Both conserved signals on mammalian histone pre-mRNAs associate with small nuclear ribonucleoproteins during 3' end formation in vitro

1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1663-1672
Author(s):  
K L Mowry ◽  
J A Steitz

Pre-mRNA substrates containing sequences from human and mouse histone genes are accurately processed in a HeLa cell nuclear extract to generate mature 3' termini. When in vitro processing reactions containing either human histone H3 or mouse histone H3 transcripts are treated with RNase T1 and probed with antibodies specific for the Sm protein determinants or for the trimethylguanosine cap structure unique to the U RNAs present in small nuclear ribonucleoproteins, RNA fragments that encompass the site of 3' end formation on the pre-mRNA transcript are selectively recovered. Several different interactions are detected: at time zero, the protected region contains the upstream conserved hairpin loop structure; at later times during the reaction, protection extends beyond the site of 3' end formation to include the downstream conserved sequence element and the 5' cap of the transcript is bound as well. Possible interactions between Sm small nuclear ribonucleoproteins and these conserved sequence elements in histone pre-mRNAs are discussed.

1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1663-1672 ◽  
Author(s):  
K L Mowry ◽  
J A Steitz

Pre-mRNA substrates containing sequences from human and mouse histone genes are accurately processed in a HeLa cell nuclear extract to generate mature 3' termini. When in vitro processing reactions containing either human histone H3 or mouse histone H3 transcripts are treated with RNase T1 and probed with antibodies specific for the Sm protein determinants or for the trimethylguanosine cap structure unique to the U RNAs present in small nuclear ribonucleoproteins, RNA fragments that encompass the site of 3' end formation on the pre-mRNA transcript are selectively recovered. Several different interactions are detected: at time zero, the protected region contains the upstream conserved hairpin loop structure; at later times during the reaction, protection extends beyond the site of 3' end formation to include the downstream conserved sequence element and the 5' cap of the transcript is bound as well. Possible interactions between Sm small nuclear ribonucleoproteins and these conserved sequence elements in histone pre-mRNAs are discussed.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4734-4741 ◽  
Author(s):  
A O Sperry ◽  
S M Berget

Exogenous RNA containing the simian virus 40 early polyadenylation site was efficiently and accurately polyadenylated in in vitro nuclear extracts. Correct cleavage required ATP. In the absence of ATP, nonpoly(A)+ products accumulated which were 18 to 20 nucleotides longer than the RNA generated by correct cleavage; the longer RNA terminated adjacent to the downstream TG element required for polyadenylation. In the presence of ATP analogs, alternate cleavage was not observed; instead, correct cleavage without poly(A) addition occurred. ATP-independent cleavage of simian virus 40 early RNA had many of the same properties as correct cleavage including requirements for an intact AAUAAA element, a proximal 3' terminus, and extract small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. This similarity in reaction parameters suggested that ATP-independent cleavage is an activity of the normal polyadenylation machinery. The ATP-independent cleavage product, however, did not behave as an intermediate in polyadenylation. The alternate RNA did not preferentially chase into correctly cleaved material upon readdition of ATP; instead, poly(A) was added to the 3' terminus of the cleaved RNA during a chase. Purified ATP-independent cleavage RNA, however, was a substrate for correct cleavage when reintroduced into the nuclear extract. Thus, alternate cleavage of polyadenylation sites adjacent to a required downstream sequence element is directed by the polyadenylation machinery in the absence of ATP.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4734-4741
Author(s):  
A O Sperry ◽  
S M Berget

Exogenous RNA containing the simian virus 40 early polyadenylation site was efficiently and accurately polyadenylated in in vitro nuclear extracts. Correct cleavage required ATP. In the absence of ATP, nonpoly(A)+ products accumulated which were 18 to 20 nucleotides longer than the RNA generated by correct cleavage; the longer RNA terminated adjacent to the downstream TG element required for polyadenylation. In the presence of ATP analogs, alternate cleavage was not observed; instead, correct cleavage without poly(A) addition occurred. ATP-independent cleavage of simian virus 40 early RNA had many of the same properties as correct cleavage including requirements for an intact AAUAAA element, a proximal 3' terminus, and extract small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. This similarity in reaction parameters suggested that ATP-independent cleavage is an activity of the normal polyadenylation machinery. The ATP-independent cleavage product, however, did not behave as an intermediate in polyadenylation. The alternate RNA did not preferentially chase into correctly cleaved material upon readdition of ATP; instead, poly(A) was added to the 3' terminus of the cleaved RNA during a chase. Purified ATP-independent cleavage RNA, however, was a substrate for correct cleavage when reintroduced into the nuclear extract. Thus, alternate cleavage of polyadenylation sites adjacent to a required downstream sequence element is directed by the polyadenylation machinery in the absence of ATP.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2162-2171 ◽  
Author(s):  
C S Madsen ◽  
S C Ghivizzani ◽  
W W Hauswirth

A methylation protection assay was used in a novel manner to demonstrate a specific bovine protein-mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) interaction within the organelle (in organello). The protected domain, located near the D-loop 3' end, encompasses a conserved termination-associated sequence (TAS) element which is thought to be involved in the regulation of mtDNA synthesis. In vitro footprinting studies using a bovine mitochondrial extract and a series of deleted mtDNA templates identified a approximately 48-kDa protein which binds specifically to a single TAS element also protected within the mitochondrion. Because other TAS-like elements located in close proximity to the protected region did not footprint, protein binding appears to be highly sequence specific. The in organello and in vitro data, together, provide evidence that D-loop formation is likely to be mediated, at least in part, through a trans-acting factor binding to a conserved sequence element located 58 bp upstream of the D-loop 3' end.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 4479-4487
Author(s):  
M Cotten ◽  
G Schaffner ◽  
M L Birnstiel

A comparative analysis of ribozyme, antisense RNA, and antisense DNA inhibitors of the in vitro small nuclear ribonucleoprotein U7-dependent histone pre-mRNA processing reaction was performed. RNA molecules complementary to the U7 sequence inhibited in vitro processing of histone pre-mRNA at a sixfold excess over U7. Single-stranded DNA complementary to the entire U7 sequence inhibited the reaction at a 60-fold excess over U7, while a short, 18-nucleotide DNA molecule complementary to the 5' end of U7 inhibited the processing reaction at a 600-fold excess. A targeted ribozyme was capable of specifically cleaving the U7 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein in a nuclear extract and inhibited the U7-dependent processing reaction, but in our in vitro system it required a 1,000-fold excess over U7 for complete inhibition of processing.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-267
Author(s):  
C H Agris ◽  
M E Nemeroff ◽  
R M Krug

The assembly of mammalian pre-mRNAs into large 50S to 60S complexes, or spliceosomes, containing small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) leads to the production of splicing intermediates, 5' exon and lariat-3' exon, and the subsequent production of spliced products. Influenza virus NS1 mRNA, which encodes a virus-specific protein, is spliced in infected cells to form another viral mRNA (the NS2 mRNA), such that the ratio of unspliced to spliced mRNA is 10 to 1. NS1 mRNA was not detectably spliced in vitro with nuclear extracts from uninfected HeLa cells. Surprisingly, despite the almost total absence of splicing intermediates in the in vitro reaction, NS1 mRNA very efficiently formed ATP-dependent 55S complexes. The formation of 55S complexes with NS1 mRNA was compared with that obtained with an adenovirus pre-mRNA (pKT1 transcript) by using partially purified splicing fractions that restricted the splicing of the pKT1 transcript to the production of splicing intermediates. At RNA precursor levels that were considerably below saturation, approximately 10-fold more of the input NS1 mRNA than of the input pKT1 transcript formed 55S complexes at all time points examined. The pKT1 55S complexes contained splicing intermediates, whereas the NS1 55S complexes contained only precursor NS1 mRNA. Biotin-avidin affinity chromatography showed that the 55S complexes formed with either NS1 mRNA or the pKT1 transcript contained the U1, U2, U4, U5, and U6 snRNPs. Consequently, the formation of 55S complexes containing these five snRNPs was not sufficient for the catalysis of the first step of splicing, indicating that some additional step(s) needs to occur subsequent to this binding. These results indicate that the 5' splice site, 3' and branch point of NS1 and mRNA were capable of interacting with the five snRNPs to form 55S complexes, but apparently some other sequence element(s) in NS1 mRNA blocked the resolution of the 55S complexes that leads to the catalysis of splicing. On the basis of our results, we suggest mechanisms by which the splicing of NS1 is controlled in infected cells.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 4522-4534 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Ng ◽  
J Carbon

Centromeres on chromosomes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contain approximately 140 base pairs (bp) of DNA. The functional centromere (CEN) region contains three important sequence elements (I, PuTCACPuTG; II, 78 to 86 bp of high-AT DNA; and III, a conserved 25-bp sequence with internal bilateral symmetry). Various point mutations or deletions in the element III region have a profound effect on CEN function in vivo, indicating that this DNA region is a key protein-binding site. This has been confirmed by the use of two in vitro assays to detect binding of yeast proteins to DNA fragments containing wild-type or mutationally altered CEN3 sequences. An exonuclease III protection assay was used to demonstrate specific binding of proteins to the element III region of CEN3. In addition, a gel DNA fragment mobility shift assay was used to characterize the binding reaction parameters. Sequence element III mutations that inactivate CEN function in vivo also prevent binding of proteins in the in vitro assays. The mobility shift assay indicates that double-stranded DNAs containing sequence element III efficiently bind proteins in the absence of sequence elements I and II, although the latter sequences are essential for optimal CEN function in vivo.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1906-1914 ◽  
Author(s):  
D H Huang ◽  
R G Roeder

Late in infection, transcription of the EIIa gene is initiated primarily at map unit 72 of the adenovirus genome. A cell-free nuclear extract system was used to determine sequence elements important for the function of this late promoter. In such a system, the transcriptional activity of a circular template was found to be much higher (5- to 10-fold) than that of a linear template. The effect of template topology appeared to be dependent on two distal upstream elements with 5' boundaries located near -265 to -223 and -147 to -133 (in relation to the initiation site), since deletions of these regions reduced transcription of the circular template, in a stepwise fashion, to a level similar to that observed with the linear template. Further deletions revealed an element in the -116 region that appeared to be more important for transcription of the circular template (10-fold reduction) than for transcription of the linear template (3-fold reduction). Lastly, deletion of the TACAAA sequence in the -29 region resulted in further reduction in transcription, indicating that this element functions as a promoter in vitro.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (20) ◽  
pp. 9776-9785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyothi George ◽  
Ramaswamy Raju

ABSTRACT The 3′ nontranslated region of the genomes of Sindbis virus (SIN) and other alphaviruses carries several repeat sequence elements (RSEs) as well as a 19-nucleotide (nt) conserved sequence element (3′CSE). The 3′CSE and the adjoining poly(A) tail of the SIN genome are thought to act as viral promoters for negative-sense RNA synthesis and genome replication. Eight different SIN isolates that carry altered 3′CSEs were studied in detail to evaluate the role of the 3′CSE in genome replication. The salient findings of this study as it applies to SIN infection of BHK cells are as follows: i) the classical 19-nt 3′CSE of the SIN genome is not essential for genome replication, long-term stability, or packaging; ii) compensatory amino acid or nucleotide changes within the SIN genomes are not required to counteract base changes in the 3′ terminal motifs of the SIN genome; iii) the 5′ 1-kb regions of all SIN genomes, regardless of the differences in 3′ terminal motifs, do not undergo any base changes even after 18 passages; iv) although extensive addition of AU-rich motifs occurs in the SIN genomes carrying defective 3′CSE, these are not essential for genome viability or function; and v) the newly added AU-rich motifs are composed predominantly of RSEs. These findings are consistent with the idea that the 3′ terminal AU-rich motifs of the SIN genomes do not bind directly to the viral polymerase and that cellular proteins with broad AU-rich binding specificity may mediate this interaction. In addition to the classical 3′CSE, other RNA motifs located elsewhere in the SIN genome must play a major role in template selection by the SIN RNA polymerase.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2052-2062 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Stefano ◽  
D E Adams

Extracts from HeLa cell nuclei assemble RNAs containing the adenovirus type 2 L3 polyadenylation site into a number of rapidly sedimenting heterodisperse complexes. Briefly treating reaction mixtures prior to sedimentation with heparin reveals a core 25S assembly formed with substrate RNA but not an inactive RNA containing a U----C mutation in the AAUAAA hexanucleotide sequence. The requirements for assembly of this heparin-stable core complex parallel those for cleavage and polyadenylation in vitro, including a functional hexanucleotide, ATP, and a uridylate-rich tract downstream of the cleavage site. The AAUAAA and a downstream U-rich element are resistant in the assembly to attack by RNase H. The poly(A) site between the two protected elements is accessible, but is attacked more slowly than in naked RNA, suggesting that a specific factor or secondary structure is located nearby. The presence of a factor bound to the AAUAAA in the complex is independently demonstrated by immunoprecipitation of a specific T1 oligonucleotide containing the element from the 25S fraction. Precipitation of this fragment from reaction mixtures is blocked by the U----C mutation. However, neither ATP nor the downstream sequence element is required for binding of this factor in the nuclear extract, suggesting that recognition of the AAUAAA is an initial event in complex assembly.


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