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Biomedical subjects

W Keller

Publications and source records attributed to W Keller.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[The effects of psychotherapy on Crohn's disease patients--results of a randomized multicenter study].

In a prospective multicenter study of Crohn disease patients, the influence of psychotherapy on the course of the disease and on psychosocial variables (anxiety, depression, life satisfaction and data of the PSKB) was studied. Psychodynamic oriented psychotherapy was provided in addition to a standardized medical treatment and took place during the first year of the two-year observation period. 108 of 488 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to the psychotherapy and the control group. 84 patients completed the somatic and 81 the psychosocial follow up. 23% of the control group and 30% of the psychotherapy group showed episode-free courses, 29% and 17% respectively underwent surgery (worst outcome group). The ranking and comparisons of the disease course showed no significant difference (p = 0.125) between psychotherapy and control group. The psychosocial variables also showed no differences between these groups. Subjectively, the patients report favourable effects to psychotherapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Human pre-mRNA cleavage factor II(m) contains homologs of yeast proteins and bridges two other cleavage factors.

Six different protein factors are required in vitro for 3' end formation of mammalian pre-mRNAs by endonucleolytic cleavage and polyadenylation. Five of the factors have been purified and most of their components cloned, but cleavage factor II(m) (CF II(m)) remained uncharacterized. We have purified CF II(m) from HeLa cell nuclear extract by several chromatographic steps. During purification, CF II(m) activity separated into two components, one essential (CF IIA(m)) and one stimulatory (CF IIB(m)) for the cleavage reaction. CF IIA(m) fractions contain the human homologs of two yeast 3' end processing factors, Pcf11p and Clp1p, as well as cleavage factor I(m) (CF I(m)) and several splicing and transcription factors. We report the cloning of hClp1 and show that it is a genuine subunit of CF IIA(m). Antibodies directed against hClp1 deplete cleavage activity, but not polyadenylation activity from HeLa cell nuclear extract. hClp1 interacts with CF I(m) and the cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor CPSF, suggesting that it bridges these two 3' end processing factors within the cleavage complex.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Crystal structure of mammalian poly(A) polymerase in complex with an analog of ATP.

In eukaryotes, polyadenylation of pre-mRNA plays an essential role in the initiation step of protein synthesis, as well as in the export and stability of mRNAs. Poly(A) polymerase, the enzyme at the heart of the polyadenylation machinery, is a template-independent RNA polymerase which specifically incorporates ATP at the 3' end of mRNA. We have solved the crystal structure of bovine poly(A) polymerase bound to an ATP analog at 2.5 A resolution. The structure revealed expected and unexpected similarities to other proteins. As expected, the catalytic domain of poly(A) polymerase shares substantial structural homology with other nucleotidyl transferases such as DNA polymerase beta and kanamycin transferase. The C-terminal domain unexpectedly folds into a compact domain reminiscent of the RNA-recognition motif fold. The three invariant aspartates of the catalytic triad ligate two of the three active site metals. One of these metals also contacts the adenine ring. Furthermore, conserved, catalytically important residues contact the nucleotide. These contacts, taken together with metal coordination of the adenine base, provide a structural basis for ATP selection by poly(A) polymerase.

Adenine↗
PubMed2000

Distinct roles of two Yth1p domains in 3'-end cleavage and polyadenylation of yeast pre-mRNAs.

Yth1p is the yeast homologue of the 30 kDa subunit of mammalian cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF). The protein is part of the cleavage and polyadenylation factor CPF, which includes cleavage factor II (CF II) and polyadenylation factor I (PF I), and is required for both steps in pre-mRNA 3'-end processing. Yth1p is an RNA-binding protein that was previously shown to be essential for polyadenylation. Here, we demonstrate that Yth1p is also required for the cleavage reaction and that two protein domains have distinct roles in 3'-end processing. The C-terminal part is required in polyadenylation to tether Fip1p and poly(A) polymerase to the rest of CPF. A single point mutation in the highly conserved second zinc finger impairs both cleavage and polyadenylation, and affects the ability of Yth1p to interact with the pre-mRNA and other CPF subunits. Finally, we find that Yth1p binds to CYC1 pre-mRNA in the vicinity of the cleavage site. Our results indicate that Yth1p is important for the integrity of CPF and participates in the recognition of the cleavage site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Reagent or myeloperoxidase-generated hypochlorite affects discrete regions in lipid-free and lipid-associated human apolipoprotein A-I.

We have previously shown that the modification of high-density lipoprotein subclass 3 (HDL(3)) by HOCl transformed an anti-atherogenic lipoprotein into a high-uptake form for macrophages and caused a significant impairment of cholesterol efflux capacity [Panzenboeck, Raitmayer, Reicher, Lindner, Glatter, Malle and Sattler (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 29711-29720]. To elucidate the consequences of treatment with OCl(-) on distinct regions in apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I), lipid-free and lipid-associated apo A-I were modified with increasing molar ratios of NaOCl or HOCl generated by the myeloperoxidase/H(2)O(2)/Cl(-) system. CD analysis revealed a pronounced decrease in alpha-helicity for lipid-free apo A-I modified by NaOCl, whereas lipid-associated apo A-I was less affected. The modification of apo A-I by NaOCl (molar oxidant-to-lipoprotein ratio 6:1) resulted in the formation of two distinct oxidized forms of apo A-I with molecular masses 32 or 48 atomic mass units (a.m.u.) higher than that of native apo A-I, indicating the addition of two or three oxygen atoms to the native protein. HPLC analysis of tryptic digests obtained from lipid-free and lipid-associated apo A-I modified with increasing oxidant-to-apolipoprotein molar ratios revealed a concentration-dependent modification of apo A-I: at a low molar oxidant-to-lipoprotein ratio (5:1) the peaks corresponding to the methionine-containing tryptic peptides T11 (residues 84-88), T16 (residues 108-116) and T22 (residues 141-149), located in the central region of apo A-I, disappeared. Their loss was accompanied by the formation of three oxidation products with a molecular mass 16 a.m.u. higher than that of the native peptides. This indicates the addition of oxygen, most probably caused by the oxidation of Met(86), Met(112) and Met(148) to the corresponding methionine sulphoxides. At a molar NaOCl-to-apo A-I ratio of 10:1 the disappearance of peptides T1 (residues 1-10), T7 (residues 46-59) and T9 (residues 62-77) was accompanied by the occurrence of new peaks 33.5 and 33.1 a.m.u. higher than those of the native peptides. Amino acid analyses of peptides T7 and T9 after modification with NaOCl confirmed that Phe(57) and Phe(71) were primary targets for oxidation by HOCl. GLC-MS analysis of hydrolysates obtained from OCl(-)-modified T7, T9, apo A-I and HDL(3) confirmed that Phe residues are an early target for OCl(-) modification. At molar NaOCl-to-apo A-I ratios of 25:1, the peak areas of peptides T31 (residues 189-195) and T32 (residues 196-206) decreased markedly. Most importantly, incubation of apo A-I with the myeloperoxidase/H(2)O(2)/Cl(-) system (the source of HOCl in vivo) resulted in almost identical modification patterns to those observed with reagent NaOCl.

Apolipoprotein A-I↗
PubMed2000

The WD-repeat protein pfs2p bridges two essential factors within the yeast pre-mRNA 3'-end-processing complex.

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, pre-mRNA 3'-end processing requires six factors: cleavage factor IA (CF IA), cleavage factor IB (CF IB), cleavage factor II (CF II), polyadenylation factor I (PF I), poly(A) polymerase (Pap1p) and poly(A)-binding protein I (Pab1p). We report the characterization of Pfs2p, a WD-repeat protein previously identified in a multiprotein complex carrying PF I-Pap1p activity. The 3'-end-processing defects of pfs2 mutant strains and the results of immunodepletion and immunoinactivation experiments indicate an essential function for Pfs2p in cleavage and polyadenylation. With a one-step affinity purification method that exploits protein A-tagged Pfs2p, we showed that this protein is part of a CF II-PF I complex. Pull-down experiments with GST fusion proteins revealed direct interactions of Pfs2p with subunits of CF II-PF I and CF IA. These results show that Pfs2p plays an essential role in 3'-end formation by bridging different processing factors and thereby promoting the assembly of the processing complex.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Position-dependent inhibition of the cleavage step of pre-mRNA 3'-end processing by U1 snRNP.

The 3' ends of most eukaryotic pre-mRNAs are generated by 3' endonucleolytic cleavage and subsequent polyadenylation. 3'-end formation can be influenced positively or negatively by various factors. In particular, U1 snRNP acts as an inhibitor when bound to a 5' splice site located either upstream of the 3'-end formation signals of bovine papilloma virus (BPV) late transcripts or downstream of the 3'-end processing signals in the 5' LTR of the HIV-1 provirus. Previous work showed that in BPV it is not the first step, 3' cleavage, that is affected by U1 snRNP, but rather the second step, polyadenylation, that is inhibited. Since in HIV-1 the biological requirement is to produce transcripts that read through the 5' LTR cleavage site rather than being cleaved there, this mechanism seemed unlikely to apply. The obvious difference between the two examples was the relative orientation of the 3'-end formation signals and the U1 snRNP-binding site. In vitro assays were therefore used to assess the effect of U1 snRNP bound at various locations relative to a cleavage/polyadenylation site on the 3' cleavage reaction. U1 snRNP was found to inhibit cleavage when bound to a 5' splice site downstream of the cleavage/polyadenylation site, as in the HIV-1 LTR. U1 snRNP binding at this location was shown not to affect the recruitment of multiple cleavage/polyadenylation factors to the cleavage substrate, indicating that inhibition is unlikely to be due to steric hindrance. Interactions between U1A, U1 70K, and poly(A) polymerase, which mediate the effect of U1 snRNP on polyadenylation of other pre-mRNAs, were shown not to be required for cleavage inhibition. Therefore, U1 snRNP bound to a 5' splice site can inhibit cleavage and polyadenylation in two mechanistically different ways depending on whether the 5' splice site is located upstream or downstream of the cleavage site.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The yeast nucleoporin Nup53p specifically interacts with Nic96p and is directly involved in nuclear protein import.

The bidirectional nucleocytoplasmic transport of macromolecules is mediated by the nuclear pore complex (NPC) which, in yeast, is composed of approximately 30 different proteins (nucleoporins). Pre-embedding immunogold-electron microscopy revealed that Nic96p, an essential yeast nucleoporin, is located about the cytoplasmic and the nuclear periphery of the central channel, and near or at the distal ring of the yeast NPC. Genetic approaches further implicated Nic96p in nuclear protein import. To more specifically explore the potential role of Nic96p in nuclear protein import, we performed a two-hybrid screen with NIC96 as the bait against a yeast genomic library to identify transport factors and/or nucleoporins involved in nuclear protein import interacting with Nic96p. By doing so, we identified the yeast nucleoporin Nup53p, which also exhibits multiple locations within the yeast NPC and colocalizes with Nic96p in all its locations. Whereas Nup53p is directly involved in NLS-mediated protein import by its interaction with the yeast nuclear import receptor Kap95p, it appears not to participate in NES-dependent nuclear export.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed2000

The properties of a tRNA-specific adenosine deaminase from Drosophila melanogaster support an evolutionary link between pre-mRNA editing and tRNA modification.

Pre-mRNA editing involving the conversion of adenosine to inosine is mediated by adenosine deaminases that act on RNA (ADAR1 and ADAR2). ADARs contain multiple double-stranded RNA(dsRNA)-binding domains in addition to an adenosine deaminase domain. An adenosine deaminase acting on tRNAs, scTad1p (also known as scADAT1), cloned from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has a deaminase domain related to the ADARs but lacks dsRNA-binding domains. We have identified a gene homologous to scADAT1 in the region of Drosophila melanogaster Adh chromosome II. Recombinant Drosophila ADAT1 (dADAT1) has been expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris and purified. The enzyme has no activity on dsRNA substrates but is a tRNA deaminase with specificity for adenosine 37 of insect alanine tRNA. dADAT1 shows greater similarity to vertebrate ADARs than to yeast Tad1p, supporting the hypothesis of a common evolutionary origin for ADARs and ADATs. dAdat1 transcripts are maternally supplied in the egg. Zygotic expression is widespread initially and later concentrates in the central nervous system.

5' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed1999

The essential transfer protein TraM binds to DNA as a tetramer.

The TraM proteins encoded by F-like plasmids are sequence specific DNA binding proteins that are essential for conjugative DNA transfer. We investigated the quarternary structure and the DNA binding properties of the TraM wild-type protein of the resistance plasmid R1 and two mutant forms thereof. Size-exclusion chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry showed that purified TraM protein (amino acids 2-127) forms stable tetramers in solution. A truncated version of the protein termed TraMM26 (amino acids 2-56) forms dimers. Thus, the dimerization and tetramerization domains can be assigned to the N-terminal and C-terminal domains of TraM, respectively. Further analyses using chemical cross-linking and light scattering corroborated the preferentially tetrameric nature of the protein but also suggest that TraM has a tendency to form higher aggregates. Band-shift and fluorescence spectroscopy investigations of TraM-DNA complexes revealed that the TraM protein is also tetrameric when bound to its minimal DNA binding site. The deduced binding constant in the range of 10(8) M(-1) demonstrated a very strong binding of TraM to its preferred DNA sequence. Secondary structure analysis based on CD measurements showed that TraM is mainly alpha-helical with a significant increase in alpha-helicity (48 to 58%) upon DNA-binding, indicating an induced fit mechanism.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1999

An adenosine deaminase that generates inosine at the wobble position of tRNAs.

Several transfer RNAs (tRNAs) contain inosine (I) at the first position of their anticodon (position 34); this modification is thought to enlarge the codon recognition capacity during protein synthesis. The tRNA-specific adenosine deaminase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that forms I(34) in tRNAs is described. The heterodimeric enzyme consists of two sequence-related subunits (Tad2p/ADAT2 and Tad3p/ADAT3), both of which contain cytidine deaminase (CDA) motifs. Each subunit is encoded by an essential gene (TAD2 and TAD3), indicating that I(34) is an indispensable base modification in elongating tRNAs. These results provide an evolutionary link between the CDA superfamily and RNA-dependent adenosine deaminases (ADARs/ADATs).

Adenosine Deaminase↗
PubMed1999

Editing of messenger RNA precursors and of tRNAs by adenosine to inosine conversion.

The double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminases ADAR1 and ADAR2 convert adenosine (A) residues to inosine (I) in messenger RNA precursors (pre-mRNA). Their main physiological substrates are pre-mRNAs encoding subunits of ionotropic glutamate receptors or serotonin receptors in the brain. ADAR1 and ADAR2 have similar sequence features, including double-stranded RNA binding domains (dsRBDs) and a deaminase domain. The tRNA-specific adenosine deaminases Tad1p and Tad2p/Tad3p modify A 37 in tRNA-Ala1 of eukaryotes and the first nucleotide of the anticodon (A 34) of several bacterial and eukaryotic tRNAs, respectively. Tad1p is related to ADAR1 and ADAR2 throughout its sequence but lacks dsRBDs. Tad1p could be the ancestor of ADAR1 and ADAR2. The deaminase domains of ADAR1, ADAR2 and Tad1p are very similar and resemble the active site domains of cytosine/cytidine deaminases.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1999

mRNA polyadenylation and its coupling to other RNA processing reactions and to transcription.

Eukaryotic mRNA precursors are processed at their 3' ends by a coupled cleavage/polyadenylation reaction. In recent years, most of the factors involved in 3'-end processing have been identified and evidence has been presented for the coupling of mRNA 3'-end formation to capping, splicing and transcription. These links are important for the quality control of the mRNA during synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Mapping of ATP binding regions in poly(A) polymerases by photoaffinity labeling and by mutational analysis identifies a domain conserved in many nucleotidyltransferases.

We have identified regions in poly(A) polymerases that interact with ATP. Conditions were established for efficient cross-linking of recombinant bovine and yeast poly(A) polymerases to 8-azido-ATP. Mn2+ strongly stimulated this reaction due to a 50-fold lower Ki for 8-azido-ATP in the presence of Mn2+. Mutations of the highly conserved Asp residues 113, 115, and 167, critical for metal binding in the catalytic domain of bovine poly(A) polymerase, led to a strong reduction of cross-linking efficiency, and Mn2+ no longer stimulated the reaction. Sites of 8-azido-ATP cross-linking were mapped in different poly(A) polymerases by CNBr-cleavage and analysis of tryptic peptides by mass spectroscopy. The main cross-link in Schizosaccharomyces pombe poly(A) polymerase could be assigned to the peptide DLELSDNNLLK (amino acids 167-177). Database searches with sequences surrounding the cross-link site detected significant homologies to other nucleotidyltransferase families, suggesting a conservation of the nucleotide-binding fold among these families of enzymes. Mutations in the region of the "helical turn motif" (a domain binding the triphosphate moiety of the nucleotide) and in the suspected nucleotide-binding helix of bovine poly(A) polymerase impaired ATP binding and catalysis. The results indicate that ATP is bound in part by the helical turn motif and in part by a region that may be a structural analog to the fingers domain found in many polymerases.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1999

Thermodynamic properties and DNA binding of the ParD protein from the broad host-range plasmid RK2/RP4 killing system.

ParD is a small, acidic protein from the partitioning system of the plasmid RK2/RP4. The ParD protein exhibits specific DNA binding activity and, as the antidote component of a toxin-antidote plasmid addiction system, ParD forms a tight complex in solution with its toxin antagonist, the ParE protein. Unopposed ParE acts as a toxin that causes growth retardation and killing of plasmid cured cells. ParD negatively autoregulates its expression by binding to an operator sequence in the parDE promoter region. This DNA binding activity is crucial for the regulation of the relative abundance of toxin and antidote which ultimately determines life or death for the bacterial host and its daughter cells. In light scattering studies and gel filtration chromatography we observed the existence of a stable dimer of ParD in solution. The stoichiometry of ParD-DNA complex formation appeared to be 4:1, the molecular mass of the complex was 72.1 kDa. The alpha-helical content of ParD as determined by CD-spectrometry was 35%. The protein exhibited high thermostability with a T(M) of 64 degrees C and deltaH of 25 kcal/mol as shown by differential scanning calorimetry. Upon complex formation the T(M) increased by 10 degrees C. The thermal unfolding of the ParD protein was highly reversible as observed in repeated DSC scans of the same sample. The recovery of the native fold was proven by CD-spectroscopy.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1998

Control of cleavage site selection during mRNA 3' end formation by a yeast hnRNP.

Endonucleolytic cleavage of pre-mRNAs is the first step during eukaryotic mRNA 3' end formation. It has been proposed that cleavage factors CF IA, CF IB and CF II are required for pre-mRNA 3' end cleavage in yeast. CF IB is composed of a single polypeptide, Nab4p/Hrp1p, which is related to the A/B group of metazoan heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) that function as antagonistic regulators of 5' splice site selection. Here, we provide evidence that Nab4p/Hrp1p is not required for pre-mRNA 3' end endonucleolytic cleavage. We show that CF IA and CF II devoid of Nab4p/Hrp1p are sufficient to cleave a variety of RNA substrates but that cleavage occurs at multiple sites. Addition of Nab4p/Hrp1p prevents these alternative cleavages in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting an essential and conserved role for some hnRNPs in pre-mRNA cleavage site selection.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Tad1p, a yeast tRNA-specific adenosine deaminase, is related to the mammalian pre-mRNA editing enzymes ADAR1 and ADAR2.

We have identified an RNA-specific adenosine deaminase (termed Tad1p/scADAT1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that selectively converts adenosine at position 37 of eukaryotic tRNAAla to inosine. The activity of purified recombinant Tad1p depends on the conformation of its tRNA substrate and the enzyme was found to be inactive on all other types of RNA tested. Mutant strains in which the TAD1 gene is disrupted are viable but lack Tad1p enzyme activity and their tRNAAla is not modified at position A37. Transformation of the mutant cells with the TAD1 gene restored enzyme activity. Tad1p has significant sequence similarity with the mammalian editing enzymes which act on specific precursor-mRNAs and on long double-stranded RNA. These findings suggest an evolutionary link between pre-mRNA editing and tRNA modification.

Adenosine Deaminase↗