301
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Bosoy D, Peng Y, Mian IS, Lue NF. Conserved N-terminal motifs of telomerase reverse transcriptase required for ribonucleoprotein assembly in vivo. J Biol Chem 2003; 278:3882-90. [PMID: 12458198 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m210645200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) reverse transcriptase responsible for the maintenance of one strand of the telomere terminal repeats. The key protein subunit of the telomerase complex, known as TERT, possesses reverse transcriptase (RT)-like motifs that directly mediate nucleotide addition. The RT motifs are located in the C-terminal region of the polypeptide. Sequence alignments also revealed the existence of four conserved motifs (named GQ, CP, QFP, and T) in the N-terminal region of TERT. The GQ motif of yeast TERT has been demonstrated previously to be essential for telomerase catalysis and may participate in RNP formation. In this report, we show that substitution of conserved residues in the CP, QFP, and T motifs of yeast TERT also impairs both telomere maintenance and telomerase activity, thus confirming the validity of the sequence alignment. The extent of telomere shortening correlates with the extent of reduction in the level of telomerase activity, TERT protein, and TERT-associated TLC1 RNA. Overexpression of the mutant proteins does not result in telomere shortening, implying that assembly rather than catalytic function was affected. This notion was further supported by comparing the efficiency of RNP formation in the wild type and the overexpression strains. Taken together, our results show that three of the four N-terminal motifs are required for efficient telomerase RNP formation in vivo but not for the enzymatic function of telomerase. We also show that the majority of telomerase-associated TLC1 RNA has a more upstream 3' end than previously reported, consistent with additional processing events during RNP maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitry Bosoy
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, W. R. Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York 10021, USA
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302
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Theimer CA, Finger LD, Trantirek L, Feigon J. Mutations linked to dyskeratosis congenita cause changes in the structural equilibrium in telomerase RNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2003; 100:449-54. [PMID: 12525685 PMCID: PMC141015 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.242720799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Autosomal dominant dyskeratosis congenita (DKC), as well as aplastic anemia, has been linked to mutations in the RNA component of telomerase, the ribonucleoprotein responsible for telomere maintenance. Here we examine the effect of the DKC mutations on the structure and stability of human telomerase RNA pseudoknot and CR7 domains by using NMR and thermal melting. The CR7 domain point mutation decreases stability and alters a conserved secondary structure thought to be involved in human telomerase RNA accumulation in vivo. We find that pseudoknot constructs containing the conserved elements of the pseudoknot domain are in equilibrium with a hairpin conformation. The solution structure of the wild-type hairpin reveals that it forms a continuous helix containing a novel run of three consecutive U.U and a U.C base pairs closed by a pentaloop. The six base pairs unique to the hairpin conformation are phylogenetically conserved in mammals, suggesting that this conformation is also functionally important. The DKC mutation in the pseudoknot domain results in a shift in the equilibrium toward the hairpin form, primarily due to destabilization of the pseudoknot. Our results provide insight into the effect of these mutations on telomerase structure and suggest that the catalytic cycle of telomerase involves a delicate interplay between RNA conformational states, alteration of which leads to the disease state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla A Theimer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569, USA
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303
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Hüttenhofer A, Brosius J, Bachellerie JP. RNomics: identification and function of small, non-messenger RNAs. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2002; 6:835-43. [PMID: 12470739 DOI: 10.1016/s1367-5931(02)00397-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
In the past few years, our knowledge about small non-mRNAs (snmRNAs) has grown exponentially. Approaches including computational and experimental RNomics have led to a plethora of novel snmRNAs, especially small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). Members of this RNA class guide modification of ribosomal and spliceosomal RNAs. Novel targets for snoRNAs were identified such as tRNAs and potentially mRNAs, and several snoRNAs were shown to be tissue-specifically expressed. In addition, previously unknown classes of snmRNAs have been discovered. MicroRNAs and small interfering RNAs of about 21-23 nt, were shown to regulate gene expression by binding to mRNAs via antisense elements. Regulation of gene expression is exerted by degradation of mRNAs or translational regulation. snmRNAs play a variety of roles during regulation of gene expression. Moreover, the function of some snmRNAs known for decades, has been finally elucidated. Many other RNAs were identified by RNomics studies lacking known sequence and structure motifs. Future challenges in the field of RNomics include identification of the novel snmRNA's biological roles in the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Hüttenhofer
- Institute of Experimental Pathology, ZMBE, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, 48149, Münster, Germany.
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304
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Yang PK, Rotondo G, Porras T, Legrain P, Chanfreau G. The Shq1p.Naf1p complex is required for box H/ACA small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein particle biogenesis. J Biol Chem 2002; 277:45235-42. [PMID: 12228251 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m207669200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein particles (snoRNPs) are essential cofactors in ribosomal RNA metabolism. Although snoRNP composition has been thoroughly characterized, the biogenesis process of these particles is poorly understood. We have identified two proteins from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Yil104c/Shq1p and Ynl124w/Naf1p, which are essential and required for the stability of box H/ACA snoRNPs. Depletion of either Shq1p or Naf1p leads to a dramatic and specific decrease in box H/ACA snoRNA levels in vivo. A severe concomitant defect in ribosomal RNA processing is observed, consistent with the depletion of this family of snoRNAs. Shq1p and Naf1p show nuclear localization and interact with Nhp2p and Cbf5p, two core proteins of mature box H/ACA snoRNPs. Shq1p and Naf1p form a complex, but they are not strongly associated with box H/ACA snoRNPs. We propose that Shq1p and Naf1p are involved in the early biogenesis steps of box H/ACA snoRNP assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pok Kwan Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, USA
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305
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Politz JC, Lewandowski LB, Pederson T. Signal recognition particle RNA localization within the nucleolus differs from the classical sites of ribosome synthesis. J Cell Biol 2002; 159:411-8. [PMID: 12427865 PMCID: PMC2173079 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.200208037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The nucleolus is the site of ribosome biosynthesis, but is now known to have other functions as well. In the present study we have investigated how the distribution of signal recognition particle (SRP) RNA within the nucleolus relates to the known sites of ribosomal RNA synthesis, processing, and nascent ribosome assembly (i.e., the fibrillar centers, the dense fibrillar component (DFC), and the granular component). Very little SRP RNA was detected in fibrillar centers or the DFC of the nucleolus, as defined by the RNA polymerase I-specific upstream binding factor and the protein fibrillarin, respectively. Some SRP RNA was present in the granular component, as marked by the protein B23, indicating a possible interaction with ribosomal subunits at a later stage of maturation. However, a substantial portion of SRP RNA was also detected in regions of the nucleolus where neither B23, UBF, or fibrillarin were concentrated. Dual probe in situ hybridization experiments confirmed that a significant fraction of nucleolar SRP RNA was not spatially coincident with 28S ribosomal RNA. These results demonstrate that SRP RNA concentrates in an intranucleolar location other than the classical stations of ribosome biosynthesis, suggesting that there may be nucleolar regions that are specialized for other functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan C Politz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Program in Cell Dynamics, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 377 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
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306
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Seto AG, Livengood AJ, Tzfati Y, Blackburn EH, Cech TR. A bulged stem tethers Est1p to telomerase RNA in budding yeast. Genes Dev 2002; 16:2800-12. [PMID: 12414733 PMCID: PMC187470 DOI: 10.1101/gad.1029302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
It is well established that the template for telomeric DNA synthesis is provided by the RNA subunit of telomerase; however, the additional functions provided by most of the rest of the RNA (>1000 nucleotides in budding yeast) are largely unknown. By alignment of telomerase RNAs of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and six Kluyveromyces species followed by mutagenesis of the S. cerevisiae RNA, we found a conserved region that is essential for telomere maintenance. Phylogenetic analysis and computer folding revealed that this region is conserved not only in primary nucleotide sequence but also in secondary structure. A common bulged-stem structure was predicted in all seven yeast species. Mutational analysis showed the structure to be essential for telomerase function. Suppression of bulged-stem mutant phenotypes by overexpression of Est1p and loss of co-immunoprecipitation of the mutant RNAs with Est1p indicated that this bulged stem is necessary for association of Est1p, a telomerase regulatory subunit. Est1p in yeast extract bound specifically to a small RNA containing the bulged stem, suggesting a direct interaction. We propose that this RNA structure links the enzymatic core of telomerase with Est1p, thereby allowing Est1p to recruit or activate telomerase at the telomere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita G Seto
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0215, USA
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307
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Kiss AM, Jády BE, Darzacq X, Verheggen C, Bertrand E, Kiss T. A Cajal body-specific pseudouridylation guide RNA is composed of two box H/ACA snoRNA-like domains. Nucleic Acids Res 2002; 30:4643-9. [PMID: 12409454 PMCID: PMC135803 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkf592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2002] [Revised: 09/09/2002] [Accepted: 09/09/2002] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Site-specific post-transcriptional conversion of uridines to pseudouridine in ribosomal RNAs and small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) is directed by guide RNAs which possess the conserved box H and ACA sequence elements and fold into the consensus 'hairpin-hinge-hairpin-tail' secondary structure. Here, we describe an unusual mammalian pseudouridylation guide RNA, called U93, that is composed of two tandemly arranged box H/ACA RNA domains. The U93 RNA therefore carries two H and two ACA box motifs, all of which are essential for accumulation of the full-length RNA. The human U93 RNA accumulates in Cajal (coiled) bodies and it is predicted to function in pseudouridylation of the U2 spliceosomal snRNA. Our results lend further support to the notion that modification of the RNA polymerase II-transcribed spliceosomal snRNAs takes place in Cajal bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnold M Kiss
- Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France
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308
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He J, Navarrete S, Jasinski M, Vulliamy T, Dokal I, Bessler M, Mason PJ. Targeted disruption of Dkc1, the gene mutated in X-linked dyskeratosis congenita, causes embryonic lethality in mice. Oncogene 2002; 21:7740-4. [PMID: 12400016 DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1205969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2002] [Revised: 06/27/2002] [Accepted: 08/08/2002] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is an inherited bone marrow failure syndrome associated with increased cancer susceptibility. The X-linked form is due to mutations in the DKC1 gene encoding dyskerin, a nucleolar protein predicted to be involved in rRNA processing and associated with the telomerase complex. Available evidence suggests the pathology of DC is due to telomerase defects. We have used the inducible Cre/loxP system to produce deletions in the murine Dkc1 gene in early embryogenesis. A large deletion lacking exons 12-15 and a small deletion lacking only the last exon, were produced. We found both deletions showed a parent-of-origin effect with 100% embryonic lethality when the mutation occurred on the maternal Dkc1. Embryonic analysis at day E7.5 and E9.5 showed no male embryos carrying either deletion whereas females with maternally derived deletions died around day E9.5, with degeneration of the extra embryonic tissue, in which the paternal X-chromosome is inactivated. Female mice carrying the deletion in the paternally derived Dkc1 show extreme skewing of X-inactivation with the wild type X-chromosome active in all cells. Since mice with no telomerase are viable in the first generations the lethality we observe is unlikely to be due to the effects of mutated dyskerin on telomerase activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun He
- Department of Internal Medicine, Div Hematology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, MO 63110, USA
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309
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Mikuni O, Trager JB, Ackerly H, Weinrich SL, Asai A, Yamashita Y, Mizukami T, Anazawa H. Reconstitution of telomerase activity utilizing human catalytic subunit expressed in insect cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2002; 298:144-50. [PMID: 12379232 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-291x(02)02417-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Telomerase is a specialized reverse transcriptase responsible for maintaining the termini of linear chromosomes. The human enzyme is a ribonucleoprotein complex minimally comprising a catalytic protein moiety (hTERT) and an RNA subunit (hTR) which acts as the template for the reverse transcriptase reaction. Here we report expression of recombinant hTERT protein in insect cells utilizing a baculovirus expression system. The recombinant hTERT protein reconstitutes telomerase activity in the presence of hTR, either when co-expressed in insect cells or when added in vitro. Reconstitution of telomerase activity using this system will facilitate further analysis of the biochemical and biophysical properties of this enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osamu Mikuni
- Tokyo Research Laboratories, Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., 3-6-6 Asahi-machi, Machida-shi, 194-8533, Tokyo, Japan.
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310
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Fuchsová B, Hozák P. The Localization of Nuclear DNA Helicase II in Different Nuclear Compartments Is Linked to Transcription. Exp Cell Res 2002; 279:260-70. [PMID: 12243751 DOI: 10.1006/excr.2002.5617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Nuclear DNA helicase II (NDH II) is a member of the DEAH superfamily of helicases and functions as a pre-mRNA- and mRNA-binding protein in human cells. Here we report for the first time that human NDH II is associated with the nucleolus of transformed and nontransformed cells as shown by immunofluorescence and by ultrastructural studies. When RNA polymerase II (POL II) transcription is inhibited, NDH II highly accumulates in the nucleolus and shows predominant association with subdomains in DFC and in a portion of GC attached to DFC. Furthermore, these subdomains completely co-localize with mRNA-binding protein TLS. In addition, we show that nucleolar accumulation of NDH II is closely related to G(0)-phase growth arrest in human fibroblasts. Thus, the nucleolar localization of NDH II depends upon the metabolic state of the cell. Based on the data we propose that NDH II operates in both nucleoplasmic and nucleolar mode, and that its redistribution reflects accumulations indicating a possible cycling of NDH II between nucleoplasm and the nucleolus. The nucleolus can serve as a temporary storage or recycling center for NDH II. Possible functions of NDH II in pre-rRNA biogenesis, or in nucleolar mRNA metabolism, are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Fuchsová
- Department of Cell Ultrastructure and Molecular Biology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
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311
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Whitehead SE, Jones KW, Zhang X, Cheng X, Terns RM, Terns MP. Determinants of the interaction of the spinal muscular atrophy disease protein SMN with the dimethylarginine-modified box H/ACA small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein GAR1. J Biol Chem 2002; 277:48087-93. [PMID: 12244096 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m204551200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Deletion or mutation of the SMN1 (survival of motor neurons) gene causes the common, fatal neuromuscular disease spinal muscular atrophy. The SMN protein is important in small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) assembly and interacts with snRNP proteins via arginine/glycine-rich domains. Recently, SMN was also found to interact with core protein components of the two major families of small nucleolar RNPs, fibrillarin and GAR1, suggesting that SMN may also function in the assembly of small nucleolar RNPs. Here we present results that indicate that the interaction of SMN with GAR1 is mediated by the Tudor domain of SMN. Single point mutations within the Tudor domain, including a spinal muscular atrophy patient mutation, impair the interaction of SMN with GAR1. Furthermore, we find that either of the two arginine/glycine-rich domains of GAR1 can provide for interaction with SMN, but removal of both results in loss of the interaction. Finally, we have found that unlike the interaction of SMN with the Sm snRNP proteins, interaction with GAR1 and fibrillarin is not enhanced by arginine dimethylation. Our results argue against post-translational arginine dimethylation as a general requirement for SMN recognition of proteins bearing arginine/glycine-rich domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Whitehead
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, USA
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312
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Bachand F, Boisvert FM, Côté J, Richard S, Autexier C. The product of the survival of motor neuron (SMN) gene is a human telomerase-associated protein. Mol Biol Cell 2002; 13:3192-202. [PMID: 12221125 PMCID: PMC124152 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e02-04-0216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex that is minimally composed of a protein catalytic subunit, the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), and an RNA component, the telomerase RNA. The survival of motor neuron (SMN) gene codes for a protein involved in the biogenesis of certain RNPs. Here, we report that SMN is a telomerase-associated protein. Using in vitro binding assays and immunoprecipitation experiments, we demonstrate an association between SMN and the telomerase RNP in vitro and in human cells. The specific immunopurification of SMN from human 293 cells copurified telomerase activity, suggesting that SMN associates with a subset of the functional telomerase holoenzyme. Our results also indicate that the human telomerase RNA and the human (h) TERT are not associated with Sm proteins, in contrast to Saccharomyces cerevisiae telomerase. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that hTERT does not specifically colocalize with wild-type SMN in gems or Cajal bodies. However, a dominant-negative mutant of SMN (SMNDeltaN27) previously characterized to elicit the cellular reorganization of small nuclear RNPs caused the accumulation of hTERT in specific SMNDeltaN27-induced cellular bodies. Furthermore, coexpression of SMNDeltaN27 and hTERT in rabbit reticulocyte lysates decreased the efficiency of human telomerase reconstitution in vitro. Our results establish SMN as a novel telomerase-associated protein that is likely to function in human telomerase biogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Bachand
- Bloomfield Centre for Research in Aging, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1E2, Canada
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313
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Gerbi SA, Lange TS. All small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) of the [U4/U6.U5] Tri-snRNP localize to nucleoli; Identification of the nucleolar localization element of U6 snRNA. Mol Biol Cell 2002; 13:3123-37. [PMID: 12221120 PMCID: PMC124147 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.01-12-0596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Previously, we showed that spliceosomal U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) transiently passes through the nucleolus. Herein, we report that all individual snRNAs of the [U4/U6.U5] tri-snRNP localize to nucleoli, demonstrated by fluorescence microscopy of nucleolar preparations after injection of fluorescein-labeled snRNA into Xenopus oocyte nuclei. Nucleolar localization of U6 is independent from [U4/U6] snRNP formation since sites of direct interaction of U6 snRNA with U4 snRNA are not nucleolar localization elements. Among all regions in U6, the only one required for nucleolar localization is its 3' end, which associates with the La protein and subsequently during maturation of U6 is bound by Lsm proteins. This 3'-nucleolar localization element of U6 is both essential and sufficient for nucleolar localization and also required for localization to Cajal bodies. Conversion of the 3' hydroxyl of U6 snRNA to a 3' phosphate prevents association with the La protein but does not affect U6 localization to nucleoli or Cajal bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan A Gerbi
- Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
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314
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Abstract
The telomere is a special functional complex at the end of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, consisting of tandem repeat DNA sequences and associated proteins. It is essential for maintaining the integrity and stability of linear eukaryotic genomes. Telomere length regulation and maintenance contribute to normal human cellular aging and human diseases. The synthesis of telomeres is mainly achieved by the cellular reverse transcriptase telomerase, an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase that adds telomeric DNA to telomeres. Expression of telomerase is usually required for cell immortalization and long-term tumor growth. In humans, telomerase activity is tightly regulated during development and oncogenesis. The modulation of telomerase activity may therefore have important implications in antiaging and anticancer therapy. This review describes the currently known components of the telomerase complex and attempts to provide an update on the molecular mechanisms of human telomerase regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Sheng Cong
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9039, USA.
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315
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Abstract
In eukaryotes, the site-specific formation of the two prevalent types of rRNA modified nucleotides, 2'-O-methylated nucleotides and pseudouridines, is directed by two large families of snoRNAs. These are termed box C/D and H/ACA snoRNAs, respectively, and exert their function through the formation of a canonical guide RNA duplex at the modification site. In each family, one snoRNA acts as a guide for one, or at most two modifications, through a single, or a pair of appropriate antisense elements. The two guide families now appear much larger than anticipated and their role not restricted to ribosome synthesis only. This is reflected by the recent detection of guides that can target other cellular RNAs, including snRNAs, tRNAs and possibly even mRNAs, and by the identification of scores of tissue-specific specimens in mammals. Recent characterization of homologs of eukaryotic modification guide snoRNAs in Archaea reveals the ancient origin of these non-coding RNA families and offers new perspectives as to their range of function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Pierre Bachellerie
- Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 118, route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 4,France.
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316
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Yang Y, Chen Y, Zhang C, Huang H, Weissman SM. Nucleolar localization of hTERT protein is associated with telomerase function. Exp Cell Res 2002; 277:201-9. [PMID: 12083802 DOI: 10.1006/excr.2002.5541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex that prevents telomeric erosion in eukaryotic cells. Although there are also other associated proteins in this complex, the catalytic activity of this complex is composed of two components. One is a reverse transcriptase subunit, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase); another is an RNA template subunit, TR (telomerase RNA). However, where these two parts are assembled in mammalian cells is unclear. In the present study, we investigated the intracellular distribution of human TERT (hTERT) protein and observed that hTERT protein in individual cells could concentrate in or be excluded from the nucleolus. Further we have identified a nucleolar targeting signal in the hTERT protein. Point mutations that disrupted this signal region interrupted telomerase RNP complex formation, decreased telomerase activity, and caused telomere shortening in cells transfected with mutated hTERT. Our results indicate that the amino acid sequence of the extreme N-terminus (1-15) of hTERT, which targets nucleolar localization of the protein, is required for full telomerase function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinhua Yang
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06536-0812, USA
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317
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Etheridge KT, Banik SSR, Armbruster BN, Zhu Y, Terns RM, Terns MP, Counter CM. The nucleolar localization domain of the catalytic subunit of human telomerase. J Biol Chem 2002; 277:24764-70. [PMID: 11956201 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m201227200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is the enzyme essential to complete the replication of the terminal DNA of most eukaryotic chromosomes. In humans, this enzyme is composed of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and telomerase RNA (hTR) subunits. hTR has been found in the nucleolus, a site of assembly of ribosomes as well as other ribonucleoproteins (RNPs). We therefore tested whether the hTERT component is also found in the nucleolus, where it could complex with the hTR RNA to form a functional enzyme. We report here that hTERT does indeed localize to the nucleolus, and we mapped the domain responsible for this localization to the hTR-binding region of the protein by deletion analysis. Substitution mutations in two of the three conserved hTR-binding domains in this nucleolar localization domain (NoLD) abolished nucleolar localization. However, another mutation that impeded hTR binding did not alter this subcellular localization. Additionally, wild type hTERT was detected in the nucleolus of cells that failed to express hTR. Taken together, we propose that the nucleolar localization of hTERT involves more than just the association with the hTR subunit. Furthermore, the coincidental targeting of both the hTR and hTERT subunits to the nucleolus supports the premise that the assembly of telomerase occurs in the nucleolus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine T Etheridge
- Department of Pharmacology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
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318
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Chang JTC, Chen YL, Yang HT, Chen CY, Cheng AJ. Differential regulation of telomerase activity by six telomerase subunits. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY 2002; 269:3442-50. [PMID: 12135483 DOI: 10.1046/j.1432-1033.2002.03025.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Telomerase is a specialized reverse transcriptase responsible for synthesizing telomeric DNA at the ends of chromosomes. Six subunits composing the telomerase complex have been cloned: hTR (human telomerase RNA), TEP1 (telomerase-associated protein 1), hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase), hsp90 (heat shock protein 90), p23, and dyskerin. In this study, we investigated the role of each the telomerase subunit on the activity of telomerase. Through down- or upregulation of telomerase, we found that only hTERT expression changed proportionally with the level of telomerase activity. The other components, TEP1, hTR, hsp90, p23, and dyskerin remained at high and unchanged levels throughout modulation. In vivo and in vitro experiments with antisense oligonucleotides against each telomerase component were also performed. Telomerase activity was decreased or abolished by antisense treatment. To correlate clinical sample status, four pairs of normal and malignant tissues from patients with oral cancer were examined. Except for the hTERT subunit, which showed differential expression in normal and cancer tissues, all other components were expressed in both normal and malignant tissues. We conclude that hTERT is a regulatable subunit, whereas the other components are expressed more constantly in cells. Although hTERT has a rate-limiting effect on enzyme activity, the other telomerase subunits (hTR, TEP1, hsp90, p23, dyskerin) participated in full enzyme activity. We hypothesize that once hTERT is expressed, all other telomerase subunits can be assembled to form a highly active holoenzyme.
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319
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Salowsky R, Heiss NS, Benner A, Wittig R, Poustka A. Basal transcription activity of the dyskeratosis congenita gene is mediated by Sp1 and Sp3 and a patient mutation in a Sp1 binding site is associated with decreased promoter activity. Gene 2002; 293:9-19. [PMID: 12137939 DOI: 10.1016/s0378-1119(02)00725-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The multisystem disorder dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) is caused by mutations in the DKC1 gene. The protein dyskerin is a component of the box H+ACA small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and is also functionally associated with the RNA component of the human telomerase. The majority of mutations are missense mutations, although single examples of non-coding mutations have been described. One of these is a point mutation in a putative Sp1 binding site in the 5'-upstream region of the DKC1 gene which presumably represents the promoter region of the gene. In this report, we compare the promoter sequences of both the human and mouse genes and provide a first functional characterisation of the human DKC1 promoter. This includes a characterisation of the disease-associated implications caused by the mutation identified in one patient. By reporter gene analysis, functional regions of the DKC1 promoter were delineated. The core promoter region critical for basal level of transcription was found to lie at -10 to -180. Bandshift- and supershift experiments clearly demonstrated a mutual binding of transcription factors Sp1 and Sp3 to two of five putative GC-box/Sp1-binding sites located within the core promoter region. An additional GC-box interacts only with the Sp1 transcription factor. Further, we provide evidence that the DKC1 mutation in one of the Sp1 binding sites results in reduced promoter activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger Salowsky
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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320
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Abstract
Eukaryotic cells contain a very complex population of small nucleolar RNAs. They function, as small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins, in pre-ribosomal RNA processing reactions, and also guide methylation and pseudouridylation of ribosomal RNA, spliceosomal small nuclear RNAs, and possibly other cellular RNAs. Synthesis of small nucleolar RNAs frequently follows unusual strategies. Some newly discovered brain-specific small nucleolar RNAs of unknown function are encoded in introns of tandemly repeated units, expression of which is paternally imprinted. Recent studies of the protein components and factors participating in small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein assembly have revealed interesting connections with other classes of cellular ribonucleoproteins such as spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins and telomerase. Cajal bodies emerge as nuclear structures important for the biogenesis and function of small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Witold Filipowicz
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland.
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321
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Miller MC, Collins K. Telomerase recognizes its template by using an adjacent RNA motif. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002; 99:6585-90. [PMID: 11997465 PMCID: PMC124446 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.102024699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase adds telomeric repeats to chromosome 3' ends, forestalling the cellular senescence, apoptosis, and genomic instability that result from telomere loss caused by incomplete DNA replication. The telomerase ribonucleoprotein is dedicated to synthesis of tandem, simple-sequence repeats by virtue of its specialization for copying only a specific template region within the integral RNA. Here, using circularly permuted variants of Tetrahymena thermophila telomerase RNA, we identify the features that allow recognition of the template region within the RNA. We engineered a template-less telomerase ribonucleoprotein that can position and reverse transcribe an exchangeable RNA oligonucleotide template accurately. Only a short "template-recognition" element sequence tag is required to direct efficient use of adjacent 5' residues as a template for telomeric repeat synthesis. Our findings reveal molecular requirements for template selection by telomerase and physically resolve templating from other RNA functions in catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Miller
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, 401 Barker Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
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322
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Antal M, Boros E, Solymosy F, Kiss T. Analysis of the structure of human telomerase RNA in vivo. Nucleic Acids Res 2002; 30:912-20. [PMID: 11842102 PMCID: PMC100349 DOI: 10.1093/nar/30.4.912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase that synthesises telomeric DNA. The RNA component of telomerase acts as a template for telomere synthesis and binds the reverse transcriptase. In this study, we have performed in vivo and in vitro structural analyses of human telomerase RNA (hTR). In vivo mapping experiments showed that the 5'-terminal template domain of hTR folds into a long hairpin structure, in which the template sequence occupies a readily accessible position. Intriguingly, neither in vivo nor in vitro mapping of hTR confirmed formation of a stable 'pseudoknot' helix, suggesting that this functionally essential long range interaction is formed only temporarily. In vitro control mappings demonstrated that the 5'-terminal template domain of hTR cannot fold correctly in the absence of cellular protein factors. The 3'-terminal domain of hTR, both in vivo and in vitro, folds into the previously predicted box H/ACA snoRNA-like 'hairpin-hinge-hairpin-tail' structure. Finally, comparison of the in vivo and in vitro modification patterns of hTR revealed several regions that might be directly involved in binding of telomerase reverse transcriptase or other telomerase proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mária Antal
- Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, PO Box 521, H-6701 Szeged, Hungary
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323
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Mergny JL, Riou JF, Mailliet P, Teulade-Fichou MP, Gilson E. Natural and pharmacological regulation of telomerase. Nucleic Acids Res 2002; 30:839-65. [PMID: 11842096 PMCID: PMC100331 DOI: 10.1093/nar/30.4.839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 273] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2001] [Revised: 11/29/2001] [Accepted: 11/29/2001] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The extremities of eukaryotic chromosomes are called telomeres. They have a structure unlike the bulk of the chromosome, which allows the cell DNA repair machinery to distinguish them from 'broken' DNA ends. But these specialised structures present a problem when it comes to replicating the DNA. Indeed, telomeric DNA progressively erodes with each round of cell division in cells that do not express telomerase, a specialised reverse transcriptase necessary to fully duplicate the telomeric DNA. Telomerase is expressed in tumour cells but not in most somatic cells and thus telomeres and telomerase may be proposed as attractive targets for the discovery of new anticancer agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Louis Mergny
- Laboratoire de Biophysique, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, INSERM U 201, CNRS UMR 8646, 43 rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France.
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324
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Liang XH, Xu YX, Michaeli S. The spliced leader-associated RNA is a trypanosome-specific sn(o) RNA that has the potential to guide pseudouridine formation on the SL RNA. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2002; 8:237-46. [PMID: 11911368 PMCID: PMC1370245 DOI: 10.1017/s1355838202018290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The spliced leader-associated (SLA1) RNA is a trypanosome-specific small RNA with unknown function. SLA1 carries a Sm-like site, and is associated with core Sm proteins. Here we found that SLA1 belongs to a family of hairpin-containing RNAs that are implicated in directing pseudouridylation. A potential for base-pair interaction between SLA1 and spliced leader (SL) RNA agrees with the canonical rules for guiding pseudouridylation on SL RNA. Direct RNA analysis showed that this uridine is indeed pseudouridylated in the SL RNA of Leptomonas collosoma, Leishmania major, and Trypanosoma brucei. This position is conserved in all trypanosomatid SL RNAs. Mutations introduced in the SL RNA to disrupt the interaction domain of SLA1/SL RNA abolished the formation of the pseudouridine. SLA1 is localized both to the nucleolus and nucleoplasm. This study solves a long-standing question regarding the function of this novel RNA and describes the first H/ACA RNA, which, unlike all other pseudouridine guides, is also a bona fide snRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue-Hai Liang
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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325
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Abstract
The intent of this review is to describe what is known and unknown about telomerase in somatic cells of the human organism. First, we consider the telomerase enzyme. Human telomerase ribonucleoproteins undergo at least three stages of cellular biogenesis: accumulation, catalytic activation and recruitment to the telomere. Next, we describe the patterns of telomerase regulation in the human soma. Telomerase activation in some cell types appears to offset proliferation-dependent telomere shortening, delaying but not defeating the inherent mitotic clock. Finally, we elaborate the connection between telomerase misregulation and human disease, in the contexts of inappropriate telomerase activation and telomerase deficiency. We discuss how our current perspectives on telomerase function could be applied to improving human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Collins
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, CA 94720-3204, USA.
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326
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Ford LP, Wright WE, Shay JW. A model for heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins in telomere and telomerase regulation. Oncogene 2002; 21:580-3. [PMID: 11850782 DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1205086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) are a large family of nucleic acid binding proteins that are often found in, but not restricted to, the 40S-ribonucleoprotein particle. Subsets of hnRNPs are strictly nuclear while others shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm. Members of the hnRNP family have been implicated to have roles in many aspects of mRNA maturation/turnover and in telomere and telomerase regulation. Telomeres are repetitive DNA elements mainly found at the ends of human chromosomes. In most normal cells, telomeres shorten with each cell division. Telomere shortening can be compensated for by a ribonucleoprotein complex, called telomerase. Telomerase, consisting of an integral RNA and catalytic protein component as well as several auxiliary factors, extends the 3'-G-rich strand of the ends of the telomeres. Here we present new data and describe a model that implicates the telomerase bound hnRNPs in promoting telomere access by interacting with telomeres. Telomere bound hnRNPs include hnRNP A1, A2-B1, D and E and telomerase bound hnRNPs including hnRNPA1 C1/C2 and D. The telomere and telomerase bound hnRNPs may prove to be good targets for regulating telomere length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lance P Ford
- Ambion, Inc., 2130 Woodward Street, Austin, Texas, TX 78744-1832, USA
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327
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Chen JL, Opperman KK, Greider CW. A critical stem-loop structure in the CR4-CR5 domain of mammalian telomerase RNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2002; 30:592-7. [PMID: 11788723 PMCID: PMC99822 DOI: 10.1093/nar/30.2.592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is an enzyme that maintains telomere length by adding telomeric sequence repeats onto chromosome ends. The telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex consists of two essential components, a reverse transcriptase and an RNA molecule that provides the template for telomeric repeat synthesis. A common secondary structure of vertebrate telomerase RNA has been proposed based on a phylogenetic comparative analysis of 35 sequences. Here we report the identification of an additional essential base-paired region in the CR4-CR5 domain of mammalian telomerase RNA, termed P6.1. Mouse telomerase RNAs with mutations that disrupted base pairings in the P6.1 helix were unable to reconstitute telomerase activity in vivo. In contrast, an RNA mutant with compensatory mutations that restored base pairings in the P6.1 helix restored telomerase activity. In an in vitro reconstitution system stable base pairing of the P6.1 stem was required for the RNA-protein interaction between the CR4-CR5 domain and the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) protein. Interestingly, two RNA mutations, one that extends the P6.1 stem and one that alters the conserved nucleotides of the L6.1 loop, allowed RNA-protein binding but significantly impaired telomerase activity. These data establish the presence of the P6.1 stem-loop and its importance for the assembly and enzymatic activity of the mammalian telomerase complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiunn-Liang Chen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, 725 North Wolfe Street, Hunterian 617, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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328
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Olson MOJ, Hingorani K, Szebeni A. Conventional and nonconventional roles of the nucleolus. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CYTOLOGY 2002; 219:199-266. [PMID: 12211630 PMCID: PMC7133188 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7696(02)19014-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
As the most prominent of subnuclear structures, the nucleolus has a well-established role in ribosomal subunit assembly. Additional nucleolar functions, not related to ribosome biogenesis, have been discovered within the last decade. Built around multiple copies of the genes for preribosomal RNA (rDNA), nucleolar structure is largely dependent on the process of ribosome assembly. The nucleolus is disassembled during mitosis at which time preribosomal RNA transcription and processing are suppressed; it is reassembled at the end of mitosis in part from components preserved from the previous cell cycle. Expression of preribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) is regulated by the silencing of individual rDNA genes via alterations in chromatin structure or by controlling RNA polymerase I initiation complex formation. Preribosomal RNA processing and posttranscriptional modifications are guided by a multitude of small nucleolar RNAs. Nearly completed ribosomal subunits are exported to the cytoplasm by an established nuclear export system with the aid of specialized adapter molecules. Some preribosomal and nucleolar components are transiently localized in Cajal bodies, presumably for modification or assembly. The nonconventional functions of nucleolus include roles in viral infections, nuclear export, sequestration of regulatory molecules, modification of small RNAs, RNP assembly, and control of aging, although some of these functions are not well established. Additional progress in defining the mechanisms of each step in ribosome biogenesis as well as clarification of the precise role of the nucleolus in nonconventional activities is expected in the next decade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark O J Olson
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson 39216, USA
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329
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Hoang C, Ferré-D'Amaré AR. Cocrystal structure of a tRNA Psi55 pseudouridine synthase: nucleotide flipping by an RNA-modifying enzyme. Cell 2001; 107:929-39. [PMID: 11779468 DOI: 10.1016/s0092-8674(01)00618-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 230] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Pseudouridine (Psi) synthases catalyze the isomerization of specific uridines in cellular RNAs to pseudouridines and may function as RNA chaperones. TruB is responsible for the Psi residue present in the T loops of virtually all tRNAs. The close homolog Cbf5/dyskerin is the catalytic subunit of box H/ACA snoRNPs. These carry out the pseudouridylation of eukaryotic rRNA and snRNAs. The 1.85 A resolution structure of TruB bound to RNA reveals that this enzyme recognizes the preformed three-dimensional structure of the T loop, primarily through shape complementarity. It accesses its substrate uridyl residue by flipping out the nucleotide and disrupts the tertiary structure of tRNA. Structural comparisons with TruB demonstrate that all Psi synthases are descended from a common molecular ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Hoang
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
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330
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Dokal I. The Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes: Fanconi Anemia, Dyskeratosis Congenita and Diamond‐Blackfan Anemia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2001. [DOI: 10.1046/j.1468-0734.2000.00015.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Inderjeet Dokal
- Department of Haematology, Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK
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331
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Lukowiak AA, Narayanan A, Li ZH, Terns RM, Terns MP. The snoRNA domain of vertebrate telomerase RNA functions to localize the RNA within the nucleus. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2001; 7:1833-1844. [PMID: 11780638 PMCID: PMC1370221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Telomerase RNA is an essential component of the ribonucleoprotein enzyme involved in telomere length maintenance, a process implicated in cellular senescence and cancer. Vertebrate telomerase RNAs contain a box H/ACA snoRNA motif that is not required for telomerase activity in vitro but is essential in vivo. Using the Xenopus oocyte system, we have found that the box H/ACA motif functions in the subcellular localization of telomerase RNA. We have characterized the transport and biogenesis of telomerase RNA by injecting labeled wild-type and variant RNAs into Xenopus oocytes and assaying nucleocytoplasmic distribution, intranuclear localization, modification, and protein binding. Although yeast telomerase RNA shares characteristics of spliceosomal snRNAs, we show that human telomerase RNA is not associated with Sm proteins or efficiently imported into the nucleus. In contrast, the transport properties of vertebrate telomerase RNA resemble those of snoRNAs; telomerase RNA is retained in the nucleus and targeted to nucleoli. Furthermore, both nuclear retention and nucleolar localization depend on the box H/ACA motif. Our findings suggest that the H/ACA motif confers functional localization of vertebrate telomerase RNAs to the nucleus, the compartment where telomeres are synthesized. We have also found that telomerase RNA localizes to Cajal bodies, intranuclear structures where it is thought that assembly of various cellular RNPs takes place. Our results identify the Cajal body as a potential site of telomerase RNP biogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A Lukowiak
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, USA
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332
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Vulliamy T, Marrone A, Goldman F, Dearlove A, Bessler M, Mason PJ, Dokal I. The RNA component of telomerase is mutated in autosomal dominant dyskeratosis congenita. Nature 2001; 413:432-5. [PMID: 11574891 DOI: 10.1038/35096585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 662] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Dyskeratosis congenita is a progressive bone-marrow failure syndrome that is characterized by abnormal skin pigmentation, leukoplakia and nail dystrophy. X-linked, autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant inheritance have been found in different pedigrees. The X-linked form of the disease is due to mutations in the gene DKC1 in band 2, sub-band 8 of the long arm of the X chromosome (ref. 3). The affected protein, dyskerin, is a nucleolar protein that is found associated with the H/ACA class of small nucleolar RNAs and is involved in pseudo-uridylation of specific residues of ribosomal RNA. Dyskerin is also associated with telomerase RNA (hTR), which contains a H/ACA consensus sequence. Here we map the gene responsible for dyskeratosis congenita in a large pedigree with autosomal dominant inheritance. Affected members of this family have an 821-base-pair deletion on chromosome 3q that removes the 3' 74 bases of hTR. Mutations in hTR were found in two other families with autosomal dominant dyskeratosis congenita.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Vulliamy
- Department of Haematology, Division of Investigative Science, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College School of Science, Technology and Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Ducane Road, London W12 ONN, UK
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333
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Beattie TL, Zhou W, Robinson MO, Harrington L. Functional multimerization of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase. Mol Cell Biol 2001; 21:6151-60. [PMID: 11509658 PMCID: PMC87332 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.21.18.6151-6160.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2001] [Accepted: 07/02/2001] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The telomerase enzyme exists as a large complex (approximately 1,000 kDa) in mammals and at minimum is composed of the telomerase RNA and the catalytic subunit telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, telomerase appears to function as an interdependent dimer or multimer in vivo (J. Prescott and E. H. Blackburn, Genes Dev. 11:2790-2800, 1997). However, the requirements for multimerization are not known, and it remained unclear whether telomerase exists as a multimer in other organisms. We show here that human TERT (hTERT) forms a functional multimer in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate reconstitution assay and in human cell extracts. Two separate, catalytically inactive TERT proteins can complement each other in trans to reconstitute catalytic activity. This complementation requires the amino terminus of one hTERT and the reverse transcriptase and C-terminal domains of the second hTERT. The telomerase RNA must associate with only the latter hTERT for reconstitution of telomerase activity to occur. Multimerization of telomerase also facilitates the recognition and elongation of substrates in vitro and in vivo. These data suggest that the catalytic core of human telomerase may exist as a functionally cooperative dimer or multimer in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- T L Beattie
- Ontario Cancer Institute/Amgen Institute, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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334
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Abstract
Telomere length is maintained in most eukaryotic cells by telomerase. The core components of this ribonucleoprotein (RNP) enzyme include a protein catalytic subunit, composed of motifs conserved among reverse transcriptases (RT), and an RNA subunit that contains a short template sequence essential for the synthesis of telomeric repeats. We developed an electrophoretic mobility shift assay using active telomerase partially purified from 293 cells and radiolabeled, in vitro-transcribed human telomerase RNA (hTR) to investigate the molecular interactions of the human telomerase RT (hTERT) and telomerase-associated proteins with hTR. A specific hTR-protein complex was identified and shown to contain hTERT and human Staufen by antibody supershift assays. Variants of hTR altered in distinct structural elements were analyzed for their ability to competitively inhibit complex formation. Human telomerase RNAs lacking the CR4-CR5 domain were poor inhibitors of hTR-protein complex formation, suggesting that the CR4-CR5 domain of hTR is a potential protein-binding site. Furthermore, alterations in the telomerase RNA pseudoknot's P3 helix, the CR7 domain, or the H/ACA box efficiently inhibited formation of the complex, indicating that these domains are dispensable for the assembly of a telomerase RNP in vitro. Potential telomerase-associated proteins that bind hTR were also identified using a UV cross-linking assay.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Bachand
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B2, Canada
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335
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Ford LP, Shay JW, Wright WE. The La antigen associates with the human telomerase ribonucleoprotein and influences telomere length in vivo. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2001; 7:1068-75. [PMID: 11497426 PMCID: PMC1370155 DOI: 10.1017/s1355838201010159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
La is an important component of ribonucleoprotein complexes and telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that compensates for the shortening of the ends of linear DNA by adding telomeric repeats onto the ends of chromosomes by using an integral RNA as the template. We have identified a direct and specific interaction between La and the RNA component of human telomerase. Antibodies specific to La precipitate the human telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex derived from tumor cells, telomerase immortalized normal cells, and in vitro transformed cells. Overexpression of La in both experimentally immortalized human cells and prostate cancer cells results in gradual telomere shortening. Our results demonstrate that La can associate with telomerase and its expression level can influence telomere homeostasis in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- L P Ford
- The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, The Department of Cell Biology, Dallas 75390-9039, USA
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336
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Kim MM, Rivera MA, Botchkina IL, Shalaby R, Thor AD, Blackburn EH. A low threshold level of expression of mutant-template telomerase RNA inhibits human tumor cell proliferation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2001; 98:7982-7. [PMID: 11438744 PMCID: PMC35454 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.131211098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ribonucleoprotein telomerase synthesizes telomeric DNA by copying an intrinsic RNA template. In most cancer cells, telomerase is highly activated. Here we report a telomerase-based antitumor strategy: expression of mutant-template telomerase RNAs in human cancer cells. We expressed mutant-template human telomerase RNAs in prostate (LNCaP) and breast (MCF-7) cancer cell lines. Even a low threshold level of expression of telomerase RNA gene constructs containing various mutant templates, but not the control wild-type template, decreased cellular viability and increased apoptosis. This occurred despite the retention of normal levels of the endogenous wild-type telomerase RNA and endogenous wild-type telomerase activity and unaltered stable telomere lengths. In vivo tumor xenografts of a breast cancer cell line expressing a mutant-template telomerase RNA also had decreased growth rates. Therefore, mutant-template telomerase RNAs exert a strongly dominant-negative effect on cell proliferation and tumor growth. These results support the potential use of mutant-template telomerase RNA expression as an antineoplastic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- M M Kim
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0448, USA
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337
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Wenz C, Enenkel B, Amacker M, Kelleher C, Damm K, Lingner J. Human telomerase contains two cooperating telomerase RNA molecules. EMBO J 2001; 20:3526-34. [PMID: 11432839 PMCID: PMC125520 DOI: 10.1093/emboj/20.13.3526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomerase uses a short stretch of its intrinsic RNA molecule as template for telomere repeat synthesis. Reverse transcription of the RNA template is catalyzed by the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) protein subunit. We demonstrate that human telomerase reconstituted from recombinant TERT and telomerase RNA runs as a dimer on a gel filtration column and that it contains two telomerase RNA molecules. Significantly, a telomerase heterodimer reconstituted from wild-type and mutant telomerase RNA is barely active when compared with the wild-type homodimer. We conclude that the telomerase RNA templates in the active enzyme are interdependent and functionally cooperate with each other. We discuss models that may explain the biological and enzymatic roles of telomerase dimerization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Barbara Enenkel
- Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland and
Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharma KG, D-88397 Biberach a. d. Riss, Germany Corresponding author e-mail:
| | | | | | - Klaus Damm
- Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland and
Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharma KG, D-88397 Biberach a. d. Riss, Germany Corresponding author e-mail:
| | - Joachim Lingner
- Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland and
Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharma KG, D-88397 Biberach a. d. Riss, Germany Corresponding author e-mail:
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338
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Henras A, Dez C, Noaillac-Depeyre J, Henry Y, Caizergues-Ferrer M. Accumulation of H/ACA snoRNPs depends on the integrity of the conserved central domain of the RNA-binding protein Nhp2p. Nucleic Acids Res 2001; 29:2733-46. [PMID: 11433018 PMCID: PMC55775 DOI: 10.1093/nar/29.13.2733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Box H/ACA small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein particles (H/ACA snoRNPs) play key roles in the synthesis of eukaryotic ribosomes. How box H/ACA snoRNPs are assembled remains unknown. Here we show that yeast Nhp2p, a core component of these particles, directly binds RNA. In vitro, Nhp2p interacts with high affinity with RNAs containing irregular stem-loop structures but shows weak affinity for poly(A), poly(C) or for double-stranded RNAs. The central region of Nhp2p is believed to function as an RNA-binding domain, since it is related to motifs found in various RNA-binding proteins. Removal of two amino acids that shortens a putative beta-strand element within Nhp2p central domain impairs the ability of the protein to interact with H/ACA snoRNAs in cell extracts. In vivo, this deletion prevents cell viability and leads to a strong defect in the accumulation of H/ACA snoRNAs and Gar1p. These data suggest that proper direct binding of Nhp2p to H/ACA snoRNAs is required for the assembly of H/ACA snoRNPs and hence for the stability of some of their components. In addition, we show that converting a highly conserved glycine residue (G(59)) within Nhp2p central domain to glutamate significantly reduces cell growth at 30 and 37 degrees C. Remarkably, this modification affects the steady-state levels of H/ACA snoRNAs and the strength of Nhp2p association with these RNAs to varying degrees, depending on the nature of the H/ACA snoRNA. Finally, we show that the modified Nhp2p protein whose interaction with H/ACA snoRNAs is impaired cannot accumulate in the nucleolus, suggesting that only the assembled H/ACA snoRNP particles can be efficiently retained in the nucleolus.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Henras
- Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 04, France.
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339
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Hüttenhofer A, Kiefmann M, Meier-Ewert S, O’Brien J, Lehrach H, Bachellerie JP, Brosius J. RNomics: an experimental approach that identifies 201 candidates for novel, small, non-messenger RNAs in mouse. EMBO J 2001; 20:2943-53. [PMID: 11387227 PMCID: PMC125495 DOI: 10.1093/emboj/20.11.2943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 252] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In mouse brain cDNA libraries generated from small RNA molecules we have identified a total of 201 different expressed RNA sequences potentially encoding novel small non-messenger RNA species (snmRNAs). Based on sequence and structural motifs, 113 of these RNAs can be assigned to the C/D box or H/ACA box subclass of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), known as guide RNAs for rRNA. While 30 RNAs represent mouse homologues of previously identified human C/D or H/ACA snoRNAs, 83 correspond to entirely novel snoRNAS: Among these, for the first time, we identified four C/D box snoRNAs and four H/ACA box snoRNAs predicted to direct modifications within U2, U4 or U6 small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs). Furthermore, 25 snoRNAs from either class lacked antisense elements for rRNAs or snRNAS: Therefore, additional snoRNA targets have to be considered. Surprisingly, six C/D box snoRNAs and one H/ACA box snoRNA were expressed exclusively in brain. Of the 88 RNAs not belonging to either snoRNA subclass, at least 26 are probably derived from truncated heterogeneous nuclear RNAs (hnRNAs) or mRNAS: Short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) are located on five RNA sequences and may represent rare examples of transcribed SINES: The remaining RNA species could not as yet be assigned either to any snmRNA class or to a part of a larger hnRNA/mRNA. It is likely that at least some of the latter will represent novel, unclassified snmRNAS:
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Hüttenhofer
- Institute of Experimental Pathology/Molecular Neurobiology, ZMBE, 48149 Münster,
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany and Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France Present address: GPC Biotech AG, 82152 Plannegg-Martinsried, Germany Present address: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland Corresponding authors e-mail: , or
| | | | - Sebastian Meier-Ewert
- Institute of Experimental Pathology/Molecular Neurobiology, ZMBE, 48149 Münster,
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany and Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France Present address: GPC Biotech AG, 82152 Plannegg-Martinsried, Germany Present address: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland Corresponding authors e-mail: , or
| | - John O’Brien
- Institute of Experimental Pathology/Molecular Neurobiology, ZMBE, 48149 Münster,
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany and Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France Present address: GPC Biotech AG, 82152 Plannegg-Martinsried, Germany Present address: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland Corresponding authors e-mail: , or
| | - Hans Lehrach
- Institute of Experimental Pathology/Molecular Neurobiology, ZMBE, 48149 Münster,
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany and Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France Present address: GPC Biotech AG, 82152 Plannegg-Martinsried, Germany Present address: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland Corresponding authors e-mail: , or
| | - Jean-Pierre Bachellerie
- Institute of Experimental Pathology/Molecular Neurobiology, ZMBE, 48149 Münster,
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany and Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France Present address: GPC Biotech AG, 82152 Plannegg-Martinsried, Germany Present address: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland Corresponding authors e-mail: , or
| | - Jürgen Brosius
- Institute of Experimental Pathology/Molecular Neurobiology, ZMBE, 48149 Münster,
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany and Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France Present address: GPC Biotech AG, 82152 Plannegg-Martinsried, Germany Present address: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, RCSI, Dublin 2, Ireland Corresponding authors e-mail: , or
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340
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Vulliamy TJ, Knight SW, Mason PJ, Dokal I. Very short telomeres in the peripheral blood of patients with X-linked and autosomal dyskeratosis congenita. Blood Cells Mol Dis 2001; 27:353-7. [PMID: 11259155 DOI: 10.1006/bcmd.2001.0389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is an inherited bone marrow failure syndrome in which patients undergo premature ageing and have a predisposition to malignancy. X-linked and autosomal (dominant and recessive) forms of the disease are recognized. The gene responsible for X-linked DC (DKC1) encodes a highly conserved protein called dyskerin that is believed to be essential in ribosome biogenesis and may also be involved in telomerase RNP assembly. Here we show that in X-linked DC, peripheral blood cells have dramatically reduced telomere lengths but normal levels of telomerase activity. We also find that subjects with autosomal DC have significantly shorter telomeres than age-matched normal controls suggesting that both forms of the disease are associated with rapid telomere shortening in hemopoietic stem cells. The further characterization of these genes will not only lead to a better understanding of the biology of DC but may also provide further insights into the maintenance of telomeres and the biology of aplastic anemia, ageing, and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Vulliamy
- Department of Haematology, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, 4th Floor Commonwealth Building, Du Cane Road, London, W12 ONN, United Kingdom.
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341
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Bachand F, Autexier C. Functional regions of human telomerase reverse transcriptase and human telomerase RNA required for telomerase activity and RNA-protein interactions. Mol Cell Biol 2001; 21:1888-97. [PMID: 11238925 PMCID: PMC86762 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.21.5.1888-1897.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is a specialized reverse transcriptase (RT) that is minimally composed of a protein catalytic subunit and an RNA component. The RNA subunit contains a short template sequence that directs the synthesis of DNA repeats at the ends of chromosomes. Human telomerase activity can be reconstituted in vitro by the expression of the human telomerase protein catalytic subunit (hTERT) in the presence of recombinant human telomerase RNA (hTR) in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate (RRL) system. We analyzed telomerase activity and binding of hTR to hTERT in RRL by expressing different hTERT and hTR variants. hTRs containing nucleotide substitutions that are predicted to disrupt base pairing in the P3 helix of the pseudoknot weakly reconstituted human telomerase activity yet retained their ability to bind hTERT. Our results also identified two distinct regions of hTR that can independently bind hTERT in vitro. Furthermore, sequences or structures between nucleotides 208 and 330 of hTR (which include the conserved CR4-CR5 domain) were found to be important for hTERT-hTR interactions and for telomerase activity reconstitution. Human TERT carboxy-terminal amino acid deletions extending to motif E or the deletion of the first 280 amino acids abolished human telomerase activity without affecting the ability of hTERT to associate with hTR, suggesting that the RT and RNA binding functions of hTERT are separable. These results indicate that the reconstitution of human telomerase activity in vitro requires regions of hTERT that (i) are distinct from the conserved RT motifs and (ii) bind nucleotides distal to the hTR template sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Bachand
- Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 2B2
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342
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Martin-Rivera L, Blasco MA. Identification of functional domains and dominant negative mutations in vertebrate telomerase RNA using an in vivo reconstitution system. J Biol Chem 2001; 276:5856-65. [PMID: 11056167 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m008419200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The telomerase holoenzyme consists of two essential components, a reverse transcriptase, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), and an RNA molecule, TR (telomerase RNA, also known as TERC), that contains the template for the synthesis of new telomeric repeats. Telomerase RNA has been isolated from 32 different vertebrates, and a common secondary structure has been proposed (Chen, J.-L., Blasco, M. A., and Greider, C. W. (2000) Cell 100, 503-514). We have generated 25 mutants in the four conserved structural domains of the mouse telomerase RNA molecule, mTR, and assayed their ability to reconstitute telomerase activity in mTR(-/-) cells in vivo. We found that the pseudoknot and the CR4/CR5 domains are required for telomerase activity but are not essential for mTR stability in the cell, whereas mutations in the BoxH/ACA and the CR7 domains affect mTR accumulation in the cell. We have also identified mTR mutants that are able to inhibit wild type telomerase in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Martin-Rivera
- Department of Immunology and Oncology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia-CSIC, Campus Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
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343
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Guiducci C, Cerone MA, Bacchetti S. Expression of mutant telomerase in immortal telomerase-negative human cells results in cell cycle deregulation, nuclear and chromosomal abnormalities and rapid loss of viability. Oncogene 2001; 20:714-25. [PMID: 11314005 DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1204145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2000] [Revised: 11/22/2000] [Accepted: 11/29/2000] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
We have reconstituted wild type or mutant telomerase activity in two human cell lines that lack constitutive expression of both core subunits of the enzyme and maintain telomeres by a telomerase-independent mechanism (ALT cells). Wild type telomerase RNA and four telomerase RNAs with single point mutations in their template domain were used to express enzymes specifying different telomeric DNA sequences. Expression of wild type telomerase for up to 32 days had no detectable effect on cell growth or viability. In contrast, cells expressing mutant telomerases had slower growth rate, abnormal cell cycle and reduced viability. Dramatically aberrant nuclei, typical of cells undergoing mitotic catastrophe, and large numbers of fused chromosomes were also characteristic of these populations. Notably, all phenotypes were apparent within the first few cell divisions after expression of the enzymes. Unlike wild type, mutant telomerase activity was progressively selected against with cell culturing, and this correlated with the disappearance of cells with aberrant phenotypes. Our results suggest that even very limited synthesis of mutated sequences can affect telomere structure in human cells, and that the toxicity of mutant telomerases is due to telomere malfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Guiducci
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Medical Center, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8N 3Z5, Canada
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344
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Abstract
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase that extends the ends of chromosomes. The two telomerase subunits essential for catalysis in vitro are the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and the telomerase RNA. Using truncations and site-specific mutations, we identified sequence elements of TERT and telomerase RNA required for catalytic activity and protein-RNA interaction for Tetrahymena thermophila telomerase. We found that the TERT amino and carboxyl termini, although evolutionarily poorly conserved, are nonetheless important for catalytic activity. In contrast, high-affinity telomerase RNA binding requires only a small region in the amino terminus of TERT. Surprisingly, the TERT region necessary and sufficient for telomerase RNA binding is completely separable from the reverse transcriptase motifs. The minimal Tetrahymena TERT RNA binding domain contains two sequence motifs with ciliate-specific conservation and one TERT motif with conservation across all species. With human TERT, we demonstrate that a similar region within the TERT amino terminus is essential for human telomerase RNA binding as well. Finally, we defined the Tetrahymena telomerase RNA sequences that are essential for TERT interaction. We found that a four-nucleotide region 5' of the template is critical for TERT binding and that the 5' end of telomerase RNA is sufficient for TERT binding. Our results reveal at least one evolutionarily conserved molecular mechanism by which the telomerase reverse transcriptase is functionally specialized for obligate use of an internal RNA template.
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Affiliation(s)
- C K Lai
- Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
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345
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Jády BE, Kiss T. A small nucleolar guide RNA functions both in 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation of the U5 spliceosomal RNA. EMBO J 2001; 20:541-51. [PMID: 11157760 PMCID: PMC133463 DOI: 10.1093/emboj/20.3.541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 166] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2000] [Revised: 11/22/2000] [Accepted: 11/27/2000] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In eukaryotes, two distinct classes of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), namely the fibrillarin-associated box C/D snoRNAs and the Gar1p-associated box H/ACA snoRNAs, direct the site-specific 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation of ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), respectively. We have identified a novel evolutionarily conserved snoRNA, called U85, which possesses the box elements of both classes of snoRNAs and associates with both fibrillarin and Gar1p. In vitro and in vivo pseudouridylation and 2'-O-methylation experiments provide evidence that the U85 snoRNA directs 2'-O-methylation of the C45 and pseudouridylation of the U46 residues in the invariant loop 1 of the human U5 spliceosomal RNA. The U85 is the first example of a snoRNA that directs modification of an RNA polymerase II-transcribed spliceosomal RNA and that functions both in RNA pseudouridylation and 2'-O-methylation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tamás Kiss
- Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France and Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary
Corresponding author e-mail:
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346
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Dez C, Henras A, Faucon B, Lafontaine D, Caizergues-Ferrer M, Henry Y. Stable expression in yeast of the mature form of human telomerase RNA depends on its association with the box H/ACA small nucleolar RNP proteins Cbf5p, Nhp2p and Nop10p. Nucleic Acids Res 2001; 29:598-603. [PMID: 11160879 PMCID: PMC30409 DOI: 10.1093/nar/29.3.598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particle required for the replication of telomeres. The RNA component, termed hTR, of human telomerase contains a domain structurally and functionally related to box H/ACA small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). Furthermore, hTR is known to be associated with two core components of H/ACA snoRNPs, hGar1p and Dyskerin (the human counterpart of yeast Cbf5p). To assess the functional importance of the association of hTR with H/ACA snoRNP core proteins, we have attempted to express hTR in a genetically tractable system, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both mature non-polyadenylated and polyadenylated forms of hTR accumulate in yeast. The former is associated with all yeast H/ACA snoRNP core proteins, unlike TLC1 RNA, the endogenous RNA component of yeast telomerase. We show that the presence of the H/ACA snoRNP proteins Cbf5p, Nhp2p and Nop10p, but not Gar1p, is required for the accumulation of mature non-polyadenylated hTR in yeast, while accumulation of TLC1 RNA is not affected by the absence of any of these proteins. Our results demonstrate that yeast telomerase is unrelated to H/ACA snoRNPs. In addition, they show that the accumulation in yeast of the mature RNA component of human telomerase depends on its association with three of the four core H/ACA snoRNP proteins. It is likely that this is the case in human cells as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Dez
- Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Eucaryote du CNRS, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 04, France and Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JR, UK
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347
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Kickhoefer VA, Liu Y, Kong LB, Snow BE, Stewart PL, Harrington L, Rome LH. The Telomerase/vault-associated protein TEP1 is required for vault RNA stability and its association with the vault particle. J Cell Biol 2001; 152:157-64. [PMID: 11149928 PMCID: PMC2193651 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.152.1.157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaults and telomerase are ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles that share a common protein subunit, TEP1. Although its role in either complex has not yet been defined, TEP1 has been shown to interact with the mouse telomerase RNA and with several of the human vault RNAs in a yeast three-hybrid assay. An mTep1(-/-) mouse was previously generated which resulted in no apparent change in telomere length or telomerase activity in six generations of mTep1-deficient mice. Here we show that the levels of the telomerase RNA and its association with the telomerase RNP are also unaffected in mTep1(-/-) mice. Although vaults purified from the livers of mTep1(-/-) mice appear structurally intact by both negative stain and cryoelectron microscopy, three-dimensional reconstruction of the mTep1(-/-) vault revealed less density in the cap than previously observed for the intact rat vault. Furthermore, the absence of TEP1 completely disrupted the stable association of the vault RNA with the purified vault particle and also resulted in a decrease in the levels and stability of the vault RNA. Therefore, we have uncovered a novel role for TEP1 in vivo as an integral vault protein important for the stabilization and recruitment of the vault RNA to the vault particle.
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Affiliation(s)
- V A Kickhoefer
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California at Los Angeles, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
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348
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Pogacić V, Dragon F, Filipowicz W. Human H/ACA small nucleolar RNPs and telomerase share evolutionarily conserved proteins NHP2 and NOP10. Mol Cell Biol 2000; 20:9028-40. [PMID: 11074001 PMCID: PMC86556 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.20.23.9028-9040.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 172] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The H/ACA small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are involved in pseudouridylation of pre-rRNAs. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, four common proteins are associated with H/ACA snoRNAs: Gar1p, Cbf5p, Nhp2p, and Nop10p. In vitro reconstitution studies showed that four proteins also specifically interact with H/ACA snoRNAs in mammalian cell extracts. Two mammalian proteins, NAP57/dyskerin (the ortholog of Cbf5p) and hGAR1, have been characterized. In this work we describe properties of hNOP10 and hNHP2, human orthologs of yeast Nop10p and Nhp2p, respectively, and further characterize hGAR1. hNOP10 and hNHP2 complement yeast cells depleted of Nhp2p and Nop10p, respectively. Immunoprecipitation experiments with extracts from transfected HeLa cells indicated that epitope-tagged hNOP10 and hNHP2 specifically associate with hGAR1 and H/ACA RNAs; they also interact with the RNA subunit of telomerase, which contains an H/ACA-like domain in its 3' moiety. Immunofluorescence microscopy experiments showed that hGAR1, hNOP10, and hNHP2 are localized in the dense fibrillar component of the nucleolus and in Cajal (coiled) bodies. Deletion analysis of hGAR1 indicated that its evolutionarily conserved core domain contains all the signals required for localization, but progressive deletions from either the N or the C terminus of the core domain abolish localization in the nucleolus and/or the Cajal bodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Pogacić
- Friedrich-Miescher Institut, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
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349
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Ford LP, Suh JM, Wright WE, Shay JW. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins C1 and C2 associate with the RNA component of human telomerase. Mol Cell Biol 2000; 20:9084-91. [PMID: 11074006 PMCID: PMC86561 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.20.23.9084-9091.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Here we demonstrate that heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) C1 and C2 can associate directly with the integral RNA component of mammalian telomerase. The binding site for hnRNPs C1 and C2 maps to a 6-base uridylate tract located directly 5' to the template region in the human telomerase RNA (TR) and a 4-base uridylate tract directly 3' to the template in the mouse TR. Telomerase activity is precipitated with antibodies specific to hnRNPs C1 and C2 from cells expressing wild-type human TR but not a variant of the human TR lacking the hnRNPs C1 and C2 binding site, indicating that hnRNPs C1 and C2 require the 6-base uridylate tract within the human TR to associate with the telomerase holoenzyme. In addition, we demonstrate that binding of hnRNPs C1 and C2 to telomerase correlates with the ability of telomerase to access the telomere. Although correlative, these data do suggest that the binding of hnRNPs C1 and C2 to telomerase may be important for the ability of telomerase to function on telomeres. The C proteins of the hnRNP particle are also capable of colocalizing with telomere binding proteins, suggesting that the C proteins may associate with telomeres in vivo. Therefore, human telomerase is capable of associating with core members of the hnRNP family of RNA binding proteins through a direct and sequence-specific interaction with the human TR. This is also the first account describing the precise mapping of a sequence in the human TR that is required to associate with an auxiliary component of the human telomerase holoenzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- L P Ford
- Department of Cell Biology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9039, USA
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350
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Abstract
The ectodermal dysplasias (EDs) are a large and complex nosologic group of diseases; more than 170 different pathologic clinical conditions have been identified. Despite the great number of EDs described so far, few causative genes have been identified. We review EDs in the light of the most recent molecular findings and propose a new classification of EDs integrating both molecular-genetic data and corresponding clinical findings of related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Priolo
- Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, G. Gaslini Institute, Genova, Italy.
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