Biomedical subjects

J V Ruderman

Publications and source records attributed to J V Ruderman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

Components of a system that ligates cyclin to ubiquitin and their regulation by the protein kinase cdc2.

Cyclin B, a positive regulatory subunit of the cdc2 protein kinase complex, is synthesized across the cell cycle and then rapidly degraded at the end of mitosis. Degradation of cyclin B is triggered by increased levels of active cdc2 and is required for exit from mitosis. It was shown previously that cyclin degradation is carried out by the ubiquitin system, but the components responsible for the specificity and regulation of cyclin-ubiquitin ligation have not been identified. The formation of ubiquitin-protein conjugates usually requires the sequential action of three enzymes: a ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), a ubiquitin-carrier protein (E2), and a ubiquitin-protein ligase (E3). In this work we employed a fractionation approach to identify the components of a clam oocyte system responsible for specific ubiquitination of cyclin and to determine which components are regulated by cdc2. Experimental conditions were established under which a fusion protein containing an amino-terminal fragment of cyclin B is ligated to ubiquitin only in extracts from M-phase but not from interphase cells. Fractionation of M-phase extracts by DEAE-cellulose and high speed centrifugation yielded three fractions that were all required for cell cycle stage-specific cyclin-ubiquitin ligation. Only one of these fractions could be replaced by a previously known enzyme of the ubiquitin system, E1. A second fraction contained a novel species of E2, termed E2-C, which acts in the ligation of ubiquitin to cyclin but not to other endogenous proteins. A third component is associated with particulate material. Whereas E2-C from either M-phase or interphase extracts is active, the particulate component is active only in M-phase. Incubation of the particulate fraction from interphase cells with the protein kinase cdc2 activates it for cyclin-ubiquitin ligation, after a lag of about 30 min. These findings suggest that the particulate fraction may contain an E3 enzyme that acts on cyclin, as well as additional factors activated by cdc2.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Functional analysis of the P box, a domain in cyclin B required for the activation of Cdc25.

Cyclin B-cdc2 complexes are kept inactive by inhibitory phosphorylations on Thr-14 and Tyr-15 of cdc2 until they are dephosphorylated at the end of G2 by the phosphatase cdc25. Recent work has suggested that a small region of cyclin B, which we call the P box, may contribute part of a phosphatase-activating domain to cdc25. Individual conservative substitutions at three invariant residues within the P box yield mutant cyclin B proteins that bind cdc2 in vitro and then show the predicted cell cycle arrest, with cdc25 remaining in the low activity interphase form and cyclin B-cdc2 complexes remaining phosphorylated and inactive. While the low activity interphase form of cdc25 cannot act on cdc2 complexed with a mutant P box cyclin, the high activity M phase form of cdc25 can. These results demonstrate that the P box domain of cyclin B is required for cdc25 activation and support a two-step mechanism for the cdc25-dependent activation of cyclin B-cdc2.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1993

MAP kinase and the activation of quiescent cells.

Virtually all mitogens lead to the rapid activation of one or more mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. In almost all cases, mitogen-activated surface signaling complexes transmit an essential signal via ras on to a protein kinase cascade that involves the serine/threonine kinase raf. Raf appears to be a MAP kinase kinase kinase, activating MAP kinase kinase which, in turn, activates MAP kinase. Among the targets of MAP kinase are other kinases, nuclear transcription factors and other proteins with roles in cell cycle activation. Both G0-arrested somatic cells and G2-arrested oocytes use many of the same signaling mechanisms to break cell cycle arrest; this is a useful concept in light of newly developed cell-free systems from quiescent oocytes that can be used to study signal transduction in vitro.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Mos induces the in vitro activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases in lysates of frog oocytes and mammalian somatic cells.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are rapidly and transiently activated when both quiescent Go-arrested cells and G2-arrested oocytes are stimulated to reenter the cell cycle. We previously developed a cell-free system from lysates of quiescent Xenopus oocytes that responds to oncogenic H-ras protein by activating a MAPK, p42MAPK. Here, we show that the oncogenic protein kinase mos is also a potent activator of p42MAPK in these lysates. Mos also induces p42MAPK activation in lysates of activated eggs taken at a time when neither mos nor p42MAPK is normally active, showing that the mos-responsive MAPK activation pathway persists beyond the stage where mos normally functions. Similarly, lysates of somatic cells (rabbit reticulocytes) also retain a mos-inducible MAPK activation pathway. The mos-induced activation of MAPKs in all three lysates leads to phosphorylation of the pp90rsk proteins, downstream targets of the MAPK signaling pathway in vivo. The in vitro activation of MAPKs by mos in cell-free systems derived from oocytes and somatic cells suggests that mos contributes to oncogenic transformation by inappropriately inducing the activation of MAPKs.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Differential replication capacities of G1 and S-phase extracts from sea urchin eggs.

Sea urchin eggs are arrested in G1 of the first mitotic cell cycle. Fertilization triggers release from G1 arrest and the onset of DNA synthesis about 20 minutes later, even when protein synthesis is blocked. Here we describe extracts from eggs and S-phase embryos that reproduce this stage-specific pattern of DNA synthesis. Fertilized egg extracts formed nuclear membranes around decondensed Xenopus sperm chromatin whereas unfertilized egg extracts did not. Aphidicolin-sensitive deoxynucleotide incorporation was high in extracts of fertilized S-phase eggs and low in those of unfertilized eggs. In contrast, single-stranded DNA templates directed high rates of incorporation in both unfertilized and fertilized egg extracts, suggesting that the stage-specific activities in nuclear DNA synthesis is restricted to initiation on double-stranded DNA. Mixing experiments showed that unfertilized eggs do not contain a dominant inhibitor of replication, nor does fertilization induce the appearance of a soluble, dominant activator.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Oncogenic ras triggers the activation of 42-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase in extracts of quiescent Xenopus oocytes.

Quiescent, full-grown Xenopus oocytes, which are arrested at the G2/M border of meiosis, contain an inactive 42-kDa mitogen-activated protein kinase (p42MAPK) that is activated when oocytes are stimulated to resume the meiotic cell cycle. We have made extracts from these oocytes that respond to four cell cycle activators: oncogenic [Val12]Ras protein, clam cyclins A delta 60 and B delta 97, and the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid. All four induce the tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of p42MAPK. Both cyclins and okadaic acid, but not [Val12]Ras, also lead to activation of the endogenous cyclin B/cdc2 kinase complexes in extracts of quiescent oocytes. Using extracts prepared from cycloheximide-arrested interphase cells, we show that although p42MAPK activation can occur in response to cyclin-activated cdc2, the Ras-induced activation of p42MAPK occurs without intervening cdc2 activation. Neither the nononcogenic [Gly12]Ras nor [Val12,Arg186]Ras, a mutant that lacks the C-terminal consensus sequence directing prenylation and subsequent membrane association, is an effective activator of p42MAPK in vitro.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Activation of p42 MAP kinase and the release of oocytes from cell cycle arrest.

Clam oocytes are arrested naturally at the G2/M border in meiosis and contain an inactive 42 kDa ERK/MAP kinase, p42MAPK. Following fertilization, p42MAPK is rapidly phosphorylated on tyrosine residues and concomitantly activated. Both tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of p42MAPK begin within 2-3 min of fertilization, peak at approximately 15 min, then rapidly decline and disappear around the end of meiosis I. Neither the tyrosine phosphorylated form of p42MAPK nor p42MAPK activity reappears during meiosis II or the succeeding mitotic cell cycles. High doses of molybdate, a potent PTPase inhibitor, block the phosphorylation of p42MAPK and entry into the cell cycle. Lower doses of molybdate delay both p42MAPK phosphorylation and the release from cell cycle arrest, but once cells have re-entered the cell cycle, they continue with near-normal timing. These results argue that the transient activation of p42MAPK at fertilization is a one-time event linked to release from cell cycle arrest. In trying to reconcile this one-time activation of p42MAPK in clam embryos with the recurring, M-phase specific activation of MBP/MAP kinases reported in other systems, we show that cdc2 kinase contributes a major portion of the MBP kinase activity in mitotic extracts. Furthermore, a small fraction of p42MAPK and other related kinases are present in p13suc1-bound material, cautioning against the use of p13suc1 beads for experiments where, in addition to cdc2, the unaccounted presence of other kinase activities could be misleading.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

The requirements for protein synthesis and degradation, and the control of destruction of cyclins A and B in the meiotic and mitotic cell cycles of the clam embryo.

Fertilization of clam oocytes initiates a series of cell divisions, of which the first three--meiosis I, meiosis II, and the first mitotic division--are highly synchronous. After fertilization, protein synthesis is required for the successful completion of every division except meiosis I. When protein synthesis is inhibited, entry into meiosis I and the maintenance of M phase for the normal duration of meiosis occur normally, but the chromosomes fail to interact correctly with the spindle in meiosis II metaphase. By contrast, inhibition of protein synthesis immediately after completion of meiosis or mitosis stops cells entering the next mitosis. We describe the behavior of cyclins A and B in relation to these "points of no return." The cyclins are synthesized continuously and are rapidly destroyed shortly before the metaphase-anaphase transition of the mitotic cell cycles, with cyclin A being degraded in advance of cyclin B. Cyclin destruction normally occurs during a 5-min window in mitosis, but in the monopolar mitosis that occurs after parthenogenetic activation of clam oocytes, or when colchicine is added to fertilized eggs about to enter first mitosis, the destruction of cyclin B is strongly delayed, whereas proteolysis of cyclin A is maintained in an activated state for the duration of metaphase arrest. Under either of these abnormal conditions, inhibition of protein synthesis causes a premature return to interphase that correlates with the time when cyclin B disappears.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

A novel cyclin encoded by a bcl1-linked candidate oncogene.

We have previously identified a candidate oncogene (PRAD1 or D11S287E) on chromosome 11q13 which is clonally rearranged with the parathyroid hormone locus in a subset of benign parathyroid tumours. We now report that a cloned human placental PRAD1 complementary DNA encodes a protein of 295 amino acids with sequence similarities to the cyclins. Cyclins can form a complex with and activate p34cdc2 protein kinase, thereby regulating progress through the cell cycle. PRAD 1 messenger RNA levels vary dramatically across the cell cycle in HeLa cells. Addition of the PRAD1 protein to interphase clam embryo lysates containing inactive p34cdc2 kinase and lacking endogenous cyclins allows it to be isolated using beads bearing p13suc1, a yeast protein that binds cdc2 and related kinases with high affinity and coprecipitates kinase-associated proteins. Addition of PRAD1 also induces phosphorylation of histone H1, a preferred substrate of cdc2. These data suggest that PRAD1 encodes a novel cyclin whose overexpression may play an important part in the development of various tumours with abnormalities in 11q13.

Adenoma↗

PubMed1991

Both cyclin A delta 60 and B delta 97 are stable and arrest cells in M-phase, but only cyclin B delta 97 turns on cyclin destruction.

Previous work has established that destruction of cyclin B is necessary for exit from mitosis and entry into the next interphase. Sea urchin cyclin B lacking an N-terminal domain is stable, permanently activates cdc2 kinase, resulting in mitotic arrest, and permanently activates the destruction pathway acting on full length cyclin B. Here we have compared the properties of clam cyclins A and B lacking related N-terminal domains. Both cyclin A delta 60 and B delta 97 bind to cdc2 kinase, keep it hyperactivated and block the completion of mitosis. By adding purified delta cyclin proteins to a cell-free system at different cell cycle times, we find that when the cell-free system reaches the cyclin destruction point in the presence of either A delta 60 or B delta 97, the cyclin destruction pathway acting on full length cyclins fails to be turned off. However, the two cyclins differ dramatically in their ability to turn on cyclin destruction. When added to emetine-arrested interphase lysates devoid of endogenous cyclins, only cyclin B delta 97 activates the cyclin destruction system; cyclin A delta 60 does not. This functional difference between the two cyclin types, the first to be described, provides strong support for the idea that the two cyclins have different roles in the cell cycle and suggests that one specialized role of the cyclin B-cdc2 complex is to activate the cyclin destruction pathway and drive cells into interphase of the next cell cycle.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

The role of cyclin B in meiosis I.

In clams, fertilization is followed by the prominent synthesis of two cyclins, A and B. During the mitotic cell cycles, the two cyclins are accumulated and then destroyed near the end of each metaphase. Newly synthesized cyclin B is complexed with a small set of other proteins, including a kinase that phosphorylates cyclin B in vitro. While both cyclins can act as general inducers of entry into M phase, the two are clearly distinguished by their amino acid sequences (70% nonidentity) and by their different modes of expression in oocytes and during meiosis. In contrast to cyclin A, which is stored solely as maternal mRNA, oocytes contain a stockpile of cyclin B protein, which is stored in large, rapidly sedimenting aggregates. Fertilization results in the release of cyclin B to a more disperse, soluble form. Since the first meiotic division in clams can proceed even when new protein synthesis is blocked, these results strongly suggest it is the fertilization-triggered unmasking of cyclin B protein that drives cells into meiosis I. We propose that the unmasking of maternal cyclin B protein allows it to interact with cdc2 protein kinase, which is also stored in oocytes, and that the formation of this cyclin B/cdc2 complex generates active M phase-promoting factor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1989

Control of programmed cyclin destruction in a cell-free system.

To ask what controls the periodic accumulation and destruction of the mitotic across the cell cycle, we have developed a cell-free system from clam embryos that reproduces several aspects of cyclin behavior. One or more rounds of cyclin proteolysis and resynthesis occur in vitro, and the destruction of the cyclins is highly specific. The onset, duration, and extent of cyclin destruction and the appropriately stagered disappearance of cyclin A and cyclin B are correctly regulated during the first cycle in the cell-free system. Just as in intact cells, lysates made from early interphase cells require further protein synthesis to reach the cyclin destruction point, and lysates made from later stages do not. Using the cell-free system we show that cyclin disappearance requires ATP and Mg2+. By combining lysates from different cell cycle stages, we show that (a) interphase lysates do not contain a dominant inhibitor of cyclin destruction and (b) the timing of cyclin destruction is determined by the cell cycle stage of the cytoplasm rather than the cell cycle stage of the substrate cyclins themselves. Among a large variety of agents tested, only a few affect cyclin destruction. Tosyl-lysine chlormethyl ketone (TLCK, a protease inhibitor), 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP, a kinase inhibitor), certain sulfhydryl-blocking agents, ZnCl2 and EDTA (but not EGTA) completely block cyclin destruction in vitro. Addition of 1 mM Ca2+ to the cell-free system has no effect on cyclin stability, but 5 mM Ca2+ leads to the rapid destruction of cyclins and a small number of other proteins.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1989

The role of cyclin synthesis, modification and destruction in the control of cell division.

This paper reviews our current knowledge of the cyclins based on observations of the oocytes and eggs of sea urchins, clams and frogs. Cyclins are proteins found in all eukaryotes whose special property is rapid destruction at specific stages in the cell cycle. The cyclins fall into three families. A-type cyclins have been found in clams, flies and frogs. B-type cyclins have been found in clams, flies, frogs, sea urchins and fission yeast. A more distantly related family of three genes is found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. B-type cyclins appear to be required for cells to enter mitosis, and their destruction is thought to be necessary for exit from mitosis. We describe evidence in support of these ideas, and describe various conditions under which cyclin destruction is delayed or deranged. We conclude with a discussion of the relationship between the cyclins and maturation- (or M phase-) promoting factor and some ideas on how the cyclins may work.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Widespread changes in the translation and adenylation of maternal messenger RNAs following fertilization of Spisula oocytes.

We have reported previously that sequence-specific adenylations and deadenylations accompany changes in the translation of maternal mRNA following fertilization of Spisula oocytes (E.T. Rosenthal, T.R. Tansey, and J.V. Ruderman, 1983, J. Mol. Biol. 166, 309-327). The data presented here confirm and extend those observations. We have identified four classes of maternal mRNA with respect to translation: Class 1-not translated in oocytes and translated at very high efficiency immediately after fertilization, Class 2-not translated in oocytes and partially utilized for translation following fertilization, Class 3-translated in oocytes and not translated in embryos, and Class 4-not translated either before or after fertilization. There is an excellent, although not perfect, correlation between the translation of an mRNA and its polyadenylation status. The poly(A) tails of all the mRNAs which are translated in oocytes and untranslated in embryos are shortened at fertilization, and the poly(A) tails of those mRNAs which are untranslated in oocytes and translated in embryos are lengthened at fertilization. These adenylations and deadenylations occur simultaneously during the first 20 min following fertilization.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Three translationally regulated mRNAs are stored in the cytoplasm of clam oocytes.

In situ hybridization was used to examine the spatial distributions of three translationally controlled maternal RNAs in oocytes and two-cell embryos of the clam Spisula. 3H-labeled single-stranded RNA probes were generated from SP6 recombinant clones containing DNA inserts encoding portions of histone H3 (the DNA sequence which is presented here), cyclin A, and the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase. Hybridization of these probes to oocytes, in which the mRNAs are translationally inactive, shows that these mRNAs are stored in the cytoplasm. There is no evidence for sequestration of any of the RNAs within the nucleus or any other discrete structure. Instead they appear to be evenly distributed throughout the cytoplasm.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1986

The clam embryo protein cyclin A induces entry into M phase and the resumption of meiosis in Xenopus oocytes.

Fertilized clam embryos synthesize several new cell-cycle-related proteins. The cloned cDNA and derived amino acid sequences of one of these, cyclin A, are presented here. Immunoblots with an anti-cyclin A antibody reveal that cyclin A is undetectable in oocytes, appears within 15 min of fertilization, and is destroyed near the end of each meiosis and mitosis. We directly tested the ability of cyclin A to induce M phase by injecting SP6 cyclin A mRNA into Xenopus oocytes, which are arrested at the G2/M border of first meiosis. The injected mRNA was translated, with the result that the Xenopus oocytes entered meiosis. These findings indicate that the rise in cyclin A plays a direct and natural role in driving cells into M phase.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Differential accumulation of ribonucleotide reductase subunits in clam oocytes: the large subunit is stored as a polypeptide, the small subunit as untranslated mRNA.

Within minutes of fertilization of clam oocytes, translation of a set of maternal mRNAs is activated. One of the most abundant of these stored mRNAs encodes the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (Standart, N. M., S. J. Bray, E. L. George, T. Hunt, and J. V. Ruderman, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 100:1968-1976). Unfertilized oocytes do not contain any ribonucleotide reductase activity; such activity begins to appear shortly after fertilization. In virtually all organisms, this enzyme is composed of two dissimilar subunits with molecular masses of approximately 44 and 88 kD, both of which are required for activity. This paper reports the identification of the large subunit of clam ribonucleotide reductase isolated by dATP-Sepharose chromatography as a relatively abundant 86-kD polypeptide which is already present in oocytes, and whose level remains constant during early development. The enzyme activity of this large subunit was established in reconstitution assays using the small subunit isolated from embryos by virtue of its binding to the anti-tubulin antibody YL 1/2. Thus the two components of clam ribonucleotide reductase are differentially stored in the oocyte: the small subunit in the form of untranslated mRNA and the large subunit as protein. When fertilization triggers the activation of translation of the maternal mRNA, the newly synthesized small subunit combines with the preformed large subunit to generate active ribonucleotide reductase.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Identification of the stable free radical tyrosine residue in ribonucleotide reductase. A sequence comparison.

The small subunit of ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase contains a unique tyrosine radical and a binuclear iron center. An alignment of different primary structures of the small subunit in Escherichia coli, the marine mollusc Spisula solidissima, Epstein Barr and Herpes simplex viruses shows that regions comprising residues 115-122, 204-212 and 234-241 (in E.coli numbering) are strikingly similar and are likely to be recognized as functionally important. Two of 16 tyrosine residues and 2 of 8 histidine residues are conserved. We propose that Tyr-122 is responsible for radical stabilization and that His-118 and His-241 together with Glu-115 and Asp-237 or Glu-238 are ligands of the iron center.

Animals↗