Guanosine Residues Research Articles

Phosphorothioate analogs of P1,P3-di(nucleosid-5′-yl) triphosphates: Synthesis, assignment of the absolute configuration at P-atoms and P-stereodependent recognition by Fhit hydrolase

Di(nucleosid-5′-yl) polyphosphates (NPnN) are involved in various biological processes, and constitute signaling molecules in the intermolecular purinergic systems. They exert tumor suppression function and are substrates for specific hydrolases (e.g., HIT proteins). Their structural analogs may serve as molecular probes and potential therapeutic agents. Three P1,P3-bis-thio-analogs of symmetrical di(nucleosid-5′-yl) triphosphates (NP3N) bearing adenosine, guanosine or ribavirin residues (6, 7 and 8, respectively), were obtained by direct condensation of corresponding base-protected nucleoside-5′-O-(2-thio-1,3,2-oxathiaphospholane) with anhydrous phosphoric acid in the presence of DBU. Deprotected products 6 and 8 were separated into individual P-diastereoisomers, whereas 7 was partially separated to yield diastereomerically enriched fractions. The absolute configuration at P-stereogenic centers in the separated diastereoisomers was assigned by RP-HPLC analysis of the products of enzymatic digestion with snake venom phosphodiesterase. The Fhit-assisted hydrolysis rates for 6 and 7 are by 2–3 orders of magnitude lower than that for the reference AP3A, and depend on the configuration of the stereogenic phosphorus atoms, while 8 occurred to be resistant to this cleavage.

Nucleotide Binding Preference of the Monofunctional Platinum Anticancer-Agent Phenanthriplatin.

The monofunctional platinum anticancer agent phenanthriplatin generates covalent adducts with the purine bases guanine and adenine. Preferential nucleotide binding was investigated by using a polymerase stop assay and linear DNA amplification with a 163-base pair DNA double helix. Similarly to cisplatin, phenanthriplatin forms the majority of adducts at guanosine residues, but significant differences in both the number and position of platination sites emerge when comparing results for the two complexes. Notably, the monofunctional complex generates a greater number of polymerase-halting lesions at adenosine residues than does cisplatin. Studies with 9-methyladenine reveal that, under abiological conditions, phenanthriplatin binds to the N(1) or N(7) position of 9-methyladenine in approximately equimolar amounts. By contrast, comparable reactions with 9-methylguanine afforded only the N(7) -bound species. Both of the 9-methyladenine linkage isomers (N(1) and N(7) ) exist as two diastereomeric species, arising from hindered rotation of the aromatic ligands about their respective platinum-nitrogen bonds. Eyring analysis of rate constants extracted from variable-temperature NMR spectroscopic data revealed that the activation energies for ligand rotation in the N(1) -bound platinum complex and the N(7) -linkage isomers are comparable. Finally, a kinetic analysis indicated that phenanthriplatin reacts more rapidly, by a factor of eight, with 9-methylguanine than with 9-methyladenine, suggesting that the distribution of lesions formed on double-stranded DNA is kinetically controlled. In addition, implications for the potent anticancer activity of phenanthriplatin are discussed herein.

Enhancing DNA Crystal Durability through Chemical Crosslinking.

Three-dimensional (3D) DNA crystals have been envisioned as a powerful tool for the positional control of biological and non-biological arrays on the nanoscale. However, most DNA crystals contain short duplex regions that can result in low thermal stability. Additionally, because DNA is a polyanion, DNA crystals often require high cation concentrations to maintain their integrity. Here, we demonstrate that a DNA alkylating mustard, bis(2-chloroethyl)amine, can form interstrand crosslinks within a model 3D DNA crystal. The crosslinking procedure did not alter crystal X-ray diffraction properties, but it did significantly improve the overall stability of the crystals under a variety of conditions. Crosslinked crystals showed enhanced stability at elevated temperature and were stable at Mg(2+) concentrations as low as 1 mm. Remarkably, the crosslinked crystals showed significant resistance to DNase I treatment, while also having improved longevity in tissue culture mediums. Characterization of the crosslinked species suggest that there are multiple crosslinking sites, but that the most prevalent interstrand crosslink involves an unpaired 3'-terminal guanosine residue. The improved stability of these DNA crystals suggests that simple treatment with alkylating reagents might be sufficient to stabilize crystals and other DNA constructs for improved functionality in biological and non-biological applications.

O(6)-Alkylguanine DNA Alkyltransferase Repair Activity Towards Intrastrand Cross-Linked DNA is Influenced by the Internucleotide Linkage.

Oligonucleotides containing an alkylene intrastrand cross-link (IaCL) between the O(6) -atoms of two consecutive 2'-deoxyguanosines (dG) were prepared by solid-phase synthesis. UV thermal denaturation studies of duplexes containing butylene and heptylene IaCL revealed a 20 °C reduction in stability compared to the unmodified duplexes. Circular dichroism profiles of these IaCL DNA duplexes exhibited signatures consistent with B-form DNA. Human O(6) -alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase (hAGT) was capable of repairing both IaCL containing duplexes with slightly greater efficiency towards the heptylene analog. Interestingly, repair efficiencies of hAGT towards these IaCL were lower compared to O(6) -alkylene linked IaCL lacking the 5'-3'-phosphodiester linkage between the connected 2'-deoxyguanosine residues. These results demonstrate that the proficiency of hAGT activity towards IaCL at the O(6) -atom of dG is influenced by the backbone phosphodiester linkage between the cross-linked residues.

Backbone Flexibility Influences Nucleotide Incorporation by Human Translesion DNA Polymerase η opposite Intrastrand Cross-Linked DNA.

Intrastrand cross-links (IaCL) connecting two purine nucleobases in DNA pose a challenge to high-fidelity replication in the cell. Various repair pathways or polymerase bypass can cope with these lesions. The influence of the phosphodiester linkage between two neighboring 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG) residues attached through the O(6) atoms by an alkylene linker on bypass with human DNA polymerase η (hPol η) was explored in vitro. Steady-state kinetics and mass spectrometric analysis of products from nucleotide incorporation revealed that although hPol η is capable of bypassing the 3'-dG in a mostly error-free fashion, significant misinsertion was observed for the 5'-dG of the IaCL containing a butylene or heptylene linker. The lack of the phosphodiester linkage triggered an important increase in frameshift adduct formation across the 5'-dG by hPol η, in comparison to the 5'-dG of IaCL DNA containing the phosphodiester group.

TRMT5 Mutations Cause a Defect in Post-transcriptional Modification of Mitochondrial tRNA Associated with Multiple Respiratory-Chain Deficiencies

Deficiencies in respiratory-chain complexes lead to a variety of clinical phenotypes resulting from inadequate energy production by the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system. Defective expression of mtDNA-encoded genes, caused by mutations in either the mitochondrial or nuclear genome, represents a rapidly growing group of human disorders. By whole-exome sequencing, we identified two unrelated individuals carrying compound heterozygous variants in TRMT5 (tRNA methyltransferase 5). TRMT5 encodes a mitochondrial protein with strong homology to members of the class I-like methyltransferase superfamily. Both affected individuals presented with lactic acidosis and evidence of multiple mitochondrial respiratory-chain-complex deficiencies in skeletal muscle, although the clinical presentation of the two affected subjects was remarkably different; one presented in childhood with failure to thrive and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and the other was an adult with a life-long history of exercise intolerance. Mutations in TRMT5 were associated with the hypomodification of a guanosine residue at position 37 (G37) of mitochondrial tRNA; this hypomodification was particularly prominent in skeletal muscle. Deficiency of the G37 modification was also detected in human cells subjected to TRMT5 RNAi. The pathogenicity of the detected variants was further confirmed in a heterologous yeast model and by the rescue of the molecular phenotype after re-expression of wild-type TRMT5 cDNA in cells derived from the affected individuals. Our study highlights the importance of post-transcriptional modification of mitochondrial tRNAs for faithful mitochondrial function.

RNA Interference-Guided Targeting of Hepatitis C Virus Replication with Antisense Locked Nucleic Acid-Based Oligonucleotides Containing 8-oxo-dG Modifications.

The inhibitory potency of an antisense oligonucleotide depends critically on its design and the accessibility of its target site. Here, we used an RNA interference-guided approach to select antisense oligonucleotide target sites in the coding region of the highly structured hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA genome. We modified the conventional design of an antisense oligonucleotide containing locked nucleic acid (LNA) residues at its termini (LNA/DNA gapmer) by inserting 8-oxo-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) residues into the central DNA region. Obtained compounds, designed with the aim to analyze the effects of 8-oxo-dG modifications on the antisense oligonucleotides, displayed a unique set of properties. Compared to conventional LNA/DNA gapmers, the melting temperatures of the duplexes formed by modified LNA/DNA gapmers and DNA or RNA targets were reduced by approximately 1.6-3.3°C per modification. Comparative transfection studies showed that small interfering RNA was the most potent HCV RNA replication inhibitor (effective concentration 50 (EC50): 0.13 nM), whereas isosequential standard and modified LNA/DNA gapmers were approximately 50-fold less efficient (EC50: 5.5 and 7.1 nM, respectively). However, the presence of 8-oxo-dG residues led to a more complete suppression of HCV replication in transfected cells. These modifications did not affect the efficiency of RNase H cleavage of antisense oligonucleotide:RNA duplexes but did alter specificity, triggering the appearance of multiple cleavage products. Moreover, the incorporation of 8-oxo-dG residues increased the stability of antisense oligonucleotides of different configurations in human serum.

Life without post-transcriptional addition of G-1: two alternatives for tRNAHis identity in Eukarya.

The identity of tRNAHis is strongly associated with the presence of an additional 5′-guanosine residue (G−1) in all three domains of life. The critical nature of the G−1 residue is underscored by the fact that two entirely distinct mechanisms for its acquisition are observed, with cotranscriptional incorporation observed in Bacteria, while post-transcriptional addition of G−1 occurs in Eukarya. Here, through our investigation of eukaryotes that lack obvious homologs of the post-transcriptional G−1-addition enzyme Thg1, we identify alternative pathways to tRNAHis identity that controvert these well-established rules. We demonstrate that Trypanosoma brucei, like Acanthamoeba castellanii, lacks the G−1 identity element on tRNAHis and utilizes a noncanonical G−1-independent histidyl-tRNA synthetase (HisRS). Purified HisRS enzymes from A. castellanii and T. brucei exhibit a mechanism of tRNAHis recognition that is distinct from canonical G−1-dependent synthetases. Moreover, noncanonical HisRS enzymes genetically complement the loss of THG1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, demonstrating the biological relevance of the G−1-independent aminoacylation activity. In contrast, in Caenorhabditis elegans, which is another Thg1-independent eukaryote, the G−1 residue is maintained, but here its acquisition is noncanonical. In this case, the G−1 is encoded and apparently retained after 5′ end processing, which has so far only been observed in Bacteria and organelles. Collectively, these observations unearth a widespread and previously unappreciated diversity in eukaryotic tRNAHis identity mechanisms.

Isomorphic emissive GTP surrogate facilitates initiation and elongation of in vitro transcription reactions.

The fastidious behavior of T7 RNA polymerase limits the incorporation of synthetic nucleosides into RNA transcripts, particularly at or near the promoter. The practically exclusive use of GTP for transcription initiation further compounds this challenge, and reactions with GTP analogs, where the heterocyclic nucleus has been altered, have not, to our knowledge, been demonstrated. The enzymatic incorporation of thGTP, a newly synthesized isomorphic fluorescent nucleotide with a thieno[3,4-d]pyrimidine core, is explored. The modified nucleotide can initiate and maintain transcription reactions, leading to the formation of fully modified and highly emissive RNA transcripts with thG replacing all guanosine residues. Short and long modified transcripts are synthesized in comparable yields to their natural counterparts. To assess proper folding and function, transcripts were used to assemble a hammerhead ribozyme with all permutations of natural and modified enzyme and substrate strands. The thG modified substrate was effectively cleaved by the natural RNA enzyme, demonstrating the isomorphic features of the nucleoside and its ability to replace G residues while retaining proper folding. In contrast, the thG modified enzyme showed little cleavage ability, suggesting the modifications likely disrupted the catalytic center, illustrating the significance of the Hoogsteen face in mediating appropriate contacts. Importantly, the ribozyme cleavage reaction of the emissive fluorescent transcripts could be followed in real time by fluorescence spectroscopy. Beyond their utility as fluorescent probes in biophysical and discovery assays, the results reported point to the potential utility of such isomorphic nucleosides in probing specific mechanistic questions in RNA catalysis and RNA structural analysis.

Oligonucleotides designed to inhibit TLR9 block Herpes simplex virus type 1 infection at multiple steps

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is an important human pathogen which requires activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NFκB) during its replication cycle. The persistent nature of HSV-1 infection, and the emergence of drug-resistant strains, highlights the importance of research to develop new antiviral agents. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a prominent role during the early antiviral response by recognizing viral nucleic acid and gene products, activating NFκB, and stimulating the production of inflammatory cytokines. We demonstrate a significant effect on HSV-1 replication in ARPE-19 and Vero cells when oligonucleotides designed to inhibit TLR9 are added 2h prior to infection. A greater than 90% reduction in the yield of infectious virus was achieved at oligonucleotide concentrations of 10–20μM. TLR9 inhibitory oligonucleotides prevented expression of essential immediate early herpes gene products as determined by immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting. TLR9 oligonucleotides also interfered with viral attachment and entry. A TLR9 inhibitory oligonucleotide containing five adjacent guanosine residues (G-ODN) exhibited virucidal activity and inhibited HSV-1 replication when added post-infection. The antiviral effect of the TLR9 inhibitory oligonucleotides did not depend on the presence of TLR9 protein, suggesting a mechanism of inhibition that is not TLR9 specific. TLR9 inhibitory oligonucleotides also reduced NFκB activity in nuclear extracts. Studies using these TLR inhibitors in the context of viral infection should be interpreted with caution.

In situ evaluation of gemcitabine–DNA interaction using a DNA-electrochemical biosensor

The electrochemical behaviour of the cytosine nucleoside analogue and anti-cancer drug gemcitabine (GEM) was investigated at glassy carbon electrode, using cyclic, differential pulse and square wave voltammetry, in different pH supporting electrolytes, and no electrochemical redox process was observed. The evaluation of the interaction between GEM and DNA in incubated solutions and using the DNA-electrochemical biosensor was studied. The DNA structural modifications and damage were electrochemically detected following the changes in the oxidation peaks of guanosine and adenosine residues and the occurrence of the free guanine residues electrochemical signal. The DNA–GEM interaction mechanism occurred in two sequential steps. The initial process was independent of the DNA sequence and led to the condensation/aggregation of the DNA strands, producing rigid structures, which favoured a second step, in which the guanine hydrogen atoms, participating in the C–G base pair, interacted with the GEM ribose moiety fluorine atoms.

Redox mechanism of anticancer drug idarubicin and in-situ evaluation of interaction with DNA using an electrochemical biosensor

Idarubicin (IDA), 4-demethoxydaunorubicin, is an anthracycline derivative and widely used treatment of leukemia. The electrochemical behavior of IDA was examined at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) in different aqueous supporting electrolyte using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The oxidation process of IDA was found to be pH dependent and irreversible proceeding with a transfer of 1 proton and 1 electron under the diffusion controlled mechanism. The electroactive center is the hydroxyl group on the aromatic ring which produces a final quinonic product. The diffusion coefficient of IDA was calculated to be DIDA=7.47×10−6cm2s−1 in pH=4.3 0.1M acetate buffer.The interaction of IDA and double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ds-DNA) was investigated using electrochemical ds-DNA biosensor and incubation solution by means of DPV. The DNA damage was detected following the changes in the oxidation peaks of guanosine and adenosine residues. The results obtained showed that IDA interacts with DNA which causes the change in the DNA morphological structure. In addition to these polynucleotides, PolyG and PolyA, biosensors were also used to confirm the interaction between ds-DNA and IDA. However, no oxidation peaks of the purine base oxidation products, 8-oxoGua and 2,8-oxoAde, were observed.

Dicarbonyl proteome and genome damage in metabolic and vascular disease

Methylglyoxal is a potent protein-glycating agent. It is an arginine-directed glycating agent and often modifies functionally important sites in proteins. Glycation forms mainly MG-H1 [Nδ-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)ornithine] residues. MG-H1 content of proteins is quantified by stable isotopic dilution analysis-MS/MS and also by immunoblotting with specific monoclonal antibodies. Methylglyoxal-modified proteins undergo cellular proteolysis and release MG-H1 free adduct for excretion. MG-H1 residues have been found in proteins of animals, plants, bacteria, fungi and protoctista. MG-H1 is often the major advanced glycation end-product in proteins of tissues and body fluids, increasing in diabetes and associated vascular complications, renal failure, cirrhosis, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, Parkinson's disease and aging. Proteins susceptible to methylglyoxal modification with related functional impairment are called the DCP (dicarbonyl proteome). The DCP includes albumin, haemoglobin, transcription factors, mitochondrial proteins, extracellular matrix proteins, lens crystallins and others. DCP component proteins are linked to mitochondrial dysfunction in diabetes and aging, oxidative stress, dyslipidaemia, cell detachment and anoikis and apoptosis. Methylglyoxal also modifies DNA where deoxyguanosine residues are modified to imidazopurinone MGdG {3-(2'-deoxyribosyl)-6,7-dihydro-6,7-dihydroxy-6/7-methylimidazo-[2,3-b]purine-9(8)one} isomers. MGdG was the major quantitative adduct detected in vivo. It was linked to frequency of DNA strand breaks and increased markedly during apoptosis induced by a cell-permeant glyoxalase I inhibitor. Glyoxalase I metabolizes >99% methylglyoxal and thereby protects the proteome and genome. Gene deletion of GLO1 is embryonically lethal and GLO1 silencing increases methylglyoxal concentration, MG-H1 and MGdG, premature aging and disease. Studies of methylglyoxal glycation have importance for human health, longevity and treatment of disease.

Altered Endoribonuclease Activity of Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 1 Variants Identified in the Human Population

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is the major mammalian enzyme in the DNA base excision repair pathway and cleaves the DNA phosphodiester backbone immediately 5′ to abasic sites. APE1 also has 3′-5′ DNA exonuclease and 3′ DNA phosphodiesterase activities, and regulates transcription factor DNA binding through its redox regulatory function. The human APE1 has recently been shown to endonucleolytically cleave single-stranded regions of RNA. Towards understanding the biological significance of the endoribonuclease activity of APE1, we examined eight different amino acid substitution variants of APE1 previously identified in the human population. Our study shows that six APE1 variants, D148E, Q51H, I64V, G241R, R237A, and G306A, exhibit a 76–85% reduction in endoribonuclease activity against a specific coding region of the c-myc RNA, yet fully retain the ability to cleave apurinic/apyrimidinic DNA. We found that two APE1 variants, L104R and E126D, exhibit a unique RNase inhibitor-resistant endoribonuclease activity, where the proteins cleave c-myc RNA 3′ of specific single-stranded guanosine residues. Expression of L104R and E126D APE1 variants in bacterial Origami cells leads to a 60–80% reduction in colony formation and a 1.5-fold increase in cell doubling time, whereas the other variants, which exhibit diminished endoribonuclease activity, had no effect. These data indicate that two human APE1 variants exhibit a unique endoribonuclease activity, which correlates with their ability to induce cytotoxicity or slow down growth in bacterial cells and supports the notion of their biological functionality.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Thg1 Uses 5′-Pyrophosphate Removal To Control Addition of Nucleotides to tRNAHis

In eukaryotes, the tRNAHis guanylyltransferase (Thg1) catalyzes 3′–5′ addition of a single guanosine residue to the −1 position (G–1) of tRNAHis, across from a highly conserved adenosine at position 73 (A73). After addition of G–1, Thg1 removes pyrophosphate from the tRNA 5′-end, generating 5′-monophosphorylated G–1-containing tRNA. The presence of the 5′-monophosphorylated G–1 residue is important for recognition of tRNAHis by its cognate histidyl-tRNA synthetase. In addition to the single-G–1 addition reaction, Thg1 polymerizes multiple G residues to the 5′-end of tRNAHis variants. For 3′–5′ polymerization, Thg1 uses the 3′-end of the tRNAHis acceptor stem as a template. The mechanism of reverse polymerization is presumed to involve nucleophilic attack of the 3′-OH from each incoming NTP on the intact 5′-triphosphate created by the preceding nucleotide addition. The potential exists for competition between 5′-pyrophosphate removal and 3′–5′ polymerase reactions that could define the outcome of Thg1-catalyzed addition, yet the interplay between these competing reactions has not been investigated for any Thg1 enzyme. Here we establish transient kinetic assays to characterize the pyrophosphate removal versus nucleotide addition activities of yeast Thg1 with a set of tRNAHis substrates in which the identity of the N–1:N73 base pair was varied to mimic various products of the N–1 addition reaction catalyzed by Thg1. We demonstrate that retention of the 5′-triphosphate is correlated with efficient 3′–5′ reverse polymerization. A kinetic partitioning mechanism that acts to prevent addition of nucleotides beyond the −1 position with wild-type tRNAHis is proposed.

Oxidative Stress Is Not a Major Contributor to Somatic Mitochondrial DNA Mutations

The accumulation of somatic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations is implicated in aging and common diseases of the elderly, including cancer and neurodegenerative disease. However, the mechanisms that influence the frequency of somatic mtDNA mutations are poorly understood. To develop a simple invertebrate model system to address this matter, we used the Random Mutation Capture (RMC) assay to characterize the age-dependent frequency and distribution of mtDNA mutations in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Because oxidative stress is a major suspect in the age-dependent accumulation of somatic mtDNA mutations, we also used the RMC assay to explore the influence of oxidative stress on the somatic mtDNA mutation frequency. We found that many of the features associated with mtDNA mutations in vertebrates are conserved in Drosophila, including a comparable somatic mtDNA mutation frequency (∼10−5), an increased frequency of mtDNA mutations with age, and a prevalence of transition mutations. Only a small fraction of the mtDNA mutations detected in young or old animals were G∶C to T∶A transversions, a signature of oxidative damage, and loss-of-function mutations in the mitochondrial superoxide dismutase, Sod2, had no detectable influence on the somatic mtDNA mutation frequency. Moreover, a loss-of-function mutation in Ogg1, which encodes a DNA repair enzyme that removes oxidatively damaged deoxyguanosine residues (8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine), did not significantly influence the somatic mtDNA mutation frequency of Sod2 mutants. Together, these findings indicate that oxidative stress is not a major cause of somatic mtDNA mutations. Our data instead suggests that somatic mtDNA mutations arise primarily from errors that occur during mtDNA replication. Further studies using Drosophila should aid in the identification of factors that influence the frequency of somatic mtDNA mutations.

Antibiotic bacitracin induces hydrolytic degradation of nucleic acids

BackgroundBacitracin is a polypeptide antibiotic active against Gram-positive bacterial strains. Its mechanism of action postulates disturbing the cell wall synthesis by inhibiting dephosphorylation of the lipid carrier. We have discovered that bacitracin induces degradation of nucleic acids, being particularly active against RNA. MethodsIn the examination of the nucleolytic activity of bacitracin several model RNA and DNA oligomers were used. The oligomers were labeled at their 5′ ends with 32P radioisotope and following treatment with bacitracin the cleavage sites and efficiency were determined. Results and conclusionsBacitracin induces degradation of RNA at guanosine residues, preferentially in single-stranded RNA regions. Bacitracin is also able to degrade DNA to some extent but comparable effects to those observed with RNA require its 10-fold higher concentration. The sites of degradation in DNA are very infrequent and preferentially occur near cytidine residues. Free radicals are not involved in the reaction, and which probably proceeds via a hydrolytic mechanism. The phosphate groups at the cleavage sites are present at the 3' ends of RNA products and at the 5' ends of DNA fragments. Importantly, the presence of EDTA does not influence RNA degradation but completely inhibits the degradation of DNA. For DNA degradation divalent metal ions like Mg2+, Mn2+ or Zn2+ are absolutely necessary. General significanceThe ability of bacitracin to degrade nucleic acids via a hydrolytic mechanism was a surprising observation, and it is of interest whether these properties can contribute to its mechanisms of action during antibiotic treatment.

De Novo Prediction of PTBP1 Binding and Splicing Targets Reveals Unexpected Features of Its RNA Recognition and Function

The splicing regulator Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein (PTBP1) has four RNA binding domains that each binds a short pyrimidine element, allowing recognition of diverse pyrimidine-rich sequences. This variation makes it difficult to evaluate PTBP1 binding to particular sites based on sequence alone and thus to identify target RNAs. Conversely, transcriptome-wide binding assays such as CLIP identify many in vivo targets, but do not provide a quantitative assessment of binding and are informative only for the cells where the analysis is performed. A general method of predicting PTBP1 binding and possible targets in any cell type is needed. We developed computational models that predict the binding and splicing targets of PTBP1. A Hidden Markov Model (HMM), trained on CLIP-seq data, was used to score probable PTBP1 binding sites. Scores from this model are highly correlated (ρ = −0.9) with experimentally determined dissociation constants. Notably, we find that the protein is not strictly pyrimidine specific, as interspersed Guanosine residues are well tolerated within PTBP1 binding sites. This model identifies many previously unrecognized PTBP1 binding sites, and can score PTBP1 binding across the transcriptome in the absence of CLIP data. Using this model to examine the placement of PTBP1 binding sites in controlling splicing, we trained a multinomial logistic model on sets of PTBP1 regulated and unregulated exons. Applying this model to rank exons across the mouse transcriptome identifies known PTBP1 targets and many new exons that were confirmed as PTBP1-repressed by RT-PCR and RNA-seq after PTBP1 depletion. We find that PTBP1 dependent exons are diverse in structure and do not all fit previous descriptions of the placement of PTBP1 binding sites. Our study uncovers new features of RNA recognition and splicing regulation by PTBP1. This approach can be applied to other multi-RRM domain proteins to assess binding site degeneracy and multifactorial splicing regulation.

General approach for introduction of various chemical labels in specific RNA locations based on insertion of amino linkers.

Introduction of reporter groups at designed RNA sites is a widely accepted approach to gain information about the molecular environment of RNAs in their complexes with other biopolymers formed during various cellular processes. A general approach to obtain RNAs bearing diverse reporter groups at designed locations is based on site-specific insertion of groups containing primary aliphatic amine functions (amino linkers) with their subsequent selective derivatization by appropriate chemicals. This article is a brief review on methods for site-specific introduction of amino linkers in different RNAs. These methods comprise: (i) incorporation of a nucleoside carrying an amino-linker or a function that can be substituted with it into oligoribonucleotides in the course of their chemical synthesis; (ii) assembly of amino linker-containing RNAs from short synthetic fragments via their ligation; (iii) synthesis of amino linker-modified RNAs using T7 RNA polymerase; (iv) insertion of amino linkers into unmodified RNAs at functional groups of a certain type such as the 5'-phosphates and N7 of guanosine residues and (v) introduction of an amino linker into long highly structured RNAs exploiting an approach based on sequence-specific modification of nucleic acids. Particular reporter groups used for derivatization of amino linker-containing RNAs together with types of RNA derivatives obtained and fields of their application are presented.

Epigenetic Dysregulation Of ZNF423 Impedes B-Cell Differentiation and Is Linked To Adverse Outcome Of Childhood B-Precursor ALL

▪Despite increasing treatment success, acute lymphoblastic leukemia continues to be the most common cancer-related cause of death in childhood. Structural and numerical chromosomal aberrations are considered to be the primary event in disease development followed by a variety of secondary mutational incidents. However, in a large proportion of B-precursor ALL (B-ALL) cases, the cause of differentiation arrest -a hallmark of acute leukemias- has not been attributed to defined genetic aberrations.To identify differentially regulated genes in B-ALL, comparative intra-individual transcriptome profiling of leukemic versus immunologically matched normal lymphoblasts was employed. In this study, we found the multifunctional transcription modulator Zinc Finger Protein 423 (ZNF423) to be upregulated in the leukemic blasts. Subsequent expression analysis in a cohort of 200 patients corroborated a substantially increased abundance of ZNF423 transcripts compared to normal lymphopoietic cells. Aberrant expression of ZNF423 is maintained in relapsed ALL of initially positive samples. Thus, the transcriptional activity of ZNF423 represents a stable leukemia-associated phenomenon.Our evaluation of the mechanistic basis of aberrant ZNF423 activation in B-ALL revealed a perturbed epigenetic and transcriptional regulation of ZNF423 as a novel mechanism interfering with B-cell differentiation. Cancer cells show global DNA hypomethylation with concomitant abnormal methylation of cytosines preceding guanosine residues in so-called CpG islands (CGI) (Feinberg and Tycko, 2004). We detected three of these CGIs in the upstream region of the ZNF423 gene locus. Bisulfite sequencing of primary ALL samples (n=58) revealed a significantly lower degree of methylation at multiple CpG positions of the analyzed CGI than in mononuclear control cells. Hence, the hypomethylation of ZNF423 regulatory sequences reflects a dysregulated epigenetic state.ZNF423 is known to direct bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-dependent signaling in a ternary SMAD1-SMAD4 transcription factor complex in Xenopus (Hata et al., 2000). Our data demonstrate that ZNF423 not only acts as a binding partner of this complex but is also regulated along BMP2-induced pathways, as BMP2 treatment causes a marked increase of ZNF423 expression.Moreover, ZNF423 has been implicated as a potent inhibitor of the Early B-cell Factor 1 (EBF-1) in the olfactory system (Tsai & Reed, 1997). In hematopoiesis, EBF-1 controls the expression of essential components of the pre-B-cell receptor (preBCR). We demonstrate that enforced expression of ZNF423 in CD34-positive hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells leads to a significant reduction of transcriptional activation of the EBF-1 target genes CD79a and CD79b, validating the repressive function of ZNF423 on EBF-1 in the hematopoietic context.In addition, the influence of aberrant ZNF423 expression was assessed in vivo in a xenograft hematopoietic stem cell transplantation model. Analyzing the immunological phenotypes of ZNF423-positive versus control cells after engraftment, a lower frequency of cells expressing mature BCR was found within the ZNF423-transduced cell population. Hence aberrant ZNF423 expression leads to a B-cell maturation arrest in vivo.Given the impact of ZNF423 on B-cell maturation, we investigated whether presence of ZNF423 is associated with event-free survival of ALL patients. Statistical analyses performed in B-ALL patients (n=190) uncovered high ZNF423 expression to be associated with poor outcome of EVT6-RUNX1-negative patients, whereas low levels of ZNF423 expression were linked to favorable outcome.We reasoned that -beside the repressive effect of ZNF423 on EBF-1 target gene activation- the heterodimerization of aberrantly expressed ZNF423 with EBF-1 could induce a shift in the target gene spectrum of EBF-1 in leukemic blasts, resulting in a substantial distortion of transcriptional programs in B-ALL patients. Our ongoing studies focus on the identification of the target spectrum of EBF-1 in presence or absence of ZNF423, as well as putative transcriptional targets of the ZNF423-EBF-1 heterodimer and ZNF423 alone, using ChIP-Seq analysis. Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.