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At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources

Dam methylase from Escherichia coli: kinetic studies using modified DNA oligomers: hemimethylated substrates.

We have measured steady-state kinetics of the N6-adenine methyltransferase Dam Mtase using as substrates non-selfcomplementary tetradecamer duplexs (d[GCCGGATCTAGACG]-d[CGTCTAGATCC-GGC]) containing the hemimethylated GATC target sequence in one or the other strand and modifications in the GATC target sequence of the complementary strands. Modifications included substitution of guanine by hypoxanthine (I), thymine by uracil (U) or 5-ethyl-uracil (E) and adenine by 2,6-diamino-purine (D). Thermodynamic parameters were obtained from the concentration dependence of the melting temperature (Tm) of the duplexes. Large differences in DNA methylation of duplexes containing single dI for dG substitution of the Dam recognition site were observed compared with the canonical substrate, if the substitution involved the top strand (on the G.C rich side). Substitution in either strand by uracil (dU) or 5-ethyluracil (dE) resulted in small perturbation of the methylation patterns. When 2,6-diamino-purine (dD) replaced the adenine to be methylated, small, but significant methylation was observed. The kinetic parameters of the methylation reaction were compared with the thermodynamic free energies and significant correlation was observed.

2-Aminopurine↗

Purification of plasmids by triplex affinity interaction.

Production of pharmaceutical grade plasmid DNA is an important issue in gene therapy. We developed a method for affinity purification of plasmids by triple helix interaction. This method is based on sequence-specific binding of an oligonucleotide immobilized on a large pore chromatography support to a target sequence on the plasmid. Using design criteria derived from thermodynamic data, we produced a 15mer target sequence which binds strongly to the affinity support under mildly acidic conditions. Plasmid DNA was purified from clarified Escherichia coli lysate by incubation with the affinity beads at pH 5.0 and high NaCl concentration. After extensive washing of the beads, purified plasmid DNA was eluted with alkaline buffer. The purified plasmid showed no RNA or cell DNA contamination in HPLC analysis and total protein concentration was reduced considerably. Due to its mechanical stability and porosity this support can be used in a continuous affinity purification process, which has a high potential for scale up.

DNA, Bacterial↗

IS231A from Bacillus thuringiensis is functional in Escherichia coli: transposition and insertion specificity.

A kanamycin resistance gene was introduced within the insertion sequence IS231A from Bacillus thuringiensis, and transposition of the element was demonstrated in Escherichia coli. DNA sequencing at the target sites showed that IS231A transposition results in direct repeats of variable lengths (10, 11, and 12 bp). These target sequences resemble the terminal inverted repeats of the transposon Tn4430, which are the preferred natural insertion sites of IS231 in B. thuringiensis.

Bacillus thuringiensis↗

Human cytomegalovirus contains a tegument protein that enhances transcription from promoters with upstream ATF and AP-1 cis-acting elements.

The tegument proteins of human cytomegalovirus are introduced into cells as components of infectious virus. The tegument proteins may affect viral and cellular transcription prior to the synthesis of the immediate-early viral regulatory proteins. The phosphorylated tegument protein of 71 kDa (pp71) is reported to be encoded by the UL82 gene. The UL82 gene products transactivated promoters containing upstream ATF or AP-1 binding sites. In contrast, the phosphorylated tegument protein of 65 kDa (pp65), encoded by the UL83 gene, had no detectable effect on these promoters. Enhancement by UL82 of downstream transcription was directly proportional to the number of upstream ATF sites. Response to UL82 transactivation was abolished by mutation of the ATF site. Mutation in the carboxy-terminal region of UL82 also eliminated transactivation. Even though the major immediate-early promoter of human cytomegalovirus is a strong enhancer-containing promoter, UL82 further enhanced its transcription as much as 20-fold. The mechanism of UL82 enhancement of transcription from viral or cellular promoters is not known, but the enhancement may be mediated by triggering one of the protein kinase signaling pathways, increasing the affinity of ATF or AP-1 for the target sequence, or stabilizing the complex between the eucaryotic transcription factor and the target sequence.

Activating Transcription Factors↗

Application of a wide-range yeast vector (CoMed) system to recombinant protein production in dimorphic Arxula adeninivorans, methylotrophic Hansenula polymorpha and other yeasts.

BACKGROUND: Yeasts provide attractive expression platforms in combining ease of genetic manipulation and fermentation of a microbial organism with the capability to secrete and to modify proteins according to a general eukaryotic scheme. However, early restriction to a single yeast platform can result in costly and time-consuming failures. It is therefore advisable to assess several selected systems in parallel for the capability to produce a particular protein in desired amounts and quality. A suitable vector must contain a targeting sequence, a promoter element and a selection marker that function in all selected organisms. These criteria are fulfilled by a wide-range integrative yeast expression vector (CoMed) system based on A. adeninivorans- and H. polymorpha-derived elements that can be introduced in a modular way. RESULTS: The vector system and a selection of modular elements for vector design are presented. Individual single vector constructs were used to transform a range of yeast species. Various successful examples are described. A vector with a combination of an rDNA sequence for genomic targeting, the E. coli-derived hph gene for selection and the A. adeninivorans-derived TEF1 promoter for expression control of a GFP (green fluorescent protein) gene was employed in a first example to transform eight different species including Hansenula polymorpha, Arxula adeninivorans and others. In a second example, a vector for the secretion of IL-6 was constructed, now using an A. adeninivorans-derived LEU2 gene for selection of recombinants in a range of auxotrophic hosts. In this example, differences in precursor processing were observed: only in A. adeninivorans processing of a MFalpha1/IL-6 fusion was performed in a faithful way. CONCLUSION: rDNA targeting provides a tool to co-integrate up to 3 different expression plasmids by a single transformation step. Thus, a versatile system is at hand that allows a comparative assessment of newly introduced metabolic pathways in several organisms or a comparative co-expression of bottleneck genes in cases where production or secretion of a certain product is impaired.

Journal Article↗

Oncogenes in head and neck cancer.

Primary head and neck squamous cell carcinomas from 58 patients were analyzed for the presence of alterations in the K-ras, raf, and erb-B oncogenes. Analysis of 17 fresh tumor specimens using sequence analysis of target sequences amplified by the polymerase chain reaction showed no evidence of mutations in the K-ras oncogene. Thirty fresh tumor specimens were analyzed for the presence of raf gene activation using Southern blot analysis. Under these conditions, no mutations in the c-raf oncogene were detected. In this study, 6 (13%) of the 47 tumors studied displayed epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene amplification and/or gene rearrangement. Overexpression of the erb-B gene was observed in 18 (67%) of the 27 head and neck tumors studied. Those patients expressing high levels of EGFR or showing EGFR amplification had tumors that were clinically more advanced. These data suggest that amplification and over-expression of the EGFR gene may be a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

Adult↗

Modeling, docking, and simulation of the major facilitator superfamily.

X-ray structures are known for three members of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) of membrane transporter proteins, thus enabling the use of homology modeling to extrapolate to other MFS members. However, before employing such models for, e.g., mutational or docking studies, it is essential to develop a measure of their quality. To aid development of such metrics, two disparate MFS members (NupG and GLUT1) have been modeled. In addition, control models were created with shuffled sequences, to mimic poor quality homology models. These models and the template crystal structures have been examined in terms of both static and dynamic indicators of structural quality. Comparison of the behavior of modeled structures with the crystal structures in molecular dynamics simulations provided a metric for model quality. Docking of the inhibitor forskolin to GLUT1 and to a control model revealed significant differences, indicating that we may identify accurate models despite low sequence identity between target sequences and templates.

Binding Sites↗

ESPSearch: a program for finding exact sequences and patterns in DNA, RNA, or protein.

ESPSearch is a computer program for rapidly identifying nucleic acid or amino acid sequences of any length within any source sequence from promoters to entire genomes to protein libraries. ESPSearch utilizes a user-constructed database to identify many sequences simultaneously, including target sequences with wildcards and mismatches and user-specified patterns of those recognized sequences. Here we use ESPSearch to identify a variety of possible binding sites for dimeric artificial transcription factors within several p53 recognition sites and the promoter of the BAX gene. Heterodimeric and homodimeric proteins are designed using human zinc fingers by identifying groups of zinc finger binding sites meeting particular pattern constraints. ESPSearch is also used to estimate the specificity of each artificial transcription factor by searching the entire genome. Next, the specificity of several possible small interfering RNA (siRNA) sequences is determined by searching both the whole genome and the library of known human mRNAs. Finally, ESPSearch identifies proteins containing different forms of the LXXLL motif used in nuclear receptor-coactivator interactions from the human proteome, making use of user-defined groups of amino acids. ESPSearch could also be applied to other tasks involving sequence and pattern recognition on small and large scales. ESPSearch is freely available at http://web.chemistry.gatech.edu/-doyle/espsearch/.

Database Management Systems↗

Dynamin binds to SH3 domains of phospholipase C gamma and GRB-2.

Src homology 3 (SH3) domains are found in a variety of proteins that are involved in signal transduction or represent components of the cytoskeleton. These domains are thought to serve as modules that mediate specific protein-protein interactions that include proline-rich sequences on the target protein. We have identified proteins of 110, 80, 65, and 43 kDa in human embryonic fibroblasts that bind specifically to the SH3 domain of phospholipase C gamma, a primary substrate of receptor tyrosine kinases, and characterized the 110-kDa band as the microtubule-activated GTPase dynamin. In addition, dynamin binds the son of sevenless adaptor protein GRB-2 with even higher affinity. This interaction does not require the dynamin GTPase function and involves a proline-rich target sequence between residues 812 and 820 of dynamin.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Oligonucleotide-poly-L-ornithine conjugates: binding to complementary DNA and RNA.

On the basis of the reported enhanced antisense activity of polylysine-oligonucleotide conjugates, a synthetic 12-mer oligodeoxyribonucleotide has been coupled at its 5' terminus to a series of positively charged (delta-ornithine)n cysteine peptides. Binding between the nucleic acid-peptide conjugate and its complementary DNA target sequence was detected by the impact of complexation on the melting temperature (Tm). It was found that the Tm for the nucleic acid-peptide gradually increased with increasing net charge on the conjugated peptide. Site-directed cleavage with RNase H demonstrates that the peptide-modified oligomer also hybridizes with its RNA target sequence. Increased affinity for target mRNA with net charge was shown by a cell-free translation arrest assay.

Base Sequence↗

Molecular basis for the dual mitochondrial and cytosolic localization of alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase in amphibian liver cells.

To gain further insights into the molecular basis of the evolution of alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) intracellular targeting in vertebrates, we have studied the molecular basis of its dual mitochondrial and cytosolic distribution in amphibian liver cells. The AGT gene in Xenopus laevis encodes a polypeptide of 415 amino acids, which includes a 24-residue N-terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS), at either end of which are located two in-frame potential translation start sites. This MTS is necessary to target Xenopus AGT and sufficient to target a green fluorescent fusion protein to mitochondria in transfected COS cells. The C-terminal tripeptide (KKM), despite being similar to the nonconsensus type 1 peroxisomal targeting sequence in human AGT (KKL), was unable to target Xenopus AGT or human AGT to peroxisomes. The Xenopus AGT gene produces two types of transcript. The longer form encodes a polypeptide that contains the MTS and is targeted to mitochondria. The shorter form encodes a polypeptide that does not contain the MTS and remains in the cytosol. These results are discussed not only in terms of the molecular evolution of AGT targeting but also in terms of the ancillary requirements for the peroxisomal targeting of human AGT.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Arabidopsis thaliana DNA gyrase is targeted to chloroplasts and mitochondria.

DNA gyrase is the bacterial DNA topoisomerase (topo) that supercoils DNA by using the free energy of ATP hydrolysis. The enzyme, an A(2)B(2) tetramer encoded by the gyrA and gyrB genes, catalyses topological changes in DNA during replication and transcription, and is the only topo that is able to introduce negative supercoils. Gyrase is essential in bacteria and apparently absent from eukaryotes and is, consequently, an important target for antibacterial agents (e.g., quinolones and coumarins). We have identified four putative gyrase genes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana; one gyrA and three gyrB homologues. DNA gyrase protein A (GyrA) has a dual translational initiation site targeting the mature protein to both chloroplasts and mitochondria, and there are individual targeting sequences for two of the DNA gyrase protein B (GyrB) homologues. N-terminal fusions of the organellar targeting sequences to GFPs support the hypothesis that one enzyme is targeted to the chloroplast and another to the mitochondrion, which correlates with supercoiling activity in isolated organelles. Treatment of seedlings and cultured cells with gyrase-specific drugs leads to growth inhibition. Knockout of A. thaliana gyrA is embryo-lethal whereas knockouts in the gyrB genes lead to seedling-lethal phenotypes or severely stunted growth and development. The A. thaliana genes have been cloned in Escherichia coli and found to complement gyrase temperature-sensitive strains. This report confirms the existence of DNA gyrase in eukaryotes and has important implications for drug targeting, organelle replication, and the evolution of topos in plants.

Anti-Infective Agents↗

Both substrate and target oligonucleotide sequences affect in vitro integration mediated by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase protein produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Integration of retroviral DNA into the host cell genome requires the interaction of retroviral integrase (IN) protein with the outer ends of both viral long terminal repeats (LTRs) to remove two nucleotides from the 3' ends (3' processing) and to join the 3' ends to newly created 5' ends in target DNA (strand transfer). We have purified the IN protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) after production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and found it to have many of the properties described for retroviral IN proteins. The protein performs both 3' processing and strand transfer reactions by using HIV-1 or HIV-2 attachment (att) site oligonucleotides. A highly conserved CA dinucleotide adjacent to the 3' processing site of HIV-1 is important for both the 3' processing and strand transfer reactions; however, it is not sufficient for full IN activity, since alteration of nucleotide sequences internal to the HIV-1 U5 CA also impairs IN function, and Moloney murine leukemia virus att site oligonucleotides are poor substrates for HIV-1 IN. When HIV-1 att sequences are positioned internally in an LTR-LTR circle junction substrate, HIV-1 IN fails to cleave the substrate preferentially at positions coinciding with correct 3' processing, implying a requirement for positioning att sites near DNA ends. The 2 bp normally located beyond the 3' CA in linear DNA are not essential for in vitro integration, since mutant oligonucleotides with single-stranded 3' or 5' extensions or with no residues beyond the CA dinucleotide are efficiently used. Selection of target sites is nonrandom when att site oligonucleotides are joined to each other in vitro. We modified an in vitro assay to distinguish oligonucleotides serving as the substrate for 3' processing and as the target for strand transfer. The modified assay demonstrates that nonrandom usage of target sites is dependent on the target oligonucleotide sequence and independent of the oligonucleotide used as the substrate for 3' processing.

Base Sequence↗

HIV type 2 proviral load measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction correlates with CD4+ lymphopenia in HIV type 2-infected individuals.

The efficiency of detection of 2 sets of primer pairs from putatively conserved regions of the human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) genome were assessed in 86 seropositive individuals from The Gambia by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HIV-2 long terminal repeat (LTR) target sequences were detected in DNA extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in 84 of 86 (97%) individuals whereas HIV-2 integrase (pol) gene sequences were detected in 39 of 41 (95%) individuals. The use of LTR target sequences and recombinant Pfu DNA polymerase, rather than Taq polymerase, in a modified secondary amplification reaction mediated the incorporation of 35S-labeled nucleotides in a quantitative radiometric assay. This sensitive assay was used to quantify HIV-2 proviral DNA in clinical samples and compared well with estimations by limiting end-point dilution of target molecules. A linear response between counts and the number of copies amplified from serial dilutions of pROD10 plasmid DNA (3-2000 copies) yielded a standard curve to allow extrapolation to clinical data. Increased levels of HIV-2 proviral DNA, expressed as copies per 10(5) CD4-positive lymphocytes, were associated with declining CD4 count in 63 adult patients (Spearman rank correlation, r = -0.71, n = 63, p < 0.001) and with the occurrence of HIV-related clinical disease. Kruskall-Wallis analysis of variance analysis showed the mean proviral copy number (log10) to be significantly different between groups (p < 0.001) where CD4 counts were grouped as < 200/mm3 (3.4 +/- 1.05 copies), 200-500/mm3 (2.84 +/- 0.93 copies), and > 500/mm3 (1.88 +/- 0.43 copies).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Recognition and cleavage of hairpin structures in nucleic acids by oligodeoxynucleotides.

The possibility of designing antisense oligodeoxynucleotides complementary to non-adjacent single-stranded sequences containing hairpin structures was studied using a DNA model system. The structure and stability of complexes formed by a 17mer oligonucleotide with DNA fragments containing hairpin structures was investigated by spectroscopic measurements (melting curves) and chemical reactions (osmium tetroxide reaction, copper-phenanthroline cleavage). A three-way junction was formed when the oligonucleotide was bound to both sides of the hairpin structure. When the complementary sequences of the two parts of the oligonucleotide were separated by a sequence which could not form a hairpin, the oligonucleotide exhibited a slightly weaker binding than to the hairpin-containing target. An oligodeoxynucleotide-phenanthroline conjugate was designed to form Watson-Crick base pairs with two single-stranded regions flanking a hairpin structure in a DNA fragment. In the presence of Cu2+ ions and a reducing agent, two main cleavage sites were observed at the end of the duplex structure formed by the oligonucleotide-phenanthroline conjugate with its target sequence. Competition experiments showed that both parts of the oligonucleotide must be bound in order to observe sequence-specific cleavage. Cleavage was still observed with target sequences which could not form a hairpin, provided the reaction was carried out at lower temperatures. These results show that sequence-specific recognition and modification (cleavage) can be achieved with antisense oligonucleotides which bind to non-adjacent sequences in a single-stranded nucleic acid.

Base Composition↗

Utilization of the relative complexity measure to construct a phylogenetic tree for fungi.

The relative complexity measure (RCM) is a new approach to evaluate relatedness of DNA sequences which eliminates the requirement to align sequences prior to analysis, a step required with standard reference methods. The value of the RCM approach to generate distance matrices for use in phylogenetic analysis of organisms has not been determined. This study compared RCM with the algorithmic and tree searching reference methods for phylogenetic analysis using fungal sequences. Sequences of the cytochrome b gene and the 18S rDNA gene were obtained from the GenBank database to determine feasibility of this method for phylogenetic relatedness. The RCM approach was also used to construct a phylogenetic tree using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from 23 medically relevant fungal species. The robustness of the RCM and reference approaches was determined by comparing the topology of seven medically relevant fungi within the phylogenetic trees generated after progressive removal of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% of the nucleotide bases from either the 5' or 3' end of the three genomic target sequences. The results demonstrated that the RCM method was equivalent to the reference methods for construction of phylogenetic trees from cytochrome b and 18S rDNA gene sequences. The phylogenetic tree constructed using the ITS sequence generated no contradictory topology. The RCM generated trees retained the appropriate topology after removal of up to 50% of the cytochrome b sequence, 40% of the ITS sequence, and 30% of the 18S gene target sequence. Comparatively, the reference methods failed to maintain topology after only a 10% sequence deletion for each genomic target. The results showed the RCM to be a reliable and robust computational approach for use in the construction of fungal phylogenetic trees without the requirement for prior sequence alignment.

Algorithms↗

Gateway-compatible vectors for plant functional genomics and proteomics.

Gateway cloning technology facilitates high-throughput cloning of target sequences by making use of the bacteriophage lambda site-specific recombination system. Target sequences are first captured in a commercially available "entry vector" and are then recombined into various "destination vectors" for expression in different experimental organisms. Gateway technology has been embraced by a number of plant laboratories that have engineered destination vectors for promoter specificity analyses, protein localization studies, protein/protein interaction studies, constitutive or inducible protein expression studies, gene knockdown by RNA interference, or affinity purification experiments. We review the various types of Gateway destination vectors that are currently available to the plant research community and provide links and references to enable additional information to be obtained concerning these vectors. We also describe a set of "pEarleyGate" plasmid vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation that translationally fuse FLAG, HA, cMyc, AcV5 or tandem affinity purification epitope tags onto target proteins, with or without an adjacent fluorescent protein. The oligopeptide epitope tags allow the affinity purification, immunolocalization or immunoprecipitation of recombinant proteins expressed in vivo. We demonstrate the utility of pEarleyGate destination vectors for the expression of epitope-tagged proteins that can be affinity captured or localized by immunofluorescence microscopy. Antibodies detecting the FLAG, HA, cMyc and AcV5 tags show relatively little cross-reaction with endogenous proteins in a variety of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, suggesting broad utility for the tags and vectors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Use of H19 regulatory sequences for targeted gene therapy in cancer.

We present a tumor gene therapy approach based on the use of regulatory sequences of the H19 gene that are differentially expressed between normal and cancer cells. We constructed expression vectors carrying the gene for the A fragment of diphtheria toxin (DT-A) or herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk), under the control of a 814 bp 5'-flanking region of the H19 gene. The cell killing activity of these constructs was in accordance with the relative activity of the H19 regulatory sequences in the transfected cells. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of the gene expression constructs driven by H19 regulatory sequences in an animal model of bladder cancer induced by subcutaneous injection of syngeneic bladder tumor cell lines. Intratumoral injection of these constructs caused a significant suppression of subcutaneous tumor growth, with no obvious toxicity toward the host.

Animals↗