Role of multiple CytR binding sites on cooperativity, competition, and induction at the Escherichia coli udp promoter.
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The CytR repressor fulfills dual roles as both a repressor of transcription from promoters of the Escherichia coli CytR regulon and a co-activator in some circumstances. Transcription is repressed by a three-protein complex (cAMP receptor protein (CRP)-CytR-CRP) that is stabilized by cooperative interactions between CRP and CytR. However, cooperativity also means that CytR can recruit CRP and, by doing so, can act as a co-activator. The central role of cooperativity in regulation is highlighted by the fact that binding of the inducer, cytidine, to CytR is coupled to CytR-CRP cooperativity; this underlies the mechanism for induction. Similar interactions at the different promoters of the CytR regulon coordinate expression of the transport proteins and enzymes required for nucleoside catabolism but also provide differential expression of these genes. A fundamental question in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene regulation is how combinatorial mechanisms of this sort regulate differential expression. Recently, we showed that CytR binds specifically to multiple sites in the E. coli deoP promoter, thereby providing competition for CRP binding to CRP operator site 1 (CRP1) and CRP2 as well as cooperativity. The effect of the competition at this promoter is to negate the role of CytR in recruiting CRP. Here, we have used quantitative footprint and mobility shift analysis to investigate CRP and CytR binding to the E. coli udp promoter. Here too, we find that CytR both cooperates and competes for CRP binding. However, consistent with both the distribution of CytR recognition motifs in the sequence of the promoter and the regulation of the promoter, the competition is limited to CRP2. When cytidine binds to CytR, the effect on cooperativity is very different at the udp promoter than at the deoP2 promoter. Cooperativity with CRP at CRP1 is nearly eliminated, but the effect on CytR-CRP2 cooperativity is negligible. These results are discussed in relation to the current structural model of CytR in which the core, inducer-binding domain is tethered to the helix-turn-helix, DNA-binding domain via flexible peptide linkers. (+info)
Genomic structure, chromosomal mapping, and promoter region analysis of murine uridine phosphorylase gene.
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Uridine phosphorylase (UPase) plays an important role in the activation of 5-fluorouracil and in the regulation of tissue and plasma concentration of uridine, a potential biochemical modulator of 5-fluorouracil therapy. UPase expression is affected by the c-H-ras oncogene and various cytokines through unknown mechanisms. To understand its expression and regulation, we cloned the murine UPase gene, defined its genomic organization, determined its 5'- and 3'-end flanking sequences, and evaluated the promoter activity. The UPase gene contains nine exons and eight introns, spanning a total of approximately 18.0 kb. Its promoter lacks canonical TATA and CCAAT boxes, although a CAATAAAAA TATA-like box is seen from -41 to -49. Furthermore, IFN regulatory factor 1, c/v-Myb, and p53 binding sites are present in the promoter region, indicating that UPase expression may be directly regulated by cytokines and oncogene products. The 1.2-kb flanking fragment showed promoter activity driving the expression of the luciferase gene in various mammalian cells. A TGGGG repeat sequence is seen in the 3'-end flanking region. This element is considered to be a potential recombination consensus hot spot that may contribute to the encoding of different UPase isoforms present in different tissues, both normal and neoplastic. (+info)
Ribose 1-phosphate and inosine activate uracil salvage in rat brain.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism by which inosine activates pyrimidine salvage in CNS. The levels of cerebral inosine, hypoxanthine, uridine, uracil, ribose 1-phosphate and inorganic phosphate were determined, to evaluate the Gibbs free energy changes (deltaG) of the reactions catalyzed by purine nucleoside phosphorylase and uridine phosphorylase, respectively. A deltaG value of 0.59 kcal/mol for the combined reaction inosine+uracil <==> uridine+hypoxanthine was obtained, suggesting that at least in anoxic brain the system may readily respond to metabolite fluctuations. If purine nucleoside phosphorolysis and uridine phosphorolysis are coupled to uridine phosphorylation, catalyzed by uridine kinase, whose activity is relatively high in brain, the three enzyme activities will constitute a pyrimidine salvage pathway in which ribose 1-phosphate plays a pivotal role. CTP, presumably the last product of the pathway, and, to a lesser extent, UTP, exert inhibition on rat brain uridine nucleotides salvage synthesis, most likely at the level of the kinase reaction. On the contrary ATP and GTP are specific phosphate donors. (+info)
The metabolism of isocytidine in Escherichia coli.
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Intact cells and cell-free extracts of E. coli convert isocytidine to isocytosine and uracil. The radioactive label of 5-[(3)H]isocytidine is incorporated into RNA and, DNA of growing bacteria at a rate equal to about 1.4% of that of cytidine under similar conditions; the radioactivity is found in uridylic, cytidylic and 2'-deoxythymidylic acids, while less than 0.4% of incorporated radioactive material might be due to possible incorporation of intact isocytidine. Uridine phosphorylase and cytidine deaminase apparently do not participate in the metabolic conversion of isocytidine.5-[(3)H]isocytidine was prepared by platinum-catalyzed dehalogenation of 5-bromoisocytidine in the presence of tritium. The 5-bromo derivative was obtained from 2',3'-0- -isopropylideneisocytidine by N-bromsuccinimide bromination followed by acidic hydrolysis. (+info)
Isolation of an Escherichia coli mutant deficient in glutathione synthesis.
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A mutant of Escherichia coli that contains essentially no detectable glutathione has been isolated. The mutant contains a very low level of the enzyme glutathione synthetase and accumulates lambda-glutamyl cysteine at a concentration approximately equal to the level of glutathione found in its parent. No significant differences in growth were observed between the mutant and its parent. However, the activity of at least one enzyme was found to be affected by the absence of glutathione; the specific activity of the B1 subunit of ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase was greatly reduced. The possibility that the decreased B1 activity is due to a mutation in the structural gene coding for B1 or its regulatory gene could be eliminated. This suggests that one role of glutathione in the cell is to maintain at least this one protein in an active state. We propose the designation gshB for the gene coding for glutathione synthetase. (+info)
Uridine phosphorylase association with vimentin. Intracellular distribution and localization.
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Uridine phosphorylase (UPase), a key enzyme in the pyrimidine salvage pathway, is associated with the intermediate filament protein vimentin, in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and colon 26 cells. Affinity chromatography was utilized to purify UPase from colon 26 and NIH 3T3 cells using the uridine phosphorylase inhibitor 5'-amino benzylacyclouridine linked to an agarose matrix. Vimentin copurification with UPase was confirmed using both Western blot analysis and MALDI-MS methods. Separation of cytosolic proteins using gel filtration chromatography yields a high molecular weight complex containing UPase and vimentin. Purified recombinant UPase and recombinant vimentin were shown to bind in vitro with an affinity of 120 pm and a stoichiometry of 1:2. Immunofluorescence techniques confirm that UPase is associated with vimentin in both NIH 3T3 and colon 26 cells and that depolymerization of the microtubule system using nocodazole results in UPase remaining associated with the collapsed intermediate filament, vimentin. Our data demonstrate that UPase is associated with both the soluble and insoluble pools of vimentin. Approximately 60-70% of the total UPase exists in the cytosol as a soluble protein. Sequential extraction of NIH 3T3 or colon 26 cells liberates an additional 30-40% UPase activity associated with a detergent extractable fraction. All pools of UPase have been shown to possess enzymatic activity. We demonstrate for the first time that UPase is associated with vimentin and the existence of an enzymatically active cytoskeleton-associated UPase. (+info)
Fluoropyrimidine sensitivity of human MCF-7 breast cancer cells stably transfected with human uridine phosphorylase.
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The relationship between uridine phosphorylase (UP) expression level in cancer cells and the tumour sensitivity to fluoropyrimidines is unclear. In this study, we found that UP overexpression by gene transfer, and the subsequent efficient metabolic activation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by the ribonucleotide pathway, does not increase the fluoropyrimidine sensitivity of MCF-7 human cancer cells. (+info)
p53-dependent suppression of uridine phosphorylase gene expression through direct promoter interaction.
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Uridine phosphorylase (UPase) is a key enzyme in the pyrimidine salvage pathway. It reversibly catalyzes the catabolism of uridine to uracil; controls the homeostatic regulation of uridine concentration in plasma and tissues; and plays a role in the intracellular activation of 5-fluorouracil. We cloned the murine UPase gene promoter, a 1703-bp fragment, and determined the transcription initiation sites located at +1 and +92 bp of the cDNA sequence. Through transient expression analysis of the 5'-flanking region of UPase gene, we have evaluated the promoter activity for a series of fragments with 5'- to 3'-deletion in murine breast cancer EMT-6 cells and immortalized murine fibroblast NIH 3T3 cells. Cotransfection of the UPase promoter constructs (from -1619 to -445) containing p53 binding motif with the wild-type p53 construct resulted in a significant reduction of luciferase activity; however, this effect disappeared with the additional deletion of the -445 to -274 sequence to suggest the existence in this promoter region of a putative p53 recognition element. Similar cotransfection in murine embryo fibroblasts p53-/- confirmed the inhibitory role of p53 on the UPase promoter activity. The specificity of the interaction is demonstrated by nuclear protein-specific binding to the putative p53 recognition sequence using gel mobility shift assay and DNase I footprinting analysis. These data indicate the UPase gene is a novel target of p53, and its expression is down-regulated by p53 at the promoter level. (+info)