Translation level control in normal and leukemic cells.
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Genomes produce widespread long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) of largely unknown functions. We characterize aal1 (ageing-associated lncRNA), which is induced in quiescent fission yeast cells. Deletion of aal1 shortens the chronological lifespan of non-dividing cells, while ectopic overexpression prolongs their lifespan, indicating that aal1 acts in trans. Overexpression of aal1 represses ribosomal-protein gene expression and inhibits cell growth, and aal1 genetically interacts with coding genes functioning in protein translation. The aal1 lncRNA localizes to the cytoplasm and associates with ribosomes. Notably, aal1 overexpression decreases the cellular ribosome content and inhibits protein translation. The aal1 lncRNA binds to the rpl1901 mRNA, encoding a ribosomal protein. The rpl1901 levels are reduced ~2-fold by aal1, which is sufficient to extend lifespan. Remarkably, the expression of the aal1 lncRNA in Drosophila boosts fly lifespan. We propose that aal1 reduces the ribosome content by decreasing Rpl1901 levels, thus attenuating the translational capacity and promoting longevity. Although aal1 is not conserved, its effect in flies suggests that animals feature related mechanisms that modulate ageing, based on the conserved translational machinery.
RelB is an unusual member of the NF-kappaB transcription factor family that acts as both a transcriptional activator as well as a repressor of NF-kappaB-dependent gene expression. Although RelB promotes gene expression when it associates with p50/NF-kappaB1 or p52/NF-kappaB2, the precise molecular mechanisms through which it represses NF-kappaB remain unclear. To examine this inhibitory function in more detail, we employed reporter gene assays and found that RelB represses at the level of RelA. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift analysis revealed that in vitro translated RelB impaired the DNA binding activity of RelA and that overexpressed RelB significantly reduced tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced RelA activity in murine embryonic fibroblasts. Intriguingly, this inhibitory effect was due to the formation of RelA.RelB heterodimers that were unable to bind to kappaB sites in vitro strongly suggesting that these newly described NF-kappaB dimers cannot bind DNA. Expression pattern analysis revealed that RelA.RelB heterodimers appeared at relatively low levels in both lymphoid and non-lymphoid cells. However, the presence of these complexes increased following stimulation with phorbolesters or lipopolysaccharide or by overexpression of constitutively active IKKbeta. Functional characterization of RelA.RelB heterodimers in NIH3T3 murine embryonic fibroblasts revealed that they are not regulated by IkappaB proteins and are located in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that sequestration of RelA in transcriptionally inactive RelA.RelB complexes provides a molecular mechanism that may explain the repressive role of RelB on NF-kappaB-dependent gene expression.
The enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) is subject to multivalent feedback suppression mediated by sterols and non-sterol substances derived from mevalonate, the product of the enzyme. To dissect the mechanism for this multivalent effect, Chinese hamster ovary cells were incubated with sterols contained in plasma lipoproteins and with a high concentration (100 microM) of compactin, an inhibitor of the reductase. Under these conditions, the amounts of HMG-CoA reductase protein and catalytic activity were high, although the cells were saturated with sterols, as reflected by active synthesis of cholesteryl esters. The amount of enzyme fell by 99% when the cells received excess mevalonate in addition to sterols. This decline was not associated with a fall in levels of reductase messenger RNA (mRNA). Rather, it was attributable to an 80% decline in translation of the mRNA, coupled with a 5-fold increase in the rate of degradation of reductase protein, as revealed by pulse-chase experiments with [35S]methionine. Considered together with previous data, these findings suggest a multilevel mechanism for multivalent regulation of HMG-CoA reductase. We suggest that sterols suppress the enzyme incompletely by partially repressing transcription of the gene and that nonsterol products derived from mevalonate further reduce the enzyme by inhibiting translation of the mRNA. Sterols and non-sterol products, acting together, accelerate the degradation of reductase protein. This combination of transcriptional and posttranscriptional controls can regulate the amount of reductase protein over a several hundred-fold range in animal cells.
We mapped and cloned SKI6 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a gene that represses the copy number of the L-A double-stranded RNA virus, and found that it encodes an essential 246-residue protein with homology to a tRNA-processing enzyme, RNase PH. The ski6-2 mutant expressed electroporated non-poly(A) luciferase mRNAs 8- to 10-fold better than did the isogenic wild type. No effect of ski6-2 on expression of uncapped or normal mRNAs was found. Kinetics of luciferase synthesis and direct measurement of radiolabeled electroporated mRNA indicate that the primary effect of Ski6p was on efficiency of translation rather than on mRNA stability. Both ski6 and ski2 mutants show hypersensitivity to hygromycin, suggesting functional alteration of the translation apparatus. The ski6-2 mutant has normal amounts of 40S and 60S ribosomal subunits but accumulates a 38S particle containing 5'-truncated 25S rRNA but no 5.8S rRNA, apparently an incomplete or degraded 60S subunit. This suggests an abnormality in 60S subunit assembly. The ski6-2 mutation suppresses the poor expression of the poly(A)- viral mRNA in a strain deficient in the 60S ribosomal protein L4. Thus, a ski6 mutation bypasses the requirement of the poly(A) tail for translation, allowing better translation of non-poly(A) mRNA, including the L-A virus mRNA which lacks poly(A). We speculate that the derepressed translation of non-poly(A) mRNAs is due to abnormal (but full-size) 60S subunits.
Transcription of Saccharomyces cerevisiae COX6, the nuclear gene for subunit VI of cytochrome c oxidase, is activated in heme-proficient cells, requires the HAP2 gene, and is subject to glucose repression. In this study, by deletion mutagenesis of the COX6 promoter, we identified two regions that are important for transcription. The first was an upstream activation site, UAS6. It was found to be contained within an 84-base-pair (bp) sequence, between bp -256 and -340 of the COX6 translational initiation codon, and to contain sequences required for activation by heme and HAP2 and for release from glucose repression. When located upstream of a CYC1-lacZ fusion gene, deleted for both of its UASs, this segment functioned as a UAS element. Although UAS6 could promote expression in either orientation, it showed a marked orientation dependence in its response to HAP2 and the carbon source. The second region lay between bp -255 and -91. It contained two of the three major 5' termini of COX6 mRNAs and a putative TATA box. Deletion analysis of this region demonstrated that the putative TATA box is not required for transcription and that this region is separable into two redundant domains.
The Escherichia coli CytR regulator belongs to the LacI family of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins and prevents CRP-mediated transcription in the CytR regulon. Unlike the other members of this protein family, CytR binds with only modest affinity to its operators and transcription repression thus relies on the formation of nucleoprotein complexes with the cAMP-CRP complex. Moreover, CytR exhibits a rotational and translational flexibility in operator binding that is unprecedented in the LacI family. In this report we examined the effect of changing the spacing between CytR half-operators on CytR regulation in vivo and on CytR binding in vitro. Maximum repression was seen with the short spacing variants: repression peaks when the half-operators lie on the same face of the DNA helix. Repression was retained for most spacing variants with centre separations of half-operators < or = 3 helical turns. Our data confirm and extend the view that CytR is a highly flexible DNA binder that can adapt many different conformations for co-operative binding with CRP. Furthermore, limited proteolysis of radiolabelled CytR protein showed that the interdomain linker connecting the DNA binding domains and the core part of CytR does not become structured upon DNA binding. We conclude that CytR does not use hinge alpha-helices for minor groove recognition. Rather, CytR possesses a highly flexible interdomain linker that allows it to form complexes with CRP at promoters with quite different architecture.
Translation of yeast GCN4 mRNA occurs by a reinitiation mechanism that is modulated by amino acid levels in the cell. Ribosomes which translate the first of four upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in the mRNA leader resume scanning and can reinitiate downstream. Under non-starvation conditions reinitiation occurs at one of the remaining three uORFs and GCN4 is repressed. Under starvation conditions, in contrast, ribosomes bypass the uORFs and reinitiate at GCN4 instead. The high frequency of reinitiation following uORF1 translation depends on an adequate distance to the next start codon and particular sequences surrounding the uORF1 stop codon. We present evidence that sequences 5' to uORF1 also strongly enhance reinitiation. First, reinitiation was severely inhibited when uORF1 was transplanted into the position of uORF4, even though the native sequence environment of the uORF1 stop codon was maintained, and this effect could not be accounted for by the decreased uORF1-GCN4 spacing. Second, insertions and deletions in the leader preceding uORF1 greatly reduced reinitiation at GCN4. Sequences 5' to uORF1 may influence the probability of ribosome release following peptide termination at uORF1. Alternatively, they may facilitate rebinding of an initiation factor required for reinitiation prior to resumption of the scanning process.
The androgen receptor (AR) regulates ligand-dependent gene transcription upon binding specific DNA sequences. The AR conveys both trans-activation and trans-repression functions, which together contribute to prostate cellular growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Like histone H3, the AR is post-translationally modified by both acetylation and phosphorylation. The histone acetyltransferase p300 transactivates the AR and directly acetylates the AR in vitro at a conserved motif. Point mutations of the AR acetylation motif that abrogate acetylation reduce trans-activation by p300 without affecting the trans-repression function of the AR. The current studies assessed the functional relationship between acetylation and phosphorylation of the AR. Herein trans-activation of the AR acetylation site mutants were enhanced by the p42/p44 MAPK pathway but were defective in regulation by protein kinase A (PKA) signaling. PKA inhibition augmented ARwt activity but not AR acetylation mutant gene reporter activity and association at an androgen response element in chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Mutations of the lysine residues at the AR acetylation site reduced trichostatin A (TSA) responsiveness and ligand-induced phosphorylation of the AR. The AR acetylation site mutant formed ligand-induced phosphorylation-dependent isoforms with distinguishable characteristics from wild type AR as determined with two-dimensional electrophoresis. Conversely, point mutation of a subset of AR phosphorylation sites reduced trichostatin A responsiveness and trans-activation by histone acetyltransferases. Together these studies suggest that acetylation and phosphorylation of the AR are linked events and that the conserved AR lysine motif contributes to a select subset of pathways governing AR activity.
Covalent histone post-translational modifications such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitylation play pivotal roles in regulating many cellular processes, including transcription, response to DNA damage, and epigenetic control. Although positive-acting post-translational modifications have been studied in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, histone modifications that are associated with transcriptional repression have not been shown to occur in this yeast. Here, we provide evidence that histone sumoylation negatively regulates transcription in S. cerevisiae. We show that all four core histones are sumoylated and identify specific sites of sumoylation in histones H2A, H2B, and H4. We demonstrate that histone sumoylation sites are involved directly in transcriptional repression. Further, while histone sumoylation occurs at all loci tested throughout the genome, slightly higher levels occur proximal to telomeres. We observe a dynamic interplay between histone sumoylation and either acetylation or ubiquitylation, where sumoylation serves as a potential block to these activating modifications. These results indicate that sumoylation is the first negative histone modification to be identified in S. cerevisiae and further suggest that sumoylation may serve as a general dynamic mark to oppose transcription.
KlICL1, encoding the isocitrate lyase of Kluyveromyces lactis, was isolated by complementation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae icl1 deletion mutant. Sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame of 1626 nucleotides encoding a protein with 542 amino acids. The deduced protein shows extensive homologies to isocitrate lyases from various organisms, with an overall identity of 69% to the enzyme from S. cerevisiae. The KlICL1 gene has two major transcription start-points, located at -113 bp and -95 bp relative to the ATG translation start codon. The gene is expressed on ethanol medium only in respiratory-competent cells. Transcription is repressed by glucose. Mutants carrying a Klcat8 deletion lack the ability to derepress KlICL1 transcription. A Klicl1 deletion mutant does not grow on ethanol medium and lacks any isocitrate lyase activity. A strain lacking the gene KlFBP1, which encodes the gluconeogenic enzyme fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, lacks the ability to grow on non-fermentable carbon sources. This implies that K. lactis does not contain additional isoenzymes catalyzing either of the reactions. Enzyme assays revealed that neither KlIcl1p nor KlFbp1p are subject to catabolite inactivation. However, the respective enzymes from S. cerevisiae are efficiently inactivated when expressed in K. lactis. Thus, despite the extensive sequence similarities of the enzymes involved, non-fermentative carbohydrate metabolism in the two yeasts displays distinct regulatory properties.
The single-strand binding (Ssb) protein of phage T4 (T4 gp32, product of gene 32) is a mRNA-specific autogenous translational repressor, in addition to being a sequence-independent ssDNA-binding protein that participates in phage DNA replication, repair and recombination. It is not clear how this physiologically essential protein distinguishes between specific RNA and nonspecific nucleic acid targets. Here, we present phylogenetic evidence suggesting that ssDNA and specific RNA bind the same gp32 domain and that plasticity of this domain underlies its ability to configure certain RNA structures for specific binding. We have cloned and characterized gene 32 of phage RB69, a relative of T4 We observed that RB69 gp32 and T4 gp32 have nearly identical ssDNA binding domains, but diverge in their C-terminal domains. In T4 gp32, it is known that the C-terminal domain interacts with the ssDNA-binding domain and with other phage-induced proteins. In translation assays, we show that RB69 gp32 is, like T4 gp32, an autogenous translational repressor. We also show that the natural mRNA targets (translational operators) for the 2 proteins are diverged in sequence from each other and yet can be repressed by either gp32. Results of chemical and RNase sensitivity assays indicate that the gp32 mRNA targets from the 2 related phages have similar structures, but differ in their patterns of contact with the 2 repressors. These and other observations suggest that a range of gp32-RNA binding specificities may evolve in nature due to plasticity of the protein-nucleic acid interaction and its response to modulation by the C-terminal domain of this translational repressor.
The first reaction in pyrimidine and arginine biosynthesis in Escherichia coli is catalyzed by a single enzyme, carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (EC 6.3.5.5), the product of the carAB operon. Expression of this operon is cumulatively repressed by arginine and pyrimidines. The nucleotide sequence of the carAB control region was determined and transcriptional starts were localized. Two adjacent promoters, 70 base pairs apart, appear to be used in vivo, the downstream one overlapping a typical arginine operator. The absence of any attenuation-like sequence excludes such a mechanism for pyrimidine-mediated repression. Various fragments of the carA promoter-proximal region were fused in vitro with the lacZ gene. Results obtained with these fusions indicate that (i) translation of the carA gene can be initiated in vivo without an AUG codon but very likely with an UUG or an AUU codon; (ii) the carAB downstream promoter is repressed by arginine; and (iii) the carAB upstream promoter is repressed by pyrimidines and subject to stringent control. When carried by a multicopy plasmid the carAB control region escapes repression by arginine and pyrimidines. The existence of a pyrimidine repressor, present in limiting amounts in the cell, is therefore postulated.
The Xenopus alpha(fast)-tropomyosin gene contains, at its 3' -end, a composite internal/3' -terminal exon (exon 9A9'), which is subjected to three different patterns of splicing according to the cell type. Exon 9A9' is included as a terminal exon in the myotome and as an internal exon in adult striated muscles, whereas it is skipped in nonmuscle cells. We have developed an in vivo model based on transient expression of minigenes encompassing the regulated exon 9A9' in Xenopus oocytes and embryos. We first show that the different alpha-tropomyosin minigenes recapitulate the splicing pattern of the endogenous gene and constitute valuable tools to seek regulatory sequences involved in exon 9A9' usage. A mutational analysis led to the identification of an intronic element that is involved in the repression of exon 9A9' in nonmuscle cells. This element harbors four polypyrimidine track-binding protein (PTB) binding sites that are essential for the repression of exon 9A9'. We show using UV cross-linking and immunoprecipitation experiments that Xenopus PTB (XPTB) interacts with these PTB binding sites. Finally, we show that depletion of endogenous XPTB in Xenopus embryos using a morpholinobased translational inhibition strategy resulted in exon 9A9' inclusion in embryonic epidermal cells. These results demonstrate that XPTB is required in vivo to repress the terminal exon 9A9' and suggest that PTB could be a major actor in the repression of regulated 3' -terminal exon.
A variety of transcription factors are post-translationally modified by SUMO, a 97-residue ubiquitin-like protein bound covalently to the targeted lysine. Here we describe SUMO modification of the Ets family member ERM at positions 89, 263, 293, and 350. To investigate how SUMO modification affects the function of ERM, Ets-responsive intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and E74 reporter plasmids were employed to demonstrate that SUMO modification causes inhibition of ERM-dependent transcription without affecting the subcellular localization, stability, or DNA-binding capacity of the protein. When the adenoviral protein Gam1 or the SUMO protease SENP1 was used to inhibit the SUMO modification pathway, ERM-dependent transcription was de-repressed. These results demonstrate that ERM is subject to SUMO modification and that this post-translational modification causes inhibition of transcription-enhancing activity.
Expression of the presumptive regulatory gene, suppressor-of-white-apricot [su(wa)], is controlled at the level of splicing. Results reported here indicate that this control represents autorepression of su(wa) expression. Specifically, reverse genetic studies demonstrate that the 3.5 kb mature su(wa) RNA (produced by removal of seven introns) is a message essential for su(wa)+ function and indicate that the abundant 4.4 kb and 5.2 kb mature su(wa) RNAs (resulting when the first or first and second of the seven introns are not removed) are, unexpectedly, byproducts of repression of production of the functional 3.5 kb RNA. Moreover, several experiments indicate that this repression of splices necessary to produce the 3.5 kb RNA is dependent on the translation product of the 3.5 kb RNA itself. We propose that this regulatory gene autoregulates its expression by controlling splicing of its primary transcript.
Rhodotorula gracilis is a oleaginous yeast which utilizes D-amino acids as a source of carbon and/or nitrogen. D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO), which converts D-amino acids in the corresponding alpha-keto acids and ammonia, is the first enzyme involved in the catabolism of D-amino acids. DAAO activity is induced by the presence of D-alanine, but the presence of the L-isomer prevents induction by inhibiting the transport of D-alanine into cells. To understand how DAAO expression is regulated, R. gracilis cells were grown on media containing different nitrogen and/or carbon sources. As a general rule, the level of DAAO mRNA reached a maximum after 15 h growth and preceded by approximately 6 h the maximum level of DAAO activity. The inducer D-alanine acts by increasing the rate of DAAO mRNA transcription: the increase in DAAO expression is due essentially to de novo synthesis. The presence of a supplemental carbon source (e.g. succinate or glucose) does not repress DAAO expression. Ammonium sulphate appears to have a negative effect on DAAO mRNA translation and on the expression of DAAO activity: DAAO is only partially active when the yeast is grown in the presence of D-alanine and ammonium sulphate. The best expression of DAAO activity was obtained by growing the cells for 12 h at 30 degrees C in the presence of glucose and D-alanine using cells pre-cultured for 10 h on glucose and L-alanine (0.99 U/mg protein, corresponding to approximately 1.0% total proteins in the crude extract). Under these growth conditions a six-fold increase in DAAO production was achieved.
Regulation of ADE2 gene expression was investigated in the yeast S. cerevisiae using translational fusions between this gene and the lacZ gene from E. coli. Expression was repressed in the presence of adenine and slightly increased under amino-acid starvation conditions. The promoters of the ADE2 gene, and of other genes involved in adenine biosynthesis, contain the hexanucleotide sequence TGACTC. A search for the hexanucleotide TGACTC in yeast promoter sequences revealed that many genes not related to amino-acid biosynthesis contain such sequences. We show here that these elements play a crucial role in ADE2 regulation since mutations in two such elements drastically reduced gene expression. Maximal expression required the transcriptional activators Bas1, Bas2 and Gcn4, whereas Yap1 had only minor effects.