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Semiconservative replication in the quasispecies model.

This paper extends Eigen's quasispecies equations to account for the semiconservative nature of DNA replication. We solve the equations in the limit of infinite sequence length for the simplest case of a static, sharply peaked fitness landscape. We show that the error catastrophe occurs when micro, the product of sequence length and per base pair mismatch probability, exceeds 2 ln [2/ ( 1+1/k ) ], where k>1 is the first-order growth rate constant of the viable "master" sequence (with all other sequences having a first-order growth rate constant of 1 ). This is in contrast to the result of ln k for conservative replication. In particular, as k--> infinity, the error catastrophe is never reached for conservative replication, while for semiconservative replication the critical micro approaches 2 ln 2. Semiconservative replication is therefore considerably less robust than conservative replication to the effect of replication errors. We also show that the mean equilibrium fitness of a semiconservatively replicating system is given by k ( 2 e(-micro/2) -1 ) below the error catastrophe, in contrast to the standard result of k e(-micro) for conservative replication (derived by Kimura and Maruyama in 1966). From this result it is readily shown that semiconservative replication is necessary to account for the observation that, at sufficiently high mutagen concentrations, faster replicating cells will die more quickly than more slowly replicating cells. Thus, in contrast to Eigen's original model, the semiconservative quasispecies equations are able to provide a mathematical basis for explaining the efficacy of mutagens as chemotherapeutic agents.

Base Pair Mismatch↗

Random replication of the stringent plasmid R1 in Escherichia coli K-12.

The R-factor R1 is present in a low number of copies per genome (near unity, so-called stringent control of replication). The replication of R1 was studied in a density-shift experiment. One generation after the shift about 20% of the R1 copies had not replicated, whereas about 20% had replicated at least twice. The results are in quantitative accordance with a random replication of R1 in which the replicating molecules are taken from a cytoplasmic plasmid pool and transferred back to the pool after replication. This is analogous to the results obtained by Bazaral and Helinski (1970) and Rownd (1969) for plasmids that are present in 10 to 20 copies per genome (so-called relaxed control of replication). Hence, there seem to be no difference between stringent and relaxed plasmids with respect to selection of plasmid molecules for replication. However, we cannot tell whether all R1 copies in a cell replicate during a fraction of or throughout the cell cycle. The random selction of plasmid copies for replication has to be considered when models for control of replication are constructed.

DNA Replication↗

Replication terminus of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome.

Bidirectional replication of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome terminates at a point on the circular chromosome which is symmetrically opposite to the replication origin. Since replication rates are similar in both "halves" of the chromosome, termination presumably occurs at the meeting point of the two replication forks. To investigate whether the DNA sequence of this region of the chromosome contributes to the termination event, we have determined the latest replicating region of a chromosome in which this DNA sequence is no longer symmetrically opposite to the origin. The merodiploid strain GSY1127 has a very large nontandem duplication (approximately 25% of the total chromosome length) in the left-hand half of the chromosome, so that size and symmetry of this chromosome are grossly different from those of normal strains. We have examined the replication order of genetic markers in this strain by measuring subtilis terminal marker for replication remains a terminal marker in the merodiploid, i.e., replicates later than a marker situated symmetrically opposite to the replication origin. These results were supported by replication orders determined by pulse-density transfer experiments during synchronous replication. The data obtained indicate that there is a preferred site for the termination of replication in the B. subtilis chromosome.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Characterization of chimeric full-length molecular clones of Aleutian mink disease parvovirus (ADV): identification of a determinant governing replication of ADV in cell culture.

The ADV-G strain of Aleutian mink disease parvovirus (ADV) is nonpathogenic for mink but replicates permissively in cell culture, whereas the ADV-Utah 1 strain is highly pathogenic for mink but replicates poorly in cell culture. In order to relate these phenotypic differences to primary genomic features, we constructed a series of chimeric plasmids between a full-length replication-competent molecular clone of ADV-G and subgenomic clones of ADV-Utah 1 representing map units (MU) 15 to 88. After transfection of the plasmids into cell culture and serial passage of cell lysates, we determined that substitution of several segments of the ADV-Utah 1 genome (MU 15 to 54 and 65 to 73) within an infectious ADV-G plasmid did not impair the ability of these constructs to yield infectious virus in vitro. Like ADV-G, the viruses derived from these replication-competent clones caused neither detectable viremia 10 days after inoculation nor any evidence of Aleutian disease in adult mink. On the other hand, other chimeric plasmids were incapable of yielding infectious virus and were therefore replication defective in vitro. The MU 54 to 65 EcoRI-EcoRV fragment of ADV-Utah 1 was the minimal segment capable of rendering ADV-G replication defective. Substitution of the ADV-G EcoRI-EcoRV fragment into a replication-defective clone restored replication competence, indicating that this 0.53-kb portion of the genome, wholly located within shared coding sequences for the capsid proteins VP1 and VP2, contained a determinant that governs replication in cell culture. When cultures of cells were studied 5 days after transfection with replication-defective clones, rescue of dimeric replicative form DNA and single-stranded progeny DNA could not be demonstrated. This defect could not be complemented by cotransfection with a replication-competent construction.

Aleutian Mink Disease Virus↗

The acidic activation domain of the baculovirus transactivator IE1 contains a virus-specific domain essential for DNA replication.

IE1 is a potent transcriptional transactivator of the baculovirus Orgyia pseudotsugata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpMNPV) and has been shown to be essential for viral DNA replication. IE1 contains an acidic activation domain (AAD) at the N terminus that is essential for transcriptional transactivation, but its role in viral DNA replication is unknown. In this study the role of the IE1 AAD in DNA replication is investigated. We have determined that deletion of the AAD eliminates the ability of IE1 to support DNA replication, showing that the AAD is essential for DNA replication as well as transcriptional transactivation. Replacement of the AAD with the archetype domain from herpesvirus VP16 and the evolutionarily related domain from Autographa californica MNPV (AcMNPV) IE1 produces chimeric proteins that are potent transactivators. Surprisingly, however, these chimeric proteins were unable to support DNA replication, indicating that there is a host- or virus-specific replication subdomain in the AAD that was not functionally replaced by the VP16 or AcMNPV AAD. Using N- and C-terminal deletion mutants, the region of the AAD that was essential for DNA replication was mapped to amino acids 1 to 65. AAD deletion mutants also showed that an IE1 that is functional for transcriptional transactivation is not required for viral DNA replication. The IE1 AAD therefore contains an essential replication domain that is separable from the transcriptional activation domains. Our results suggest that IE1 specifically interacts with a component of the viral replication complex, supporting the view that it acts as a nucleating factor by binding to the viral replication origins.

Acids↗

Large hepatitis delta antigen is not a suppressor of hepatitis delta virus RNA synthesis once RNA replication is established.

Moderation of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) replication is a likely prerequisite in the establishment of chronic infections and is thought to be mediated by the intracellular accumulation of large hepatitis delta antigen (L-HDAg). The regulatory role of this protein was suggested from several studies showing that cotransfection of plasmid cDNAs expressing both L-HDAg and HDV RNA results in a potent inhibition of HDV RNA replication. However, since this approach differs significantly from natural HDV infections, where HDV RNA replication is initiated from an RNA template, and L-HDAg appears only late in the replication cycle, it remains unclear whether L-HDAg can modulate HDV RNA replication in the natural HDV replication cycle. In this study, we investigated the effect of L-HDAg, produced as a result of the natural HDV RNA editing event, on HDV RNA replication. The results showed that following cDNA-free HDV RNA transfection, a steady-state level of RNA was established at 3 to 4 days posttransfection. The same level of HDV RNA was reached when a mutant HDV genome unable to make L-HDAg was used, suggesting that L-HDAg did not play a role. The rates of HDV RNA synthesis, as measured by metabolic labeling experiments, were identical at 4 and 8 days posttransfection and in the wild type and the L-HDAg-deficient mutant. We further examined the effect of overexpression of L-HDAg at various stages of the HDV replication cycle, showing that HDV RNA synthesis was resistant to L-HDAg when it was overexpressed 3 days after HDV RNA replication had initiated. Finally, we showed that, contrary to conventional thinking, L-HDAg alone, at a certain molar ratio with HDV RNA, can initiate HDV RNA replication. Thus, L-HDAg does not inherently inhibit HDV RNA synthesis. Taken together, these results indicated that L-HDAg affects neither the rate of HDV RNA synthesis nor the final steady-state level of HDV RNA and that L-HDAg is unlikely to act as an inhibitor of HDV RNA replication in the natural HDV replication cycle.

Hepatitis Antigens↗

Stable replication of papillomavirus genomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Papillomaviruses normally replicate in stratified squamous epithelial tissues of their mammalian hosts, in which the viral genome is found as a nuclear plasmid. Two viral proteins, E1, a helicase, and E2, a transcriptional activator and plasmid maintenance factor, are known to contribute to the episomal replication of the viral genome. Recently, our laboratory discovered that papillomaviruses can also replicate in an E1-independent manner in mammalian cells (K. Kim and P. F. Lambert, Virology, in press; K. Kim and P. F. Lambert, submitted for publication). In this study, we describe experiments investigating the capacity of the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) genome to replicate in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The full-length HPV16 genome, when linked in cis to a selectable yeast marker gene, either TRP1 or URA3, could replicate stably as an episome in yeast. The replication of papillomavirus genomes in yeast is not limited to HPV16. Bovine papillomavirus type 1 and HPV6b, -11, -16, -18, and -31 were all capable of replicating in short-term assays over a period of 20 cell doublings. The long-term persistence of viral episomes did not require any one viral gene, as mutant genomes defective in single genes also replicated episomally. These results indicate that the viral episome can replicate in the absence of the E1 DNA helicase. Similarly, E2 was also not required for replication in yeast, and E2 mutant viral genomes were stably maintained in the absence of selection, indicating the existence of an E2-independent mechanism for plasmid maintenance. The episomal replication of papillomavirus genomes in yeast provides a genetically manipulatable system in which to investigate cellular factors required for episomal replication and may provide a novel means for generating infectious papillomavirus.

DNA Helicases↗

Viral and cellular determinants of hepatitis C virus RNA replication in cell culture.

Studies on the replication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been facilitated by the development of selectable subgenomic replicons replicating in the human hepatoma cell line Huh-7 at a surprisingly high level. Analysis of the replicon population in selected cells revealed the occurrence of cell culture-adaptive mutations that enhance RNA replication substantially. To gain a better understanding of HCV cell culture adaptation, we characterized conserved mutations identified by sequence analysis of 26 independent replicon cell clones for their effect on RNA replication. Mutations enhancing replication were found in nearly every nonstructural (NS) protein, and they could be subdivided into at least two groups by their effect on replication efficiency and cooperativity: (i). mutations in NS3 with a low impact on replication but that enhanced replication cooperatively when combined with highly adaptive mutations and (ii). mutations in NS4B, -5A, and -5B, causing a strong increase in replication but being incompatible with each other. In addition to adaptive mutations, we found that the host cell plays an equally important role for efficient RNA replication. We tested several passages of the same Huh-7 cell line and found up to 100-fold differences in their ability to support replicon amplification. These differences were not due to variations in internal ribosome entry site-dependent translation or RNA degradation. In a search for cellular factor(s) that might be responsible for the different levels of permissiveness of Huh-7 cells, we found that replication efficiency decreased with increasing amounts of transfected replicon RNA, indicating that viral RNA or proteins are cytopathic or that host cell factors in Huh-7 cells limit RNA amplification. In summary, these data show that the efficiency of HCV replication in cell culture is determined both by adaptation of the viral sequence and by the host cell itself.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

E1A-CR3 interaction-dependent and -independent functions of mSur2 in viral replication of early region 1A mutants of mouse adenovirus type 1.

mSur2, a subunit of the Mediator complex, is required for efficient mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) replication (L. Fang, J. L. Stevens, A. J. Berk, and K. R. Spindler, J. Virol. 78:12888-12900, 2004). We examined the contributions of early-region 1A (E1A) to mSur2 function in MAV-1 replication with E1A mutant viruses. At a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1, viruses containing CR3 replicated better in Sur2+/+ mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) than in Sur2-/- MEFs. In contrast, viruses lacking CR3 replicated no better in Sur2+/+ than in Sur2-/- MEFs. This result supports the hypothesis that the E1A CR3-mSur2 interaction is important for MAV-1 replication. However, at an MOI of 0.05, viruses lacking CR3 showed replication defects in Sur2-/- MEFs compared to Sur2+/+ MEFs, suggesting an E1A CR3 interaction-independent function of mSur2 in MAV-1 replication in cell culture. Paradoxically, CR1Delta, CR2Delta, and CR3Delta mutant viruses replicated slightly more efficiently than wild-type (wt) MAV-1 and E1A null mutant viruses in Sur2-/- MEFs at an MOI of 0.05. Coinfection of Sur2-/- MEFs with wt MAV-1 and CR1Delta, CR2Delta, or CR3Delta mutant viruses rescued the defects of wt MAV-1 replication. This result suggests that an inhibiting effect on wt E1A protein expression and/or E1A function might account for the severe viral replication defect of MAV-1 in Sur2-/- MEFs at an MOI of 0.05. Moreover, titrations of virus yields from infected brains of inbred strains of mice showed that E1A null and CR3Delta mutant viruses had a significant defect in virus replication compared to wt MAV-1. This result supports the hypothesis that the MAV-1 E1A-mSur2 interaction is important in MAV-1 replication in mice.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

Structure of replicating simian virus 40 deoxyribonucleic acid molecules.

Properties of replicating simian virus 40 (SV40) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) have been examined by sedimentation analysis and by direct observation during a lytic cycle of infection of African green monkey kidney cells. Two types of replicating DNA molecules were observed in the electron microscope. One was an open structure containing two branch points, three branches, and no free ends whose length measurements were consistent with those expected for replicating SV40 DNA molecules. A second species had the same features as the open structure, but in addition it contained a superhelix in the unreplicated portion of the molecule. Eighty to ninety per cent of the replicative intermediates (RI) were in this latter configuration, and length measurements of these molecules also were consistent with replicating SV40 DNA. Replicating DNA molecules with this configuration have not been described previously. RI, when examined in ethidium bromide-cesium chloride (EB-CsCl) isopycnic gradients, banded in a heterogeneous manner. A fraction of the RI banded at the same density as circular SV40 DNA containing one or more single-strand nicks (component II). The remaining radioactive RI banded at densities higher than that of component II, and material was present at all densities between that of supercoiled double-stranded DNA (component I) and component II. When RI that banded at different densities in EB-CsCl were examined in alkaline gradients, cosedimentation of parental DNA and newly replicated DNA did not occur. All newly replicated DNA sedimented more slowly than did intact single-stranded SV40 DNA, a finding that is inconsistent with the rolling circle model of DNA replication. An inverse correlation exists between the extent of replication of the SV40 DNA and the banding density in EB-CsCl. Under alkaline conditions, the parental DNA strands that were contained in the RI sedimented as covalently closed structures. The sedimentation rates in alkali of the covalently closed parental DNA decreased as replication progressed. Based on these observations, some possible models for replication of SV40 DNA are proposed.

Animals↗

Minimal subenhancer requirements for high-level polyomavirus DNA replication: a cell-specific synergy of PEA3 and PEA1 sites.

The cell-specific regulation of DNA replication has important implications for the molecular strategy of cellular gene control. Mouse polyomavirus (Py) DNA replication is examined as a model of cell-specific replication control. Using an FM3A-derived mouse cell line which expresses early viral proteins (FOP cells), we determined the minimal sequence requirements for viral DNA replication. FOP cells were observed to have much simpler enhancer requirements than 3T6 and many other cells and did not need a B enhancer for high levels of DNA replication. Using these cells, we show that the individual or tandem binding sites for several unrelated trans-acting factors which are generally subfunctional as transcriptional enhancers (simian virus 40 A core, TGTGGAATG; EBP20, TGTGGTTTT; PEA1 [an AP-1 analog], GTGACTAA; PEA2, GACCGCAG; and PEA3, AGGAAG) stimulated low levels of Py DNA replication. The ordered dimeric combination of PEA3 and PEA1 factor-binding sites, however, acted synergistically to stimulate viral DNA replication to high wild-type levels. This is in contrast to prior results in which much larger enhancer sequences were necessary for high-level viral DNA replication. PEA3/PEA1-stimulated DNA replication showed a distance and orientation independence relative to the origin, which disagrees with some but not other prior analyses of enhancer-dependent DNA replication. It therefore appears that trans-acting factor-binding sites (enhansons) can generally activate DNA replication and that the AP-1 family of sites may act synergistically with other associated trans-acting factors to strongly affect Py DNA replication in specific cells.

Animals↗

Site-specific initiation of DNA replication in Xenopus egg extract requires nuclear structure.

Previous studies have shown that Xenopus egg extract can initiate DNA replication in purified DNA molecules once the DNA is organized into a pseudonucleus. DNA replication under these conditions is independent of DNA sequence and begins at many sites distributed randomly throughout the molecules. In contrast, DNA replication in the chromosomes of cultured animal cells initiates at specific, heritable sites. Here we show that Xenopus egg extract can initiate DNA replication at specific sites in mammalian chromosomes, but only when the DNA is presented in the form of an intact nucleus. Initiation of DNA synthesis in nuclei isolated from G1-phase Chinese hamster ovary cells was distinguished from continuation of DNA synthesis at preformed replication forks in S-phase nuclei by a delay that preceded DNA synthesis, a dependence on soluble Xenopus egg factors, sensitivity to a protein kinase inhibitor, and complete labeling of nascent DNA chains. Initiation sites for DNA replication were mapped downstream of the amplified dihydrofolate reductase gene region by hybridizing newly replicated DNA to unique probes and by hybridizing Okazaki fragments to the two individual strands of unique probes. When G1-phase nuclei were prepared by methods that preserved the integrity of the nuclear membrane, Xenopus egg extract initiated replication specifically at or near the origin of bidirectional replication utilized by hamster cells (dihydrofolate reductase ori-beta). However, when nuclei were prepared by methods that altered nuclear morphology and damaged the nuclear membrane, preference for initiation at ori-beta was significantly reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, site-specific initiation was not observed with bare DNA substrates, and Xenopus eggs or egg extracts replicated prokaryotic DNA or hamster DNA that did not contain a replication origin as efficiently as hamster DNA containing ori-beta. We conclude that initiation sites for DNA replication in mammalian cells are established prior to S phase by some component of nuclear structure and that these sites can be activated by soluble factors in Xenopus eggs.

Animals↗

Regulation of the replication of the murine immunoglobulin heavy chain gene locus: evaluation of the role of the 3' regulatory region.

DNA replication in mammalian cells is a precisely controlled physical and temporal process, likely involving cis-acting elements that control the region(s) from which replication initiates. In B cells, previous studies showed replication timing to be early throughout the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) locus. The implication from replication timing studies in the B-cell line MPC11 was that early replication of the Igh locus was regulated by sequences downstream of the C alpha gene. A potential candidate for these replication control sequences was the 3' regulatory region of the Igh locus. Our results demonstrate, however, that the Igh locus maintains early replication in a B-cell line in which the 3' regulatory region has been deleted from one allele, thus indicating that replication timing of the locus is independent of this region. In non-B cells (murine erythroleukemia cells [MEL]), previous studies of segments within the mouse Igh locus demonstrated that DNA replication likely initiated downstream of the Igh gene cluster. Here we use recently cloned DNA to demonstrate that segments located sequentially downstream of the Igh 3' regulatory region continue to replicate progressively earlier in S phase in MEL. Furthermore, analysis by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis indicates that replication forks proceed exclusively in the 3'-to-5' direction through the region 3' of the Igh locus. Extrapolation from these data predicts that initiation of DNA replication occurs in MEL at one or more sites within a 90-kb interval located between 40 and 130 kb downstream of the 3' regulatory region.

Animals↗

Replication delay along FRA7H, a common fragile site on human chromosome 7, leads to chromosomal instability.

Common fragile sites are specific chromosomal loci that show gaps, breaks, or rearrangements in metaphase chromosomes under conditions that interfere with DNA replication. The mechanism underlying the chromosomal instability at fragile sites was hypothesized to associate with late replication time. Here, we aimed to investigate the replication pattern of the common fragile site FRA7H, encompassing 160 kb on the long arm of human chromosome 7. Using in situ hybridization on interphase nuclei, we revealed that the replication of this region is initiated relatively early, before 30% of S phase is completed. However, a high fraction ( approximately 35%) of S-phase nuclei showed allelic asynchrony, indicating that the replication of FRA7H is accomplished at different times in S phase. This allelic asynchrony is not the result of a specific replication time of each FRA7H allele. Analysis of the replication pattern of adjacent clones along FRA7H by using cell population and two-color fluorescent in situ hybridization analyses showed significant differences in the replication of adjacent clones, under normal growth condition and upon aphidicolin treatment. This pattern significantly differed from that of two nonfragile regions which showed a coordinated replication under both conditions. These results indicate that aphidicolin is enhancing an already existing difference in the replication time along the FRA7H region. Based on our replication analysis of FRA7H and on previous analysis of the common fragile site FRA3B, we suggest that delayed replication is underlying the fragility at aphidicolin-induced common fragile sites.

Cell Line↗

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cdc2 mutants fail to replicate approximately one-third of their nuclear genome.

Chromosomal DNA replication was examined in temperature-sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae defective in a gene required for the completion of S phase at the nonpermissive temperature, 37 degrees C. Based on incorporation of radioactive precursors and density transfer experiments, strains carrying three different alleles of cdc2 failed to replicate approximately one-third of their nuclear genome at 37 degrees C. Whole-cell autoradiography experiments demonstrated that 93 to 96% of the cells synthesized DNA at 37 degrees C. Therefore, all cells failed to replicate part of their genome. DNA isolated from terminally arrested cells was of normal size as measured on neutral and alkaline sucrose gradients, suggesting that partially replicated DNA molecules do not accumulate and that DNA strands are ligated properly in cdc2 mutants. In addition, electron microscopic examination of the equivalent of more than one genome's DNA from arrested cells failed to reveal any partially replicated molecules. The sequences which failed to replicate at 37 degrees C were not highly specific; eight different cloned sequences replicated to the same extent as total DNA. The 2-microns plasmid DNA and rDNA replicated significantly less well than total DNA, but approximately one-half of these sequences replicated at 37 degrees C. These observations suggest that cdc2 mutants are defective in an aspect of initiation of DNA replication common to all chromosomes such that a random fraction of the chromosomes fail to initiate replication at 37 degrees C, but that once initiated, replication proceeds normally.

Cell Cycle↗

The DNA polymerase activity of Pol epsilon holoenzyme is required for rapid and efficient chromosomal DNA replication in Xenopus egg extracts.

BACKGROUND: DNA polymerase epsilon (Pol epsilon) is involved in DNA replication, repair, and cell-cycle checkpoint control in eukaryotic cells. Although the roles of replicative Pol alpha and Pol delta in chromosomal DNA replication are relatively well understood and well documented, the precise role of Pol epsilon in chromosomal DNA replication is not well understood. RESULTS: This study uses a Xenopus egg extract DNA replication system to further elucidate the replicative role(s) played by Pol epsilon. Previous studies show that the initiation timing and elongation of chromosomal DNA replication are markedly impaired in Pol epsilon-depleted Xenopus egg extracts, with reduced accumulation of replicative intermediates and products. This study shows that normal replication is restored by addition of Pol epsilon holoenzyme to Pol epsilon-depleted extracts, but not by addition of polymerase-deficient forms of Pol epsilon, including polymerase point or deletion mutants or incomplete enzyme complexes. Evidence is also provided that Pol epsilon holoenzyme interacts directly with GINS, Cdc45p and Cut5p, each of which plays an important role in initiation of chromosomal DNA replication in eukaryotic cells. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the DNA polymerase activity of Pol epsilon holoenzyme plays an essential role in normal chromosomal DNA replication in Xenopus egg extracts. These are the first biochemical data to show the DNA polymerase activity of Pol epsilon holoenzyme is essential for chromosomal DNA replication in higher eukaryotes, unlike in yeasts.

Animals↗

Oncolytic virotherapy of meningiomas in vitro with replication-competent adenovirus.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the conditionally replicating adenovirus (Ad) Ad.d24 for oncolysis of benign and malignant meningiomas. METHODS: Primary meningioma cells and organotypic spheroids were cultured from tumor biopsies of 12 consecutive unselected patients. Four different Ads were constructed and tested on meningioma cells and spheroids: a replication-deficient Ad encoding the luciferase marker gene (Ad.Luc), a replication-competent Ad with complete E1 region (Ad.E1+), a replication-competent Ad encoding the luciferase gene in the E3 region (Ad.E1Luc), and a conditionally replicating Ad with an E1ACR2 deletion (Ad.d24). Replication of the latter is restricted to cells with a defective retinoblastoma pathway, whereas Ad.E1+ and Ad.E1Luc can replicate in all human cells like a wild-type Ad. Their oncolytic activity was compared in primary meningioma cells and spheroids by use of viability and outgrowth assays. RESULTS: Adenoviral penetration into organotypic meningioma spheroids was detected with the replication-competent Ad.E1Luc, whereas infection with the replication-deficient Ad.Luc was limited to the outer layer of the spheroid. Replication of the Ads and oncolysis was demonstrated in primary cell cultures of meningioma cells at high dose, i.e., greater than 50 plaque-forming units per cell. At a lower dose of 5 plaque-forming units per cell, Ad.d24 kills meningioma cells more efficiently than Ad.E1+. Infection of organotypic meningioma spheroids with Ad.d24 resulted in decreased viability and suppression of outgrowth as compared with untreated control spheroids. CONCLUSION: Infection of meningioma cells and spheroids with replication-competent Ads results in efficient oncolysis. The Ad modified to replicate selectively in retinoblast-mutant cells, Ad.d24, seemed to be an efficient oncolytic agent in benign, atypical, and malignant meningiomas.

Adenoviridae↗

Reversion from basal histone H4 hypoacetylation at the replication fork increases DNA damage in FANCA deficient cells.

The FA/BRCA pathway safeguards DNA replication by repairing interstrand crosslinks (ICL) and maintaining replication fork stability. Chromatin structure, which is in part regulated by histones posttranslational modifications (PTMs), has a role in maintaining genomic integrity through stabilization of the DNA replication fork and promotion of DNA repair. An appropriate balance of PTMs, especially acetylation of histones H4 in nascent chromatin, is required to preserve a stable DNA replication fork. To evaluate the acetylation status of histone H4 at the replication fork of FANCA deficient cells, we compared histone acetylation status at the DNA replication fork of isogenic FANCA deficient and FANCA proficient cell lines by using accelerated native immunoprecipitation of nascent DNA (aniPOND) and in situ protein interactions in the replication fork (SIRF) assays. We found basal hypoacetylation of multiple residues of histone H4 in FA replication forks, together with increased levels of Histone Deacetylase 1 (HDAC1). Interestingly, high-dose short-term treatment with mitomycin C (MMC) had no effect over H4 acetylation abundance at the replication fork. However, chemical inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDAC) with Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) induced acetylation of the FANCA deficient DNA replication forks to levels comparable to their isogenic control counterparts. This forced permanence of acetylation impacted FA cells homeostasis by inducing DNA damage and promoting G2 cell cycle arrest. Altogether, this caused reduced RAD51 foci formation and increased markers of replication stress, including phospho-RPA-S33. Hypoacetylation of the FANCA deficient replication fork, is part of the cellular phenotype, the perturbation of this feature by agents that prevent deacetylation, such as SAHA, have a deleterious effect over the delicate equilibrium they have reached to perdure despite a defective FA/BRCA pathway.

Histones↗