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Mutant influenza viruses with a defective NS1 protein cannot block the activation of PKR in infected cells.

A short model genome RNA and also the genome RNA of influenza A virus bearing both 5'- and 3'-terminal common sequences activated the interferon-induced double-stranded-RNA-dependent protein kinase, PKR, by stimulating autophosphorylation in vitro. The activated PKR catalyzed phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of eucaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2alpha). The NS1 protein efficiently eliminated the PKR-activating activity of these RNAs by binding to them. Two mutant NS1 proteins, each harboring a single amino acid substitution at different regions, exhibited temperature sensitivity in their RNA binding activity in the mutant virus-infected cell lysates as well as when they were prepared as fusion proteins expressed in bacteria. The virus strains carrying these mutant NS1 proteins exhibited temperature sensitivity in virus protein synthesis at the translational level, as reported previously, and could not repress the autophosphorylation of PKR developing during the virus growth, which is normally suppressed by a viral function(s). As a result, the level of eIF2alpha phosphorylation was elevated 2.5- to 3-fold. The defect in virus protein synthesis was well correlated with the level of phosphorylation of PKR and eIF2alpha.

Defective Viruses↗

Characterization of the tryptophanase operon of Proteus vulgaris. Cloning, nucleotide sequence, amino acid homology, and in vitro synthesis of the leader peptide and regulatory analysis.

The tryptophanase (tna) operon of Proteus vulgaris was cloned and characterized and found to be organized similarly to the tna operon of Escherichia coli. Both operons contain two major structural genes, tnaA and tnaB, that encode tryptophanase and a tryptophan permease, respectively. tnaA of P. vulgaris is preceded by a transcribed leader region, encoding a 34-residue leader peptide, TnaC, that contains a single tryptophan residue. The tnaC coding region also has a boxA-like sequence. Regulatory studies performed in P. vulgaris, and with a plasmid carrying the P. vulgaris tna operon in E. coli, established that expression of the Proteus operon was induced by tryptophan and was subject to catabolite repression. Site-directed mutagenesis studies established that translation of the tnaC coding region was essential for induction. Synthesis of the P. vulgaris leader peptide was demonstrated in an in vitro coupled transcription-translation system. Interestingly, the 5 amino acid residues of the TnaC peptide surrounding the sole tryptophan residue are identical in P. vulgaris and E. coli. We conclude that the tna operon of P. vulgaris is also regulated by tryptophan-induced transcription antitermination. Homology of tryptophanase and tryptophan permease of P. vulgaris to related proteins from other species is described.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Control of DNA structure and gene expression.

In the usual metabolic control theory, the concentrations of enzymes are considered to be parameters rather than variables, i.e., they remain constant as the system relaxes to a new steady state. They can only be reset by interventions. This type of control analysis is useful for understanding principles of metabolic control, and for understanding metabolic changes that are too quick or in too limited a metabolic system to involve changes in gene expression. In actual living systems, metabolic changes are often accompanied by changes in gene expression. In this contribution we shall illustrate how metabolic control analysis is enriched when gene expression is variable. To discuss the new principles emerging in control analysis with variable gene expression, we shall first discuss theoretical model systems. In the first, the number of genes is fixed, but the concentrations of mRNA and enzymes are determined by the activities of RNA polymerase, RNAases, ribosomes and proteases. In a second, there is feedback repression by a metabolite at the level of translation. New coefficients quantifying the strength of regulatory loops will be defined. Also coefficients that indicate to what extent these regulatory strengths themselves are controlled by system parameters, are defined and provided with a summation theorem. The experimental model system we employ, addresses the phenomenon that in prokaryotes, transcription rates are influenced by the extent of supercoiling of the DNA. This includes the transcription of the genes encoding the two enzymes (DNA gyrase and topoisomerase I) involved in the regulation of DNA supercoiling. In vitro the activity of DNA gyrase is influenced by the hydrolytic free energy of ATP. We shall present experimental evidence that the cellular free-energy state influences DNA supercoiling. We shall also discuss experiments inspecting the effect of active transcription on active DNA supercoiling. Also this system will be analyzed in terms of the control analysis with variable gene expression; here the four hierarchical levels (DNA, RNA, enzymes, metabolites) interact, adding complexity to the control analysis.

Computer Simulation↗

A dual role for the protein kinase shaggy in the repression of achaete-scute.

achaete and scute are expressed in a spatially restricted pattern and provide neural potential to cells. The domains of expression depend partly on extramacrochaetae whose product is itself spatially restricted and acts as a negative post-translational regulator of achaete and scute. The protein kinase shaggy also represses achaete and scute at many sites but may act via intermediate transcription factors. However shaggy and extramacrochaetae act synergistically and molecular studies suggest that they may be part of the same pathway. shaggy is functionally homologous to the mammalian glycogen synthase kinase-3 and analogy with the known physiology of this enzyme, suggests that this function of shaggy may result from the "constitutive" activity. At the site where a single neural precursor will develop, achaete and scute are initially expressed in a group of equivalent cells. The genes Notch and Delta are part of a lateral signal required to single out one precursor cell and to silence achaete and scute expression in the other cells. shaggy is required downstream of Notch for transduction of the inhibitory signal. This second role of shaggy may be due to modulation of enzymatic activity during signalling.

Animals↗

Translational control of alpha-amylase gene expression in Aspergillus awamori.

Regulation of alpha-amylase gene expression in Aspergillus awamori was studied by analyzing the enzyme activity levels, rate of protein synthesis, and alpha-amylase-specific mRNA levels under various conditions of growth. alpha-Amylase synthesis was sensitive to catabolite repression as glucose repressed its synthesis by about fourfold. The stimulation of alpha-amylase synthesis in the presence of its substrate starch was shown to be due to derepression rather than induction as the enzyme was synthesized at similar rates in both starch and starvation media. Repression and derepression of enzyme synthesis was found to be mediated at the translational level. The cellular levels of alpha-amylase-specific mRNA as measured by an in vitro translation assay system, were almost identical under all conditions of enzyme synthesis. Relative in vivo and in vitro alpha-amylase mRNA template activities suggest that alpha-amylase mRNA is translated much more efficiently during the derepression than under the conditions of repressed synthesis.

Aspergillus↗

The taurine transporter: mechanisms of regulation.

Taurine transport undergoes an adaptive response to changes in taurine availability. Unlike most amino acids, taurine is not metabolized or incorporated into protein but remains free in the intracellular water. Most amino acids are reabsorbed at rates of 98-99%, but reabsorption of taurine may range from 40% to 99.5%. Factors that influence taurine accumulation include ionic environment, electrochemical charge, and post-translational and transcriptional factors. Among these are protein kinase C (PKC) activation and transactivation or repression by proto-oncogenes such as WT1, c-Jun, c-Myb and p53. Renal adaptive regulation of the taurine transporter (TauT) was studied in vivo and in vitro. Site-directed mutagenesis and the oocyte expression system were used to study post-translational regulation of the TauT by PKC. Reporter genes and Northern and Western blots were used to study transcriptional regulation of the taurine transporter gene (TauT). We demonstrated that (i) the body pool of taurine is controlled through renal adaptive regulation of TauT in response to taurine availability; (ii) ionic environment, electrochemical charge, pH, and developmental ontogeny influence renal taurine accumulation; (iii) the fourth segment of TauT is involved in the gating of taurine across the cell membrane, which is controlled by PKC phosphorylation of serine 322 at the post-translational level; (iv) expression of TauT is repressed by the p53 tumour suppressor gene and is transactivated by proto-oncogenes such as WT1, c-Jun, and c-Myb; and (v) over-expression of TauT protects renal cells from cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Adult↗

The arginine regulatory protein mediates repression by arginine of the operons encoding glutamate synthase and anabolic glutamate dehydrogenase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The arginine regulatory protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ArgR, is essential for induction of operons that encode enzymes of the arginine succinyltransferase (AST) pathway, which is the primary route for arginine utilization by this organism under aerobic conditions. ArgR also induces the operon that encodes a catabolic NAD(+)-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), which converts l-glutamate, the product of the AST pathway, in alpha-ketoglutarate. The studies reported here show that ArgR also participates in the regulation of other enzymes of glutamate metabolism. Exogenous arginine repressed the specific activities of glutamate synthase (GltBD) and anabolic NADP-dependent GDH (GdhA) in cell extracts of strain PAO1, and this repression was abolished in an argR mutant. The promoter regions of the gltBD operon, which encodes GltBD, and the gdhA gene, which encodes GdhA, were identified by primer extension experiments. Measurements of beta-galactosidase expression from gltB::lacZ and gdhA::lacZ translational fusions confirmed the role of ArgR in mediating arginine repression. Gel retardation assays demonstrated the binding of homogeneous ArgR to DNA fragments carrying the regulatory regions for the gltBD and gdhA genes. DNase I footprinting experiments showed that ArgR protects DNA sequences in the control regions for these genes that are homologous to the consensus sequence of the ArgR binding site. In silica analysis of genomic information for P. fluorescens, P. putida, and P. stutzeri suggests that the findings reported here regarding ArgR regulation of operons that encode enzymes of glutamate biosynthesis in P. aeruginosa likely apply to other pseudomonads.

Ammonia↗

Prosomes and their multicatalytic proteinase activity.

Prosomes were first described as being mRNA-associated RNP (ribonucleoprotein) particles and subcomponents of repressed mRNPs (messenger ribonucleoprotein). We show here that prosomes isolated from translationally inactive mRNP have a protease activity identical to that described by others for the multicatalytic proteinase complex (MCP, 'proteasome'). By RNase or non-ionic detergent treatment, the MCP activity associated with repressed non-globin mRNP from avian erythroblasts, sedimenting at 35 S, could be quantitatively shifted on sucrose gradients to the 19-S sedimentation zone characteristic of prosomes, which were identified by monoclonal antibodies. The presence of small RNA in the enzymatic complex was shown by immunoprecipitation of the protease activity out of dissociated mRNP using a mixture of anti-prosome monoclonal antibodies; a set of small RNAs 80-120 nucleotides long was isolated from the immunoprecipitate. Furthermore, on CsCl gradients, colocalisation of the MCP activity with prosomal proteins and prosomal RNA was found, and no difference in the prosomal RNA pattern was observed whether the particles were fixed or not prior to centrifugation. These data indicate that the MCP activity is a property of prosomes, shown to be in part RNP and subcomplexes of in vivo untranslated mRNP. A hypothesis for the role of the prosome-MCP particles in maintaining homeostasis of specific protein levels is proposed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The mechanism of catabolite inhibition of invertase by glucose in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae -136ts synthesized invertase in media containing maltose and sucrose. In the presence of glucose synthesis of enzyme took place when the sugar concentration was lower than 1%. At higher concentrations enzyme formation was repressed. Analysis of the glucose effect before RNA inhibition showed that the hexose interfered with the transcription of DNA into invertase messenger RNA. Translation of invertase messenger already formed was also inhibited and the kinetics of this effect was similar to that produced by cycloheximide. Invertase activity was independent of glucose suggesting that the hexose produces no catabolite inhibition of invertase activity. Inhibition of invertase translation by glucose turned out to be reversible but the amount of enzyme produced was dependent on duration of treatment. It is suggested that the catabolite repression of invertase synthesis produced by glucose operates at the levels of transcription and translation and produces an increase in the rate of mRNA degradation. The catabolite repression has no effect on secretion and does not interfere with the catalytic activity of invertase.

Cycloheximide↗

Systems analyses reveal two chaperone networks with distinct functions in eukaryotic cells.

Molecular chaperones assist the folding of newly translated and stress-denatured proteins. In prokaryotes, overlapping sets of chaperones mediate both processes. In contrast, we find that eukaryotes evolved distinct chaperone networks to carry out these functions. Genomic and functional analyses indicate that in addition to stress-inducible chaperones that protect the cellular proteome from stress, eukaryotes contain a stress-repressed chaperone network that is dedicated to protein biogenesis. These stress-repressed chaperones are transcriptionally, functionally, and physically linked to the translational apparatus and associate with nascent polypeptides emerging from the ribosome. Consistent with a function in de novo protein folding, impairment of the translation-linked chaperone network renders cells sensitive to misfolding in the context of protein synthesis but not in the context of environmental stress. The emergence of a translation-linked chaperone network likely underlies the elaborate cotranslational folding process necessary for the evolution of larger multidomain proteins characteristic of eukaryotic cells.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

TOR kinase homologs function in a signal transduction pathway that is conserved from yeast to mammals.

Rapamycin is a natural product with potent antifungal and immunosuppressive activities. Rapamycin binds to the FKBP12 prolyl isomerase, and the resulting protein-drug complex inhibits the TOR kinase homologs. Both the FKBP12 and the TOR proteins are highly conserved from yeast to man, and genetic and biochemical studies reveal that these proteins are the targets of rapamycin in vivo. Treatment of yeast or mammalian cells with rapamycin inhibits translational initiation of a subset of mRNAs and dramatically represses ribosomal mRNA and tRNA transcription. Furthermore, rapamycin exposure blocks cell cycle progression in the early G1 phase of the cell cycle, driving cells into a G0 state and, ultimately, triggering autophagy. Recent findings reveal that the upstream factors regulating the TOR signaling cascade are involved in detecting amino acids, nutrients, or growth factors. These findings indicate that the TOR proteins function in a signal transduction pathway that coordinates nutritional and mitogenic signals to control protein biosynthesis and degradation.

Animals↗

Programmed cell death by hok/sok of plasmid R1: coupled nucleotide covariations reveal a phylogenetically conserved folding pathway in the hok family of mRNAs.

The hok/sok system of plasmid R1 mediates plasmid maintenance by killing of plasmid-free cells. Translation of the stable toxin-encoding hok mRNA is repressed by the unstable Sok antisense RNA. Using genetic algorithm simulations and phylogenetic comparisons, we analyse five plasmid-encoded and two chromosome-encoded hok-homologous mRNAs. A similar folding pathway was found for all mRNAs. Metastable hairpins at the very 5'-ends of the mRNAs were predicted to prevent the formation of structures required for translation and antisense RNA binding. Thus the folding of the mRNA 5'-ends appears to explain the apparent inactivity of the nascent transcripts. In the full-length mRNAs, long-range 5' to 3' interactions were predicted in all cases. The 5' to 3' interactions lock the mRNAs in inactive configurations. Translation of the mRNAs is activated by 3' exonucleolytic processing. Simulation of the 3' processing predicted that it triggers rearrangements of the mRNA 5'-ends with the formation of translational activator and antisense RNA target hairpins. Alignment of the mRNA sequences revealed a large number of nucleotide covariations that support the existence of the proposed secondary structures. Furthermore, coupled covariations support the folding pathway and provide evidence that the mRNA 5'-ends pair with three different partners during the proposed series of dynamic RNA rearrangements.

Apoptosis↗

Regulation of HSP70 synthesis by messenger RNA degradation.

When Drosophila cells are heat shocked, hsp70 messenger RNA (mRNA) is stable and is translated at high efficiencies. During recovery from heat shock, hsp70 synthesis is repressed and its messenger RNA (mRNA) is degraded in a highly regulated fashion. Dramatic differences in the timing of repression and degradation are observed after heat treatments of different severities. The 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the hsp70 mRNA was sufficient to transfer this regulated degradation to heterologous mRNAs. Altering the translational efficiency of the message or changing its natural translation-termination site did not alter its pattern of regulation, although in some cases it changed the absolute rate of degradation. We have previously shown that hsp70 mRNA is very unstable when it is expressed at normal growth temperatures (from a metallothionein promoter). We report here that the 3' untranslated region of the hsp70 mRNA is responsible for this instability as well. We postulate that a mechanism for degrading hsp70 mRNA pre-exists in Drosophila cells, that it is inactivated by heat shock and that it is the reactivation of this mechanism that is responsible for hsp70 repression during recovery. This degradation system may be the same as that used by other unstable mRNAs.

Animals↗

Coordinate transcriptional and translational regulation of ferritin in response to oxidative stress.

The global increase in transcription of cytoprotective genes induced in response to oxidative challenge has been termed the antioxidant response. Ferritin serves as the major iron-binding protein in nonhematopoietic tissues, limiting the catalytic availability of iron for participation in oxygen radical generation. Here we demonstrate that ferritin is a participant in the antioxidant response through a genetically defined electrophile response element (EpRE). The EpRE of ferritin H identified in this report exhibits sequence similarity to EpRE motifs found in antioxidant response genes such as those encoding NAD(P)H:quinone reductase, glutathione S-transferase, and heme oxygenase. However, the EpRE of ferritin H is unusual in structure, comprising two bidirectional motifs arranged in opposing directions on complementary DNA strands. In addition to EpRE-mediated transcriptional activation, we demonstrate that ferritin is subject to time-dependent translational control through regulation of iron-regulatory proteins (IRP). Although IRP-1 is initially activated to its RNA binding (ferritin-repressing) state by oxidants, it rapidly returns to its basal state. This permits the translation of newly synthesized ferritin transcripts and ultimately leads to increased levels of ferritin protein synthesis following oxidant exposure. Taken together, these results clarify the complex transcriptional and translational regulatory mechanisms that contribute to ferritin regulation in response to prooxidant stress and establish a role for ferritin in the antioxidant response.

Animals↗

Feedback repression of ornithine decarboxylase synthesis mediated by antizyme.

The induction of antizyme by spermidine and the resulting enhancement of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) degradation have been well studied; however, little is known about the mechanism whereby elevated spermidine levels decrease synthesis of the polyamine biosynthetic enzyme. To evaluate the relative contribution of inhibited synthesis, as distinct from enhanced degradation of ODC, spermidine levels were manipulated in a variant cell line that overproduces a stable form of ODC. Spermidine did not selectively inhibit ODC synthesis in these variant cells, supporting the concept that spermidine diminishes ODC synthesis in normal cells owing to enhanced degradation of the protein in the presence of elevated antizyme levels. This model was further investigated in vitro by use of rabbit reticulocyte lysate, which catalyses simultaneous ODC mRNA translation and antizyme-stimulated degradation of ODC protein. Antizyme strongly repressed the incorporation of labelled amino acids into normal rat ODC. Unexpectedly it also diminished the apparent translation of ODC mRNA species coding for enzyme forms that are not destabilized by the post-translational addition of antizyme. The effect of antizyme on ODC translation was not observed in wheatgerm extract, in which there is no antizyme-induced degradation. Further, deletion of a short segment of antizyme necessary for the destabilization of ODC (amino acid residues 113-118) resulted in a form that bound ODC but did not diminish its apparent translation. These results suggest that the co-translational addition of antizyme to ODC results in a complex that is different from, and innately less stable than, that formed when antizyme is added post-translationally.

Animals↗

Inhibition of glutamine synthetase II expression by the product of the gstI gene.

We report the identification of a previously unrecognized gene that is involved in the regulation of the Rhizobium leguminosarum glnII (glutamine synthetase II) gene. This gene, which is situated immediately upstream of glnII, was identified by means of a deletion/complementation analysis performed in the heterologous background of Klebsiella pneumoniae. It has been designated gstI (glutamine synthetase translational Inhibitor) because, when a complete version of gstI is present, it is possible to detect glnII-specific mRNA, but neither GSII activity nor GSII protein. The gstI gene encodes a small (63 amino acids) protein, which acts in cis or in trans with respect to glnII and is transcribed divergently with respect to glnII from a promoter that was found to be strongly repressed by the nitrogen transcriptional regulator NtrC. A mutated version of GstI lacking the last 14 amino acids completely lost its capacity to repress glnII expression. Our results indicate that gstI mediates the translation inhibition of glnII mRNA and, based on in silico analyses, a mechanism for GstI action is proposed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Regulation of transcription of the gene coding for peroxisomal 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Transferring Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells from glucose- to oleate-containing growth media results in a significant increase in the number and volume of peroxisomes. To investigate this proliferation process we studied the transcriptional regulation of the gene coding for peroxisomal 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolase (EC 2.3.1.16) in response to the switch in carbon source. Expression was proved to be repressed during growth on glucose, derepressed during growth on glycerol, and induced during growth on oleate as the sole carbon source. By deletion and mutational analysis of sequences upstream of this gene, we have identified a region which is involved in the regulation of transcription. It is contained within a 52-base-pair sequence, UAST52 (upstream activation sequence thiolase 52), located between 203 and 151 nucleotides upstream of the translational initiation codon. This sequence proved to be required for repression, derepression and induction of transcription, and was able to activate transcription from the truncated version of the heterologous iso-1-cytochrome-c (CYC1) promoter in a similar way as in the wild-type promoter context. Sequence comparison revealed that the UAST52 contained a sequence motif ('beta-oxidation box') that is very similar to sequences located in the 5'-upstream regions of the genes coding for two other beta-oxidation enzymes of S. cerevisiae: the peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase and the peroxisomal trifunctional beta-oxidation enzyme of S. cerevisiae. Mutational analysis of the 'beta-oxidation box' indicates that this sequence motif acts as a UAS in vivo. Sequence comparison also revealed that just upstream of the 'beta-oxidation box', between positions -213 and -201, a potential binding site occurred for the yeast multifunctional autonomously replicating sequence binding factor ABF1. Gel-retardation-competition experiments indicate that ABF1 binds specifically to this sequence.

Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase↗