The in vivo distribution and dynamics of DNA topoisomerase II in Drosophila embryonic nuclei and chromosomes

Author(s):  
Jason R. Swedlow ◽  
Neil Osheroff ◽  
Tim Karr ◽  
John W. Sedat ◽  
David A. Agard

DNA topoisomerase II is an ATP-dependent double-stranded DNA strand-passing enzyme that is necessary for full condensation of chromosomes and for complete segregation of sister chromatids at mitosis in vivo and in vitro. Biochemical characterization of chromosomes or nuclei after extraction with high-salt or detergents and DNAse treatment showed that topoisomerase II was a major component of this remnant, termed the chromosome scaffold. The scaffold has been hypothesized to be the structural backbone of the chromosome, so the localization of topoisomerase II to die scaffold suggested that the enzyme might play a structural role in the chromosome. However, topoisomerase II has not been studied in nuclei or chromosomes in vivo. We have monitored the chromosomal distribution of topoisomerase II in vivo during mitosis in the Drosophila embryo. This embryo forms a multi-nucleated syncytial blastoderm early in its developmental cycle. During this time, the embryonic nuclei synchronously progress through 13 mitotic cycles, so this is an ideal system to follow nuclear and chromosomal dynamics.

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 3197-3207
Author(s):  
P R Caron ◽  
P Watt ◽  
J C Wang

A set of carboxy-terminal deletion mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA topoisomerase II were constructed for studying the functions of the carboxyl domain in vitro and in vivo. The wild-type yeast enzyme is a homodimer with 1,429 amino acid residues in each of the two polypeptides; truncation of the C terminus to Ile-1220 has little effect on the function of the enzyme in vitro or in vivo, whereas truncations extending beyond Gln-1138 yield completely inactive proteins. Several mutant enzymes with C termini in between these two residues were found to be catalytically active but unable to complement a top2-4 temperature-sensitive mutation. Immunomicroscopy results suggest that the removal of a nuclear localization signal in the C-terminal domain is likely to contribute to the physiological dysfunction of these proteins; the ability of these mutant proteins to relax supercoiled DNA in vivo shows, however, that at least some of the mutant proteins are present in the nuclei in a catalytically active form. In contrast to the ability of the catalytically active mutant proteins to relax supercoiled intracellular DNA, all mutants that do not complement the temperature-dependent lethality and high frequency of chromosomal nondisjunction of top2-4 were found to lack decatenation activity in vivo. The plausible roles of the DNA topoisomerase II C-terminal domain, in addition to providing a signal for nuclear localization, are discussed in the light of these results.


Author(s):  
Hee Jei Yoon ◽  
In Young Choi ◽  
Mi Ran Kang ◽  
Soung Soo Kim ◽  
Mark T Muller ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1293-1304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte D. Lavoie ◽  
K. Michelle Tuffo ◽  
Scott Oh ◽  
Doug Koshland ◽  
Connie Holm

In vitro studies suggest that the Barren protein may function as an activator of DNA topoisomerase II and/or as a component of theXenopus condensin complex. To better understand the role of Barren in vivo, we generated conditional alleles of the structural gene for Barren (BRN1) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We show that Barren is an essential protein required for chromosome condensation in vivo and that it is likely to function as an intrinsic component of the yeast condensation machinery. Consistent with this view, we show that Barren performs an essential function during a period of the cell cycle when chromosome condensation is established and maintained. In contrast, Barren does not serve as an essential activator of DNA topoisomerase II in vivo. Finally,brn1 mutants display additional phenotypes such as stretched chromosomes, aberrant anaphase spindles, and the accumulation of cells with >2C DNA content, suggesting that Barren function influences multiple aspects of chromosome transmission and dynamics.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 3197-3207 ◽  
Author(s):  
P R Caron ◽  
P Watt ◽  
J C Wang

A set of carboxy-terminal deletion mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA topoisomerase II were constructed for studying the functions of the carboxyl domain in vitro and in vivo. The wild-type yeast enzyme is a homodimer with 1,429 amino acid residues in each of the two polypeptides; truncation of the C terminus to Ile-1220 has little effect on the function of the enzyme in vitro or in vivo, whereas truncations extending beyond Gln-1138 yield completely inactive proteins. Several mutant enzymes with C termini in between these two residues were found to be catalytically active but unable to complement a top2-4 temperature-sensitive mutation. Immunomicroscopy results suggest that the removal of a nuclear localization signal in the C-terminal domain is likely to contribute to the physiological dysfunction of these proteins; the ability of these mutant proteins to relax supercoiled DNA in vivo shows, however, that at least some of the mutant proteins are present in the nuclei in a catalytically active form. In contrast to the ability of the catalytically active mutant proteins to relax supercoiled intracellular DNA, all mutants that do not complement the temperature-dependent lethality and high frequency of chromosomal nondisjunction of top2-4 were found to lack decatenation activity in vivo. The plausible roles of the DNA topoisomerase II C-terminal domain, in addition to providing a signal for nuclear localization, are discussed in the light of these results.


1997 ◽  
Vol 324 (1) ◽  
pp. 329-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice A. KELLER ◽  
Sandhiya PATEL ◽  
L. Mark FISHER

Candida albicans topoisomerase II, encoded by the TOP2 gene, mediates chromosome segregation by a double-strand DNA break mechanism and is a potential target for anti-fungal therapy. In this paper, we report the characterization of the C. albicans TOP2 gene and its use to develop a yeast system that allows the identification and study of anti-fungal topoisomerase II inhibitors in vivo. The gene, specifying a 1461-residue polypeptide with only 40% identity with human topoisomerase IIα and β isoforms, was isolated from C. albicans on a 6.3 kb EcoRI fragment that mapped to chromosome 4. It was used to construct a plasmid in which TOP2 expresses a recombinant enzyme (residues 57–1461 of C. albicans topoisomerase II fused to the first five residues of Saccharomyces cerevisiae topoisomerase II) under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter. The plasmid rescued the lethal phenotype of a temperature-sensitive S. cerevisiae DNA topoisomerase II mutant allowing growth at 35 °C. Yeast cells, bearing ISE2 permeability and rad52 double-strand-break-repair mutations the growth of which at 35 °C was dependent on C. albicans topoisomerase II, were killed by the known topoisomerase II inhibitors amsacrine and doxorubicin. Parallel experiments in yeast expressing human topoisomerase IIα allowed the relative sensitivities of the fungal and host topoisomerases to be examined in the same genetic background. To compare the killing in vivo with drug inhibition in vitro, the recombinant C. albicans topoisomerase II protein was expressed and purified to near-homogeneity from S. cerevisiae yielding a 160 kDa polypeptide that displayed the expected ATP-dependent DNA-relaxation and DNA-decatenation activities. The enzyme, whether examined in vitro or complementing in S. cerevisiae, was comparably sensitive to amsacrine and doxorubicin. Our results suggest that potential topoisomerase II-targeting anti-fungal inhibitors can be identified and studied in S. cerevisiae.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aveek Samanta ◽  
Tilak Raj Maity ◽  
Sudip Das ◽  
Animesh Kumar Datta ◽  
Siraj Datta

Abstract Background Etoposide is one of the most potential anti-cancerous drugs that targets topoisomerase II (topoII) and inhibits its activity by ligation with the DNA molecule. Results In silico study confirmed that the etoposide-binding sites of topoII are conserved among the plants and human. The efficacy of the drug on plant system was initially assessed using germinated grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) seedlings (in vivo) in relation to radicle length and mitotic index. The callus system (in vitro) was also used to elucidate the effect of etoposide on callus growth kinetics. Furthermore, it was observed that etoposide able to inhibit the division of polyploid cells induced by colchicine treatment (0.5%, 8 h). To determine the molecular interaction, topoII was isolated from young grass pea leaves using polyethylene glycol fractionation and ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by column chromatography on CM-Sephadex (C-25). The plasmid linearization assays by isolated plant topoII in the presence of etoposide significantly revealed the functional similarity of plants and human topoII. Results indicated that the effect of etoposide on plant topoII is significant. Conclusions This study may pave the way to develop a plant-based assay system for screening the topoisomerase targeted anti-cancerous drugs, as it is convenient and cost-effective.


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