The RLF-B component of the replication licensing system is distinct from Cdc6 and functions after Cdc6 binds to chromatin.
(65/34889)
Replication licensing factor (RLF) is an essential initiation factor that can prevent re-replication of DNA in a single cell cycle [1] [2]. It is required for the initiation of DNA replication, binds to chromatin early in the cell cycle, is removed from chromatin as DNA replicates and is unable to re-bind replicated chromatin until the following mitosis. Chromatography of RLF from Xenopus extracts has shown that it consists of two components termed RLF-B and RLF-M [3]. The RLF-M component consists of complexes of all six Xenopus minichromosome maintenance (MCM/P1) proteins (XMcm2-7), which bind to chromatin in late mitosis and are removed as replication occurs [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]. The identity of RLF-B is currently unknown. At least two factors must be present on chromatin before licensing can occur: the Xenopus origin recognition complex (XORC) [8] [9] and Xenopus Cdc6 (XCdc6) [10]. XORC saturates Xenopus sperm chromatin at approximately one copy per replication origin whereas XCdc6 binds to chromatin only if XORC is bound first [9] [10] [11]. Although XORC has been shown to be a distinct activity from RLF-B [9], the relationship between XCdc6 and RLF-B is currently unclear. Here, we show that active XCdc6 is loaded onto chromatin in extracts with defective RLF, and that both RLF-M and RLF-B are still required for the licensing of XCdc6-containing chromatin. Furthermore, RLF-B can be separated from XCdc6 by immunoprecipitation and standard chromatography. These experiments demonstrate that RLF-B is both functionally and physically distinct from XCdc6, and that XCdc6 is loaded onto chromatin before RLF-B function is executed. (+info)
Cell cycle-dependent nuclear accumulation of the p94fer tyrosine kinase is regulated by its NH2 terminus and is affected by kinase domain integrity and ATP binding.
(66/34889)
p94fer and p51ferT are two tyrosine kinases that are encoded by differentially spliced transcripts of the FER locus in the mouse. The two tyrosine kinases share identical SH2 and kinase domains but differ in their NH2-terminal amino acid sequence. Unlike p94fer, the presence of which has been demonstrated in most mammalian cell lines analyzed, the expression of p51ferT is restricted to meiotic cells. Here, we show that the two related tyrosine kinases also differ in their subcellular localization profiles. Although p51ferT accumulates constitutively in the cell nucleus, p94fer is cytoplasmic in quiescent cells and enters the nucleus concomitantly with the onset of S phase. The nuclear translocation of the FER proteins is driven by a nuclear localization signal (NLS), which is located within the kinase domain of these enzymes. The functioning of that NLS depends on the integrity of the kinase domain but was not affected by inactivation of the kinase activity. The NH2 terminus of p94fer dictated the cell cycle-dependent functioning of the NLS of FER kinase. This process was governed by coiled-coil forming sequences that are present in the NH2 terminus of the kinase. The regulatory effect of the p94fer NH2-terminal sequences was not affected by kinase activity but was perturbed by mutations in the kinase domain ATP binding site. Ectopic expression of the constitutively nuclear p51ferT in CHO cells interfered with S-phase progression in these cells. This was not seen in p94fer-overexpressing cells. The FER tyrosine kinases seem, thus, to be regulated by novel mechanisms that direct their different subcellular distribution profiles and may, consequently, control their cellular functioning. (+info)
The DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic activity regulates DNA end processing by means of Ku entry into DNA.
(67/34889)
The DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is required for double-strand break repair in mammalian cells. DNA-PK contains the heterodimer Ku and a 460-kDa serine/threonine kinase catalytic subunit (p460). Ku binds in vitro to DNA termini or other discontinuities in the DNA helix and is able to enter the DNA molecule by an ATP-independent process. It is clear from in vitro experiments that Ku stimulates the recruitment to DNA of p460 and activates the kinase activity toward DNA-binding protein substrates in the vicinity. Here, we have examined in human nuclear cell extracts the influence of the kinase catalytic activity on Ku binding to DNA. We demonstrate that, although Ku can enter DNA from free ends in the absence of p460 subunit, the kinase activity is required for Ku translocation along the DNA helix when the whole Ku/p460 assembles on DNA termini. When the kinase activity is impaired, DNA-PK including Ku and p460 is blocked at DNA ends and prevents their processing by either DNA polymerization, degradation, or ligation. The control of Ku entry into DNA by DNA-PK catalytic activity potentially represents an important regulation of DNA transactions at DNA termini. (+info)
Influence of centriole behavior on the first spindle formation in zygotes of the brown alga Fucus distichus (Fucales, Phaeophyceae).
(68/34889)
The influence of centrioles, derived from the sperm flagellar basal bodies, and the centrosomal material (MTOCs) on spindle formation in the brown alga Fucus distichus (oogamous) was studied by immunofluorescence microscopy using anti-centrin and anti-beta-tubulin antibodies. In contrast to a bipolar spindle, which is formed after normal fertilization, a multipolar spindle was formed in polyspermic zygote. The number of mitotic poles in polyspermic zygotes was double the number of sperm involved in fertilization. As an anti-centrin staining spot (centrioles) was located at these poles, the multipolar spindles in polyspermic zygotes were produced by the supplementary centrioles. When anucleate egg fragments were fertilized, chromosome condensation and mitosis did not occur in the sperm nucleus. Two anti-centrin staining spots could be detected, microtubules (MTs) radiated from nearby, but the mitotic spindle was never produced. When a single sperm fertilized multinucleate eggs (polygyny), abnormal spindles were also observed. In addition to two mitotic poles containing anti-centrin staining spots, extra mitotic poles without anti-centrin staining spots were also formed, and as a result multipolar spindles were formed. When karyogamy was blocked with colchicine, it became clear that the egg nucleus proceeded independently into mitosis accompanying chromosome condensation. A monoastral spindle could be frequently observed, and in rare cases a barrel-shaped spindle was formed. However, when a sperm nucleus was located near an egg nucleus, the two anti-centrin staining spots shifted to the egg nucleus from the sperm nucleus. In this case, a normal spindle was formed, the egg chromosomes arranged at the equator, and the associated MTs elongated from one pole of the egg spindle toward the sperm chromosomes which were scattered. From these results, it became clear that paternal centrioles derived from the sperm have a crucial role in spindle formation in the brown algae, such as they do during animal fertilization. However, paternal centrioles were not adequate for the functional centrosome during spindle formation. We speculated that centrosomal materials from the egg cytoplasm aggregate around the sperm centrioles and are needed for centrosomal activation. (+info)
Identification of a novel cardiac lineage-associated protein(cCLP-1): A candidate regulator of cardiogenesis.
(69/34889)
We describe the isolation and characterization of a cDNA clone, called cCLP-1, that is a candidate for the previously described early cardiac-specific transcription factor BBF-1. BBF-1 binds the MEF2 (or element B) binding site within the cardiac myosin light chain 2 (MLC2) gene promoter. We used the element B sequence as a probe to screen an expression library constructed from mRNA obtained from the presumptive heart-forming regions of stage 6 chicken embryos. This yielded the cCLP-1 cDNA clone. Gel-shift analysis of stage 6 embryonic chicken protein extracts suggests that a protein that is recognized by the anti-cCLP-1 antibody binds to the same element B binding site to which BBF-1 binds. cCLP-1 mRNA was detected early in chicken development, prior to cardiac fate assignment at stage 4. The expression pattern of cCLP-1, based on whole mount in situ hybridization, coincides remarkably well with the established morphogenetic field of early heart formation. The nuclear localization of cCLP-1 is phosphorylation-dependent, suggesting that cCLP-1 may be a member of that class of transcription factors whose activity is regulated by cytoplasm to nucleus transport. Taken together, these data suggest that cCLP-1 may encode a novel transcription factor whose expression pattern is in agreement with that of the cardiogenic precursor cells of the early chicken embryo. (+info)
Intronless mRNA transport elements may affect multiple steps of pre-mRNA processing.
(70/34889)
We have reported recently that a small element within the mouse histone H2a-coding region permits efficient cytoplasmic accumulation of intronless beta-globin cDNA transcripts. This sequence lowers the levels of spliced products from intron-containing constructs and can functionally replace Rev and the Rev-responsive element (RRE) in the nuclear export of unspliced HIV-1-related mRNAs. In work reported here, we further investigate the molecular mechanisms by which this element might work. We demonstrate here through both in vivo and in vitro assays that, in addition to promoting mRNA nuclear export, this element acts as a polyadenylation enhancer and as a potent inhibitor of splicing. Surprisingly, two other described intronless mRNA transport elements (from the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene and hepatitis B virus) appear to function in a similar manner. These findings prompt us to suggest that a general feature of intronless mRNA transport elements might be a collection of phenotypes, including the inhibition of splicing and the enhancement of both polyadenylation and mRNA export. (+info)
Self assembly of NuMA: multiarm oligomers as structural units of a nuclear lattice.
(71/34889)
NuMA is a nuclear matrix protein in interphase and relocates to the spindle poles in mitotis. Different NuMA constructs, in which either N- or C-terminal domains were deleted, and the full-length construct were expressed in Escherichia coli, and the NuMA polypeptides were purified to homogeneity and allowed to assemble in vitro. Electron microscopy showed that NuMA can build multiarm oligomers by interaction of the C-terminal globular domains. Each arm of the oligomer corresponds to a NuMA dimer. Oligomers with up to 10 or 12 arms have been observed for both full-length NuMA and for constructs that still contain the proximal part of the C-terminal tail domain. Other results from this laboratory have shown that transient overexpression of NuMA in HeLa cells induces a nuclear scaffold with a quasi-hexagonal organization that can fill the nuclei. Here we show that computer modelling of the three-dimensional packing of NuMA into such scaffolds can explain the different spacing of the hexagons seen when constructs with different coiled-coil lengths are used. Thus, the 12 arm oligomer, for which we have in vitro evidence, may be the structural unit from which the nuclear scaffold in transfected cells is built. (+info)
The essential role of yeast topoisomerase III in meiosis depends on recombination.
(72/34889)
Yeast cells mutant for TOP3, the gene encoding the evolutionary conserved type I-5' topoisomerase, display a wide range of phenotypes including altered cell cycle, hyper-recombination, abnormal gene expression, poor mating, chromosome instability and absence of sporulation. In this report, an analysis of the role of TOP3 in the meiotic process indicates that top3Delta mutants enter meiosis and complete the initial steps of recombination. However, reductional division does not occur. Deletion of the SPO11 gene, which prevents recombination between homologous chromosomes in meiosis I division, allows top3Delta mutants to form viable spores, indicating that Top3 is required to complete recombination successfully. A topoisomerase activity is involved in this process, since expression of bacterial TopA in yeast top3Delta mutants permits sporulation. The meiotic block is also partially suppressed by a deletion of SGS1, a gene encoding a helicase that interacts with Top3. We propose an essential role for Top3 in the processing of molecules generated during meiotic recombination. (+info)