Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J S Bhorjee.
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The synthesis, turnover, and expression of all the major high mobility group (HMG) chromosomal proteins was studied in different rat skeletal myogenic cell lines. Whereas pulse-chase experiments revealed a similar half-life (greater than 2 cell generations) for all the HMG proteins in both L8 myoblasts and myotubes, [3H]lysine incorporation data indicated a 2- to 4-fold greater incorporation of the label in the HMG proteins in proliferating myoblasts relative to the nondividing myotubes. Analysis of the HMG-1, -14, and -17 mRNAs during myogenesis showed a significant down-regulation in L6 and L8 myotubes compared to the myoblasts. However, the timing of the shift and the extent of down-regulation was cell type-dependent, being more pronounced in L6 myotubes at fusion compared to 4 days postfusion in L8 myotubes. By contrast, L8-derived fusion-defective fu-1 cells over the same period of growth showed no change in HMG-14/17 mRNA levels. HMG-I(Y) protein isoforms, noted for the first time in rat myoblasts, like their counterparts, seemed to be stable and showed a precipitous reduction in their mRNAs during myogenesis. The results suggest a cell type-specific correlation between HMG expression and cell proliferation; they also argue for their role in maintenance of the cell's state of differentiation.
The expression of chromosomal proteins HMG-14 and HMG-17 during cellular differentiation was studied in cultured mouse myoblasts. During myogenesis the level of both HMG-14 and HMG-17 mRNA decreased to less than 20% of that found in myoblasts. The down-regulation of HMG-14/-17 mRNA occurred simultaneously with activation of muscle-specific actin mRNA and was not linked to DNA synthesis, indicating that it is a differentiation-, rather than a cell cycle-related event. Incorporation of radiolabeled lysine into HMG proteins was similar to that into the major histone fractions in that it was significant in myoblasts and undetectable in myotubes. The decrease in mRNA and protein synthesis did not affect the cellular levels of HMG protein. These results indicate that the regulation of HMG-14/-17 mRNA levels is different from that of the histones and is linked to differentiation rather than to DNA synthesis.
When cells are briefly exposed to cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) before lysis in high sodium dodecyl sulfate-urea solutions, the high molecular-weight nucleic acids pelleted by ultracentrifugation contain an increased level of bound proteins when compared to a similar fraction from untreated cells. Subsequent shearing of the pelleted DNA followed by treatment with DNase permits electrophoretic and immunoblot analysis of the crosslinked proteins. In the present study such experiments were carried out with reference to nuclear envelope pore complex proteins in the differentiating L8 rat skeletal muscle cells. The results show that (i) whereas the major lamin proteins crosslinked to DNA in both myoblast and myotubes, lamin B is crosslinked to a greater extent to DNA in myotubes; (ii) a 62-kDa lectin-binding glycoprotein is apparently situated differently with respect to DNA in myotube nuclei; and (iii) the crosslinking pattern of the nuclear matrix proteins to DNA is qualitatively similar in myoblast and myotubes. In addition, lamin C', a modified form of lamin C, not observed in intact nonmuscle cells previously [Glass et al. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 1895-1900], exists as a native component of the nuclear lamina in rat skeletal myotubes but not in myoblasts. These results point to significant structural alterations in the proteins of the nuclear lamina-pore complex during myogenesis.
Antibodies and inhibitors have been used to study the process of nuclear reactivation following the fusion of chick erythrocytes with mouse L cell cytoplasts. Immunofluorescence results showed that a monoclonal antibody against a DNA 'tight-binding' protein from HeLa chromatin as well as an anti-Sm human serum failed to bind to the unreactivated erythrocyte nucleus, but showed strong binding after fusion. The development of antibody-binding sites was affected neither by alpha-amanitin nor by cycloheximide, indicating that some of the processes of reactivation, including specific protein uptake are independent of DNA and RNA synthesis. These results are discussed in terms of the role of the chick nucleus in directing the reactivation process.
When in vivo [32P] phosphate labeled HMG proteins from unsynchronized HeLa cells are separated by electrophoresis in acid-urea polyacrylamide gels, as opposed to separation in SDS-polyacrylamide, HMG 17 does not show any 32P incorporation. Likewise, no 32P radioactivity was found in HMG 17 protein isolated at different stages of the cell cycle from synchronized cells. By contrast, HMG 14 reveals a previously reported (Bhorjee, J.S. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 6944-6948) cell cycle stage-specific dependent phosphorylation with maximum 32P radioactivity in the G2 phase relative to G1. Furthermore, HMG 14 is resolved into multiple electrophoretic forms as phosphoprotein in the acid-urea system. The results presented seriously question the data on the in vivo phosphorylation of HMG 17, and suggest that these be reevaluated.
The class of nonhistone chromosomal proteins that remains bound to DNA in chromatin in the presence of 2.5 M NaCl-5 M urea has proven refractile to biochemical analysis. In order to study its role in chromatin organization, we have produced monoclonal antibodies that are specific for the HeLa DNA-protein complex that remains after extraction of chromatin with high salt and urea. The antibody-producing clones were identified with an ELISA assay. Of the six clones selected, five were stabilized by limiting dilution. All clones are IgG producers. None cross-react significantly with native DNA, core histones, or the high-mobility group nonhistone proteins. All antibodies are specific for nuclear or juxtanuclear antigens. Indirect immunofluorescence shows that three antibodies, which are nonidentical, stain three different nuclear networks. Available evidence indicates that two of these networks are the nuclear matrix. A fourth antibody reveals structures reminiscent of chromocenters. A fifth antibody, AhNA-1, binds to interphase HeLa chromatin and specifically decorates metaphase chromosomes. AhNA-1 similarly recognizes rat chromosomes. Each of these monoclonal antibodies also reveals a changing pattern of nuclear staining as cells progress through the cell cycle. Presumably, this reflects the rearrangement of the cognate antigens.
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The phosphorylation of the high-mobility group (HMG) proteins at different stages of the cell cycle was studied in synchronized HeLa cells. HMG proteins were extracted and analyzed by NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Although the molecular weight distribution of HMGs remains unchanged, their total amounts increase by as much as 20-25% in the G1 and S phases when compared with amounts in G2. However, the most significant finding is that there is a 7-fold increase of 32P incorporation into HMG 14 in the G2 phase compared with that in G1, and a 2-fold increase of 32P incorporation into HMG 17 in early S phase relative to the incorporation in the G1 and G2 stages. In contrast, HMG 1 and HMG 2 are not phosphorylated. The clear demonstration of differential phosphorylation of HMG 14 and 17 at specific stages of the cell cycle warrants a serious consideration of their role in tissue-specific maintenance of the altered chromatin structure characteristic of potentially active or actively transcribed chromatin domains.
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Methods are desceibed which permit rapid isolation of chromatographically purified histone and non-histone chromatin proteins under relatively mild chemical conditions. Chromatin is isolated from purified nuclei, dissociated in guanidine - HCl-urea and the nucleic acids removed by ultracentrigugation. This can be accomplished in 10 h by employing maximum-force rotors (500 000 x g). The proteins are then fractionated by a batch ion-exchange method, which leads to a rapid and complete separation of the histones and non-histone components, in apparently undegraded form. With these methods it is possible to obtain mg quantities of chromatographically pure histone and non-histone proteins in less than a single working day.
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A special class of non-histone protein ("tight protein") is identified in purified HeLa cell chromatin on the basis of its failure to dissociate from the DNA at very high ionic strength (2.5 M NaCl-5.0 M urea), where over 92% of the total chromatin protein is released. The tight proteins are insoluble in 0.4 N H2SO4 and lack histones as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. They have molecular weights between 14,000 and 85,000 with over 70% of the polypeptide chains between 14,000 and 30,000 mol wt. This is the same size range as the non-histone proteins which others have found to display species-specific DNA binding in vitro. There is approximately one molecule of tight protein per 275 DNA base pairs. The tight proteins are characterized by much higher rates of labeling with amino acids than the histones and non-histone chromatin proteins that are dissociated from the DNA by high ionic strength, but they have the lowest phosphorylation levels. Chromatin fractionation experiments were performed to investigate the distribution of tight proteins between template-active and template-inactive regions. Under specific conditions, spleen DNase (DNase II) selectively shears those portions of HeLa cell chromatin that contain nascent RNA transcripts. This nascent RNA-enriched chromatin fraction also contains a high level of the proteins known to be complexed with heterogeneous nuclear RNA in ribonucleoprotein particles and contains over 70% of the RNA polymerase activity of total chromatin. When this method was employed to investigate the distribution of tight proteins, they were found to be almost entirely confined to the template-inactive fraction. Although these experiments do not elucidate the precise function of these proteins, they identify, for the first time, a particular subclass of non-histone chromosomal protein which is distributed asymmetrically between transcriptionally active and inactive chromatin regions.
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Chromatin was isolated from synchronized HeLa cells at different stages of the cell division cycle and fractionated into DNA, histones, and nonhistone proteins. Electrophoresis of the nonhistone proteins in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels revealed a highly reproducible pattern of 22 bands, having estimated molecular weights of 15,000-180,000, with 85% (by mass) over 40,000. The amounts of some nonhistone proteins varied during the cell cycle by as much as 50%, while others remained at a constant level. One group of nonhistone proteins (molecular weight 75,000) was greatly reduced just before the start of DNA replication (S-phase), then returned to normal levels in the mid-S phase. These results are discussed with regard to the possible role of nonhistone proteins in regulating chromosome structure and function.
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