Ubiquitin is a heat shock protein in chicken embryo fibroblasts

Ubiquitin conjugate immunoreactivity in the brains of scrapie infected mice

Sections of brain from normal mice or clinically-ill mice infected with either the 87V or the ME7 strains of sheep scrapie were immunostained to show the localization of ubiquitin-protein conjugates or a specific marker of disease, the scrapie-associated fibril protein (PrP). In both scrapie models immunoreactive ubiquitin-protein conjugates were seen in thread-like structures found throughout the neuropil, in inclusion bodies within vacuolated neurones, and in areas surrounding anti-PrP positive amyloid plaques. The PrP protein was visualized in diffuse deposits in highly vacuolated parts of the scrapie-affected brain, and focally in amyloid plaques, microglia and neuronal processes. The ubiquitin-protein conjugate staining of scrapie amyloid plaques is very similar to that seen in the plaques of Alzheimer's disease. The ubiquitinated intraneuronal inclusion bodies seen in scrapie resemble the granulovacuolar lesions also seen in Alzheimer's disease, but appear much larger and possibly correspond to material in giant autophagic vacuoles. We suggest that these inclusions may be the result of ubiquitinated abnormal proteins being directed to the lysosomal system, and that scrapie and Alzheimer's disease share at least some common processes of neurodegeneration.

Ubiquitin in Chlamydomonas reinhardii. Distribution in the cell and effect of heat shock and photoinhibition on its conjugate pattern

Ubiquitin, a highly conserved 76-amino-acid protein, is involved in the response of many types of eukaryotic cells to stress but little is known about its role in lower plants. In the present study we have investigated the distribution of ubiquitin in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardii as well as the effect of heat and light stress on its conjugation to cellular proteins. Immunoelectron microscopy shows that ubiquitin is located in the chloroplast, nucleus, cytoplasm, pyrenoid and on the plasma membrane. The location of ubiquitin within chloroplasts has not been observed previously. In immunoblots of whole cell extracts with an antibody to ubiquitin a prominent conjugate band with an apparent molecular mass of 29 kDa and a broad region of high-molecular-mass conjugates (apparent molecular mass greater than 45 kDa) were observed. Exposure of cells to a 41.5 degrees C heat shock in both the dark and light caused the disappearance of the 29-kDa conjugate and an increase in the high-molecular-mass conjugates. After step down to 25 degrees C the 29-kDa conjugate reappeared while the levels of high-molecular-mass conjugates decreased. In light, the recovery of the 29-kDa band was more rapid than in the dark. Photoinhibition alters the ubiquitin conjugation pattern similarly to heat shock, but to a lesser degree. These observations imply that, in Chlamydomonas, ubiquitin has a role in the chloroplast and in the response to heat and light stress.

Interaction of human erythrocyte multicatalytic proteinase with polycations

The multicatalytic proteinase from human erythrocytes (macropain, proteasome) is a large enzyme composed of at least six distinct subunits ranging in molecular masses from 20 to 30 kDa. As its name implies, this proteinase appears to contain multiple catalytic sites with differing specificities toward peptide substrates. Several polycationic substances, including polylysines, polyarginine, protamine and histone H1 markedly stimulated caseinolytic activity of the proteinase. Activation was instantaneous, and involved increasing the Vmax of the proteinase for casein. Prolonged preincubation with polylysine at 37 degrees C resulted in autolytic inactivation of the proteinase. The polylysine concentrations required for half-maximal activation or autolytic inactivation were the same. A 23 kDa subunit of the proteinase disappeared at the same rate as loss of catalytic activity, and with the same pH dependence and polylysine concentration dependence. These results suggest that polylysine perturbs the structure of the multicatalytic proteinase, resulting in increased catalytic activity toward substrates; and, with prolonged exposure, allowing autoproteolytic inactivation to occur. The 23 kDa subunit appeared to be required for expression of caseinolytic activity, and may therefore be a catalytic subunit of the complex having activity against casein.

Cloning, sequence analysis, and expression of a cDNA encoding a plastid-localized heat shock protein in maize

We have cloned and characterized a cDNA encoding a maize (Zea mays L.) heat shock protein (HSP), HSP26. The mRNA of HSP26 is present as a single mRNA species of 1.1 kilobase pairs in size and is detectable when maize seedlings are treated at 40 degrees C but not at 28 degrees C. Accumulation of HSP26 mRNA was detected after 10 minutes of incubation at 40 degrees C, reaching the maximum level after 1 hour. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of maize HSP26 to other HSPs indicated a strong homology to the sequences of two nuclear encoded HSPs that are transported into the chloroplasts during heat shock: pea HSP21 and soybean HSP22. Maize HSP26 was also found to cross-react with anti-pea chloroplast HSP21 antibodies. Because of the sequence homology between maize HSP26, soybean HSP22, and pea HSP21, in vitro chloroplast protein import experiments were conducted. The in vitro synthesized maize HSP26 is specifically imported to the soluble fraction of the chloroplast and processed to a smaller polypeptide. The sequence homology and antibody cross-reactivity between maize HSP26 and pea HSP21 have allowed us to conclude that maize HSP26 is a nuclear-encoded, plastid-localized protein in maize.

Ubiquitin, cell stress and diseases of the nervous system

Cells, including those of the nervous system, respond to damage by an increase in the synthesis of a family of proteins called 'stress proteins' which are amongst the most conserved gene products in evolution suggesting fundamental roles in cell metabolism. Stress-induced proteins have functions in normal cells, particularly for the importation of protein into membrane-limited organelles, and their up-regulation following stress is thought to be cytoprotective, by protecting proteins and organelles from damage. Ubiquitin is an important protein induced by cell stress. It is only found in nucleated cells and has several known functions; the most investigated being as a co-factor for the non-lysosomal intracellular degradation of abnormal or short lived proteins. Morphological studies using immunohistochemistry to localize ubiquitin protein conjugates have revealed that ubiquitin is a component of many of the filamentous inclusion bodies characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting activation of a common neuronal response in this type of disease process. Immunohistochemical localization of ubiquitin conjugates has provided a new tool for the sensitive detection of such inclusions and has resulted in the identification of novel inclusion bodies in all cases of motor neuron disease. Preliminary work on enzymes involved in ubiquitin metabolism suggest that there are several possible mechanisms for the formation of inclusion bodies and may provide indirect evidence for the dynamics of inclusion body formation. Work in other areas of pathology indicate important roles for the stress proteins in immune surveillance and autoimmunity and it is likely that the general principles which are currently evolving will also have an impact in neuropathology.

Novel ATP-binding heat-inducible protein of Mr = 37,000 that is sensitive to transformation in BALB/3T3 cells

Using affinity chromatography on ATP-agarose, we have identified a major ATP-binding protein in Nonidet P-40 extracts of avian and mammalian cells labeled with [35S]methionine. After washing ATP-agarose beads with high-ionic-strength buffer (0.4 M NaCl), the 37-kD protein was shown to be one of the major ATP-binding proteins while p72 and grp78, which are members of the hsp70 family, also bound to ATP-agarose. This protein consisted of several spots on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The isoelectric point of the most basic spot was approximately 9.2 in chick embryo fibroblasts, whereas it was about 8.8 in mouse 3T3 cells. The identities of these proteins in mouse and chick cells were confirmed by peptide mapping. After heat-shock treatment of BALB/3T3 cells, the major heat-shock protein, hsp70, was shown to be induced very rapidly after heat shock and was recovered in the ATP-binding fraction. Besides hsp70, a 37-kD protein was also found to be induced by heat shock. This protein was drastically induced by treating the cells with alpha,alpha'-dipyridyl, an iron chelating reagent, but not with sodium arsenite, calcium ionophore, or tunicamycin. The synthesis and the total amount of this ATP-binding protein increased in mouse 3T3 cells transformed by simian virus 40, methylcholanthrene, or activated c-Ha-ras oncogene compared to their normal counterparts. The incorporation of [32P]orthophosphate was not detected in either normal or transformed cells. These studies established that a major ATP-binding protein of Mr = 37,000 is a heat-inducible protein and that the synthesis of this protein is regulated by malignant transformation.

Heat shock proteins are not required for the degradation of alpha-amylase mRNA and the delamellation of endoplasmic reticulum in heat-stressed barley aleurone cells

When barley (Hordeum vulgare) aleurone layers are heat shocked, the synthesis and secretion of alpha-amylase and other secretory proteins is arrested and the synthesis of heat shock proteins (hsps) is induced. alpha-Amylase mRNA, normally a very stable mRNA, is actively degraded during heat shock. In addition, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is delamellated during heat shock, possibly causing the destabilization of the mRNA for the secreted alpha-amylase. To ascertain whether or not hsps play any role in the destabilization of alpha-amylase mRNA or in the delamellation process of ER, heat shocked cells were treated with the transcription inhibitor cordycepin, which effectively inhibits the synthesis of hsps yet does not affect alpha-amylase synthesis after this enzyme has been fully induced by gibberellic acid (12 hours). In the absence of hsp expression, heat shock still causes the destabilization of alpha-amylase mRNA and the delamellation of ER. Alternatively, the synthesis of hsps may be induced in the absence of temperature increase by incubating cells in the presence of arsenite. Arsenite-induced expression of some hsps in the absence of increased temperature does not result in the destabilization of alpha-amylase mRNA or in the delamellation of ER. If cordycepin or cycloheximide are used to inhibit hsp synthesis during heat shock, the tissue recovers from heat shock with normal recovery kinetics. Although hsps have been implicated in the establishment of thermotolerance, our observations indicate that hsps do not play a role in the other heat shock-induced changes observable in aleurone cells. Furthermore, if the synthesis of hsp mRNA is inhibited during heat shock (by cordycepin) hsp mRNAs are synthesized later, during recovery, indicating that there is a stable inducer of hsp synthesis in aleurone tissues.

New insights in motor neuron disease

In motor neuron disease there is a characteristic pattern of nerve cell loss and degeneration of related pathways. In surviving anterior horn cells several morphologically distinct, but generally non-specific, intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies have been recognized. Recently accumulations of previously unrecognized ubiquitinated material have been described in surviving neurons, which cannot be demonstrated with routine histological methods. These changes appear unique to this disease, and provide a new insight into the underlying pathology that may help understand the pathogenesis of this intriguing disorder. In this article we review the new information on the clinical, toxicological and pathological features of the disease.

Changes in protein turnover after heat shock are related to accumulation of abnormal proteins in aging Drosophila melanogaster

Adult Drosophila melanogaster kept at 24 degrees C show a progressive decline in the synthesis and degradation of proteins with age. After exposure of young, 7-10 days old flies to 20 min of heat shock at 37 degrees C, the incorporation of [35S]-methionine into trichloroacetic acid precipitable proteins decreases to more than 60% of that observed in non-stressed flies. This decrease is also accompanied by a lower protein degradation rate. In contrast, the same stress in old, 49 days old insects results in a 3-fold increase in protein synthesis as compared to either non-heat shocked senescent flies or to young heat-shocked flies. The older flies also have faster protein turnover than unshocked controls. An effect similar to that observed in senescent Drosophila also occurs in young flies that have been fed canavanine, an arginine analogue, before and during heat shock. These results suggest that an age dependent accumulation of abnormal proteins may be responsible for the changes in protein turnover observed in the heat-shocked old flies.

Heat shock RNA levels in brain and other tissues after hyperthermia and transient ischemia

A number of studies have demonstrated increased synthesis of heat shock proteins in brain following hyperthermia or transient ischemia. In the present experiments we have characterized the time course of heat shock RNA induction in gerbil brain after ischemia, and in several mouse tissues after hyperthermia, using probes for RNAs of the 70-kilodalton heat shock protein (hsp70) family, as well as ubiquitin. A synthetic oligonucleotide selective for inducible hsp70 sequences proved to be the most sensitive indicator of the stress response whereas a related rat cDNA detected both induced RNAs and constitutively expressed sequences that were not strongly inducible in brain. Considerable polymorphism of ubiquitin sequences was evident in the outbred mouse and gerbil strains used in these studies when probed with a chicken ubiquitin cDNA. Brief hyperthermic exposure resulted in striking induction of hsp70 and several-fold increases in ubiquitin RNAs in mouse liver and kidney peaking 3 h after return to room temperature. The oligonucleotide selective for hsp70 showed equivalent induction in brain that was more rapid and transient than observed in liver, whereas minimal induction was seen with the ubiquitin and hsp70-related cDNA probes. Transient ischemia resulted in 5- to 10-fold increases in hsp70 sequences in gerbil brain which peaked at 6 h recirculation and remained above control levels at 24 h, whereas a modest 70% increase in ubiquitin sequences was noted at 6 h. These results demonstrate significant temporal and quantitative differences in heat shock RNA expression between brain and other tissues following hyperthermia in vivo, and indicate that hsp70 provides a more sensitive index of the stress response in brain than does ubiquitin after both hyperthermia and ischemia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Localization of the human UbB polyubiquitin gene to chromosome band 17p11.1-17p12

The chromosomal location of the human ubiquitin genes has been evaluated by in situ hybridization. Because of the conservation of the ubiquitin sequence, coding-region probes cannot distinguish between specific ubiquitin genes and reveal ubiquitin sequences in a number of different chromosomal regions. The major sites of hybridization with a coding-region probe include 17p11.1-p12, 12p24.2-q24.32, and 2q21-q24, with weaker hybridization over 1p3, 1q4, 2q3, and 13q. Hybridization with a probe isolated from the UbB gene intron indicated that this gene is located within the region 17p11.1-17p12. This region showed the strongest hybridization with the coding-region probe and is presumably also the location of the duplicated UbB pseudogene.

A novel 40-kDa protein induced by heat shock and other stresses in mammalian and avian cells

When HeLa cells were exposed to heat shock or other stresses, a 40-kDa protein (p40) was induced in addition to the classical heat shock proteins with molecular sizes of 110-, 90-, 70-, and 47-kDa. The p40 was induced not only by heat shock but by arsenite and 2-azetidine carboxylic acid. Also, it was induced in rat, mouse and chick cells by these stresses. The p40 was a basic protein (pI divided by 9.2) as judged by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. To our knowledge, p40 is a novel heat shock protein in mammalian and avian cells.

Protein Turnover During Aging of Cultured Human Fibroblasts

Les cellules qui vieillissentin vitroou bien celles qui sont prélevées de donneurs d'àge avancé ou de sujets manifestant certaines des particularités qui s'apparentent à un vieillissement accéléré (progérie ou le syndrome de Werner), peuvent être qualifiées de 'vieilles'. Celles-ci on des taux de croissance ralentis en milieu de culture si on les compare aux cellules nouvelles ou à mi-passage prélevées de jeunes donneurs normaux. Durant la croissance exponentielle, les taux de constantes pour la synthèse protéique dans les jeunes cellules ne sont pas significativement différents de ceux retrouvés dans les vieilles cellules (0.023 ± 0.002h1vs. 0.021 ± 0.002h1respectivement) et pourtant les taux de croissance (i.e. accrétion protéique) sont de seulement 0.013±0.003h1dans les vieilles cellules comparés à 0.022±0.002h1dans les jeunes cellules. Done, le taux ralenti d'accumulation protéique durant la croissance des vieilles cellules comparé aux jeunes cellules est associé à une dégradation protéique accélérée (0.01±0.002h1vs 0.001 ±0.002h1;P<0.05) plutôt qu'à des taux ralentis de synthèse protéique. Lorsque les cellules deviennent quiescentes suivant une période d'inhibition de croissance due à la densité, les taux de synthèse protéique diminuent dans les jeunes et les vieilles cellules pour aboutir à des niveaux comparables (0.013±0.002h1) où les taux de croissance (0.003±0.0003h1) et de dégradation (0.01±0.003h1) ne sont significativement pas differents dans les deux groupes. Done, ce n'est qu'en période de croissance exponentielle qu'une différence dans le turn-over protéique entre jeunes et vieilles cellules est observée, alors que la dégradation est accélérée dans les vieilles cellules. La relation causale entre la dégradation protéique accélérée et les taux de croissance ralentis dans les vieilles cellules demeure inconnue.

Microbial stress proteins

There is general agreement that a function, perhaps the major function, of stress proteins under normal physiological conditions is to help assembly and disassembly of protein complexes and to catalyse protein-translocation processes. It remains unclear, however, as to what role these processes play in stressed cells. It could be that cells under stress produce abnormal, misfolded or otherwise damaged proteins and that increased synthesis of stress proteins is required to counter protein modifications. A role for stress proteins in recovery of cells from stress, as opposed to a role in helping cells to withstand a lethal stress, is thus suggested. The intracellular location of stress proteins, in the unstressed and stressed cell, is worthy of further studies. Members of the hsp70 family are associated with the cytosol, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. There is evidence, particularly from studies on mammalian cells (Tanguay, 1985; Welch and Mizzen, 1988; Arrigo et al., 1988), that following stress hsps migrate to various cellular compartments and subsequently delocalize after stress. However, there is little comparable data from microbial systems for this phenomenon (e.g. Rossi and Lindquist, 1989). The question as to the role of stress proteins in the transient acquisition of thermotolerance remains to be answered. It is insufficient to equate the kinetics of stress-protein synthesis with acquisition of thermotolerance. Quantitative data on the amount of stress protein present at various times, including the recovery period, is required. The demonstration that microbial stress proteins are important antigenic determinants of micro-organisms causing major debilitating diseases in the world is an exciting observation. Studies on the interplay of pathogen and host, both carrying similar antigenic hsp determinants, will be a challenging area for future research. It is likely that E. coli and Sacch. cerevisiae, with their well-established biochemical and genetic properties, will continue to be the experimental systems of choice for studies on stress proteins. On the other hand, it is encouraging that studies on other micro-organisms have expanded in the past few years and have made substantial contributions towards our understanding of the stress response. The ubiquitous nature of the stress response and the remarkable evolutionary conservation of the stress proteins continue to be attractive areas for research.

Is ubiquitin involved in the dedifferentiation of higher plant cells?

Transformation of a mesophyll cell into a viable protoplast that is able to re-enter the cell cycle, divide and further differentiate into organs, is accompanied by a very rapid and important increase in ubiquitin gene expression. Three major size classes of ubiquitin mRNA transcripts were observed in protoplasts as soon as they were isolated and incubated in their culture medium. The 1.6 kb mRNAs were expressed in response to the stress caused by the isolation procedure. They decreased after a few hours of incubation in the culture medium. The 1.9 kb and the 1.3 kb mRNAs enhanced in protoplasts were also observed in young leaves and in actively dividing cells: they appeared to be developmental-stage specific. They are not expressed in response to the stress, but may be considered to be part of the dedifferentiation program induced in protoplasts. These results suggest, as the enhancement of ubiquitin gene expression coincides with the dramatic changes in gene expression observed in protoplasts, that ubiquitin may play a fundamental role in the process of cellular dedifferentiation.

Possible involvement of ubiquitin function and ATP requirement in the development of thermotolerance in mammalian cells

Thermotolerance under chronic exposure to moderate hyperthermia at 41 degrees C was hardly induced in the mouse temperature-sensitive mutant ts85 cells, in contrast to the parental wild-type FM3A cells. Thermotolerance was induced at a reduced level in the mutant cells compared with the wild-type cells by incubation at 33 degrees C (permissive temperature), but not at 39 degrees C (non-permissive temperature), after a brief exposure at 44 degrees C. Under conditions where protein synthesis was inhibited by cycloheximide at 41 degrees C, significant amounts of thermotolerance developed in FM3A cells. FM3A cells depleted of cellular ATP by treatment with 2.4-dinitrophenol and 2-deoxyglucose were not sensitized to thermal cell killing at 44 degrees C, when drug-treated cells were washed and exposed to hyperthermia in drug-free growth medium, where cellular ATP rapidly recovered. However, the cells deprived of ATP under the treatment at 41 degrees C failed to develop thermotolerance, indicating a requirement of ATP for thermotolerance development. The decay of thermotolerance was not affected by ATP levels after it was developed. The degradation of abnormal cellular proteins which contained amino acid analogues was promoted at 33 degrees C relative to normal protein degradation in FM3A and ts85 cells. Both normal and abnormal proteins were degraded at a reduced rate at 43 degrees C. Pretreatment of cells at 41 degrees C decreased the rate of degradation of abnormal proteins at 33 degrees C by 20% in FM3A cells and by about 100% in ts85 cells. Pretreatment of cells at 41 degrees C increased significantly the conjugation of 125I-labeled ubiquitin to cellular endogenous proteins in extracts of FM3A cells, but decreased the conjugation in extracts of ts85 cells. The data presented here, in conjunction with the observations by others that the ts85 cell is a mutant defective in the ubiquitination of cellular proteins at nonpermissive temperatures, suggest that the ATP-dependent ubiquitination may be crucial for the development of thermotolerance.

Stress proteins, arthritis, and autoimmunity

Stress proteins have been highly conserved during evolution not only because of their fundamental importance in the response of the cell to stressful assaults, but also because they have critical roles in cellular activation and cell growth, regulation of protein function, protein transport, and protein assembly. Research focusing on the basic cell biology of stress proteins is intense at present, and will surely continue to be for some time to come. Of particular interest to immunologists and rheumatologists is the convergence of data in several fields that suggest that stress proteins in microorganisms that commonly infect humans may be triggers of humoral and cellular autoimmune responses and consequent overt autoimmune disease expression. Thus, stress proteins of M tuberculosis and other bacteria are close homologs of stress proteins in mammals, and may be involved in the pathogenesis of adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats and, possibly, of RA and reactive arthritis in humans. A great deal of work remains to be done in this area, including (a) generation and propagation of specifically reactive T cell clones, (b) molecular delineation of the immune recognition elements and critical epitopes shared by microbial stress proteins and host proteins, (c) definition of the relative contribution of alpha beta and gamma delta TCRs to T cell reactivity to stress proteins, and (d) clarification of the circumstances that enable persistent T cell autoreactivity to stress proteins. The data at hand are sufficiently compelling, however, to suggest that vaccination against T cells that recognize stress proteins may eventually become part of our therapeutic armamentarium to prevent or cure some forms of arthritis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Ubiquitin in normal, reactive and neoplastic human astrocytes

Ubiquitin, a protein important in regulating non-lysosomal proteolysis, has previously been shown to be present in cytoskeletal inclusions of the neurodegenerative diseases. Its role in other pathological processes of the central nervous system, such as neoplastic transformation of cells, is not known. The astrocytoma, a tumor of complex biology derived from the astrocyte, is the most common primary parenchymal human brain tumor in both children and adults. Until recently, ubiquitin was not known to form stable conjugates in cells. We have shown using immunocytochemistry on sections of astrocytomas that both glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (the major intermediate filament protein present in normal, reactive and neoplastic astrocytes) and ubiquitin are simultaneously present in the cytoplasm and cell processes of tumor cells. The presence of ubiquitin and GFAP was also found in astrocytoma cells in short- and long-term culture, and confirmed by immunostaining of blots of tumor homogenates subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

The "normal" brain. "Abnormal" ubiquitinilated deposits highlight an age-related protein change

Known morphologic changes that characterize "normal" brain senescence are insufficient to explain the widespread, age-related decline of psychomotor functions. We report that the heavily ubiquitinilated deposits can be consistently detected by immunohistochemistry in the normal senescent brain. Immunostaining of hippocampal sections from aged brains with an anti-ubiquitin antibody was unrelated to neurofibrillary degeneration or senile plaque formation. In contrast, ubiquitin deposits were not detectable in brain sections from neurologically and neuropathologically normal young individuals who had died of nonneurological causes. This finding shows an unrecognized protein change in the normal aged brain.

Immunocytochemical profile of neurofibrillary tangles in Down's syndrome patients of different ages

Brains were obtained at autopsy from 24 patients with Down's syndrome, ranging in age from 13 to 71 years. Neurofibrillary tangle containing neurones of the hippocampus were stained using a Palmgren silver method and immunocytochemically (PAP) using antisera to paired helical filament protein, human tau protein and ubiquitin, as primary antibody. Counts of cells stained by each method were compared. In patients under 50 years of age, in whom only a limited number of tangle bearing cells were present, the number of profiles visualized with silver, anti-paired helical filament and anti-tau methods were similar. However, in patients over 50 years of age (and in certain of those under 50), in whom numerous tangles were present, the number of cell profiles visualized with silver and anti-paired helical filament methods were still similar though anti-tau detected fewer positive cells. This was because of the increased presence, in such patients, of extracellular tangles which had "lost" anti-tau immunoreactivity. Such data suggest that although tau protein forms a major antigenic determinant of neurofibrillary tangles in Down's syndrome (as it does in Alzheimer's disease) this protein may only decorate the basic paired helical filament protein skeleton, and is removed by macrophagic activity upon neuronal death. In all patients, anti-ubiquitin revealed fewer tangles than any other method. It is possible that ubiquitin may be present only transiently, within tangles perhaps following initial formation and lasting only as long as the normal protein degradation processes remain viable within the diseased neurone.

Ubiquitin gene expression in brain and spinal cord in motor neurone disease

A restriction fragment of the coding region of a human ubiquitin gene has been used in Northern analyses of RNA prepared from human motor cortex and anterior horn region of cervical spinal cord. The analyses show that there is a substantial increase (approximately two-fold) in the expression of a polyubiquitin gene in motor cortex and spinal cord from patients with motor neurone disease compared to these tissues from control cases. Polyubiquitin gene expression in other organisms is associated with physical or chemical cell stresses. The data indicate that the primary stresses which result in the generation of ubiquitinated filamentous inclusion bodies in neurones in motor neurone disease also result in increased transcription of a gene coding for a polyprotein of ubiquitin.

Inhibition of heat shock (stress) protein induction by deuterium oxide and glycerol: additional support for the abnormal protein hypothesis of induction

The patterns of radioactively labeled proteins from cultured chicken embryo cells stressed in the presence of either D2O or glycerol were analyzed by using one-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These hyperthermic protectors blocked the induction of stress proteins during a 1-hour heat shock at 44 degrees C. The inhibitory effect of glycerol but not D2O on the induction of heat shock proteins could be overcome by increased temperature. By using transcriptional run-on assays of isolated nuclei and cDNA probes to detect hsp70- and hsp88-specific RNA transcripts, it was shown that the D2O and glycerol blocks occurred at or before transcriptional activation of the hsp70 and hsp88 genes. After heat-stressed cells were returned to 37 degrees C and the protectors were removed, heat shock proteins were inducible by a second heating. This result and the fact that the chemical stressor sodium arsenite induced stress proteins in glycerol medium indicated that the treatments did not irreversibly inhibit the induction pathways and that the stress response could be triggered even in the presence of glycerol by a stressor other than heat. In principle then, cells incurring thermal damage during a 1-hour heat shock at 44 degrees C in D2O or glycerol medium should be competent to respond by inducing heat shock proteins during a subsequent recovery period at 37 degrees C in normal medium. We found that heat shock proteins were not induced in recovering cells, suggesting that glycerol and D2O protected heat-sensitive targets from thermal damage. Evidence that the heat-sensitive target(s) is likely to be a protein(s) is summarized. During heat shocks of up to 3 hours duration, neither D2O nor glycerol significantly altered hsp23 gene activity, a constitutively expressed chicken heat shock gene whose RNA transcripts and protein products are induced by stabilization (increased half-life). During a 2-hour heat shock, glycerol treatment blocked the heat-induced stabilization of hsp23 RNA and proteins; however, D2O treatment only blocked RNA transcript stabilization, effectively uncoupling the hsp23 protein stabilization pathway from hsp23 RNA stabilization and transcriptional activation of hsp70 and hsp88 genes.

Unequal crossover generates variation in ubiquitin coding unit number at the human UbC polyubiquitin locus

An observed mRNA length polymorphism of the human UbC polyubiquitin gene transcript was shown to correlate exactly with a three-allele HaeIII RFLP. Both polymorphisms apparently result from a variation in the number of ubiquitin coding units per UbC allele. Transcriptionally active alleles containing seven, eight, or nine coding units were observed, at frequencies suggesting that alleles of higher coding-unit number are selectively retained in the population. We propose unequal crossover events, promoted by the highly repetitive structure of the polyubiquitin gene, as a basis for the coding-unit number variation, and we present preliminary evidence for such a crossover, on the basis of analysis of known UbC DNA sequences.

Thermotolerance of isolated mitochondria associated with heat shock proteins

Mitochondria isolated from 2-day-old etiolated soybean (Glycine max) seedlings which had been subjected to various heat shock treatments, i.e. (A) 28 degrees C (2 h), (B) 38 degrees C (2 h), (C) 38 degrees C (2 h)-42.5 degrees C (0.5 h), and (D) 38 degrees C (2 h)-42.5 degrees C (0.5 h)-28 degrees C (4 h), were monitored for O(2) uptake using an oxygen electrode. Mitochondria isolated after all four heat shock treatments were active in O(2) consumption at 28 degrees C in response to succinate and ADP (derived P/O ratios were 1.6, 1.7, 1.3, and 1.3, respectively.) The mitochondria from all four treatments were also active in O(2) uptake at 42.5 degrees C. However, only mitochondria isolated after treatment (C) were tightly coupling at 42.5 degrees C (derived ADP/O ratio was about 1.4). Combined with our earlier findings on the subcellular localization of heat shock proteins, our present data demonstrate that association of heat shock proteins with mitochondria by treatment (C) enables them to phosphorylate at 42.5 degrees C (i.e. they become thermotolerant). Isolated mitochondria from treatment (C) and treatment (A) were compared by electron microscopy. They appeared to be very similar and no significant ultrastructural differences were noted.

Impairment of protein ubiquitination may cause delayed neuronal death

The hippocampus is a brain structure specifically vulnerable to short periods of transient cerebral ischemia, and which displays delayed neuronal necrosis. Protein ubiquitination is a posttranslational modification of proteins and an important factor in heat shock response and a regulator of ATP-dependent protein degradation. Using affinity purified antibodies against ubiquitin and ubiquitin-protein conjugates we have found that the ubiquitin immunoreactivity (UIR), normally present in all neurons of the hippocampus, disappears in the early recirculation period following cerebral ischemia from all hippocampal cells except the interneurons. Later UIR reappears in the different hippocampal regions over a 72 h period in the following order: granule cells-CA3 pyramidal cells-CA2 pyramidal cells. This is the inverse order of sensitivity of these cells to ischemia. The UIR never recovers in the CA1 pyramidal neurons where a 95% neuronal necrosis is seen following three days of recovery. We propose that the loss of UIR in the pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region signifies a persistent impairment of protein ubiquitination, and thus a change in the turnover of structural and regulatory proteins, which could be an essential part of the mechanism of slow neuronal death following cerebral ischemia.

Rosenthal fibres are based on the ubiquitination of glial filaments

Immunocytochemical localization of the cell stress-associated protein ubiquitin was performed on human lesions containing Rosenthal fibres. Ubiquitin was localized around the periphery of classical Rosenthal fibres but not in the amorphous central areas; the ubiquitin-positive regions corresponded to the immunocytochemical localization of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Compact bundles of GFAP in glial processes without a non-staining core were also associated with ubiquitin, while loosely aggregated cellular GFAP was not. The relationship between compact bundles of GFAP and the amorphous osmiophilic central component of Rosenthal fibres has been uncertain. These data, however, show that the compact bundles of glial filaments are distinct from normal GFAP in being associated with ubiquitin. A role for ubiquitin in Rosenthal fibre formation is suggested. We propose that the term Rosenthal fibre be restricted to mean the hyaline amorphous core of these structures, while realizing that this is based on a wider abnormality of surrounding glial fibrillary acidic protein filaments.

Effects of heat shock on protein processing and turnover in developing Drosophila wings

Developmental defects called phenocopies can be induced by heating Drosophila melanogaster pupae at specific developmental stages. The induction of the defects is thought to be a result of interference with gene expression at some level (Petersen and Mitchell, Dev Biol 1987; 121:335-341, 1987). Here we look at protein turnover in developing 52-hour wings and at the effect of heat on the proteolytic processing of three proteins that normally turn over rapidly. The effect of the heat treatment itself on the turnover of each protein is different. However, all of the proteins appear to be stabilized at 25 degrees C during recovery from severe heat shocks.

Defect in the development of thermotolerance and enhanced heat shock protein synthesis in the mouse temperature-sensitive mutant ts85 cells upon moderate hyperthermia

The effect of exposure to moderate hyperthermia on the induction of thermotolerance and heat shock protein (HSP) synthesis was investigated using mouse FM3A cells and the temperature-sensitive mutant ts85 cells. The thermal sensitivity of the two cell lines was markedly different; the mutant ts85 cells were more sensitive than the parental wild-type FM3A cells to heating at 41 and 44 degrees C. The shift-up treatment of FM3A cells for 3 h at 39.5 degrees C from 33 degrees C induced thermotolerance development to subsequent heating at 44 degrees C, with little if any enhancement of major HSP synthesis. On the other hand, the similar treatment of ts85 cells at the non-permissive temperature of 39.5 degrees C induced significantly enhanced HSP synthesis, but could not induce thermotolerance. The exposure to 41 degrees C also induced thermotolerance in the wild-type cells, but failed to induce tolerance in the mutant ts85 cells. These results suggest that enhanced major-HSP synthesis is neither a sufficient or necessary condition for thermotolerance development upon moderate heat shock. The mechanism of thermotolerance is discussed by relating the observed defect in thermotolerance development to the known defect in ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation system of the mutant ts85 cells at non-permissive temperature.

Ubiquitin genes in Tetrahymena pyriformis and their expression during heat shock

The genome of Tetrahymena pyriformis was shown to contain a ubiquitin multigene family consisting of at least four polyubiquitin genes. Three genomic clones with different ubiquitin-coding sequences, were isolated and partially characterized. The complete nucleotide sequence of one of these clones (pTU2) was determined and showed two open reading frames (ORFs) at opposite ends of the cloned DNA insert. A comparison of the predicted amino acid (aa) sequence of T. pyriformis ubiquitin-coding unit with those from other organisms indicated a high degree of homology. However, Tetrahymena ubiquitin contained two aa substitutions at positions 16 (Asp) and 19 (Ala). Interestingly, the first pTU2 ORF showed two extra triplets coding for Ser and Gln, upstream from TGA. This feature is different from all the polyubiquitin genes thus far sequenced. Regions flanking the 3' and 5' ubiquitin-coding sequences presented several conserved motifs. The 5' flanking sequence of the second ORF of pTU2 contained one heat-shock element. We therefore studied the expression of the ubiquitin genes under stress conditions. The results showed that they are heat-inducible and that a new specific 1.6-kb mRNA appeared. These results suggest that the regulation of ubiquitin genes is important in T. pyriformis under thermal stress conditions.

Ubiquitin is a component of neurofibrillary tangles in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases

Ubiquitin has been shown to be a component of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease. We now show immunocytochemically that it is also a component of neurofibrillary tangles in several other neurodegenerative diseases of diverse aetiology, including Down's syndrome, dementia pugilistica and postencephalitic parkinsonism, and in normal ageing. Ubiquitin immunoreactivity is not, however, generally found in the neurofibrillary tangles of progressive supranuclear palsy. These findings show that while associated ubiquitin is not a feature unique to the tangles of Alzheimer's disease, it is not simply a non-specific response to the presence of an inclusion body within the cell. The observations suggest that ubiquitin may have an important role in the formation of neurofibrillary tangles in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases.

Heat shock-induced accumulation of ubiquitin mRNA in Xenopus laevis embryos is developmentally regulated

Exposure of Xenopus laevis embryos to heat shock induced the accumulation of ubiquitin mRNA (size range, 1.7-3.5 kb) in a developmental stage-dependent fashion. While constitutive ubiquitin transcripts were detectable throughout development, heat shock-induced accumulation did not occur until the fine-cell blastula stage. Continuous exposure of neurulae to heat shock (33 degrees C) induced a transient accumulation of ubiquitin mRNA with peak levels occurring after 2 hr. Finally, placement of Xenopus neurulae at 22 degrees C after a 1-hr heat shock at 33 degrees C produced a decrease in ubiquitin mRNA levels to near control levels by 24 hr.

Abnormal proteins as the trigger for the induction of stress responses: heat, diamide, and sodium arsenite

Thermotolerance and synthesis of heat shock proteins are induced in cells in response to a variety of environmental stresses. We examined the suggestion of Hightower (1980) that modifications of intracellular proteins may be the triggering event that induces heat shock protein synthesis and thermotolerance. We did so by modifying cellular proteins, using diamide, a sulfhydryl oxidizing agent, and dithio-bis (succinimidyl propionate), an agent that cross-links bifunctional amino groups. Both of these agents induced heat shock proteins and thermotolerance in CHO (HA-1) cells. Furthermore, we observed cross-resistance and self-tolerance with three seemingly unrelated stimuli (diamide, heat, and sodium arsenite). This observation suggests that the induction of protective responses to these stimuli is mediated by a common mechanism. The results support the hypothesis that production of abnormal proteins by various stresses induces the stress responses as well as tolerance.

The herpes simplex virus type 1 immediate-early protein ICP4 specifically induces increased transcription of the human ubiquitin B gene without affecting the ubiquitin A and C genes

Lytic infection with herpes simplex virus causes increased ubiquitin gene transcription. This effect is reproduced in cells expressing the viral immediate early protein ICP4 in the absence of other viral proteins but is not seen at the nonpermissive temperature in cells expressing the temperature-sensitive ICP4 protein of HSV-1 tsK. Studies with probes specific to the three human ubiquitin genes indicate that only the Ubi B gene is sensitive to ICP4-mediated induction whereas the Ubi A and C genes are unaffected. The significance of these effects for the mechanism by which ICP4 transcriptionally activates viral and a few cellular genes is discussed.