymerase II-mediated transcription.

Animals↗

Increased or decreased levels of Caenorhabditis elegans lon-3, a gene encoding a collagen, cause reciprocal changes in body length.

Body length in C. elegans is regulated by a member of the TGFbeta family, DBL-1. Loss-of-function mutations in dbl-1, or in genes encoding components of the signaling pathway it activates, cause worms to be shorter than wild type and slightly thinner (Sma). Overexpression of dbl-1 confers the Lon phenotype characterized by an increase in body length. We show here that loss-of-function mutations in dbl-1 and lon-1, respectively, cause a decrease or increase in the ploidy of nuclei in the hypodermal syncytial cell, hyp7. To learn more about the regulation of body length in C. elegans we carried out a genetic screen for new mutations causing a Lon phenotype. We report here the cloning and characterization of lon-3. lon-3 is shown to encode a putative cuticle collagen that is expressed in hypodermal cells. We show that, whereas putative null mutations in lon-3 (or reduction of lon-3 activity by RNAi) causes a Lon phenotype, increasing lon-3 gene copy number causes a marked reduction in body length. Morphometric analyses indicate that the lon-3 loss-of-function phenotype resembles that caused by overexpression of dbl-1. Furthermore, phenotypes caused by defects in dbl-1 or lon-3 expression are in both cases suppressed by a null mutation in sqt-1, a second cuticle collagen gene. However, whereas loss of dbl-1 activity causes a reduction in hypodermal endoreduplication, the reduction in body length associated with overexpression of lon-3 occurs in the absence of defects in hypodermal ploidy.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isolation of three distinct CycD3 genes expressed during fruit development in tomato.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is an important fruit crop world-wide and a model for studying fruit development. As determined using flow cytometry, fruit growth was characterized by high cell division activity in tomato during the first week after anthesis and followed by endoreduplications (DNA replication without cell divisions). D-type cyclins are considered to be important parts of the signal transduction for stimulation of DNA replication and cell division. To study the function of D cyclins in fruit development, full-length cDNA clones for three D cyclin genes were isolated from young tomato fruit. They were classified as D3 cyclins by sequence similarities and a phylogenetic analysis and named as LeCycD3;1, LeCycD3;2 and LeCycD3;3. The deduced amino acid sequences for LeCycD3;1-3 contained a retinoblastoma-binding motif and a PEST-destruction motif. Pollination and fertilization were followed by a high increase in the transcript levels of LeCycD3;1-3 in young fruit. Using in situ hybridization, high expression of LeCycD3;3 was detected in the vascular tissue of young fruit suggesting a role in vascular development. The D3 cyclins are probably involved in transducing the signals leading to fruit growth by cell divisions. Distinct differences were detected in their temporal and spatial expression patterns suggesting that they play different roles in fruit development as well as in the development of other plant organs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

DNA replication in plants: characterization of a cdc6 homologue from Arabidopsis thaliana.

Cdc6 is a key regulator of DNA replication in eukaryotes. In this work, the expression pattern of an Arabidopsis cdc6 homologue is characterized by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization. The data suggest that cdc6At expression is cell cycle regulated. During development, high cdc6At mRNA levels are found in regular cycling cells. In addition, cdc6At expression is also observed in cells that are probably undergoing endoreduplication, suggesting a possible role of Cdc6At in this process in plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗