[Regulation of genome replication].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Animals↗
SEARCH · PubMed Health
Results for “Minichromosome Maintenance 1 Protein”
Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The replication capacity of intact mammalian nuclei in Xenopus egg extracts declines with quiescence, but the residual DNA synthesis is independent of Xenopus MCM proteins.
In eukaryotes, the initiation of DNA synthesis requires the assembly of a pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) at origins of replication. This involves the sequential binding of ORC (origin-recognition-complex), Cdc6 and MCM proteins, a process referred to as licensing. After origin firing, the Cdc6 and MCM proteins dissociate from the chromatin, and do not rebind until after the completion of mitosis, thereby restricting replication to a single round in each cell cycle. Although nuclei normally become licensed for replication as they enter G(1), the extent to which the license is retained when cells enter the quiescent state (G(0)) is controversial. Here we show that the replication capacity of nuclei from Swiss 3T3 cells, in Xenopus egg extracts, is not lost abruptly with the onset of quiescence, but instead declines gradually. The decline in replication capacity, which affects both the number of nuclei induced to replicate and their subsequent rate of DNA synthesis, is accompanied by a fall in the level of chromatin-bound MCM2. When quiescent nuclei are incubated in egg extracts, they do not bind further MCMs unless the nuclei are first permeabilized. The residual replication capacity of intact nuclei must therefore be dependent on the remaining endogenous MCMs. Although high levels of Cdk activity are known to block MCM binding, we show that the failure of intact nuclei in egg extracts to increase their bound MCMs is not due to their uptake and accumulation of Cdk complexes. Instead, the failure of binding must be due to exclusion of some other binding factor from the nucleus, or to the presence within nuclei of an inhibitor of binding other than Cdk activity. In contrast to the situation in Xenopus egg extracts, following serum stimulation of intact quiescent cells, the level of bound MCMs does increase before the cells reach S phase, without any disruption of the nuclear envelope.
3T3 Cells↗
Mcm7, a subunit of the presumptive MCM helicase, modulates its own expression in conjunction with Mcm1.
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mcm7 protein is a subunit of the presumed heteromeric MCM helicase that melts origin DNA and unwinds replication forks. Previous work showed that Mcm1 binds constitutively to the MCM7 promoter and regulates MCM7 expression. Here, we identify Mcm7 as a novel cofactor of Mcm1 in the regulation of MCM7 expression. Transcription of MCM7 is increased in the mcm7-1 mutant and decreased in the mcm1-1 mutant, suggesting that Mcm7 modulates its own expression in conjunction with Mcm1. Indeed, Mcm7 stimulates Mcm1 binding to the early cell cycle box upstream of the promoters of MCM7 as well as CDC6 and MCM5. Whereas Mcm1 binds these promoters constitutively, Mcm7 is recruited during late M phase, consistent with Mcm7 playing a direct role in modulating the periodic expression of early cell cycle genes. The multiple roles of Mcm7 in replication initiation, replication elongation, and autoregulation parallel those of the oncoprotein, the large T-antigen of the SV40 virus.
Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming↗
An essential role for Orc6 in DNA replication through maintenance of pre-replicative complexes.
The heterohexameric origin recognition complex (ORC) acts as a scaffold for the G(1) phase assembly of pre-replicative complexes (pre-RC). Only the Orc1-5 subunits appear to be required for origin binding in budding yeast, yet Orc6 is an essential protein for cell proliferation. Imaging of Orc6-YFP in live cells revealed a punctate pattern consistent with the organization of replication origins into subnuclear foci. Orc6 was not detected at the site of division between mother and daughter cells, in contrast to observations for metazoans, and is not required for mitosis or cytokinesis. An essential role for Orc6 in DNA replication was identified by depleting it at specific cell cycle stages. Interestingly, Orc6 was required for entry into S phase after pre-RC formation, in contrast to previous models suggesting ORC is dispensable at this point in the cell cycle. When Orc6 was depleted in late G(1), Mcm2 and Mcm10 were displaced from chromatin, cells failed to progress through S phase, and DNA combing analysis following bromodeoxyuridine incorporation revealed that the efficiency of replication origin firing was severely compromised.
Cell Cycle Proteins↗
Dual functional regulators coordinate DNA replication and gene expression in proliferating cells.
Gene products for cell growth must meet the pace of DNA replication and vice versa during the cell division cycle, therefore coordination of DNA replication and gene expression is vital to proliferating cells. During development in multicellular organisms when rapid cell divisions must be accompanied by the expression of particular gene sets in differentiating tissues, this coordination is even more crucial. Undoubtedly, multiple strategies are used to ensure the coordination of gene expression and DNA replication. In this review, we focus on the strategy that uses dual functional factors to serve both the functions of replication initiator and transcription regulator. Classical examples are the dual functional replication initiator/transcription regulators, DnaA of E. coli and T antigen of SV40, which bind replication origins and regulate their own synthesis. Emerging examples in eukaryotes are the growth responsive transcription factor E2f, the MADS domain combinatorial transcription factor Mcm1, and a subunit of the MCM2-7 helicase, Mcm7.
Animals↗
Mcm1 promotes replication initiation by binding specific elements at replication origins.
Minichromosome maintenance protein 1 (Mcm1) is required for efficient replication of autonomously replicating sequence (ARS)-containing plasmids in yeast cells. Reduced DNA binding activity in the Mcm1-1 mutant protein (P97L) results in selective initiation of a subset of replication origins and causes instability of ARS-containing plasmids. This plasmid instability in the mcm1-1 mutant can be overcome for a subset of ARSs by the inclusion of flanking sequences. Previous work showed that Mcm1 binds sequences flanking the minimal functional domains of ARSs. Here, we dissected two conserved telomeric X ARSs, ARS120 (XARS6L) and ARS131a (XARS7R), that replicate with different efficiencies in the mcm1-1 mutant. We found that additional Mcm1 binding sites in the C domain of ARS120 that are missing in ARS131a are responsible for efficient replication of ARS120 in the mcm1-1 mutant. Mutating a conserved Mcm1 binding site in the C domain diminished replication efficiency in ARS120 in wild-type cells, and increasing the number of Mcm1 binding sites stimulated replication efficiency. Our results suggest that threshold occupancy of Mcm1 in the C domain of telomeric ARSs is required for efficient initiation. We propose that origin usage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae may be regulated by the occupancy of Mcm1 at replication origins.
Base Sequence↗
Interactions of the Mcm1 MADS box protein with cofactors that regulate mating in yeast.
The yeast Mcm1 protein is a member of the MADS box family of transcriptional regulatory factors, a class of DNA-binding proteins that control numerous cellular and developmental processes in yeast, Drosophila melanogaster, plants, and mammals. Although these proteins bind DNA on their own, they often combine with different cofactors to bind with increased affinity and specificity to their target sites. To understand how this class of proteins functions, we have made a series of alanine substitutions in the MADS box domain of Mcm1 and examined the effects of these mutations in combination with its cofactors that regulate mating in yeast. Our results indicate which residues of Mcm1 are essential for viability and transcriptional regulation with its cofactors in vivo. Most of the mutations in Mcm1 that are lethal affect DNA-binding affinity. Interestingly, the lethality of many of these mutations can be suppressed if the MCM1 gene is expressed from a high-copy-number plasmid. Although many of the alanine substitutions affect the ability of Mcm1 to activate transcription alone or in combination with the alpha 1 and Ste12 cofactors, most mutations have little or no effect on Mcm1-mediated repression in combination with the alpha 2 cofactor. Even nonconservative amino acid substitutions of residues in Mcm1 that directly contact alpha 2 do not significantly affect repression. These results suggest that within the same region of the Mcm1 MADS box domain, there are different requirements for interaction with alpha 2 than for interaction with either alpha1 or Ste12. Our results suggest how a small domain, the MADS box, interacts with multiple cofactors to achieve specificity in transcriptional regulation and how subtle differences in the sequences of different MADS box proteins can influence the interactions with specific cofactors while not affecting the interactions with common cofactors.
Alanine↗
Arabidopsis inositol polyphosphate 6-/3-kinase is a nuclear protein that complements a yeast mutant lacking a functional ArgR-Mcm1 transcription complex.
Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase, and more generally inositol polyphosphate kinases (Ipk), play important roles in signal transduction in animal cells; however, their functions in plant cells remain to be elucidated. Here, we report the molecular cloning of a cDNA (AtIpk2beta) from a higher plant, Arabidopsis. Arabidopsis AtIpk2beta is a 33-kD protein that exhibits weak homology ( approximately 25% identical amino acids) with Ipk proteins from animals and yeast and lacks a calmodulin binding site, as revealed by sequence analysis and calmodulin binding assays. However, recombinant AtIpk2beta phosphorylates inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate to inositol 1,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate and also converts it to inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate [Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P(5)]. AtIpk2beta also phosphorylates inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate to Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P(5). Thus, the enzyme is a D3/D6 dual-specificity inositol phosphate kinase. AtIpk2beta complements a yeast ARG82/IPK2 mutant lacking a functional ArgR-Mcm1 transcription complex. This complex is involved in regulating Arg metabolism-related gene expression and requires inositol polyphosphate kinase activity to function. AtIpk2beta was found to be located predominantly in the nucleus of plant cells, as demonstrated by immunolocalization and fusion to green fluorescent protein. RNA gel blot analysis and promoter-beta-glucuronidase reporter gene studies demonstrated AtIpk2beta gene expression in various organs tested. These data suggest a role for AtIpk2beta as a transcriptional control mediator in plants.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Operator-constitutive mutations in a DNA sequence recognized by a yeast homeodomain.
Homeodomain proteins regulate transcription in organisms as diverse as yeasts, mammals and plants, often effecting key decisions in development. Although homeodomains can selectively recognize certain DNA sequences, a question has arisen as to how specific this interaction is and how much it contributes to the ability of these proteins to properly select target genes in the cell. This question is particularly an issue in cases where the homeodomain proteins recognize DNA cooperatively with other DNA-binding proteins. In this paper, we examine the issue of DNA binding specificity for the homeodomain of the yeast alpha 2 protein (which recognizes the a-specific gene operator cooperatively with the MCM1 protein) by examining both in vivo and in vitro the effects of point mutations in its recognition sequence. We found that most changes in the homeodomain recognition sequence produced only small effects on both homeodomain affinity as measured in vitro (with and without the helper protein MCM1) and operator function as determined in vivo. This tolerance for operator mutations illustrates in a systematic way the modest DNA-binding specificity of the alpha 2 homeodomain and contrasts with the behavior of many of the bacterial and phage repressors where single point mutations in the operator can have dramatic effects on affinity. This tolerance for different sequences may arise from the fact that most of the interactions made between the alpha 2 homeodomain and the DNA occur through long amino acid side chains; we suggest that these side chains can reconfigure in order to create surfaces complementary to many different DNA sequences. The relaxed DNA-binding specificity of homeodomain proteins such as alpha 2 may be an important feature that permits new regulatory circuits to evolve rapidly from existing components.
Base Sequence↗
Delayed treatment with sildenafil enhances neurogenesis and improves functional recovery in aged rats after focal cerebral ischemia.
Increasing age decreases the number of new neurons in the dentate gyrus and the subventricular zone (SVZ). Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, enhances neurogenesis in young rats. The present study tested the hypothesis that sildenafil augments neurogenesis in aged rats after focal cerebral ischemia. Nonischemic aged (18 months, n = 6) Wistar rats exhibited a significant reduction of actively proliferating and relatively quiescent cells in the SVZ measured by the number of minichromosome maintenance protein-2-positive (MCM-2+) cells, a marker of the proliferating cells, compared with nonischemic young (3-4 months, n = 8) rats. Occlusion of the middle cerebral artery did not increase the number of MCM-2+ cells in the SVZ of aged rats at 3 months after focal ischemia. However, treatment with sildenafil at a dose of 3 mg/kg (n = 8) daily for 7 consecutive days starting 7 days after focal ischemia significantly increased the number of MCM-2+ cells in the SVZ of aged rats compared with aged rats treated with saline (n = 8). Double immunostaining revealed that substantially more Ki67+ cells (a marker of proliferating cells) were doublecortin+ (a marker of migrating neuroblasts) in sildenafil-treated than in saline-treated aged animals. In addition, treatment with sildenafil significantly improved functional recovery compared with saline-treated rats. These data suggest that inhibition of PDE5 activity by sildenafil augments neurogenesis in the SVZ of aged ischemic rats, although these rats have reduced numbers of neural progenitor and stem cells in the SVZ.
3',5'-Cyclic-GMP Phosphodiesterases↗
The Schizosaccharomyces pombe map1 gene encodes an SRF/MCM1-related protein required for P-cell specific gene expression.
Cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe undergo mating and meiosis when starved for a nitrogen source. In this process a P and and M cell first mate to generate a diploid zygote, which subsequently enters meiosis and sporulates. The P mating type is controlled by the mat1-Pc gene at the mating type locus, together with a gene called map1. We show that these two functions are required for expression of the P-specific gene map3. We have cloned the map1 gene and show that it encodes a putative MADS-box containing transcription factor related to mammalian Serum Response Factor (SRF) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae MCM1. The Mat1-Pc protein contains a motif characteristic for proteins that interact with MADS-box factors, suggesting that Mat-Pc and Map1 may form a heterodimer that activates the P-specific map3 gene.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Schizosaccharomyces pombe replication protein Cdc45/Sna41 requires Hsk1/Cdc7 and Rad4/Cut5 for chromatin binding.
Cdc45 is a conserved protein required for firing of replication origins and processive DNA replication. We used an in situ chromatin-binding assay to determine factors required for fission yeast Cdc45p chromatin binding. Assembly of the pre-replicative complex is essential for Cdc45p chromatin binding, but pre-replicative complex assembly occurs independently of Cdc45p. Fission yeast Cdc45p associates with MCM proteins in asynchronously growing cells and cells arrested in S phase by hydroxyurea, but not in cells arrested at the G2/M transition. Both hsk1+ (the fission yeast CDC7 homologue) and rad4+/ cut5+ (the fission yeast DPB11 homologue) are required for Cdc45p chromatin binding. Cdc45p also remains chromatin-bound in mutants that fail to recover from replication arrest. In summary, Cdc45p chromatin binding requires an intact pre-replicative complex as well as signaling from both the Dbf4-dependent kinase and cyclin-dependent kinases.
Base Sequence↗
Integration of the multiple controls regulating the expression of the arginase gene CAR1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in response to differentnitrogen signals: role of Gln3p, ArgRp-Mcm1p, and Ume6p.
Expression of the catabolic gene encoding arginase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, CAR1, is controlled by multiple nitrogen signals, such as the presence of the inducer, arginine, and the nature and amount of the nitrogen source. The present study has determined or confirmed the identity of the proteins involved in these different controls, as well as their targets in the CAR1 promoter. We show that Gln3p activates CAR1 expression through the GATAA sequences in the absence of an optimal nitrogen source, such as ammonia, glutamine or asparagine. Ume6p, which also controls the expression of early meiotic genes, represses CAR1 expression through a sequence called URS, as a function of nitrogen availability. Thus, the responses to the quality of the nitrogen source and to nitrogen starvation are achieved through different cis- and trans-regulatory elements. At least one of the multiple Rap1p and Abf1p binding sites is required for the basal transcription of the gene. The UAS(arg), containing the previously defined "arginine boxes" is the region that responds to the inducer through the action of the ArgRp-Mcm1p proteins, and its deletion alone significantly affects growth on arginine as sole nitrogen source. The functional UAS(arg) is about 60 nucleotides long, and contains two sequences homologous to the binding site for MADS-box proteins, to which ArgRIp and Mcm1p belong. No obvious palindromic sequence similar to the binding site of Gal4p, Ppr1p or Put3p is present in the UAS(arg), although ArgRIIp contains a Zn(II)2Cys6 motif. Interestingly, we have found that induction of CAR1 expression by arginine in the presence of an optimal nitrogen source is counteracted by Gln3p, independently of its action at the GATAA sequences.
Arginase↗
The SRF and MCM1 transcription factors.
The mammalian transcription factor SRF (serum-response factor) and the related Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor MCM1 are the prototypes of a new class of dimeric DNA-binding proteins. Their function is regulated in part by the interactions of their DNA-binding domains with accessory proteins. Recent work has advanced the functional characterization of the contributions of SRF and MCM1, and their accessory proteins to transcriptional activation.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Crystal structure of the yeast MATalpha2/MCM1/DNA ternary complex.
The structure of a complex containing the homeodomain repressor protein MATalpha2 and the MADS-box transcription factor MCM1 bound to DNA has been determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.25 A resolution. It reveals the protein-protein interactions responsible for cooperative binding of MATalpha2 and MCM1 to DNA. The otherwise flexible amino-terminal extension of the MATalpha2 homeodomain forms a beta-hairpin that grips the MCM1 surface through parallel beta-strand hydrogen bonds and close-packed, predominantly hydrophobic, side chains. DNA bending induced by MCM1 brings the two proteins closer together, facilitating their interaction. An unusual feature of the complex is that an eight-amino-acid sequence adopts an alpha-helical conformation in one of two copies of the MATalpha2 monomer and a beta-strand conformation in the other. This 'chameleon' sequence of MATalpha2 may be important for recognizing natural operator sites.
Binding Sites↗
Interaction between two homeodomain proteins is specified by a short C-terminal tail.
Two yeast homeodomain proteins, a1 and alpha 2, interact and cooperatively bind the haploid-specific gene (hsg) operator, resulting in the repression of a set of genes involved in the determination of cell type. The cooperative binding of a1 and alpha 2 to DNA can be reconstituted in vitro using purified fragments of a1 and alpha 2. Only the homeodomain is needed for a1, but for alpha 2 a C-terminal 22-amino-acid tail is required as well. As most of the specificity of DNA binding appears to derive from a1, we proposed that alpha 2 functions in the a1/alpha 2 heterodimer to contact a1 with its tail. By construction and analysis of several chimaeric proteins, we investigate how two DNA-binding proteins, one with low intrinsic specificity (alpha 2) and one with no apparent intrinsic DNA-binding ability (a1), can together create a highly specific DNA-binding activity. We show that the 22-amino-acid region of alpha 2 immediately C-terminal to the homeodomain, when grafted onto the a1 homeodomain, converts a1 to a strong DNA-binding protein. This alpha 2 tail can also be attached to the Drosophila engrailed homeodomain, and the chimaeric protein now binds cooperatively to DNA with a1, showing how a simple change can create a new homeodomain combination that specifically recognizes a new DNA operator.
Animals↗
DNA-binding proteins. Inside the MADS box.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Binding Sites↗
Recruitment of the yeast MADS-box proteins, ArgRI and Mcm1 by the pleiotropic factor ArgRIII is required for their stability.
Regulation of arginine metabolism requires the integrity of four regulatory proteins, ArgRI, ArgRII, ArgRIII and Mcm1. To characterize further the interactions between the different proteins, we used the two-hybrid system, which showed that ArgRI and Mcm1 interact together, and with ArgRII and ArgRIII, without an arginine requirement. To define the interacting domains of ArgRI and Mcm1 with ArgRIII, we fused portions of ArgRI and Mcm1 to the DNA-binding domain of Gal4 (GBD) and created mutations in GBD-ArgRI and GBD-Mcm1. The putative alpha helix present in the MADS-box domain of ArgRI and Mcm1 is their major region of interaction with ArgRIII. Interactions between the two MADS-box proteins and ArgRIII were confirmed using affinity chromatography. The requirement for ArgRIII in the control of arginine metabolism can be bypassed in vitro as well as in vivo by overproducing ArgRI or Mcm1, which indicates that ArgRIII is not present in the protein complex formed with the 'arginine boxes'. We show that the impairment of arginine regulation in an argRIII deletant strain is a result of a lack of stability of ArgRI and Mcm1. A mutation in ArgRI, impairing its interaction with ArgRIII, leads to an unstable ArgRI protein in a wild-type strain. ArgRIII integrity is crucial for Mcm1 function, as shown by the marked decreased expression of five genes controlled by Mcm1. However, ArgRIII is likely to recruit other proteins in the yeast cell, as overexpression of Mcm1 does not compensate some physiological defects observed in an argRIII deletant strain.
Amino Acid Sequence↗