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miR-7b, a microRNA up-regulated in the hypothalamus after chronic hyperosmolar stimulation, inhibits Fos translation.

The transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP-1) is formed through the dimerization of immediate-early genes Fos and Jun family members. Activator protein 1 is known as a pivotal regulator of major biological events such as cell proliferation, differentiation, organogenesis, memory formation, and apoptosis. During a search for microRNAs (miRNAs; small, endogenous, noncoding RNAs that repress gene expression of target mRNAs in animals posttranscriptionally) that are differentially expressed in the mouse paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei after 10 days of drinking 2% saline, one candidate microRNA that is relatively highly expressed, mmu-miR-7b (miR-7b), was studied further because sequence analysis suggested a likely interaction with the 3' untranslated region of Fos mRNA. We show that miR-7b expression inhibits Fos translation in vitro and that it and its host gene are prominently expressed in the PVN and other brain areas, including the suprachiasmatic nucleus. No effect on Fos mRNA levels was observed. Normally, Fos is expressed at low to undetectable levels in cells, but it shows rapid induction and decay after acute stimuli. Various pathways have been identified through which Fos family proteins are degraded; our results indicate a significant additional mechanism by which Fos protein and activity may be regulated.

3' Untranslated Regions↗

Poliovirus temperature-sensitive mutant containing a single nucleotide deletion in the 5'-noncoding region of the viral RNA.

The effect on viral replication of deleting nucleotide 10 of the poliovirus RNA genome was determined. This deletion, which removes a base pair from a predicted hairpin structure in the viral RNA, was introduced into full-length cDNA. Virus recovered after transfection of HeLa cells with the mutated cDNA contained the expected deletion and was temperature sensitive for plaque formation. Analysis of viral replication by one-step growth experiments indicated that mutant virus production at the nonpermissive temperature was at least 100 times less than that of wild type virus, and release of virus from mutant-infected cells was delayed. The synthesis of positive- and negative-strand viral RNA in mutant virus-infected cells was temperature sensitive. Virus-specific protein synthesis in mutant virus-infected cells was not temperature sensitive but occurred at a slower rate than that of wild type virus at permissive and nonpermissive temperatures. Replication of the mutant virus was sensitive to actinomycin D, in contrast to the wild type parent virus, which was resistant to the drug. Mutant virus stocks contained a small percentage of ts+ viruses that were able to form plaques at the nonpermissive temperature. Nucleotide sequence analysis of genomic RNA from these ts+ viruses revealed a single base change at position 34 from a G to U. In the positive RNA strand, the effect of this mutation is to restore to the hairpin structure the single base pair whose formation was prevented by the original deletion. The ts+ pseudorevertants replicated to similar titers as wild type virus at 33 and 38.5 degrees and were partially sensitive to actinomycin D.

Base Sequence↗

The Ro 60 kDa autoantigen comes into focus: interpreting epitope mapping experiments on the basis of structure.

A conserved RNA-binding protein, the Ro 60 kDa (Ro60) autoantigen, is a major target of autoantibodies in patients suffering from the rheumatic diseases Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and neonatal lupus erythematosus. In both mice and certain bacteria, Ro60 is important for cell survival following ultraviolet irradiation. Although the function of Ro60 was mysterious for many years, recent experiments have demonstrated that this protein binds misfolded noncoding RNAs in vertebrate cells and likely functions in a pathway by which defective RNAs are recognized and targeted for degradation. Recent structural studies have revealed that Ro60 is shaped like a doughnut with an inner hole. Noncoding RNAs called Y RNAs bind on the outer surface of the ring, while the single-stranded ends of misfolded RNAs likely bind within the hole. Comparison of the Ro60 structure with the results of epitope-mapping studies reveals that many of the currently identified epitopes recognized by patient sera overlap regions of Ro60 that function in RNA binding. Moreover, in some patients with anti-Ro60 antibodies, the initial antigenic epitope corresponds to a loop involved in binding single-stranded RNA in the central cavity.

Animals↗

Interaction of translation initiation factor eIF4B with the poliovirus internal ribosome entry site.

Poliovirus translation is initiated at the internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Most likely involving the action of standard initiation factors, this highly structured cis element in the 5" noncoding region of the viral RNA guides the ribosome to an internal silent AUG. The actual start codon for viral protein synthesis further downstream is then reached by ribosomal scanning. In this study we show that two of the secondary structure elements of the poliovirus IRES, domain V and, to a minor extent, domain VI, are the determinants for binding of the eukaryotic initiation factor eIF4B. Several mutations in domain V which are known to greatly affect poliovirus growth also seriously impair the binding of eIF4B. The interaction of eIF4B with the IRES is not dependent on the presence of the polypyrimidine tract-binding protein, which also binds to the poliovirus IRES. In contrast to its weak interaction with cellular mRNAs, eIF4B remains tightly associated with the poliovirus IRES during the formation of complete 80S ribosomes. Binding of eIF4B to the IRES is energy dependent, and binding of the small ribosomal subunit to the IRES requires the previous energy-dependent association of initiation factors with the IRES. These results indicate that the interaction of eIF4B with the 3" region of the poliovirus IRES may be directly involved in translation initiation.

5' Untranslated Regions↗

Medicinal chemistry applied to a synthetic protein: development of highly potent HIV entry inhibitors.

We have used total chemical synthesis to perform high-resolution dissection of the pharmacophore of a potent anti-HIV protein, the aminooxypentane oxime of [glyoxylyl1]RANTES(2-68), known as AOP-RANTES, of which we designed and made 37 analogs. All involved incorporation of one or more rationally chosen nonnatural noncoded structures, for which we found a clear comparative advantage over coded ones. We investigated structure-activity relationships in the pharmacophore by screening the analogs for their ability to block the HIV entry process and produced a derivative, PSC-RANTES [N-nonanoyl, des-Ser1[L-thioproline2, L-cyclohexylglycine3]-RANTES(2-68)], which is 50 times more potent than AOP-RANTES. This promising group of compounds might be optimized yet further as potential prophylactic and therapeutic anti-HIV agents. The remarkable potency of our RANTES analogs probably involves the unusual mechanism of intracellular sequestration of CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5), and it has been suggested that this arises from enhanced affinity for the receptor. We found that inhibitory potency and capacity to induce CCR5 down-modulation do appear to be correlated, but that unexpectedly, inhibitory potency and affinity for CCR5 do not. We believe this study represents the proof of principle for the use of a medicinal chemistry approach, above all one showing the advantage of noncoded structures, to the optimization of the pharmacological properties of a protein. Medicinal chemistry of small molecules is the foundation of modern pharmaceutical practice, and we believe we have shown that techniques have now reached the point at which the approach could also be applied to the many macromolecular drugs now in common use.

Animals↗

Conservation of the primary structure at the 3' end of 18S rRNA from eucaryotic cells.

DNA sequencing methods have been used to determine a sequence of about 20 nucleotides at the 3' termini of various 18S (small ribosomal subunit) RNA molecules. Polyadenylated rRNA was first synthesized using the enzyme ATP:polynucleotidyl transferase from mainze. Then in the presence of an oligonucleotide primer uniquely complementary to the end of each adenylated rRNA, a cDNA copy was produced using AMV reverse transcriptase. In every case, the cDNA transcript was of finite size, which we ascribe to the appearance of an oligonucleotide containing m62A near the 3' end of the 18S rRNAs. Sequences at the 3' termini of 18S rRNA molecules from the four eucaryotic species examined here (mouse, silk worm, wheat embryo and slime mold) are highly conserved. They also exhibit strong homology to the 3' end of E. coli 16S rRNA. Two important differences, however, are apparent. First, the 16S sequence CCUCC, implicated in mRNA binding by E. coli ribosomes, is absent from each eucaryotic rRNA sequence. Second, a purine-rich region which exhibits extensive complementarity to the 5' noncoding regions of many eucaryotic mRNAs appears consistently.

Animals↗

Accumulation of small murine minor satellite transcripts leads to impaired centromeric architecture and function.

RNAs have been implicated in the assembly and stabilization of large-scale chromatin structures including centromeric architecture; unidentified RNAs are integral components of human pericentric heterochromatin and are required for localization of the heterochromatin protein HP1 to centromeric regions. Because satellite repeats in centromeric regions are known to be transcribed, we assessed a role for noncoding centromeric RNAs in the structure and function of the centromere. We identified minor satellite transcripts of 120 nt in murine cells that localize to centromeres and accumulate upon stress or differentiation. Forced accumulation of 120-nt transcripts leads to defects in chromosome segregation and sister-chromatid cohesion, changes in hallmark centromeric epigenetic markers, and mislocalization of centromere-associated proteins essential for centromere function. These findings suggest that small centromeric RNAs may represent one of many pathways that regulate heterochromatin assembly in mammals, possibly through tethering of kinetochore- and heterochromatin-associated proteins.

Animals↗

Complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta: gene arrangements indicate that Platyhelminths are Eutrochozoans.

Using "long-PCR," we amplified in overlapping fragments the complete mitochondrial genome of the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta (Platyhelminthes: Cestoda) and determined its 13,900-nt sequence. The gene content is the same as that typically found for animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) except that atp8 appears to be lacking, a condition found previously for several other animals. Despite the small size of this mtDNA, there are two large noncoding regions, one of which contains 13 repeats of a 31-nt sequence and a potential stem-loop structure of 25 bp with an 11-member loop. Large potential secondary structures were identified also for the noncoding regions of two other cestode mtDNAS: Comparison of the mitochondrial gene arrangement of H. diminuta with those previously published supports a phylogenetic position of flatworms as members of the Eutrochozoa, rather than placing them basal to either a clade of protostomes or a clade of coelomates.

Animals↗

Comparative study of different standardization concepts in quantitative competitive reverse transcription-PCR assays.

Four different standardization approaches based on a competitive reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay were compared with a noncompetitive assay based on an external standard curve. Criteria for assessment were accuracy in quantitation, correctness of recovery, sensitivity, dynamic range, reproducibility, throughput, and convenience of sample handling. As a model system, we used the 5'-noncoding region of hepatitis C virus (HCV) for amplification in all quantitative RT-PCRs. A computer program that allowed parallel data processing was developed. Surprisingly, all methods were found suitable for accurate quantitation and comparable with respect to the criterion correctness of recovery. All results differed only by a factor of about 2. The reason for this finding might be that all of our mimics, as well as the wild-type genome of HCV, exhibited exactly the same amplification and hybridization efficacy. Moreover, minimal competition occurred in our experiments over a 5-log dynamic range. A further topic of our investigation was the comparison of two different competitive RNA fragments, mimics, with regard to their suitability as internal standards. One was a heterologous mimic, in which only the primer binding sites were identical to the wild type. The second one was a homologous mimic identical to the wild type except for a small region used for differential hybridization, which was replaced by a permutated sequence of the same length. Both the homologous and heterologous internal mimics were found appropriate for an accurate competitive RT-PCR assay, provided that amplification efficacy, as well as capture efficacy, is proven identical for both analyte and mimic.

Gene Amplification↗

Cloning and analysis of cDNA sequences coding for two 16 kilodalton heat shock proteins (hsps) in Caenorhabditis elegans: homology with the small hsps of Drosophila.

The nucleotide sequences of two different cDNAs, CEHS48 and CEHS41, coding for the 16,000 dalton heat shock proteins (hsps) of Caenorhabditis elegans have been determined. CEHS48 codes for a polypeptide of 135 amino acids, approximately 15 fewer than the complete protein while CEHS41 is missing approximately 46 amino acids. From nucleotide 113 to the TAA termination signal the extent of homology between the sequences is 91%. Toward the 5' ends, the homology drops to 20% and results in completely divergent amino acid sequences. The 3' noncoding regions are only 30% homologous. Only CEHS48 contains a poly(A) signal and a poly(A) tail, suggesting that CEHS41 has an incomplete 3' end. The region from amino acid 43 to amino acid 115 shows extensive homology with corresponding regions in the four small hsps of Drosophila melanogaster and in mammalian alpha-crystallin. Two-dimensional gel analysis of in vitro synthesized hsp16 reveals the existence of five distinct components of identical molecular weights, but with different isoelectric points.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Internal entry of ribosomes is directed by the 5' noncoding region of classical swine fever virus and is dependent on the presence of an RNA pseudoknot upstream of the initiation codon.

Bicistronic RNAs containing the 373-nucleotide-long 5' nontranslated region (NTR) of the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) genome as intercistronic spacer were used to show the presence of an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) in the 5' end of the CSFV genome. By coexpression of the poliovirus 2A protease it was demonstrated that the CSFV 5' NTR-driven translation is independent of the presence of functional eukaryotic initiation factor eIF-4F. Deletion analysis indicated that the 5' border of the IRES is located between nucleotides 28 and 66. The role of a proposed pseudoknot structure at the 3' end of the CSFV 5' NTR in IRES-mediated translation was investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutant RNAs that had lost the ability to base pair in stem II of the pseudoknot were translationally inactive. Translation to wild-type levels could be restored through the introduction of compensatory complementary base changes that repaired base pairing in stem II. In addition, we showed that the AUG codon, which is located 7 nucleotides upstream of the polyprotein initiation site and is conserved in pestiviruses, could not be used to initiate translation. Also, an AUG codon introduced downstream of the polyprotein initiation site was not recognized as an initiation site by ribosomes. These data suggest that after internal entry on the CSFV 5' NTR, ribosomal scanning for the initiation codon is limited to a small region.

Animals↗

Use of recombinant DNA technology to program eukaryotic cells to synthesize rat proinsulin: a rapid expression assay for cloned genes.

To use recombinant DNA technology to functionally analyze mutations introduced into cloned eukaryotic genes, a rapid procedure is necessary to assay the steps along the gene expression pathway. Since cloned rat insulin genes are not transcribed efficiently after transfection into various cell lines, I have asked whether one could drive expression by placing the insulin gene inside a transcriptional unit that functions in all mammalian cells. By using a small simian virus 40 (SV40) fragment that contains initiation signals for replication and transcription, I connected the 5'-noncoding region of the SV40 tumor antigen gene to the 5'-noncoding region of the rat insulin II gene to create a pBR322-based recombinant. If one assays shortly after its introduction into mammalian cells, it can be shown that this recombinant plasmid programs the synthesis of correctly spliced and polyadenylylated insulin mRNA that functions in the synthesis and secretion of rat proinsulin. This system permits rapid analysis of cloned in vitro-engineered mutations and the programming of eukaryotic cells to manufacture proteins that they normally do not synthesize.

Animals↗

Evolution of hominoid mitochondrial DNA with special reference to the silent substitution rate over the genome.

Focusing on the synonymous substitution rate, we carried out detailed sequence analyses of hominoid mitochondrial (mt) DNAs of ca. 5-kb length. Owing to the outnumbered transitions and strong biases in the base compositions, synonymous substitutions in mtDNA reach rapidly a rather low saturation level. The extent of the compositional biases differs from gene to gene. Such changes in base compositions, even if small, can bring about considerable variation in observed synonymous differences and may result in the region-dependent estimate of the synonymous substitution rate. We demonstrate that such a region dependency is due to a failure to take proper account of heterogeneous compositional biases from gene to gene but that the actual synonymous substitution rate is rather uniform. The synonymous substitution rate thus estimated is 2.37 +/- 0.11 x 10(-8) per site per year and comparable to the overall rate for the noncoding region. On the other hand, the rate of nonsynonymous substitutions differs considerably from gene to gene, as expected under the neutral theory of molecular evolution. The lowest rate is 0.8 x 10(-9) per site per year for COI and the highest rate is 4.5 x 10(-9) for ATPase 8, the degree of functional constraints (measured by the ratio of the nonsynonymous to the synonymous substitution rate) being 0.03 and 0.19, respectively. Transfer RNA (tRNA) genes also show variability in the base contents and thus in the nucleotide differences. The average rate for 11 tRNAs contained in the 5-kb region is 3.9 x 10(-9) per site per year. The nucleotide substitutions in the genome suggest that the transition rate is about 17 times faster than the transversion rate.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Nucleotide sequence of avian carcinoma virus MH2: two potential onc genes, one related to avian virus MC29 and the other related to murine sarcoma virus 3611.

The 5.2-kilobase (kb) RNA genome of avian carcinoma virus MH2 has the genetic structure 5'-delta gag (0.2 kb)- mht (1.2 kb)-myc (1.4 kb)-c (0.4 kb)-poly(A) (0.2 kb)-3'. delta gag is a partial retroviral core protein gene, mht and myc are cell-derived MH2-specific sequences, and c is the 3'-terminal retroviral vector sequence. Here we have determined the nucleotide sequence of 3.5 kb from the 3' end of delta gag to the 3' end of molecularly cloned proviral MH2 DNA, in order to elucidate the genetic structure of the virus and to compare it with other mht - and myc-containing oncogenic viruses as well as with the chicken proto-myc gene. The following results were obtained: (i) delta gag- mht forms a hybrid gene with a contiguous reading frame of 2682 nucleotides that terminates with a stop codon near the 3' end of mht . The 3' 969 nucleotides of mht up to the stop codon are 80% sequence related to the onc-specific raf sequence of murine sarcoma virus 3611 (94% homologous at the deduced amino acid level). (ii) The myc sequence is preceded by an RNA splice acceptor site shared with the cellular proto-myc gene, beyond which it is colinear up to a 3'-termination codon and 40 noncoding nucleotides with the myc sequences of avian retrovirus MC29 and chicken proto-myc. Thus, myc forms, together with a 5' retroviral exon, a second MH2-specific gene. (iii) myc is followed by the 3'-terminal c region of about 400 nucleotides, which is colinear with that of Rous sarcoma virus except for a substitution near the 5' end of the long terminal repeat. It is concluded that MH2 contains two genes with oncogenic potential, the delta gag- mht gene, which is closely related to the delta gag-raf transforming gene of MSV 3611, and the myc gene, which is related to the transforming gene of MC29. Furthermore, it may be concluded that the cellular proto-onc genes, which on sequence transduction become viral onc genes, are a small group because among the 19 known onc sequences, 5 are shared by different taxonomic groups of viruses of which the mht /raf homology is the closest determined so far.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The small genome of Arabidopsis contains at least nine expressed beta-tubulin genes.

The small genome of Arabidopsis contains at least nine expressed beta-tubulin (TUB) genes, in contrast to the large genomes of vertebrate animals, which contain a maximum of seven expressed beta-tubulin genes. In this study, we report the structures of seven new TUB genes (TUB2, TUB3, TUB5, TUB6, TUB7, TUB8, and TUB9) of Arabidopsis. The sequences of TUB1 and TUB4 had been reported previously. Sequence similarities and unique structural features suggest that the nine TUB genes evolved by way of three branches in the plant beta-tubulin gene evolutionary tree. Two genes (TUB2 and TUB3) encode the same beta-tubulin isoform; thus, the nine genes predict eight different beta-tubulins. In contrast to the alpha-tubulin (TUA) genes with their divergent intron patterns, all nine TUB genes contain 2 introns at conserved positions. Noncoding 3' gene-specific hybridization probes have been constructed for all nine TUB genes and used in RNA gel blot analyses to demonstrate that all nine genes are transcribed. Two-dimensional protein immunoblot analyses have resolved at least seven different beta-tubulin isoforms in Arabidopsis, indicating that most, if not all, of the TUB transcripts are translated.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Genetic variation occurring on the genome of an in vitro insertion mutant of poliovirus type 1.

An insertion sequence of 72 nucleotides prepared from a polylinker sequence of plasmid pUC18 was introduced at nucleotide position 702 of the 5' noncoding sequence (742 nucleotides long) of the genome of the Sabin strain of poliovirus type 1 by using an infectious cDNA clone of the virus strain. The insertion mutant thus obtained showed a small-plaque phenotype compared with that of the parent virus. Apparent revertants (large-plaque variants) were easily generated from the insertion mutant. Nucleotide sequence analysis was performed on the revertant genomes to determine the mutation(s) by which the plaque size of the parent virus was regained. Some large-plaque variants lacked genomic sequences including all or a part of the insertion sequence. A computer-aided search for secondary structures with respect to the deletion sites detected possible supporting sequences which provided fairly stable secondary structures at the deletion sites. This result was consistent with our supporting sequence-loop model which had been proposed as a new copy-choice model for the generation of genetic rearrangements occurring on single-stranded RNA genomes (S. Kuge, I. Saito, and A. Nomoto, J. Mol. Biol. 192:473-487, 1986). The other large-plaque variants had point mutations at any one of three positions of an AUG existing in the insertion sequence. A small-plaque phenotype was observed when an AUG codon was inserted in frame or out of frame with regard to the initiation site of viral polyprotein synthesis. Our data strongly suggest that an AUG sequence in this genome region is deleterious for efficient poliovirus replication.

Chromosome Deletion↗

Origin of the human L1 elements: proposed progenitor genes deduced from a consensus DNA sequence.

A consensus sequence for the human long interspersed repeated DNA element, L1Hs (LINE or KpnI sequence), is presented. The sequence contains two open reading frames (ORFs) which are homologous to ORFs in corresponding regions of L1 elements in other species. The L1Hs ORFs are separated by a small evolutionarily nonconserved region. The 5' end of the consensus contains frequent terminators in all three reading frames and has a relatively high GC content with numerous stretches of weak homology with AluI repeats. The 5' ORF extends for a minimum of 723 bp (241 codons). The 3' ORF is 3843 bp (1281 codons) and predicts a protein of 149 kD which has regions of weak homology to the polymerase domain of various reverse transcriptases. The 3' end of the consensus has a 208-bp nonconserved region followed by an adenine-rich end. The organization of the L1Hs consensus sequence resembles the structure of eukaryotic mRNAs except for the noncoding region between ORFs. However, due to base substitutions or truncation most elements appear incapable of producing mRNA that can be translated. Our observation that individual elements cluster into subfamilies on the basis of the presence or absence of blocks of sequence, or by the linkage of alternative bases at multiple positions, suggests that most L1 sequences were derived from a small number of structural genes. An estimate of the mammalian L1 substitution rate was derived and used to predict the age of individual human elements. From this it follows that the majority of human L1 sequences have been generated within the last 30 million years. The human elements studied here differ from each other, yet overall the L1Hs sequences demonstrate a pattern of species-specificity when compared to the L1 families of other mammals. Possible mechanisms that may account for the origin and evolution of the L1 family are discussed. These include pseudogene formation (retroposition), transposition, gene conversion, and RNA recombination.

Biological Evolution↗

P-element-induced control mutations at the r gene of Drosophila melanogaster.

The P-M hybrid dysgenesis system was used to produce five putative regulatory mutations at the rudimentary locus, r. All five mutations were the result of insertions at the 5' end of the gene, upstream of the proposed start of transcription. All of the mutants displayed a leaky wing phenotype, and four of the mutants showed an uncoupling of the wing and female-sterility phenotypes, suggesting that they altered the normal spatial and temporal expression of the r gene. Four of the insertions were P elements. The fifth insertion, which was larger than an intact P element, consisted of a small P element connected to non-P-element DNA. Two of the mutants produced very little r transcript in adult females and were clustered 80 to 150 base pairs upstream of the start of transcription. The other three mutants had higher levels of r transcript in adult females and were clustered 440 to 500 base pairs upstream of the start of transcription. All of the data suggest that the insertions are in a 5' noncoding region of the r gene involved in the control of its spatial and temporal expression.

Animals↗