Processing of the adenovirus terminal protein

The termini of nascent adenovirus DNA molecules synthesized in vivo are covalently bound to a protein with an apparent molecular weight of 80,000. This protein represents a precursor to the 55,000-dalton protein known to be bound to the 5' termini of mature adenovirus genomes. Processing of the 80-kilodalton precursor to the 55-kilodalton terminal protein is not required for continued adenovirus DNA replication and is probably accomplished during a late stage of virion maturation.

[Formation of DNA-protein links upon interaction between sodium bisulfite and phage DNP]

The conditions for linkage formation in phages Sd and P22 DNP under effects of sodium bisulfite were studied. Th linkage was estimated by the fall in phage infectiosity. After removal of the reagent excess prior to inoculation the modified phage was transferred to various buffers (12 salt systems). The correlation between infectiosity of preparations and changes in their CD spectra in corresponding calt solutions was established.

Adenovirus DNA replication in vitro: a protein linked to the 5' end of nascent DNA strands

Soluble nuclear extracts prepared from adenovirus-infected HeLa cells supported adenovirus DNA replication with exogenous DNA-protein complex as template, but protease-treated, phenol-extracted DNA was less active. Replication was enhanced when creatine phosphate and creatine phosphokinase were included in the reaction mixture, rendering the reaction independent of exogenous ATP. Genomic-length, newly synthesized DNA strands were first observed 30 min after initiation of replication and continued to increase in amount for at least 4 h. Thus, the rate of replication is consistent with previous estimates of the rate of replication in vivo. Nascent DNA strands bound to benzoylated, naphthoylated DEAE-cellulose due to their association with protein. The 5' termini of nascent DNA strands were resistant to the 5'- to 3'-specific T7 exonuclease, and the 3' termini of nascent strands were sensitive to the 3'- to 5'-specific exonuclease III. These results suggest that a protein becomes covalently linked to the 5' termini of nascent DNA strands replicated in vitro. Nuclear extracts prepared from adenovirus type 2-infected cells also supported replication of DNA-protein complex prepared from the unrelated type 7 adenovirus. The limited sequence homology between these two viruses at the origin of replication further defines recognition sequences at the origin. These results are discussed in terms of a model for adenovirus DNA replication in which the terminal protein and sequences within the inverted terminal repetition are involved in the formation of an initiation complex that is able to prime DNA replication.

Changes of deoxyribonucleoprotein in the spleen, thymus and liver of rats exposed to weightlessness and artificial gravity aboard the Cosmos biosatellites

Changes of deoxyribonucleoprotein in the spleen, thymus and liver of rats exposed to weightlessness or artificial gravity on board biosatellites Cosmos 782 and Cosmos 936 after 20 days of flight were investigated. The level of polydeoxyribonucleotides in the spleen and thymus of rats exposed during the flight to weightlessness increased 4-11 hours after landing, suggesting breakdown of a part of the deoxyribonucleoprotein present. The use of artificial gravity prevented this breakdown in the thymus but not in the spleen. The breakdown was accompanied in the majority of cases by a decrease in the deoxyribonucleoprotein content. We believe the breakdown of deoxyribonucleoprotein is due to a nonspecific stress reaction to the change from the weightless state to that of terrestrial gravity during landing. The polydeoxyribonucleotide level and amount of deoxyribonucleoprotein in the majority of cases returned to normal values during the 25 days of readaptation. No substantial change of deoxyribonucleoprotein was found in the liver. The different findings in the three organs are due to the fact that breakdown of deoxyribonucleoprotein takes place in sensitive cells underlying pycnosis. These cells are found in the spleen and thymus, but not in the liver.

[Specificity of interaction of nuclear juice proteins and cytoplasm with DNA]

The interaction of nuclear juice proteins and cytoplasm isolated from hepatocytes at different steps of the cell cycle with DNA was studied by chromatography of labelled proteins on columns with DNA and by fixation of the [3H]DNA -- protein complexes on nitrocellulose filters. It was demonstrated that the nuclear juice contains proteins, which specifically interact with homologous native DNA.

[Phagocytic and lymphoid elements in tissue reactions during aseptic inflammation]

A foreign body was introduced into the rabbit abdominal cavity. Macrophages, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL), lymphocytes of the abdomino-cavitary exudate, blood, trachea were examined cytochemically, whilst the tissue being formed around the foreign body and lungs were subjected to histological study. It was shown that three levels of structural and functional reconstitution of macrophages, PMNL and lymphocytes accompanied the development of aseptic inflammation. The system level determines the likeness of alterations of macrophages, PMNL and lymphocytes of different sites. The regional and cellular levels are responsible for the difference between the cells of different sites and types. A relationship was disclosed between the system reconstitution and the local (capsule) and distant (lung) tissue inflammation. The alterative and exudative tissue processes depend on the damage to macrophages, PMNL and lymphocytes. Meanwhile the proliferative processes depend on the changes in the biosynthesis of these cells.

Cleavage and circularization of single-stranded DNA: a novel enzymatic activity of phi X174 A* protein

Purified phi X gene A* protein cleaves phi X single stranded DNA. The cleavage appears to be stoichiometric, whereby a gene A* protein molecule cleaves a phosphodiester bond and binds to the DNA fragment. The size of the cleavage product was inversely proportional to the ratio of A* protein to DNA in the reaction mixture. The cleavage of the DNA resulted in the formation of an A* protein - ssDNA complex identified on SDS-polyacrylamide gels and by banding in CsCl. An A* protein-ssDNA complex was isolated by gel filtration and shown to be active in a ligating reaction in which the two ends of the DNA fragment were joined to form a covalently closed circle. The joining reaction required Mg++ ions and was accompanied by the release of the protein from the DNA.

The role of gene A protein and E. coli rep protein in the replication of phi X 174 replicative form DNA

The gene A protein of bacteriophage phi X 174 initiates replication of super-twisted RFI DNA by cleaving the viral (+) strand at the origin of replication and binding to the 5' end. Upon addition of E. coli rep protein (single-stranded DNA dependent ATPase), E. coli single-stranded DNA binding protein and ATP, complete unwinding of the two strands occurs. Electron microscopic analyses of intermediates in the reaction reveal that the unwinding occurs by movement of the 5' end into the duplex, displacing the viral strand in the form of a single-stranded loop. Since unwinding will not occur in the absence of either gene A protein or rep protein, it is presumed that the rep protein interacts to form a complex with the bound gene A protein. Single-stranded DNA binding protein facilitates the unwinding by binding to the exposed single-stranded DNA. Further addition of the four deoxyribotriphosphates and DNA polymerase III holoenzyme to the reaction results in synthesis of viral (+) single-stranded circles in amounts exceeding that of the input template. A model describing the role of gene A protein and rep protein in duplex DNA replication is presented and other properties of gene A protein discussed.

DNA methylation and gene function

In most higher organisms, DNA is modified after synthesis by the enzymatic conversion of many cytosine residues to 5-methylcytosine. For several years, control of gene activity by DNA methylation has been recognized as a logically attractive possibility, but experimental support has proved elusive. However, there is now reason to believe, from recent studies, that DNA methylation is a key element in the hierarchy of control mechanisms that govern vertebrate gene function and differentiation.

Protein p3 is linked to the DNA of phage phi 29 through a phosphoester bond between serine and 5'-dAMP

To investigate the role of protein p3 in bacteriophage phi 29 initiation of replication, we have studied the nature of the covalent linkage between protein p3 and phi 29 DNA. The protein-DNA compound was digested with micrococcal nuclease and pronase resulting in a nucleotidyl-peptide that was further digested by alkaline phosphatase and snake venom phosphodiesterase yielding 5'-dAMP. The DNA-protein linkage is sensitive to alkali. Treatment of the nucleotidyl-peptide with 0.1 M NaOH at 37 degrees C for 3 hr after phosphatase digestion released 5'-dAMP. Hydrolysis of the nucleotidyl-peptide with 5.8 M HCl at 110 degrees C for 90 min yielded O-phosphoserine. These results, together with the sensitivity of the DNA-protein linkage to snake venom phosphodiesterase and its resistance to hydroxylamine, indicate that protein p3 is covalently linked to phi 29 DNA through a phosphoester bond between L-serine and 5'-dAMP, namely a O,5'-deoxyadenylyl-L-serine bond.

Relationship between DNA damage and survival in formaldehyde-treated mouse cells

Mouse cells exposed to formaldehyde (FA) were examined for colony-forming ability and DNA synthesis as well as the induction of DNA damage. Cell survival was unaffected until the FA concentration exceeded 150 microM after which there was an exponential decay in survival. Formaldehyde-treated cells studied by the DNA-alkaline-elution technique exhibited a low frequency of single-strand breaks but extensive DNA-protein crosslinking. These crosslinks were repaired following removal of the drug. The DNA damage was accompanied by inhibition of DNA synthesis.

Properties and characterization of a spinach chloroplast RNA polymerase isolated from a tanscriptionally active DNA-protein complex

A chloroplast RNA polymerase has been isolated from a transcriptionally active spinach plastid DNA-protein complex. The properties of the complex and of the reconstituted system have been compared. The crude enzyme is at least sevenfold less active when compared with the complex. RNA synthesis by the reconstituted system is sensitive to high ionic strength and heparin, contrarily to RNA synthesis by the chloroplast DNA-protein complex. On the other hand, rifampicin has no inhibitory effect whatever on the transcriptional system used. The RNA polymerase isolated is more efficient with denatured DNA than with double-stranded DNA and the best template is chloroplast DNA. The crude RNA polymerase isolated migrates in a peak of 11 S in glycerol gradient centrifugation and is located in a single band in non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. About 30 polypeptides (Mr 15 000--180 000) are part of the complex and only eight of them are found in the RNA polymerase preparation. Only five polypeptides are always present with the same yield. They are probably the subunits of the RNA polymerase. The molecular weight of these subunits ranged from 15 000--69 000, even if the isolation of the enzyme was performed in the presence of protease inhibitors.

Cleavage of phi X174 single-stranded DNA by gene A protein and formation of a tight protein-DNA complex

The gene A protein cleaves phi X174 single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The cleavage appears to be stoichiometric, whereby a gene A protein molecule breaks a phosphodiester bond and binds to the 5' end. The enzyme introduces mostly a single break in a circular ssDNA molecule. However, at high enzyme-to-DNA ratios, more than one break in the DNA could be observed. The cleavage of the ssDNA by gene A protein renders the DNA sensitive to the action of terminal transferase to incorporate [alpha -32P]ATP. Thus, the 3'OH end is free. All attempts to label the 5' end by T4-induced polynucleotide kinase and [gamma-32P]ATP failed. The formation of a gene A-ssDNA complex was demonstrated directly by using 3H-labeled gene A protein and 32P-labeled ssDNA in the reaction. Such a complex is resistant to treatments with 0.2 M NaOH, banding in CsCl, and boiling in 2.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate. Only treatment with a nuclease released the bound protein. Also, after cleaving [32P]ssDNA by gene A protein, followed by either DNase I or micrococcal nuclease digestion, a fraction of the 32P label remained resistant to nuclease treatment and comigrated with gene A protein on polyacrylamide gels.

Association of simian virus 40 T antigen with replicating nucleoprotein complexes of simian virus 40

An immunoprecipitation assay was established for simian virus 40 T-antigen-bound nucleoprotein complexes by means of precipitation with sera from hamsters bearing simian virus 40-induced tumors. About 80% of simian virus 40 replicating nucleoprotein complexes in various stages of replication were immunoprecipitated. In contrast, less than 21% of mature nucleoprotein complexes were immunoprecipitated. Pulse-chase experiments showed that T antigen was lost from most of the nucleoprotein complexes concurrently with completion of DNA replication. T antigen induced by dl-940, a mutant with a deletion in the region coding for small T antigen, was also associated with most of the replicating nucleoprotein complexes. Once bound with replicating nucleoprotein complexes at the permissive temperature, thermolabile T antigen induced by tsA900 remained associated with the complexes during elongation of the replicating DNA chain at the restrictive temperature. These results suggest that simian virus 40 T antigen (probably large T antigen) associates with nucleoprotein complexes at or before initiation of DNA replication and that the majority of the T antigen dissociates from the nucleoprotein complexes simultaneously with completion of DNA replication.

Efficient transcription of a compact nucleoprotein complex isolated from purified simian virus 40 virions

Simian virus 40 (SV40) virions were dissociated in vitro by treatment with ethylene glycol-bis-N-N'-tetraacetic acid and dithiothreitol. The compact nucleo-protein core released as a result of the dissociation had a sedimentation value of 110 to 115S compared with a value of 240S for intact virions. The viral cores contained a fraction of the viral proteins VP(1) and VP(2) in addition to the proteins found associated with the viral minichromosome, i.e., VP(3) and histones H(2)A, H(2)B, H(3), and H(4). Our results suggest that the association of VP(1), VP(2), or both with the viral minichromosome, in addition to maintaining a highly compact structure, modifies the transcriptional properties of the nucleoprotein complex. In the presence of saturating amounts of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase, 95 to 100% of the SV40 nucleoprotein cores were able to form transcriptional complexes. Sedimentation analysis of the core transcriptional complex indicated that the initiation and elongation of nascent RNA chains occurred on the compact SV40 core. Cesium chloride density gradient analysis of the SV40 virion core before and after transcription indicated that no substantial loss of protein occurred during the process of transcription. RNA synthesized from SV40 cores was a fairly homogeneous 16 to 18S species with an average chain length of approximately 2,300 nucleotides. Hybridization analysis of this RNA indicated that specific recognition of RNA polymerase promoter sites was preserved, since transcription was asymmetric, occurring preferentially on the "early" SV40 DNA strand. The rate of incorporation of ribonucleoside triphosphates into acid-insoluble RNA with SV40 cores as the template was 70 to 95% of that obtained with supercoiled SV40 form I DNA. SV40 minichromosomes, under identical transcription assay conditions, had an incorporation rate which was 20% of that obtained with SV40 form I DNA. These results show that association of protein VP(1) or VP(2) or both enhances the transcriptional activity and suggest that these "late" viral proteins may play a role in the regulation of expression of the SV40 genome.

Effects of nonhistone proteins on the circular dichroism spectrum and transcriptional activity of a DNA-histone complex

Nonhistone chromasomal proteins (NHP) of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells were fractionated into four subfractions by successive extractions with 0.35 M, 0.45 M, and 0.60 M NaCl, and finally 2.0 M NaCl + 5.0 M urea. The CD spectra and transcriptional activities of complexes reconstituted from DNA, histone, and each of these four NHP subfractions obtained from Ehrlich tumor cells were measured in order to identify the effect of each NHP subfraction. The positive ellipticity in the CD of the DNA-histone complex was considerably increased when reconstituted with 0.35 M- or 0.45 M-NHP. The 0.35 M- and 0.45 M-NHP also increased the transcriptional activity of DNA-histone complex. The activities of DNA-histone-0.35 M NHP complex increased progressively with increase in the 0.35 M NHP/DNA ratio. These results suggest that there is a correlation between the increase in transcriptional activity of DNA-histone complexes with 0.35 M- or 0.45 M-NHP and the increase in the percentage of DNA in the B conformation in complexes.

[Change in the state of DNP during the course of endothecium cell differentiation in lily anthers]

Double-wavelength cytophotometry of the Feulgen-stained nuclei was used to detect the different ratio of condensed and non-condensed chromatin in the anther tissues in the course of their differentiation on the basis of hydrolysis curves in IN HCl at 60 degrees C. Formaline added to the fixating mixture diminishes the DNA losses during hydrolysis in all types of cells under study. Meanwhile, its effect is manifested depending on physiocochemical state of chromatin.