Ribosomal flavours: an acquired taste for specific mRNAs?

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1529-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Bates ◽  
Simon J. Hubbard ◽  
Mark P. Ashe

The regulation of translation is critical in almost every aspect of gene expression. Nonetheless, the ribosome is historically viewed as a passive player in this process. However, evidence is accumulating to suggest that variations in the ribosome can have an important influence on which mRNAs are translated. Scope for variation is provided via multiple avenues, including heterogeneity at the level of both ribosomal proteins and ribosomal RNAs and their covalent modifications. Together, these variations provide the potential for hundreds, if not thousands, of flavours of ribosome, each of which could have idiosyncratic preferences for the translation of certain messenger RNAs. Indeed, perturbations to this heterogeneity appear to affect specific subsets of transcripts and manifest as cell-type-specific diseases. This review provides a historical perspective of the ribosomal code hypothesis, before outlining the various sources of heterogeneity, their regulation and functional consequences for the cell.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiao Li ◽  
Jakob Seidlitz ◽  
John Suckling ◽  
Feiyang Fan ◽  
Gong-Jun Ji ◽  
...  

AbstractMajor depressive disorder (MDD) has been shown to be associated with structural abnormalities in a variety of spatially diverse brain regions. However, the correlation between brain structural changes in MDD and gene expression is unclear. Here, we examine the link between brain-wide gene expression and morphometric changes in individuals with MDD, using neuroimaging data from two independent cohorts and a publicly available transcriptomic dataset. Morphometric similarity network (MSN) analysis shows replicable cortical structural differences in individuals with MDD compared to control subjects. Using human brain gene expression data, we observe that the expression of MDD-associated genes spatially correlates with MSN differences. Analysis of cell type-specific signature genes suggests that microglia and neuronal specific transcriptional changes account for most of the observed correlation with MDD-specific MSN differences. Collectively, our findings link molecular and structural changes relevant for MDD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Halsall ◽  
Simon Andrews ◽  
Felix Krueger ◽  
Charlotte E. Rutledge ◽  
Gabriella Ficz ◽  
...  

AbstractChromatin configuration influences gene expression in eukaryotes at multiple levels, from individual nucleosomes to chromatin domains several Mb long. Post-translational modifications (PTM) of core histones seem to be involved in chromatin structural transitions, but how remains unclear. To explore this, we used ChIP-seq and two cell types, HeLa and lymphoblastoid (LCL), to define how changes in chromatin packaging through the cell cycle influence the distributions of three transcription-associated histone modifications, H3K9ac, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3. We show that chromosome regions (bands) of 10–50 Mb, detectable by immunofluorescence microscopy of metaphase (M) chromosomes, are also present in G1 and G2. They comprise 1–5 Mb sub-bands that differ between HeLa and LCL but remain consistent through the cell cycle. The same sub-bands are defined by H3K9ac and H3K4me3, while H3K27me3 spreads more widely. We found little change between cell cycle phases, whether compared by 5 Kb rolling windows or when analysis was restricted to functional elements such as transcription start sites and topologically associating domains. Only a small number of genes showed cell-cycle related changes: at genes encoding proteins involved in mitosis, H3K9 became highly acetylated in G2M, possibly because of ongoing transcription. In conclusion, modified histone isoforms H3K9ac, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 exhibit a characteristic genomic distribution at resolutions of 1 Mb and below that differs between HeLa and lymphoblastoid cells but remains remarkably consistent through the cell cycle. We suggest that this cell-type-specific chromosomal bar-code is part of a homeostatic mechanism by which cells retain their characteristic gene expression patterns, and hence their identity, through multiple mitoses.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0205883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph C. Mays ◽  
Michael C. Kelly ◽  
Steven L. Coon ◽  
Lynne Holtzclaw ◽  
Martin F. Rath ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 191 (8) ◽  
pp. 1281-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raelene J. Grumont ◽  
Steve Gerondakis

In lymphocytes, the Rel transcription factor is essential in establishing a pattern of gene expression that promotes cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Here we show that mitogen-induced expression of interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 4 (IRF-4), a lymphoid-specific member of the IFN family of transcription factors, is Rel dependent. Consistent with IRF-4 functioning as a repressor of IFN-induced gene expression, the absence of IRF-4 expression in c-rel−/− B cells coincided with a greater sensitivity of these cells to the antiproliferative activity of IFNs. In turn, enforced expression of an IRF-4 transgene restored IFN modulated c-rel−/− B cell proliferation to that of wild-type cells. This cross-regulation between two different signaling pathways represents a novel mechanism that Rel/nuclear factor κB can repress the transcription of IFN-regulated genes in a cell type–specific manner.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (6) ◽  
pp. G1363-G1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinzenz M. Stepan ◽  
Chris J. Dickinson ◽  
John del Valle ◽  
Masashi Matsushima ◽  
Andrea Todisco

Gastrin (G17) has a CCKBreceptor-mediated growth-promoting effect on the AR42J rat acinar cell line that is linked to induction of both mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and c- fos gene expression. We investigated the mechanisms that regulate the growth factor action of G17 on the rat pituitary adenoma cell line GH3. Both AR42J and GH3cells displayed equal levels of CCKBreceptor expression and similar binding kinetics of125I-labeled G17. G17 stimulation of cell proliferation was identical in both cell lines. G17 stimulation of GH3cell proliferation was completely blocked by the CCKBreceptor antagonist D2 but not by the MEK inhibitor PD-98059 or the protein kinase C inhibitor GF-109203X, which completely inhibited G17 induction of AR42J cell proliferation. G17 induced a c- fos SRE-luciferase reporter gene plasmid more than fourfold in the AR42J cells, whereas it had no effect in the GH3cells. In contrast to what we observed in the AR42J cells, G17 failed to stimulate MAPK activation and Shc tyrosyl phosphorylation and association with the adapter protein Grb2. Epidermal growth factor induced the MAPK pathway in the GH3cells, demonstrating the integrity of this signaling system. G17 induced Ca2+mobilization in both the GH3and AR42J cells. The calmodulin inhibitor N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide inhibited AR42J cell proliferation by 20%, whereas it completely blocked G17 induction of GH3cell growth. The Ca2+ionophore ionomycin stimulated GH3cell proliferation to a level similar to that observed in response to G17, but it had no effect on AR42J cell proliferation. Thus there are cell type specific differences in the requirement of the MAPK pathway for the growth factor action of G17. Whereas in the AR42J cells G17 stimulates cell growth through activation of MAPK and c- fos gene expression, in the GH3cells, G17 fails to activate MAPK, and it induces cell proliferation through Ca2+-dependent signaling pathways. Furthermore, induction of Ca2+mobilization in the AR42J cells appears not to be sufficient to sustain cell proliferation.


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