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Affinity labelling of Escherichia coli ribosomes with a benzylidene derivative of AUGU6 within initiation and pretranslocational complexes.

Affinity labelling of E. coli ribosomes with the 2',3'-O-[4-(N-2-chloroethyl)-N-methylamino]benzylidene derivative of AUGU6 was studied within the initiation complex (complex I) obtained by using fMet-tRNAMetf and initiation factors and within the pretranslocational complex (complex II) obtained by treatment of complex I with the ternary complex Phe-tRNAPhe.GTP.EF-Tu. Both proteins and rRNA of 30 S as well as 50 S subunits were found to be labelled. Sets of proteins labelled within complexes I and II differ considerably. Within complex II, proteins S13 and L10 were labelled preferentially. On the other hand, within complex I, multiple modification is observed (proteins S4, S12, S13, S14, S15, S18, S19, S20/L26 were found to be alkylated) despite the single fixation of a template in the ribosome by interaction of the AUG codon with fMet-tRNAMetf.

Affinity Labels↗

The human mitochondrial transcription termination factor (mTERF) is fully active in vitro in the non-phosphorylated form.

The human mitochondrial transcription termination factor (mTERF) is a 39-kDa protein that terminates transcription at the 3'-end of the 16 S rRNA gene and thereby controls expression of the ribosomal transcription unit of mitochondrial DNA. The transcription termination activity of human mTERF has been notoriously difficult to study in vitro, and it has been suggested that the activity of the protein is regulated by posttranslational modifications or by protein polymerization. We here characterize the activity of recombinant human mTERF expressed in insect cells. We observed that mTERF efficiently promotes sequence-specific termination in a completely recombinant and highly purified in vitro system for mitochondrial transcription. The termination activity has a distinct polarity, and we observed complete transcription termination when the mTERF-binding site is oriented in a forward position relative the heavy strand promoter but only partial transcription termination when the binding site is in the reverse position. We analyzed the biochemical characteristics of the active mTERF protein and found that it is a stable monomer at physiological salt concentration. Structural analysis, including phosphostaining, two-dimensional electrophoresis, and electrospray mass spectrometry, detected no evidence of phosphorylation. We conclude that the monomeric human mTERF is fully active in its non-phosphorylated form and that the protein does not require additional cellular factors to terminate mitochondrial transcription in vitro.

Animals↗

Addition of non-genomically encoded nucleotides to the 3'-terminus of maize mitochondrial mRNAs: truncated rps12 mRNAs frequently terminate with CCA.

The 3'-termini of maize mitochondrial RNAs were characterized by ligation of an anchor oligonucleotide, reverse transcription and amplification. DNA sequence analysis of cDNA clones for tRNA(Ser) and 18S rRNA confirmed the expected 3'-terminal nucleotides and demonstrated the accuracy and fidelity of the protocol. Analysis of cDNAs for rps12, cox2 and atp9 indicated that non-genomically encoded nucleotides were present at the 3'-terminus. rps12 cDNAs exhibited the highest degree of modification, with 94% of 35 cDNA clones analyzed containing one to four non-genomically encoded C or A residues; 83% of these cDNAs terminated with the trinucleotide CCA. DNA sequence and transcript mapping analyses demonstrated that four positions exhibited modified 3'-termini within a small region of the 3' flank of rps12 transcripts. These transcript termini represented low abundance, truncated forms of rps12 mRNAs which may be intermediates in degradation. cox2 mRNAs are also modified at a truncated position. Sixty percent of the cox2 cDNAs were modified with 1-5 nt that most frequently included A and C residues, but also included a few G and T residues. Non-genomically encoded nucleotides were detected in 27% of the atp9 cDNAs as a single C or A residue.

3' Untranslated Regions↗

Phosphorylation of the yeast ribosomal stalk. Functional effects and enzymes involved in the process.

The ribosomal stalk is directly involved in the interaction of the elongation factors with the ribosome during protein synthesis. The stalk is formed by a complex of five proteins, four small acidic polypeptides and a larger protein which directly interacts with the rRNA at the GTPase center. In eukaryotes the acidic components correspond to the 12-kDa P1 and P2 proteins, and the RNA binding component is the P0 protein. All these proteins are found phosphorylated in eukaryotic organisms, and previous in vitro data suggested this modification was involved in the activity of this structure. Results from mutational studies have shown that phosphorylation takes place at a serine residue close to the carboxy end of the P proteins. Modification of this serine residue does not affect the formation of the stalk and the activity of the ribosome in standard conditions but induces an osmoregulation-related phenotype at 37 degrees C. The phosphorylatable serine is part of a consensus casein kinase II phosphorylation site. However, although CKII seems to be responsible for part of the stalk phosphorylation in vivo, it is probably not the only enzyme in the cell able to perform this modification. Five protein kinases, RAPI, RAPII and RAPIII, in addition to the previously reported CKII and PK60 kinases, are able to phosphorylate the stalk proteins. A comparison of the five enzymes shows differences among them that suggest some specificity regarding the phosphorylation of the four yeast acidic proteins. It has been found that some typical effectors of the PKC kinase stimulate the in vitro phosphorylation of the stalk proteins. All the data suggest that although phosphorylation is not involved in the interaction of the acidic P proteins with the ribosome, it can affect the ribosome activity and might participate in a possible ribosome regulatory mechanism.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

RNA-protein interaction. An analysis with RNA oligonucleotides of the recognition by alpha-sarcin of a ribosomal domain critical for function.

alpha-Sarcin is a cytotoxic protein that inactivates ribosomes by hydrolyzing a single phosphodiester bond on the 3' side of G-4325 in eukaryotic 28 S rRNA. We have examined the requirements for the recognition by alpha-sarcin of this domain using a synthetic oligoribonucleotide (35-mer) that reproduces the sequence and, we presume, the secondary structure (a stem, a bulged nucleotide, and a loop) at the site of modification. The wild type structure and a large number of variants were transcribed in vitro from synthetic DNA templates with phage T7 RNA polymerase. Recognition of the substrate is strongly favored by a G at the position that corresponds to 4325. There is an absolute requirement for a helical stem; however, it can be reduced from the 7 base pairs in the natural structure to 3 without loss of specificity. The nature of the base pairs in the stem modifies but does not abolish recognition; whereas, the bulged nucleotide does not contribute to identification. Cleavage is materially affected by altering the nucleotides in the universal sequence surrounding G-4325 and changing the position in the loop of the tetranucleotide GAG(sarcin)A leads to loss of recognition by the toxin. We propose that the alpha-sarcin domain RNA participates in elongation factor catalyzed binding of aminoacyl-tRNA and of translocation; that translocation is driven by transitions in the structure of the alpha-sarcin domain RNA initiated by the binding of the factors, or the hydrolysis of GTP, or both; and that to toxin inactivates the ribosomes by preventing this transition.

Adenosine↗

[Affinity modification of the 40S subparticle from human placenta with derivatives of pAUG and pAUGU3].

Affinity labeling of 40S subunits from human placenta with 4-(N-2-chloroethyl-N-methylamino)benzylmethyl-[32P]phosphoamide s of oligoribonucleotides pAUG and pAUGU3 was studied. Covalent attachment of these derivatives to 40S subunits within the complexes with 40S subunits, formed in the presence of Met-tRNAf.eIF-2.GTP, was detected. Both rRNA and ribosomal proteins were modified. Fragments of 18S rRNA, containing sites of the reagent attachment were identified: 1058-1164 for pAUG derivative and 976-1057--for pAUG and pAUGU3 ones. The data obtained allowed to conclude that the presence of the neighbouring codon at the A-site, regardless of the presence of the tRNA in it, affects significantly the arrangement of the trinucleotide template in the codon-anticodon interaction region. The large subunit does not cause significant alterations in the structural organization of the codon-anticodon interaction region.

Affinity Labels↗

Chemical modification of 5S and 4.5S rRNAs in situ in spinach chloroplast ribosomes.

Spinach chloroplast ribosomes and 50S subunits were reacted with diethylpyrocarbonate under conditions in which their gross structures can be maintained. 5S and 4.5S rRNAs were isolated from such modified particles and the modified adenine residues of these rRNAs were identified by using gel sequencing method. The accessible sites of 5S rRNA in 50S subunits to the reagent were found to be A15, A40 and A89 and that of 5S rRNA in whole ribosomes was restricted to A89. In the case of 4.5S rRNA, A33 was exclusively modified in ribosomes or 50S subunits.

Chloroplasts↗

Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genome indicates significant differences between patients with Alzheimer disease and controls in a French-Canadian founder population.

The activity of cytochrome oxidase (CO), the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, has been reported to be lower in the brains of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. This suggests that a modification of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may be responsible for this decrease of CO activity. Many mtDNA variants were found by different studies at a higher frequency in AD patients, suggesting that mtDNA variants could confer a genetic susceptibility to AD. In this study, we sequenced the entire mitochondrial genome region that encompasses the three CO genes and the 22 mitochondrial tRNA in 69 AD patients and 83 age-matched controls. We detected a total of 95 mtDNA variants. The allele frequencies of the majority of these variants were similar in patients and controls. However, a haplotype composed of three different modifications (positions: 5633, 7476, and 15812) was present in three of the 69 late-onset AD patients (4.3%) and also in 1 of 16 early-onset AD patients (6.2%) but not in control individuals. Given that one of these variants (15812) has already been shown to be associated with another neurodegenerative disease and that all three modifications are relatively conserved and their frequencies in the general population is only 0.1%, our data suggest that the presence of this haplotype may represent a risk factor for AD. We also found a significant association (P < 0.05) of two other variants at positions 709 (rRNA 12S) and 15928 (tRNA(Thr)). These two mtDNA variants are three times more frequent in control individuals compared with AD patients, suggesting that they may be protective against AD.

Aged↗

The nucleolar transcription factor mUBF is phosphorylated by casein kinase II in the C-terminal hyperacidic tail which is essential for transactivation.

UBF is a DNA binding protein which interacts with both the promoter and the enhancer of various vertebrate ribosomal RNA genes and functions as a transcription initiation factor for RNA polymerase I (pol I). We have purified murine UBF to apparent molecular homogeneity and demonstrate that its transactivating potential, but not its DNA binding activity, is modulated in response to cell growth. In vivo labelling experiments demonstrate that UBF is a phosphoprotein and that the phosphorylation state is different in growing and quiescent cells. We show that UBF is phosphorylated in vitro by a cellular protein kinase which by several criteria closely resembles casein kinase II (CKII). A major modification involves serine phosphoesterifications in the carboxy terminal hyperacidic tail of UBF. Deletions of this C-terminal domain severely decreases the UBF directed activation of transcription. The data suggest that phosphorylation of UBF by CKII may play an important role in growth dependent control of rRNA synthesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Structural differences between active and inactive mammalian 60S ribosomal subunits. Circular dichroism and electric birefringence studies.

The structure and conformation of different active and inactive forms of the 60S rat liver ribosomal subunits have been analyzed by electric birefringence and circular dichroism. These studies show the following: 1) When a phosphate buffer is used instead of a triethanolamine buffer, there are major changes in RNA stacking, RNA-protein interactions, and particle orientation and conformation with no concomitant loss in ribosome activity. 2) The inactivated subunits by K(+)-depletion exhibit the same electro-optical and near-UV CD behaviour than the active subunits in phosphate buffer. 3) Inactivation by EDTA-treatment leads to drastic changes in RNA structure, RNA-protein interactions and subunit conformation; the 60S particles behave like free RNA, indicating the absence of any stabilization of rRNA by ribosomal proteins. 4) The inactivation of subunits by depletion of either monovalent or divalent cations is accompanied by a net decrease of the alpha-helicity of the ribosomal proteins. 5) The transition from active to inactive form of 60S subunits may involve protein modifications, likely dependent on a specific array of cations. 6) RNA has a certain degree of liberty within the subunits and one can suppose that this property is responsible for the flexible structure of ribosome.

Animals↗

Genes near tRNAs are enriched in translational machinery.

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are known for delivering amino acids to the growing polypeptide chain during translation. They can also influence gene expression, especially in times of nutrient starvation, through differential tRNA expression and modification. Transfer RNAs have a highly consistent cloverleaf structure, but relatively few known regulatory elements govern this conserved structure despite the 20 different standard isotypes. This study examines gene enrichment patterns near tRNA genes across 1149 fungal genomes. Genes enriched in proteasome regulation, ion transport, and rRNA were found to be significantly closer to tRNAs than other pathways. These results were consistent across KEGG overrepresentation analysis (ORA), KEGG gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and gene ontology (GO) analysis. Proteasome, ion transport, and RNA are all important aspects of protein production and regulation, suggesting that genes required for the synthesis and quality control of proteins, including tRNAs, are located near each other. Protein regulation is an energetically expensive process, and local co-regulation could increase efficiency and stress impacts on proteins.

RNA, Transfer↗

Use of 18S rRNA gene-based PCR assay for diagnosis of acanthamoeba keratitis in non-contact lens wearers in India.

Identification of Acanthamoeba cysts and trophozoites in ocular tissues requires considerable expertise and is often time-consuming. An 18S rRNA gene-based PCR test, highly specific for the genus Acanthamoeba, has recently been reported in the molecular diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. This PCR assay was compared with conventional microbiological tests for the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. In a pilot study, the PCR conditions with modifications were first tested on corneal scrapings from patients with culture-proven non-contact lens-related Acanthamoeba, bacterial, and fungal keratitis. This was followed by testing of corneal scrapings from 53 consecutive cases of microbial keratitis to determine sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the assay. All corneal scrapings from patients with proven Acanthamoeba keratitis showed a 463-bp amplicon, while no amplicon was obtained from patients with bacterial or fungal keratitis. Some of these amplified products were sequenced and compared with EMBL database reference sequences to validate these to be of Acanthamoeba origin. Out of 53 consecutive cases of microbial keratitis included for evaluating the PCR, 10 (18.9%) cases were diagnosed as Acanthamoeba keratitis on the basis of combined results of culture, smear, and PCR of corneal scrapings. Based on culture results as the "gold standard," the sensitivity of PCR was the same as that of the smear (87.5%); however, the specificity and the positive and negative predictive values of PCR were marginally higher than the smear examination (97.8 versus 95.6%, 87.5 versus 77.8%, and 97.8 versus 97.7%) although the difference was not significant. This study confirms the efficacy of the PCR assay and is the first study to evaluate a PCR-based assay against conventional methods of diagnosis in a clinical setting.

Acanthamoeba↗

Modification of sarcoplasmic reticulum gene expression in pressure overload cardiac hypertrophy by etomoxir.

Pressure overload on the heart is known to produce hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes and distinct changes in protein phenotype, including reduced expression of the gene for the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ATPase (SERCA2). In this study we have shown that the decrease in SERCA2 gene expression (normalized by poly(A)+ mRNA or 18 S rRNA) in rats with 8 wk of aortic constriction was prevented by treatment with etomoxir, an inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1. The reduction in steady-state mRNA levels for SR phospholamban (PLP) and Ca2+ release channel (CRC) in the pressure-overloaded animals was also prevented without any reduction in the extent of cardiac hypertrophy by treatment with etomoxir. Although no changes in mRNA levels for GAPDH were evident in rats with pressure overload, the expression of the alpha-skeletal actin was increased; this change was prevented by etomoxir. Similar beneficial effects of etomoxir treatment were also evident when the gene expression for SR SERCA2, PLP, and CRC in the hypertrophied heart was normalized with respect to mRNA for GAPDH. These results support the view that drugs such as etomoxir may increase the abundance of the mRNA for SR proteins in the hypertrophied heart and thus may prevent the transition of cardiac hypertrophy into heart failure.

Animals↗

The secondary structure of oocyte and somatic 5S ribosomal RNAs of the fish Misgurnus fossilis L. from nuclease hydrolyses and chemical modification data.

We have studied the accessibility of 5'- 32P labeled oocyte and somatic 5S rRNAs from the fish Misgurnus fossilis L. to S1, T1 and cobra venom nucleases and have found that the cleavage sites of 5S rRNAs closely related in primary structures differ in these molecules. The data of nuclease hydrolyses revealed the existence of two conformers corresponding to renatured and partially denatured somatic 5S rRNA and capable of mutual interconversions. The exposed cytosine residues were located in oocyte and somatic 5S rRNAs converted into uridine ones by sodium bisulfite treatment. The data have been used to construct the secondary structure models of somatic and oocyte 5S rRNAs by means of specially devised computer program. These models differ in their 5'-halves which contain all the nucleotide substitutions in the primary structure, all differences in location of the exposed cytosine residues, and finally, in the cleavage pattern by the nucleases used.

Animals↗

The rRNA operon from Zea mays chloroplasts: nucleotide sequence of 23S rDNA and its homology with E.coli 23S rDNA.

The nucleotide sequence of 23S rDNA from Zea mays chloroplasts has been determined. Alignment with 23S rDNA from E.coli reveals 71 percent homology when maize 4.5S rDNA is included as an equivalent of the 3' end of E.coli 23S rDNA. Among the conserved sequences are sites for base modification. Chloramphenicol sensitivity and ribosomal subunit interaction. A proposal for the base pairs formed between 16S and 23S rRNAs during the 30S/50S subunit interaction is presented. The alignment of maize 23S rDNA with that of E.coli reveals three small insertion sequences of 25, 65 and 78 base pairs, whereas maize 16S rDNA shows only deletions when compared with the E.coli species.

Base Sequence↗

Phosphorothioate analogues of 2',5'-oligoadenylate. Activation of 2',5'-oligoadenylate-dependent endoribonuclease by 2',5'-phosphorothioate cores and 5'-monophosphates.

The preceding paper in this issue described the synthesis and structural elucidation of the phosphorothioate analogues of 2',5'-oligoadenylate (2-5A) dimer and trimer cores [Karikó, K., Sobol, R. W., Jr., Suhadolnik, L., Li, S. W., Reichenbach, N. L., Suhadolnik, R. J., Charubala, R., & Pfleiderer, W. (1987) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)]. In this report, the binding and activation processes of 2-5A-dependent endoribonuclease (RNase L) have been examined by using four diastereomeric 2',5'-phosphorothioate trimer core analogues and their 5'-monophosphates. These 2',5'-phosphorothioates have revealed a distinct separation of the structural parameters that govern binding vs activation of RNase L. Radiobinding assays have demonstrated that extensive stereochemical modification of the internucleotide linkages of 2-5A is possible without adversely affecting its ability to bind to RNase L. However, a marked difference was observed in the activation of RNase L by the stereochemically modified 2-5A molecules as determined in core--cellulose and rRNA cleavage assays. Three of the four 2',5'-phosphorothioate trimer cores (with RpRp,SpRp, and RpSp internucleotide linkages) are the first 2-5A core molecules able to activate RNase L. For example, the RpRp, SpRp, and RpSp diastereoisomers activate RNase L to hydrolyze poly(U)-3'-[32P]pCp 65%, 20%, and 15%, respectively, at 5 X 10(-5) M. The SpSp diastereomer cannot activate RNase L. The order of RNase L activation was the same for the core analogues and their 5'-monophosphates (RpRp greater than SpRp greater than RpSp).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenine Nucleotides↗

A covalent angiogenin/ribonuclease hybrid with a fourth disulfide bond generated by regional mutagenesis.

Human angiogenin is a blood vessel inducing protein whose primary structure displays 33% identity to that of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A). Angiogenin catalyzes limited cleavage of 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA and is several orders of magnitude less potent than RNase A toward conventional substrates. A striking structural difference between angiogenin and RNase is the virtual absence of sequence similarity within the region of RNase that contains the Cys-65--Cys-72 disulfide bond. Indeed, angiogenin lacks this disulfide linkage. The present report describes the use of regional mutagenesis to generate a covalent angiogenin/RNase hybrid protein, ARH-I, where residues 58-70 of angiogenin have been replaced by the corresponding segment of RNase A (residues 59-73). The protein expressed in Escherichia coli readily folds at pH 8.5 to form the four expected disulfide bonds. The in vivo angiogenic potency of ARH-I is markedly diminished compared with that of angiogenin when examined using the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay. In contrast, its enzymatic activity is dramatically increased. With high molecular weight wheat germ RNA and tRNA, ARH-I is 660- and 300-fold more active than angiogenin, respectively, while with poly(uridylic acid), poly(cytidylic acid), cytidylyl(3'----5')adenosine (CpA), and uridylyl(3'----5')adenosine (UpA) activity is enhanced by about 200-fold. In addition, the specificity of ARH-I toward dinucleoside 3',5'-phosphates is qualitatively similar to RNase A; while angiogenin prefers cytidylyl(3'----5')guanosine (CpG) to UpA, both RNase and the hybrid prefer UpA to CpG. ARH-I also displays greater than 10-fold enhanced activity toward rRNA in intact ribosomes, while abolishing the capacity of the ribosome to support cell-free protein synthesis. The enhanced enzymatic properties of ARH-I parallel a 2-fold increase in chemical reactivity of active-site lysine and histidine residues based on rates of chemical modification. The data indicate that introduction of a region of RNase A containing the Cys-65--Cys-72 disulfide bond into angiogenin dramatically increases RNase-like enzymatic activity while reducing its angiogenicity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Comparison of a modified DNA hybridization assay with standard culture enrichment for detecting group B streptococci in obstetric patients.

Infection with group B streptococcus (GBS) results in 12,000 to 15,000 cases of neonatal sepsis annually in the United States. GBS is transmitted vertically in up to 70% of infants born to colonized women. Early-onset GBS disease (septicemia, pneumonia, or meningitis occurring within 7 days of life) has a mortality rate of up to 50%, with permanent neurologic sequelae occurring in 15 to 50% of infants surviving meningeal infection. Because of the fulminant nature of neonatal infection, it would be useful to have a rapid assay for determining the GBS status of laboring women. This study illustrated how a commercially available DNA probe-based test was modified to achieve this goal. Modifications included the use of mixed cultures rather than pure isolates for detecting GBS, along with a shorter culture enrichment time and a sample concentration step. To this end, vaginal and rectal swabs from 402 pregnant women during their third trimester were cocultured and tested for GBS rRNA. The 8-h enrichment protocol resulted in an assay with a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 98%, while the 3-h enrichment protocol revealed a sensitivity of 73% and specificity of 99%. In summary, GBS was detected in the majority of colonized women in less than 4 h. This study illustrated the usefulness of the approach in identifying the most heavily colonized women, who are at the highest risk of transmitting GBS to their neonates. The modified test would have a significant impact on both the medical management and antibiotic therapy for these women and their newborns.

Bacteriological Techniques↗