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Techniques to produce interspecific hybrid cells, and the means to recognise them and to isolate clones of viable cells are described. Some applications are reviewed.
Retina cognin (R-cognin) is a developmentally regulated 50-kDa protein that was isolated from chicken embryo retina cell membranes. It mediates the adhesion and reaggregation in vitro of retina cells from chicken and mouse embryos, but not of cells from other tissues, and may be involved in neuronal differentiation. We report here the cloning of a cDNA for R-cognin. A chicken embryo retina cDNA library was constructed in lambda gt11 vector and was screened with polyclonal R-cognin antiserum, yielding several immunoreactive clones. Antiserum prepared to the R-cognin-beta-galactosidase fusion protein produced by one recombinant lysogen recognized the 50-kDa R-cognin protein derived from retina cell membranes. This antiserum inhibited the reaggregation of dissociated retina cells and immunostained chicken embryo retina tissue in a pattern similar to that obtained with R-cognin antiserum. In vitro translation of RNA from a cDNA subclone yielded a 50-kDa protein that was recognized by R-cognin antiserum on a Western blot. By these criteria we identify the cDNA clone as representative of the gene encoding R-cognin. This cDNA is nearly identical to a major portion of the cDNA for the multifunctional protein that is the beta subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase and has both protein disulfide isomerase activity and thyroid hormone-binding activity. These findings demonstrate that R-cognin differs from other cell adhesion molecules and suggest possible mechanisms for its action in cell adhesion and neuronal differentiation.
Integrin receptors and their extracellular matrix ligands have been implicated in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of trophoblast adhesion and migration. In the present series of experiments, the regulation of expression of osteopontin (OPN), a secretory extracellular matrix protein that mediates cell adhesion by binding to members of the alpha V family of integrins was investigated. Human chorionic villi were obtained during the mid and late first trimester, early second trimester, and late third trimester of pregnancy. In addition, cytotrophoblasts were isolated from chorionic villi, and the effects of exposure of cultured cytotrophoblasts to cAMP agonists or antagonists were assessed. OPN messenger RNA (mRNA) was expressed by human trophoblasts in the first trimester and throughout pregnancy. Using immunolocalization in prepared tissue sections, cytotrophoblasts stained intensely for OPN, but syncytial trophoblasts did not. This differentiation-dependent expression was confirmed in vitro by demonstrating that freshly isolated mononuclear cytotrophoblasts exhibited a high level of OPN mRNA, but as the cells aggregated and fused to form multinucleated syncytia in vitro, mRNA levels decreased dramatically. 8-Bromo-cAMP inhibited the expression of OPN mRNA, whereas the cAMP antagonist Rp-cAMP inhibited the OPN mRNA decrease during the in vitro differentiation of the cells. This study demonstrates the regulated expression of OPN by human trophoblasts. In addition, our data suggest that this expression is dependent upon the state of cellular differentiation of the trophoblasts and is regulated by endogenous cAMP. We speculate that binding of OPN to its alpha V beta 3-integrin receptor may be a critical signaling pathway contributing to the integrity of the chorionic villus and may also play a role in maternal-embryonic communication during the process of placentation.
Nucleosomes with their associated modifications organize and regulate the genome. It is unclear how this is integrated with the requirement of replication and transcription to access the DNA template without jeopardizing chromatin function. Here, we reveal a unified requirement for the histone chaperone FACT in mediating nucleosome disruption and reassembly during mammalian replication and transcription. Upon acute FACT depletion, replisome and RNA polymerase progression is halted genome wide, and chromatin structure in their wake collapses, with reduced nucleosome occupancy, irregular spacing, and intermediate assemblies. Chromatin states deteriorate as modified histones are lost due to a lack of histone recycling. Chromatin fiber disorder further manifests in the 3D genome, triggering active genes to coalesce in aberrant microcompartments. Similarly, aberrant compartments form in cells failing to maintain chromatin fiber structure through replication. Nucleosome organization therefore dynamically regulates genome architecture, guarding against spurious chromatin aggregation.
The coat protein of the simple spherical (triangulation no. T = 3) RNA coliphage R17 protects the genomic RNA in the virus particle and acts as a translational repressor of the phage-encoded replicase gene. It has been suggested that these two functions are related and that the translational repression complex serves as a nucleation complex for subsequent assembly of the bacteriophage. We have used a translational operation fragment to examine the relationship between formation of the translational repression complex and the assembly of the protein into T = 3 capsids. In vitro analysis of the aggregation properties of R17 coat protein reveals that binding of the translational operator fragment to the protein dimer triggers polymerization of the protein into T = 3 capsids of well-defined composition. The data further implicate the translational operator in nucleation of assembly and suggest a possible physical-chemical basis of the nucleation step.
We are investigating the roles of RNA synthesis, chromatin structure and nuclear matrix organization in establishing and maintaining transcription domains, using mitogen stimulated lymphocytes as a model system. In a continuing study, the effects of the RNA polymerase inhibitor DRB and of its removal on nuclear organization have been examined by EM cytochemistry and by immunofluorescence labelling of the nuclear matrix PI1, Sm and nucleolar fibrillarin antigens. Chromatin, interchromatin granules and nucleoli were extensively restructured after DRB, as were matrix antigens. According to cytochemical staining properties, the conformation of DRB-induced condensed chromatin resembled that in partially stimulated lymphocytes. The nucleoplasmic fibrogranular RNP network appeared little altered, but the fibrillar proteinaceous interchromatinic regions, interpreted as representing the nuclear matrix in situ, were more affected. After removal of DRB, nuclei recovered the organization and transcriptional activity of controls within 8 h. These results suggest that the matrix subtending transcription domains remains stable when transcription is arrested, even though the chromatin and individual RNP components of the domains are disorganized. The data further indicate that absence of transcription is not solely accountable for the highly aggregated state of the chromatin in resting lymphocytes.
[NiFe]-hydrogenases require a set of complementary and regulatory proteins for correct folding and maturation processes. One of the essential regulatory proteins, HypF (82kDa) contains a N-terminal acylphosphatase (ACT)-like domain, a sequence motif shared with enzymes catalyzing O-carbamoylation, and two zinc finger motifs similar to those found in the DnaJ chaperone. The HypF acylphosphatase domain is thought to support the conversion of carbamoylphosphate into CO and CN(-), promoting coordination of these ligands to the hydrogenase metal cluster. It has been shown recently that the HypF N-terminal domain can aggregate in vitro to yield fibrils matching those formed by proteins linked to amyloid diseases. The 1.27A resolution HypF acylphosphatase domain crystal structure (residues 1-91; R-factor 13.1%) shows a domain fold of betaalphabetabetaalphabeta topology, as observed in mammalian acylphosphatases specifically catalyzing the hydrolysis of the carboxyl-phosphate bonds in acylphosphates. The HypF N-terminal domain can be assigned to the ferredoxin structural superfamily, to which RNA-binding domains of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins and some metallochaperone proteins belong. Additionally, the HypF N-terminal domain displays an intriguing structural relationship to the recently discovered ACT domains. The structures of different HypF acylphosphatase domain complexes show a phosphate binding cradle comparable to the P-loop observed in unrelated phosphatase families. On the basis of the catalytic mechanism proposed for acylphosphatases, whereby residues Arg23 and Asn41 would support substrate orientation and the nucleophilic attack of a water molecule on the phosphate group, fine structural features of the HypF N-terminal domain putative active site region may account for the lack of acylphosphatase activity observed for the expressed domain. The crystallographic analyses here reported were undertaken to shed light on the molecular bases of inactivity, folding, misfolding and aggregation of the HypF N-terminal acylphosphatase domain.
Uvomorulin (E-cadherin) is a cell adhesive molecule analogous to L-CAM in the chicken. Uvomorulin is important in the process of compaction in eight-cell mouse embryos and plays a role in F9 embryonal carcinoma cell interactions but it is not clear if it mediates aggregation or compaction, the closer interaction that also occurs in F9 cells cultured in suspension. This paper describes the finding of reduced levels of uvomorulin in a mutant cell line of F9 (5.51 att-) that is consistent with a role for uvomorulin in both aggregation and compaction. The mutant line expresses 40-50% of normal levels of uvomorulin as measured by surface radioiodination, immunoblotting, and biosynthetic labeling and immunoprecipitation with two different antisera. The mutant cell line expresses only abnormally unstable uvomorulin transcripts at very low levels. In addition, karyotypic analyses revealed an abnormal chromosome 8 on which the uvomorulin gene is located and therefore could account for aberrant uvomorulin expression. F9 5.51 att- cells aggregate loosely but do not compact (A. Grover, M. J. Rosenstraus, B. Sterman, M. E. Snook, and E. D. Anderson, 1987, Dev. Biol. 119, 1-11). The conclusion is that reduced levels of uvomorulin are sufficient for aggregation but insufficient for compaction.
We have cloned and sequenced a gene from Lactobacillus reuteri that encodes a 56 kDa protein, which mediates autoaggregation of the bacteria. Using an antiserum raised against extracellular proteins from the pig intestinal isolate L. reuteri 1063, we screened a genomic lambda library derived from the same strain. Affinity purification of recombinant protein from the isolated lambda clones showed that one type of clone expressed a protein that efficiently aggregated the parental strain when added to the bacteria. Subcloning and introduction of the corresponding gene, here denoted aggHinto the L. reuteri type strain markedly enhanced aggregation. Furthermore, insertional inactivation of aggH in strain 1063 resulted in an autoaggregation-deficient phenotype. Finally, an affinity-purified and cleaved fusion of AggH protein and the maltose-binding protein, MBP, strongly promoted aggregation of L. reuteri 1063, whereas the uncleaved fusion protein was inactive. Sequencing of aggH revealed that the corresponding protein has extensive sequence homology to the large family of ATP-dependent DEAD-box helicases. These results are intriguing in view of earlier data on the promotion of genetic exchange in Lactobacillus by aggregation.
Seven strains of the myxobacterium Chondromyces crocatus, isolated from widely separated geographic regions, were investigated for the presence of an associate gram-negative, rod-shaped companion bacterium that is phylogenetically related to the genus Sphingobacterium and has been named "Candidatus comitans" (C. A. Jacobi, E. Stackebrandt, H. Reichenbach, and B. J. Tindall, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 46:119-122, 1996). Five of the Chondromyces strains were found to be associated with a companion bacterium, and one strain lost its companion during the study. A 16S ribosomal DNA (16S rDNA) clone library was generated for each Chondromyces culture. Sequence similarity was > 99.1% for all but one strain of C. crocatus and all but one strain of "Candidatus comitans". The three analyzed 16S rDNA clone sequences of the companion of Cm c7 indicated that this companion strain is slightly less related to the other companion strains. The association between the companion and the myxobacterium including the sporangioles was determined by in situ hybridization with fluorescently labeled rRNA probes and scanning confocal laser microscopy. Based on these results, there are indications that the companion strains may survive environmental stress by inclusion in the aggregates and in the sporangioles of the myxobacterium.
We have developed a multistage model system in which a normal mouse keratinocyte clone has been initiated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and variant clones derived with benign or malignant phenotypes. To identify specific genes altered during mouse skin carcinogenesis, the gene expression patterns of the normal parental epidermal cell, an initiated cell, a benign papilloma, and a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma were compared using RNA differential display. Most alterations in gene expression were observed at malignant conversion, that is, in the poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma that is known to have deregulated expression of p53. The sequence of a cloned cDNA fragment lost in the poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma was nearly identical to the 3' region of an adhesion-related kinase which is involved in homophilic cell aggregation. It is found in normal epidermal progenitor cells as well as tumorigenic cells with differentiation potential, but not in tumorigenic cells with a poorly differentiated phenotype, suggesting that this adhesion-related kinase may be involved in epidermal cell differentiation. Differential display within the cloned epidermal cell model appears to be useful in detecting and identifying malignant conversion-associated genes which then can be tested directly for their potential role in epithelial carcinogenesis.
A collection of epidemiologically unrelated verocytotoxin (VT)-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) strains of serogroup O111 isolated from human patients and cattle with diarrhoeal disease in five different countries were characterised by determination of their VT genotypes, the presence of other virulence factors such as the intimin-coding eae gene and the enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) plasmid, and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. The genetic relatedness among isolates was evaluated by genomic DNA fingerprinting techniques such as restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of ribosomal RNA genes (ribotyping) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The results indicated that the VTEC O111 examined belong to two distinct clonal lineages. The first group was constituted mainly of non-motile, eae-positive, EHEC plasmid-positive isolates from both man and cattle. The second lineage was represented by an O111:H2 epidemic strain, isolated during an outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome in France and exhibiting an unusual combination of virulence factors: VT production and aggregative adhesion to HEp-2 cells associated with an enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) plasmid.
The effects of the administration of tryptophan on toxic cirrhosis induced by intermittent carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) intoxication in the rat were investigated. Rats received CCl4 (0.45 ml/100 g body wt ip) twice weekly for 10-14 weeks. Tryptophan (30 mg/100 g body wt) by stomach tube was administered 1 hr before killing. Tryptophan improved hepatic polyribosomal aggregation and [14C]leucine incorporation into protein in vitro of control rats as well as long-term CCl4-treated rats that had developed toxic cirrhosis. However, the effects were more marked in control than in experimental rats. Tryptophan administration induced an increase in labeled nuclear RNA release in vitro and a decrease in labeled tryptophan binding to nuclear protein in vitro of livers of rats receiving long-term CCl4 and of control rats. The results indicate that the stimulatory effects of a single administration of tryptophan in toxic cirrhotic livers are similar to, but somewhat less than, those which occur in livers of normal, control rats.
INTRODUCTION: Alterations in the gut microbiota accompanied by intestinal inflammation are early features of Parkinson's disease (PD). Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene represent a common genetic risk factor for PD and inflammatory bowel disease. Parabacteroides goldsteinii has been reported to alleviate intestinal and systemic inflammation. However, whether modulation of the gut microenvironment at early disease stage can attenuate PD progression remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of P. goldsteinii colonization prior to the onset of motor dysfunction on PD progression. METHODS: We established a germ-free PD mouse model carrying the LRRK2 G2019S mutation and administered P. goldsteinii orally at the pre-symptomatic stage to evaluate its effects on motor performance and PD-related neuropathology. Spatial and bulk RNA transcriptomic analyses of brain tissue, together with cytokine profiling, were conducted to assess central changes. To investigate gut immunomodulatory mechanisms, we performed intestinal bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing, spectral flow cytometry as well as cellular bioenergetic analyses. RESULTS: Germ-free conditions partially alleviated PD-like phenotypes in LRRK2 G2019S mice. Colonization with P. goldsteinii at 5-months of age, prior to motor symptom onset, further improved locomotor performance, reduced neuronal α-synuclein aggregations, and mitigated microglial activation and dopaminergic neurodegeneration. Neuroprotection was mediated through enhanced noncanonical neuronal IL-12 receptor-dependent neurotrophic support without activating the canonical STAT4 phosphorylation pathway, along with suppression of microglial activation and downregulation of LRRK2 kinase activity. At the intestinal level, P. goldsteinii suppressed TLR4-driven inflammation, expanded anti-inflammatory intraepithelial CD4+CD8αα+ T cells, promoted dendritic cell and macrophage differentiation, upregulated epithelial tight-junction genes, and improved mitochondrial bioenergetics in intestinal cells. CONCLUSION: P. goldsteinii colonization attenuates the progression of LRRK2-associated parkinsonism by restoring intestinal homeostasis and reducing neuroinflammation. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of modulating the gut-immune-brain axis during the prodromal stage of PD.
alpha-Sarcin is a single polypeptide chain protein which exhibits antitumour activity by degrading the larger ribosomal RNA of tumour cells. We describe the interaction of a alpha-sarcin with lipid model systems. The protein specifically interacts with negatively-charged phospholipid vesicles, resulting in protein-lipid complexes which can be isolated by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose gradient. alpha-Sarcin causes aggregation of such vesicles. The extent of this interaction progressively decreases when the molar ratio of phosphatidylcholine increases in acidic vesicles. The kinetics of the vesicle aggregation induced by the protein have been measured. This process is dependent on the ratio of alpha-sarcin present in the protein-lipid system. A saturation plot is observed from phospholipid vesicles-protein titrations. The saturating protein/lipid molar ratio is 1:50. The effect produced by the antitumour protein on the lipid vesicles is dependent on neither the length nor the degree of unsaturation of the phospholipid acyl chain. However, the aggregation is dependent on temperature, being many times higher above the phase transition temperature of the corresponding phospholipid than below it. The effects of pH and ionic strength have also been considered. An increase in the ionic strength does not abolish the protein-lipid interaction. The effect of pH may be related to conformational changes of the protein. Binding experiments reveal a strong interaction between alpha-sarcin and acidic vesicles, with Kd = 0.06 microM. The peptide bonds of the protein are protected against trypsin hydrolysis upon binding to acidic vesicles. The interaction of the protein with phosphatidylglycerol vesicles does not modify the phase transition temperature of the lipid, although it decreases the amplitude of the change of fluorescence anisotropy associated to the co-operative melting of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH)-labelled vesicles. The results are interpreted in terms of the existence of both electrostatic and hydrophobic components for the interaction between phospholipid vesicles and the antitumour protein.
Lac permease, a polytopic membrane protein from Escherichia coli, has been purified in soluble form by overexpressing the lacY gene by means of the T7 RNA polymerase system. Soluble permease is dissociated from membranes with urea or other chaotropes and appears after the membrane is saturated with newly synthesized permease. Remarkably, this form of the permease appears to remain soluble in phosphate buffer at neutral pH after removal of urea, although it aggregates in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Importantly, soluble permease behaves as a monomer during size-exclusion chromatography with or without urea, contains less than 3 mol of organic phosphate per mol of protein, and is largely helical. Soluble permease binds p-nitrophenyl alpha-D-galactopyranoside approximately 40% as well as permease in the native environment of the membrane and can be reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles that catalyze lactose counterflow or active transport in response to a membrane potential (interior negative). The results suggest that lac permease can assume a nondenatured conformation in aqueous solution.
The mRNA encoding vasopressin has recently been documented within the magnocellular hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal projections of the rat such as the median eminence (ME) and the posterior pituitary (PP), suggesting the possibility of its axonal transport. To address the origin of this mRNA and to investigate the functional significance of this unexpected axonal transport of mRNA, we have examined its subcellular localization within both magnocellular perikarya and their axonal projections. For this purpose, we have used nonradioactive in situ hybridization techniques in order to localize the vasopressin mRNA with precision at the ultrastructural level in magnocellular perikarya, dendrites, and axons from control, salt-loaded, and lactating rats. This approach permitted us to demonstrate directly the axonal localization of vasopressin mRNA. Moreover, we were able to obtain novel information concerning vasopressin mRNA compartmentation within both perikarya and axons. At both light and electron microscopic levels, we observed vasopressin mRNA-containing cells in the hypothalamic magnocellular cell body groups, but not in the ME or in the PP. When vasopressin mRNA was detected in medium-size dendrites, it was always associated with the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). Within the labeled magnocellular perikarya, the abundant vasopressin mRNA was mainly associated with discrete areas of the RER. However, vasopressin mRNA was never detected in the Golgi apparatus or in association with neurosecretory granules, in perikarya or axons. These data suggest that vasopressin mRNA translation is restricted to certain segments within the RER, and that axonal transport of vasopressin mRNA does not involve the classical neurosecretory pathway, via the Golgi apparatus and the neurosecretory granules, as has been proposed. Within the magnocellular neuron axons, vasopressin mRNA could be detected only in a subset of axonal swellings, all of which were confined to the internal layer of the ME and the PP. The mRNA-containing swellings were numerous in 7 d salt-loaded animals, less abundant in lactating animals, and almost undetectable in control animals. In all groups of animals, no vasopressin mRNA was detectable in any other region of the magnocellular neuron axons, including undilated axonal segments or varicose swellings. These results strongly suggest that, under physiological activation such as chronic salt loading, axonal vasopressin mRNA is increased and becomes aggregated in a selected subset of swellings of the ME and the PP. Furthermore, these data indicate that along the magnocellular neuron axons, the swellings may differ in their biochemical and functional features. Further analysis focused on the mRNA-accumulating swellings may illuminate the function of RNA within the axonal compartment.
A significant amount of new information on structure-function relationships in nuclei of adenovirus-infected cells has accumulated during the last decade as a result of the combined use of several new cytochemical techniques. Localization of viral DNA on ultrathin sections of infected cells has been investigated at the ultrastructural level by using specific DNA staining and immunocytochemistry with monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies. Both techniques, however, concomitantly visualize cellular and viral DNA. The specific stain for DNA reveals the configuration of the DNA molecules in the different nuclear substructures, whatever their synthetic activities. The immunodetection of DNA reveals that specific antibodies strongly bind to DNA of condensed host chromatin and to both encapsidated and nonencapsidated inactive viral genomes. However, the observation of an abnormally low level of labeling over the substructures in which synthetic activities of viral genomes are known to be intense demonstrates a serious limitation of this technique for the detection of active DNA. Postembedding in situ hybridization is the most useful method for identifying with certainty the structures containing defined nucleic acid sequences. By using a biotinylated viral DNA probe, in situ hybridization provides specific identification of structures containing either viral DNA or viral RNA molecules. In addition, with appropriate pretreatment of the sections, it is possible to reveal either all the viral DNA--that is, both double- and single-stranded DNA molecules (dsDNA, ssDNA)--or more specific species such as only ssDNA or only dsDNA molecules. The replicative and transcriptional activities of viral genomes are determined by high-resolution autoradiography. Autoradiography after a short pulse incorporation of appropriate radioactive precursors by infected cells reveals the sites of cellular and viral DNA replication or transcription. A short pulse followed by chase periods of different durations reveals the progressive migration of the cellular and viral synthesized products. The in situ distribution of the viral 72 kDa DNA-binding protein, a highly phosphorylated protein which protects the viral ssDNA, is revealed either by immunocytochemistry with specific antibodies or by the bismuth staining method which stains all highly phosphorylated proteins, including both cellular and viral proteins. The combined results of all these cytochemical procedures reveal the composition and functions of some of the structures induced by adenovirus infection. They demonstrate that viral genomes engaged in replication lead to the formation of the replicative foci in which two compartments rapidly develop, one of which results from the aggregation of single strands of viral DNA and their accompanying 72 kDa protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)