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A Rowley

Publications and source records attributed to A Rowley.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Heat shock-mediated cell cycle blockage and G1 cyclin expression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

For cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, heat shock causes a transient inhibition of the cell cycle-regulatory step START. We have determined that this heat-induced START inhibition is accompanied by decreased CLN1 and CLN2 transcript abundance and by possible posttranscriptional changes to CLN3 (WHI1/DAF1) cyclin activity. Persistent CLN2 expression from a heterologous promoter or the CLN2-1 or CLN3-1 alleles that are thought to encode cyclin proteins with increased stability eliminated heat-induced START inhibition but did not affect other aspects of the heat shock response. Heat-induced START inhibition was shown to be independent of functions that regulate cyclin activity under other conditions and of transcriptional regulation of SWI4, an activator of cyclin transcription. Cells lacking Bcy1 function and thus without cyclic AMP control of A kinase activity were inhibited for START by heat shock as long as A kinase activity was attenuated by mutation. We suggest that heat shock mediates START blockage through effects on the G1 cyclins.

Cell Cycle↗

CDC68, a yeast gene that affects regulation of cell proliferation and transcription, encodes a protein with a highly acidic carboxyl terminus.

The cell cycle of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been investigated through the study of conditional cdc mutations that specifically affect cell cycle performance. Cells bearing the cdc68-1 mutation (J. A. Prendergast, L. E. Murray, A. Rowley, D. R. Carruthers, R. A. Singer, and G. C. Johnston, Genetics 124:81-90, 1990) are temperature sensitive for the performance of the G1 regulatory event, START. Here we describe the CDC68 gene and present evidence that the CDC68 gene product functions in transcription. CDC68 encodes a 1,035-amino-acid protein with a highly acidic and serine-rich carboxyl terminus. The abundance of transcripts from several unrelated genes is decreased in cdc68-1 mutant cells after transfer to the restrictive temperature, while at least one transcript, from the HSP82 gene, persists in an aberrant fashion. Thus, the cdc68-1 mutation has both positive and negative effects on gene expression. Our findings complement those of Malone et al. (E. A. Malone, C. D. Clark, A. Chiang, and F. Winston, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:5710-5717, 1991), who have independently identified the CDC68 gene (as SPT16) as a transcriptional suppressor of delta-insertion mutations. Among transcripts that rapidly become depleted in cdc68-1 mutant cells are those of the G1 cyclin genes CLN1, CLN2, and CLN3/WHI1/DAF1, whose activity has been previously shown to be required for the performance of START. The decreased abundance of cyclin transcripts in cdc68-1 mutant cells, coupled with the suppression of cdc68-1-mediated START arrest by the CLN2-1 hyperactive allele of CLN2, shows that the CDC68 gene affects START through cyclin gene expression.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Failure to confirm the presence of a retrovirus in cultured lymphocytes from patients with Kawasaki syndrome.

We and others previously reported DNA polymerase activity in culture supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with acute Kawasaki syndrome (KS). In the present study, we further characterized the previously detected polymerase activity and attempted to confirm its presence in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from additional patients with KS. Characterization experiments indicated that the polymerase activity was typical of a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase rather than viral reverse transcriptase. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from 17 additional KS patients were negative for reverse transcriptase activity in three laboratories. Our findings do not provide support for a retroviral etiology of KS. Further studies should continue to focus on infectious agents in efforts to elucidate the etiology of KS.

Cells, Cultured↗

Size selection identifies new genes that regulate Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell proliferation.

A centrifugation procedure to enrich for enlarged cells has been used to isolate temperature-sensitive cdc mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Among these mutants are strains containing mutations that arrest proliferation at the regulatory step start. These new start mutations define two previously unidentified genes, CDC67 and CDC68, and reveal that a previously identified gene, DNA33 (here termed CDC65), can harbour start mutations. Each new start mutation permits significant biosynthetic activity after transfer of mutant cells to the non-permissive temperature. The cdc68-1 start mutation causes arrest of cell proliferation without inhibition of mating ability, while the cdc65-1 and cdc67-1 mutations inhibit zygote formation and successful conjugation. The identification of new start genes by a novel selection procedure suggests that the catalog of genes that influence start is large.

Cell Division↗

Mechanical ventilation of infants of less than 1,501 gm birth weight: Health, growth, and neurologic sequelae.

A two-year follow-up study of 73 low-birth-weight ( less than 1,501 gm) infants treated with positive pressure ventilation as neonates revealed the following: 24% incidence of lower respiratory tract infections during the first year; weight and height at two years averaging between tenth and twenty-fifth percentiles; major neurologic defects diagnosed in 14 boys (39%) and seven girls (18%) with one-year Bayley scores of less than 80. Major neurologic sequelae were closely associated with a neonatal history of seizures and intracranial hemorrhage and were more common in boys, survivors weighing more than 1,000 gm and following high-risk pregnancies.

Apnea↗

G1 cyclins regulate proliferation of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The eukaryotic cell cycle is regulated at two points, the G1-S and G2-M boundaries. The molecular basis for these regulatory activities has recently been elucidated, in large part by the use of molecular and genetic analyses using unicellular yeast. The molecular characterization of cell-cycle regulation has revealed striking functional conservation among evolutionarily diverse cell types. For many eukaryotic cells, regulation of cell proliferation occurs primarily in the G1 interval. The G1 regulatory step, termed START, requires the activation of a highly conserved p34 protein kinase by association with a functionally redundant family of proteins, the G1 cyclins. Here we review studies using the genetically tractable budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which have provided insight into the role of G1 cyclins in the regulation of START.

Cell Cycle↗