scholarly journals Poly(A) shortening and degradation of the 3' A+U-rich sequences of human c-myc mRNA in a cell-free system.

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1697-1708 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Brewer ◽  
J Ross

The early steps in the degradation of human c-myc mRNA were investigated, using a previously described cell-free mRNA decay system. The first detectable step was poly(A) shortening, which generated a pool of oligoadenylated mRNA molecules. In contrast, the poly(A) of a stable mRNA, gamma globin, was not excised, even after prolonged incubation. The second step, degradation of oligoadenylated c-myc mRNA, generated decay products whose 3' termini were located within the A+U-rich portion of the 3' untranslated region. These products disappeared soon after they were formed, consistent with rapid degradation of the 3' region. In contrast, the 5' region, corresponding approximately to c-myc exon 1, was stable in vitro. The data indicate a sequential degradation pathway in which 3' region cleavages occur only after most or all of the poly(A) is removed. To account for rapid deadenylation, we suggest that the c-myc poly(A)-poly(A)-binding protein complex is readily dissociated, generating a protein-depleted poly(A) tract that is no longer resistant to nucleases.

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1697-1708
Author(s):  
G Brewer ◽  
J Ross

The early steps in the degradation of human c-myc mRNA were investigated, using a previously described cell-free mRNA decay system. The first detectable step was poly(A) shortening, which generated a pool of oligoadenylated mRNA molecules. In contrast, the poly(A) of a stable mRNA, gamma globin, was not excised, even after prolonged incubation. The second step, degradation of oligoadenylated c-myc mRNA, generated decay products whose 3' termini were located within the A+U-rich portion of the 3' untranslated region. These products disappeared soon after they were formed, consistent with rapid degradation of the 3' region. In contrast, the 5' region, corresponding approximately to c-myc exon 1, was stable in vitro. The data indicate a sequential degradation pathway in which 3' region cleavages occur only after most or all of the poly(A) is removed. To account for rapid deadenylation, we suggest that the c-myc poly(A)-poly(A)-binding protein complex is readily dissociated, generating a protein-depleted poly(A) tract that is no longer resistant to nucleases.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2860-2868
Author(s):  
R Pei ◽  
K Calame

We have developed a simple cell-free system for studying the stability of different mRNAs in vitro. We demonstrate that the threefold greater stability in vivo of truncated c-myc mRNA (lacking exon 1) compared with that of full-length c-myc mRNA is maintained in our in vitro system. Chimeric mRNAs in which the first exon of c-myc was fused to immunoglobulin C alpha heavy chain or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNAs were not rapidly degraded, demonstrating that c-myc exon 1 alone is not sufficient to tag mRNAs for rapid degradation. Competition experiments show that full-length c-myc mRNA is specifically recognized by a factor(s) responsible for its rapid degradation. This system will allow further characterization and purification of these factors.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2860-2868 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Pei ◽  
K Calame

We have developed a simple cell-free system for studying the stability of different mRNAs in vitro. We demonstrate that the threefold greater stability in vivo of truncated c-myc mRNA (lacking exon 1) compared with that of full-length c-myc mRNA is maintained in our in vitro system. Chimeric mRNAs in which the first exon of c-myc was fused to immunoglobulin C alpha heavy chain or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNAs were not rapidly degraded, demonstrating that c-myc exon 1 alone is not sufficient to tag mRNAs for rapid degradation. Competition experiments show that full-length c-myc mRNA is specifically recognized by a factor(s) responsible for its rapid degradation. This system will allow further characterization and purification of these factors.


2007 ◽  
Vol 403 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Pacquelet ◽  
Jennifer L. Johnson ◽  
Beverly A. Ellis ◽  
Agnieszka A. Brzezinska ◽  
William S. Lane ◽  
...  

Exposure of neutrophils to LPS (lipopolysaccharide) triggers their oxidative response. However, the relationship between the signalling downstream of TLR4 (Toll-like receptor 4) after LPS stimulation and the activation of the oxidase remains elusive. Phosphorylation of the cytosolic factor p47phox is essential for activation of the NADPH oxidase. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that IRAK-4 (interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-4), the main regulatory kinase downstream of TLR4 activation, regulates the NADPH oxidase through phosphorylation of p47phox. We show that p47phox is a substrate for IRAK-4. Unlike PKC (protein kinase C), IRAK-4 phosphorylates p47phox not only at serine residues, but also at threonine residues. Target residues were identified by tandem MS, revealing a novel threonine-rich regulatory domain. We also show that p47phox is phosphorylated in granulocytes in response to LPS stimulation. LPS-dependent phosphorylation of p47phox was enhanced by the inhibition of p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), confirming that the kinase operates upstream of p38 MAPK. IRAK-4-phosphorylated p47phox activated the NADPH oxidase in a cell-free system, and IRAK-4 overexpression increased NADPH oxidase activity in response to LPS. We have shown that endogenous IRAK-4 interacts with p47phox and they co-localize at the plasma membrane after LPS stimulation, using immunoprecipitation assays and immunofluorescence microscopy respectively. IRAK-4 was activated in neutrophils in response to LPS stimulation. We found that Thr133, Ser288 and Thr356, targets for IRAK-4 phosphorylation in vitro, are also phosphorylated in endogenous p47phox after LPS stimulation. We conclude that IRAK-4 phosphorylates p47phox and regulates NADPH oxidase activation after LPS stimulation.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5398-5409
Author(s):  
J W Innis ◽  
R E Kellems

An elongation block to RNA polymerase II transcription in exon 1 is a major regulatory step in expression of the murine adenosine deaminase (ADA) gene. Previous work in the laboratory identified abundant short transcripts with 3' termini in exon 1 in steady-state RNA from injected oocytes. Using a cell-free system to investigate the mechanism of premature 3' end formation, we found that polymerase II generates prominent ADA transcripts approximately 96 to 100 nucleotides in length which are similar to the major short transcripts found in steady-state RNA from oocytes injected with ADA templates. We have determined that these transcripts are the processed products of 108- to 112-nucleotide precursors. Precursor formation is (i) favored in reactions using circular templates, (ii) not the result of a posttranscriptional processing event, (iii) sensitive to low concentrations of Sarkosyl, and (iv) dependent on a factor(s) which is inactivated in crude extracts at 47 degrees C for 15 min. The cell-free system will allow further characterization of the template and factor requirements involved in the control of premature 3' end formation by RNA polymerase II.


2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 784-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zichel ◽  
A. Mimran ◽  
A. Keren ◽  
A. Barnea ◽  
I. Steinberger-Levy ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Botulinum toxins produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum are the most potent biological toxins in nature. Traditionally, people at risk are immunized with a formaldehyde-inactivated toxin complex. Second generation vaccines are based on the recombinant carboxy-terminal heavy-chain (Hc) fragment of the neurotoxin. However, the materialization of this approach is challenging, mainly due to the high AT content of clostridial genes. Herein, we present an alternative strategy in which the native genes encoding Hc proteins of botulinum toxins A, B, and E were used to express the recombinant Hc fragments in a cell-free expression system. We used the unique property of this open system to introduce different combinations of chaperone systems, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), and reducing/oxidizing environments directly to the expression reaction. Optimized expression conditions led to increased production of soluble Hc protein, which was successfully scaled up using a continuous exchange (CE) cell-free system. Hc proteins were produced at a concentration of more than 1 mg/ml and purified by one-step Ni+ affinity chromatography. Mice immunized with three injections containing 5 μg of any of the in vitro-expressed, alum-absorbed, Hc vaccines generated a serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) titer of 105 against the native toxin complex, which enabled protection against a high-dose toxin challenge (103 to 106 mouse 50% lethal dose [MsLD50]). Finally, immunization with a trivalent HcA, HcB, and HcE vaccine protected mice against the corresponding trivalent 105 MsLD50 toxin challenge. Our results together with the latest developments in scalability of the in vitro protein expression systems offer alternative routes for the preparation of botulinum vaccine.


1989 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-462
Author(s):  
J. Nakagawa ◽  
G.T. Kitten ◽  
E.A. Nigg

We describe a cell-free system for studying mitotic reorganization of nuclear structure. The system utilizes soluble extracts prepared from metaphase-arrested somatic chicken cells and supports both the disassembly and subsequent partial reassembly of exogenous nuclei. By fluorescence microscopy, biochemical fractionation, protein phosphorylation assays and electron microscopy, we show that chicken embryonic nuclei incubated in extracts prepared from metaphase-arrested chicken hepatoma cells undergo nuclear envelope breakdown, lamina depolymerization and chromatin condensation. These prophase-like events are strictly dependent on ATP and do not occur when nuclei are incubated in interphase extracts. Compared to interphase extracts, metaphase extracts show increased kinase activities toward a number of nuclear protein substrates, including lamins and histone H1; moreover, they specifically contain four soluble phosphoproteins of Mr 38,000, 75,000, 95,000 and 165,000. Following disassembly of exogenous nuclei in metaphase extracts, telophase-like reassembly of a nuclear lamina and re-formation of nuclear membranes around condensed chromatin can be induced by depletion of ATP from the extract. We anticipate that this reversible cell-free system will contribute to the identification and characterization of factors involved in regulatory and mechanistic aspects of mitosis.


1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 635-651
Author(s):  
D C Lee ◽  
R G Roeder

We examined the transcription of a variety of adenovirus type 2 genes in a cell-free system containing purified ribonucleic acid polymerase II and a crude extract from cultured human cells. The early EIA, EIB, EIII, and EIV genes and the intermediate polypeptide IX gene, all of which contain a recognizable TATAA sequence upstream from the cap site, were actively transcribed in vitro, albeit with apparently different efficiencies, whereas the early EII (map position 74.9) and IVa2 genes, both of which lack a TATAA sequence, were not actively transcribed. A reverse transcriptase-primer extension analysis showed that the 5' ends of the in vitro transcripts were identical to those of the corresponding in vivo ribonucleic acids and that, in those instances where initiation was heterogeneous in vivo, a similar kind of heterogeneity was observed in the cell-free system. Transcription of the polypeptide IX gene indicated that this transcript was not terminated at, or processed to, the polyadenylic acid addition site in vitro. We also failed to observe, using the in vitro system, any indication of transcriptional regulation based on the use of adenovirus type 2-infected cell extracts.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 4456-4465
Author(s):  
S M Carroll ◽  
P Narayan ◽  
F M Rottman

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) residues occur at internal positions in most cellular and viral RNAs; both heterogeneous nuclear RNA and mRNA are involved. This modification arises by enzymatic transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to the central adenosine residue in the canonical sequence G/AAC. Thus far, m6A has been mapped to specific locations in eucaryotic mRNA and viral genomic RNA. We have now examined an intron-specific sequence of a modified bovine prolactin precursor RNA for the presence of this methylated nucleotide by using both transfected-cell systems and a cell-free system capable of methylating mRNA transcripts in vitro. The results indicate the final intron-specific sequence (intron D) of a prolactin RNA molecule does indeed possess m6A residues. When mapped to specific T1 oligonucleotides, the predominant site of methylation was found to be within the consensus sequence AGm6ACU. The level of m6A at this site is nonstoichiometric; approximately 24% of the molecules are modified in vivo. Methylation was detected at markedly reduced levels at other consensus sites within the intron but not in T1 oligonucleotides which do not contain either AAC or GAC consensus sequences. In an attempt to correlate mRNA methylation with processing, stably transfected CHO cells expressing augmented levels of bovine prolactin were treated with neplanocin A, an inhibitor of methylation. Under these conditions, the relative steady-state levels of the intron-containing nuclear precursor increased four to six times that found in control cells.


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
J C Fredenburgh ◽  
D Collen ◽  
M E Nesheim

The profibrinolytic activity of human activated protein C (APC) was studied in a cell-free system using human plasma. Normal and Ba+* citrate adsorbed human plasmas were dialyzed against 150mM NaCl, 20mM Hepes, pH 7.4 and diluted to an A280 of 16. Reactions were initiated by the addition of aliquots of plasma to cuvettes containing human melanoma tPA and human thrombin at final concentrations of 1 and 30nM, respectively. The effects of Ca+* and varying concentrations of APC on clotlysis times were examined by monitoring turbidity at 600nM while maintaining the temperature at 37°C. The lysis time, defined as the midpoint of turbidity change, was 128 min for normal plasma containing 10 mM Ca+* and showed progressive and saturable shortening to about 90 min at > 50nM APC. In the absence of Ca+*, lysis time was 55 min for normal plasma and did not shorten in response to APC. With Ba+* citrate adsorbed plasma, the lysis time was 82 min in the presence of 10mM Ca+*, and shortened to 42 min without Ca+*. APC had no effect on lysis time in Ba+* adsorbed plasma either with or without Ca+*. Both bovine and human APC were equally potent. Electrophoresis in DodSO4 and autoradiography of plasma samples containing 125I-labelled plasminogen indicated enhanced rates of plasminogen activation in the presence of APC. These data indicate that APC decreases lysis time in vitro at the level of plasminogen activation. This effect is dependent on Ca+* and may involve additional vitamin K-dependent protein ( s).


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document