Histone Multigene Family Research Articles

Coordinate turnover of nuclear and cytoplasmic histone messenger RNA following inhibition of DNA replication in HeLa S3 cells.

We have examined the metabolism of human H4 histone mRNA in the nucleus and cytoplasm of HeLa S3 cells following inhibition of DNA synthesis to address the extent to which histone mRNA stability in these cellular compartments is coupled to DNA replication. The nuclear and cytoplasmic levels of histone mRNAs encoded by the pF0108A human H4 histone gene were determined by S1 nuclease analysis using a 32P-labeled probe that could distinguish pF0108A transcripts from those of other members of the H4 histone multigene family. Hydroxyurea treatment resulted within 15 min in a 75% reduction in the level of histone H4 mRNA in the nucleus, which corresponds to the 85% decrease observed for H4 histone mRNA in the cytoplasm. The kinetics of nuclear and cytoplasmic H4 mRNA turnover following hydroxyurea treatment were also similar. Northern blot analysis using a 32P-labeled mitochondrial cytochrome b probe indicated that the association of cytoplasmic RNA with the nuclear fraction was less than 0.5%. Treatment of cells with a protein synthesis inhibitor resulted in a 1.3-fold increase in nuclear H4 histone mRNA levels and a 1.5-fold increase of H4 mRNA in the cytoplasm after 45 min. Together, these results indicate that nuclear and cytoplasmic H4 histone mRNAs respond similarly to metabolic perturbations that influence message stability and that mechanisms operative in the turnover of histone mRNAs in the nucleus and cytoplasm may be similar.

Unusual structure, evolutionary conservation of non-coding sequences and numerous pseudogenes characterize the human H3.3 histone multigene family.

The genomic organization of the replication-independent, basally expressed, human H3.3 gene is atypical of traditional histone gene organization. The gene contains 3 introns totalling 7.8 kb and unusual direct repeats flank all three intron-exon splice junctions. The transcription initiation site was mapped by S1 nuclease protection analysis and confirms that cDNA clones previously reported were full length. Sequence similarities between regions at the 5' and 3' termini of this human gene and a chicken H3.3 gene lead us to propose that either the previous assignments of termini of the chicken gene are in error, or there are alternative transcription start and polyadenylation sites. The 85% base matching of human and chicken H3.3 3'UTR sequences for 520 bases is unprecedented among homolog 3'UTR segments, especially considering that these species are separated by over 250 Myr of evolution. We also present the sequence of three related processed human H3.3 pseudogenes and provide evidence demonstrating that most of the 20 to 30 copies of the H3.3 gene within the human genome are in fact processed pseudogenes.