Optimizing In Vitro Pre-mRNA 3′ Cleavage Efficiency: Reconstitution from Anion-Exchange Separated HeLa Cleavage Factors and from Adherent HeLa Cell Nuclear Extract

Author(s):  
Mihwa Na ◽  
Susana T. Valente ◽  
Kevin Ryan
1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-203
Author(s):  
G Christofori ◽  
W Keller

We have partially purified a poly(A) polymerase (PAP) from HeLa cell nuclear extract which is involved in the 3'-end formation of polyadenylated mRNA. PAP had a molecular weight of approximately 50 to 60 kilodaltons. In the presence of manganese ions, PAP was able to polyadenylate RNA nonspecifically. However, in the presence of magnesium ions PAP required the addition of a cleavage and polyadenylation factor to specifically polyadenylate pre-mRNAs that contain an intact AAUAAA sequence and end at the poly(A) addition site (precleaved RNA substrates). The purified fraction containing PAP was also required in combination with a cleavage and polyadenylation factor and a cleavage factor for the correct cleavage at the poly(A) site of pre-mRNAs. Since the two activities of the PAP fractions, PAP and cleavage activity, could not be separated by extensive purification, we concluded that the two activities are contained in a single component, a PAP that is also required for the specific cleavage preceding the polyadenylation of pre-mRNA.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1839-1841 ◽  
Author(s):  
T L Green ◽  
R P Hart

Previous studies have shown that a sequence element downstream of the poly(A) addition site is required for efficient cleavage in vivo. We tested a group of downstream element point mutations in an in vitro reaction using HeLa cell nuclear extract as a source of cleavage activity. In close agreement with earlier studies (M. A. McDevitt, R. P. Hart, W. W. Wong, and J. R. Nevins, EMBO J. 5:2907-2913, 1986), a downstream element from the adenovirus E2a gene directed a higher level of cleavage activity than one from the simian virus 40 early gene. Furthermore, a single-base change in the downstream element could result in a decrease in cleavage activity of about 50-fold. That these mutations have similar effects in vivo and in vitro indicates that the HeLa cell nuclear extract system contains all of the factors required to study the mechanism of sequence recognition.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4604-4613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Wang ◽  
Greg T. Cantin ◽  
Jennitte L. Stevens ◽  
Arnold J. Berk

ABSTRACT A number of mammalian multiprotein complexes containing homologs ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae Mediator subunits have been described recently. High-molecular-mass complexes (1 to 2 MDa) sharing several subunits but apparently differing in others include the TRAP/SMCC, NAT, DRIP, ARC, and human Mediator complexes. Smaller multiprotein complexes (∼500 to 700 kDa), including the murine Mediator, CRSP, and PC2, have also been described that contain subsets of subunits of the larger complexes. To evaluate whether these different multiprotein complexes exist in vivo in a single form or in multiple different forms, HeLa cell nuclear extract was directly resolved over a Superose 6 gel filtration column. Immunoblotting of column fractions using antisera specific for several Mediator subunits revealed one major size class of high-molecular-mass (∼2-MDa) complexes containing multiple mammalian Mediator subunits. No peak was apparent at ∼500 to 700 kDa, indicating that either the smaller complexes reported are much less abundant than the higher-molecular-mass complexes or they are subcomplexes generated by dissociation of larger complexes during purification. Quantitative immunoblotting indicated that there are about 3 × 105to 6 × 105 molecules of hSur2 Mediator subunit per HeLa cell, i.e., the same order of magnitude as RNA polymerase II and general transcription factors. Immunoprecipitation of the ∼2-MDa fraction with anti-Cdk8 antibody indicated that at least two classes of Mediator complexes occur, one containing CDK8 and cyclin C and one lacking this CDK-cyclin pair. The ∼2-MDa complexes stimulated activated transcription in vitro, whereas a 150-kDa fraction containing a subset of Mediator subunits inhibited activated transcription.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Christofori ◽  
W Keller

We have partially purified a poly(A) polymerase (PAP) from HeLa cell nuclear extract which is involved in the 3'-end formation of polyadenylated mRNA. PAP had a molecular weight of approximately 50 to 60 kilodaltons. In the presence of manganese ions, PAP was able to polyadenylate RNA nonspecifically. However, in the presence of magnesium ions PAP required the addition of a cleavage and polyadenylation factor to specifically polyadenylate pre-mRNAs that contain an intact AAUAAA sequence and end at the poly(A) addition site (precleaved RNA substrates). The purified fraction containing PAP was also required in combination with a cleavage and polyadenylation factor and a cleavage factor for the correct cleavage at the poly(A) site of pre-mRNAs. Since the two activities of the PAP fractions, PAP and cleavage activity, could not be separated by extensive purification, we concluded that the two activities are contained in a single component, a PAP that is also required for the specific cleavage preceding the polyadenylation of pre-mRNA.


Hereditas ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
HANS-OLOF GUSTAVSSON ◽  
LARS RASK ◽  
LARS-GÖRAN JOSEFSSON

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1839-1841
Author(s):  
T L Green ◽  
R P Hart

Previous studies have shown that a sequence element downstream of the poly(A) addition site is required for efficient cleavage in vivo. We tested a group of downstream element point mutations in an in vitro reaction using HeLa cell nuclear extract as a source of cleavage activity. In close agreement with earlier studies (M. A. McDevitt, R. P. Hart, W. W. Wong, and J. R. Nevins, EMBO J. 5:2907-2913, 1986), a downstream element from the adenovirus E2a gene directed a higher level of cleavage activity than one from the simian virus 40 early gene. Furthermore, a single-base change in the downstream element could result in a decrease in cleavage activity of about 50-fold. That these mutations have similar effects in vivo and in vitro indicates that the HeLa cell nuclear extract system contains all of the factors required to study the mechanism of sequence recognition.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 2317-2323
Author(s):  
D Zarkower ◽  
P Stephenson ◽  
M Sheets ◽  
M Wickens

The sequence AAUAAA is found near the polyadenylation site of eucaryotic mRNAs. This sequence is required for accurate and efficient cleavage and polyadenylation of pre-mRNAs in vivo. In this study we show that synthetic simian virus 40 late pre-mRNAs are cleaved and polyadenylated in vitro in a HeLa cell nuclear extract, and that cleavage in vitro is abolished by each of four different single-base changes in AAUAAA. In this same extract, precleaved RNAs (RNAs with 3' termini at the polyadenylation site) are efficiently polyadenylated. This in vitro polyadenylation reaction also requires the AAUAAA sequence.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (19) ◽  
pp. 6598-6605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric D. Ross ◽  
Philip R. Hardwidge ◽  
L. James Maher

ABSTRACT The relative stiffness of naked DNA is evident from measured values of longitudinal persistence length (∼150 bp) and torsional persistence length (∼180 bp). These parameters predict that certain arrangements of eukaryotic transcription activator proteins in gene promoters should be much more effective than others in fostering protein-protein interactions with the basal RNA polymerase II transcription apparatus. Thus, if such interactions require some kind of DNA looping, DNA loop energies should depend sensitively on helical phasing of protein binding sites, loop size, and intrinsic DNA curvature within the loop. Using families of artificial transcription templates where these parameters were varied, we were surprised to find that the degree of transcription activation by arrays of Gal4-VP1 transcription activators in HeLa cell nuclear extract was sensitive only to the linear distance separating a basal promoter from an array of bound activators on DNA templates. We now examine the hypothesis that this unexpected result is due to factors in the extract that act to enhance apparent DNA flexibility. We demonstrate that HeLa cell nuclear extract is rich in a heat-resistant activity that dramatically enhances apparent DNA longitudinal and torsional flexibility. Recombinant mammalian high-mobility group 2 (HMG-2) protein can substitute for this activity. We propose that the abundance of HMG proteins in eukaryotic nuclei provides an environment in which DNA is made sufficiently flexible to remove many constraints on protein binding site arrangements that would otherwise limit efficient transcription activation to certain promoter geometries.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 2587-2597 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Gamberi ◽  
E Izaurralde ◽  
C Beisel ◽  
I W Mattaj

hnRNP F was identified in a screen for proteins that interact with human CBP80 and CBP20, the components of the nuclear cap-binding complex (CBC). In vitro interaction studies showed that hnRNP F can bind to both CBP20 and CBP80 individually. hnRNP F and CBC bind independently to RNA, but hnRNP F binds preferentially to CBC-RNA complexes rather than to naked RNA. The hnRNP H protein, which is 78% identical to hnRNP F and also interacts with both CBP80 and CBP20 in vitro, does not discriminate between naked RNA and CBC-RNA complexes, showing that this effect is specific. Depletion of hnRNP F from HeLa cell nuclear extract decreases the efficiency of pre-mRNA splicing, a defect which can be partially compensated by addition of recombinant hnRNP F. Thus, hnRNP F is required for efficient pre-mRNA splicing in vitro and may participate in the effect of CBC on pre-mRNA splicing.


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