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P K Chatterjee

Publications and source records attributed to P K Chatterjee.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Identification of proteins and protein domains that contact DNA within adenovirus nucleoprotein cores by ultraviolet light crosslinking of oligonucleotides 32P-labelled in vivo.

A new approach to the identification of DNA binding proteins has been developed and used to study the DNA-protein interactions within the nucleoprotein core of subgroup C adenoviruses. Virions labelled in vivo with [32P]orthophosphate were exposed to ultraviolet light and the DNA digested by chemical or enzymatic methods. Labelled phosphoamino acids of the virion phosphoproteins were selectively hydrolysed by alkali, permitting proteins crosslinked to DNA to be identified by virtue of their covalently attached, 32P-labelled nucleotides. In parallel experiments, [3H]arginine-labelled virions were crosslinked by exposure to ultraviolet light and analysed by more conventional methods. The results indicate that proteins VII and V lie in close contact with viral DNA within the core. The compact arrangement of the nucleoprotein core appears to be capable of trapping protein VII molecules that are not covalently attached to DNA after exposure to ultraviolet light, suggesting that viral DNA might be wrapped around clusters of protein VII molecules. The domains of protein VII that lie in contact with DNA were identified by partial proteolytic mapping of the sites of covalent-attachment of the 32P-labelled oligonucleotides. The implications of these data for the nature of the interactions that mediate the packaging of viral DNA within the nucleoprotein core of adenovirions are discussed.

Adenoviridae↗

Adenoviral protein VII packages intracellular viral DNA throughout the early phase of infection.

The proteins associated with parental, adenoviral DNA in productively-infected HeLa cells have been examined both directly and indirectly. HeLa cells infected with 32P-labelled Ad2 were irradiated with u.v. light at various points in the infectious cycle. Following degradation of the DNA, nuclear proteins carrying cross-linked nucleotides, or oligonucleotides, were distinguished from virion phosphoproteins by the resistance of their 32P radioactivity to 1 M NaOH. The major core protein of the virion, protein VII, was found to be associated with viral DNA throughout infection, even when cells were infected at a multiplicity of 0.14. Micrococcal nuclease digestion of intranuclear viral DNA 4 h after infection liberated two nucleoprotein particles containing viral DNA, neither of which co-migrated with HeLa cell mononucleosomes. These results indicate that core protein VII remains associated with parental adenoviral DNA during productive infections. The observation that protein VII can be cross-linked to DNA in cells infected at very low multiplicity, together with the results of a comparison of proteins cross-linkable to viral DNA in cells infected by wild-type virus and a non-infectious mutant containing the precursor to protein VII, suggest that nucleoproteins comprising viral DNA and protein VII must be the templates for expression of pre-early and early viral genes.

Adenoviruses, Human↗

Partition of E1A proteins between soluble and structural fractions of adenovirus-infected and -transformed cells.

The partition of E1A proteins between soluble and structural framework fractions of human cells infected or transformed by subgroup C adenoviruses was investigated by using gentle cell fractionation conditions. A polyclonal antibody raised against a trpE-E1A fusion protein (K.R. Spindler, D.S.E. Rosser, and A. J. Berk, J. Virol. 132-141, 1984) synthesized in Escherichia coli was used to measure the steady-state levels of E1A proteins recovered in the various fractions by immunoblotting. The relative concentration of E1A proteins recovered in the soluble fraction of adenovirus type 2-infected cells was at least fivefold greater than the relative concentration in the corresponding fraction of transformed 293 cells. The observed distribution of E1A proteins was not altered by the sulfhydryl-blocking reagent N-ethylmaleimide. E1A proteins were recovered in nuclear matrix, chromatin, and cytoskeleton fractions after further fractionation of the structural framework fraction. However, the E1A protein species that could be identified by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis were not uniformly distributed among the subcellular fractions examined. The results obtained when fractionation was performed in the presence of the oxidation catalysts Cu2+ or (ortho-phenanthroline)2 Cu2+ indicate that E1A proteins can be efficiently cross-linked, via disulfide bonds, to the structural framework of both adenovirus-infected and adenovirus-transformed cells.

Adenoviridae Infections↗

Interactions among the three adenovirus core proteins.

Interactions among the three adenovirus core polypeptides V, VII, and mu were examined, using the reversible chemical cross-linker dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Cross-linked species obtained from gradient-purified adenovirus type 2 cores were well represented among the cross-linked products of pentonless virions and crude core preparations. The more efficiently formed cross-linked core species were also identified with the arginine-specific cross-linker, p-azidophenyl glyoxal. In addition to dimers of polypeptides V and VII, efficient cross-linking of V to VII, V to mu, and VII to V to mu was detected in adenovirus cores. Notably absent were cross-linked species corresponding to higher multimers of polypeptide VII. A major core-capsid interaction appeared to be via the association of polypeptide V with a dimer of polypeptide VI.

Adenoviruses, Human↗

Formation of vesicular stomatitis virus nucleocapsid from cytoskeletal framework-bound N protein: possible model for structure assembly.

The pathway of vesicular stomatitis virus N protein from synthesis to assembly into capsids was studied by use of detergent extraction of infected HeLa cells together with protein cross-linking. One half of the newly synthesized N protein was extracted with the soluble cell proteins and, when cross-linked, never formed the N-N dimer characteristic of mature nucleocapsids. In contrast, the cytoskeleton-bound N protein first showed a diffuse spectrum of protein-protein cross-links but, after a lag of 40 min, assumed the cross-link pattern of N protein in nucleocapsids. The efficiency of forming N-N cross-linked dimers is the same for N protein on the skeleton as in nucleocapsids derived from mature virus, suggesting very similar configurations. However, the N protein bound on the skeletal framework formed several additional cross-links that were not found in mature virus and were apparently formed to cellular proteins estimated to be ca. approximately 46,000 and 60,000 in molecular weight.

Capsid↗

Preparation of psoralen-cross-linked R-loops and generation of large deletions by their repair in vivo.

A technique for site-selective introduction of psoralens into DNA has been developed. Irradiation of Escherichia coli 16 S rRNA with aminomethyltrimethyl psoralen (AMT) at 390 nm leads to the incorporation of AMT monoadducts in double-stranded regions of the RNA, but no cross-links. The AMT-containing RNA hybridizes efficiently to a supercoiled plasmid, pCS3, a derivative of pBR313 containing an insert of part of the E. coli rrnC cistron including the 3' 60% of the 16 S rDNA. When the resulting hybrids are re-irradiated at 360 nm, psoralen cross-links form between the rRNA and the rDNA, resulting in covalent R-loops. These were partially purified and used to transform E. coli after various nuclease treatments, employing an ampicillin selection to make cell survival dependent on successful repair of the psoralen-containing region. S1 nuclease-treated AMT-containing covalent R-looped plasmids show efficient transformation, and 9 mutants with large deletions were isolated by random screening of 100 colonies. These fell into 3 specific classes, each of which appears to start some place within the AMT-cross-linked rDNA. The structure of one mutant has been analyzed by DNA sequencing which shows a deletion which extends approximately 6800 nucleotides from nucleotide 868 of 16 S rDNA to nucleotide 315 on the tetracycline gene. Some hints of symmetry exist around the point of the deletion, but the pattern is not a striking one. This technique should be useful in making covalent D-loops as well as R-loops. It offers a number of potential applications for site-specific DNA modification and studies of DNA repair.

DNA↗

Photochemical production of psoralen - DNA monoadducts capable of subsequent photocrosslinking.

Irradiation of 4' -aminomethyl-4,5' ,8-trimethyl psoralen in the presence of DNA at wavelengths between 380 and 400nm leads to efficient production of monoadducts with no significant amount of crosslinking. The yield of monoadduct attainable is high (about 35 adducts per 1000 base pairs) and can be made still higher by repeated irradiation with fresh psoralen derivative. Subsequent irradiation at 350nm results in crosslinking of a almost half of the monoattached psoralen. Studies of the yield of nonoadduct and crosslink as function of irradiation wavelength show that the action spectrum for crosslink formation is blue-shifted relative to that for monoadduct formation.

DNA↗