Gene activation mediated by protein kinase C in human macrophage and teratocarcinoma cells expressing aminoglycoside phosphotransferase activity

Expression of hygromycin phosphotransferase alters virulence of Histoplasma capsulatum

The Escherichia coli hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph) gene, which confers hygromycin resistance, is commonly used as a dominant selectable marker in genetically modified bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, and mammalian cells. Expression of the hph gene has rarely been reported to induce effects other than those expected. Hygromycin B is the most common dominant selectable marker used in the molecular manipulation of Histoplasma capsulatum in the generation of knockout strains of H. capsulatum or as a marker in mutant strains. hph-expressing organisms appear to have no defect in long-term in vitro growth and survival and have been successfully used to exploit host-parasite interaction in short-term cell culture systems and animal experiments. We introduced the hph gene as a selectable marker together with the gene encoding green fluorescent protein into wild-type strains of H. capsulatum. Infection of mice with hph-expressing H. capsulatum yeast cells at sublethal doses resulted in lethality. The lethality was not attributable to the site of integration of the hph construct into the genomes or to the method of integration and was not H. capsulatum strain related. Death of mice was not caused by altered cytokine profiles or an overwhelming fungal burden. The lethality was dependent on the kinase activity of hygromycin phosphotransferase. These results should raise awareness of the potential detrimental effects of the hph gene.

Enhanced growth in NS0 cells expressing aminoglycoside phosphotransferase is associated with changes in metabolism, productivity, and apoptosis

Prior work has reported that cotransfecting a gene of interest with the selectable marker neo can seriously perturb a number of cellular processes. In this study the influence of the neo gene on the growth, death, and metabolism of a murine myeloma NS0 cell line, expressing a chimeric antibody, was investigated. A pool of neo transfectants, 6A1-NEO, was selected with 500 microg/mL G418. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that 6A1-NEO contained, on average, three copies of the neo gene per cell. Batch cultivation of 6A1-NEO showed that there was a 36% increase in maximum viable cell concentration, a 20% increase in the maximum apparent growth rate, and a 134% increase in cumulative cell hours as compared with the parent, 6A1-(100)3. Batch cultivation of five randomly selected clones illustrated that 6A1-NEO's advantage over the parent was not due to clonal variation. Neither the use of G418 during the selection process nor the cultivation of cells in the presence of G418 were responsible. This implied that the neo gene product, APH(3')-II, was causing the changes in proliferative capacity. Analysis of the cell cycle revealed that there were no differences in the distribution of cells in the G(1), S, and G(2) phases. When cell growth was synchronized, there were no observed differences in cell-cycle duration. 6A1-NEO resisted the onset of apoptosis during the growth phase. Consequently, there was a larger viable population of 6A1-NEO cells available for proliferation as compared with the parent. However, 6A1-NEO died at the same rate as the parent when resuspended in spent media or after treatment with staurosporin. Expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was upregulated in 6A1-NEO, indicating that APH(3')-II could be acting by modulating endogenous gene expression. Analysis of key metabolites showed that 6A1-NEO's specific glucose consumption rate was 133% higher, whilst its specific glutamate consumption rate was 45% lower than the parent. 6A1-NEO's efficient utilization of glutamate and shift towards glucose metabolism may have contributed to the rise in proliferative capacity. However, this was accompanied by a 70% drop in the specific antibody production rate. These results show that the increase in growth rate and proliferative capacity caused by the expression of recombinant APH(3')-II was associated with changes in metabolism, apoptosis, and endogenous gene expression.

Endogenous oxidoreductase expression is induced by aminoglycosides

Oxidoreductases such as glutaredoxin are a major class of enzymes that reversibly catalyze thiol-disulfide exchange reactions. Transfection experiments using geneticin (G418) selection to identify the specific protein S-thiolated substrates of glutaredoxin-1 (Grx-1) noted the curious phenomenon that nontransfected control cells treated with G418 had increased levels of Grx-1 expression. Varied concentrations of gentamicin, kanamycin, and hygromycin increased Grx-1 expression in a time- and dose-dependent fashion in human cultured retinal pigment epithelial cells. Reactive oxygen species formation after aminoglycoside exposure correlated directly to aminoglycoside treatment. Further indication that oxidation regulates Grx-1 expression was noted by the positive effect of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, a known inducer of redox-sensitive AP-1 transcription factor. In agreement with this hypothesis was the finding that the physiologic reductant N-acetylcysteine decreased Grx-1 expression whereas tert-butyl hydroperoxide increased Grx-1 expression. Our data suggest that aminoglycosides increased Grx-1 expression in response to oxidative stress.

Cell-cell adhesion and RhoA-mediated actin polymerization are independent phenomena in microtubule disrupted keratinocytes

E-cadherin-mediated adherens junction formation and maintenance are thought to involve actin filament rearrangements through the action of small GTPases. Recently, we demonstrated that microtubule disruption in normal human epidermal keratinocytes grown in low calcium media conditions induces cell-cell adhesion by redistribution of endogenous E-cadherin, and it promotes stress fiber formation. This actin rearrangement was apparently mediated by RhoA activation. This model system therefore provides a tool with which to dissect relationships between cell-cell adhesion and Rho-mediated stress fiber formation. In this study, we have demonstrated in normal human epidermal keratinocytes that disruption of actin structures including stress fibers does not interfere with E-cadherin redistribution during microtubule-induced cell-cell adhesion. Moreover, this cell-cell adhesion could not be blocked by RhoA inactivation at the level for inhibition of stress fiber formation. Additionally, in the immortalized HaCaT keratinocyte cell line, which does not undergo cell-cell adhesion after microtubule disruption in low calcium conditions, expression of dominant-active RhoA could induce stress fiber formation without inducing adhesion. On the other hand, a variant of the HaCaT cell line, HC-R1, showed microtubule-disruption-induced cell-cell adhesion without stress fiber formation. Together, our results suggest that, in keratinocytes, the process of cell adhesion can occur independently of RhoA-mediated stress fiber formation.

Inducible transcriptional activation of the human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat by protein kinase inhibitors

The protein kinase inhibitor 2-aminopurine (2-AP) greatly stimulated expression in human promonocytes-macrophages of plasmid constructs carrying various reporter genes (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, lacZ, firefly luciferase [luc], and Salmonella typhimurium histidinol dehydrogenase [his]) driven by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat. Adenine, adenosine, and caffeine were also effective inducers, but other purine or pyrimidine derivatives were ineffective. Experiments with mutant derivatives of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat revealed no specific eukaryotic promoter elements necessary for 2-AP induction but indicated the need for some minimum combination of such elements. Induction of HIV-1-directed gene expression appeared not to require action of the transcription factor NF-kappa B. The mechanism of induction was investigated by using the luc and his genes linked to the HIV-1 long terminal repeat. 2-AP induced marked, steady rises in mRNA accumulation from both transfected and chromosomally integrated HIV-1 constructs but no increases from an endogenous gene encoding gamma-actin or glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Thus, induction is selective and not an artifact induced by transfecting DNA into cells. In run-on transcription experiments, the rates of transcription initiation of both transfected and integrated copies of the his gene increased about sixfold in cells treated with 2-AP. Thus, while increased initiation accounted for a portion of 2-AP induction, it could not cause the far greater increase in steady-state mRNA levels. 2-AP induction did not change mRNA decay rates and differed from the phorbol ester (phorbol myristate acetate)-induced activation of the protein kinase C-NF-kappa B pathway in its time course and in its requirement for new protein synthesis. Gel retardation assays showed that unlike phorbol myristate acetate induction, 2-AP induction is enhancer independent. Whereas many previous studies have implicated the activation of various protein kinases in gene induction, we here describe a mechanism of gene activation that appears to involve protein kinase inhibition as a component of the induction response.

Inducible transcriptional activation of the human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat by protein kinase inhibitors

The protein kinase inhibitor 2-aminopurine (2-AP) greatly stimulated expression in human promonocytes-macrophages of plasmid constructs carrying various reporter genes (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, lacZ, firefly luciferase [luc], and Salmonella typhimurium histidinol dehydrogenase [his]) driven by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) long terminal repeat. Adenine, adenosine, and caffeine were also effective inducers, but other purine or pyrimidine derivatives were ineffective. Experiments with mutant derivatives of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat revealed no specific eukaryotic promoter elements necessary for 2-AP induction but indicated the need for some minimum combination of such elements. Induction of HIV-1-directed gene expression appeared not to require action of the transcription factor NF-kappa B. The mechanism of induction was investigated by using the luc and his genes linked to the HIV-1 long terminal repeat. 2-AP induced marked, steady rises in mRNA accumulation from both transfected and chromosomally integrated HIV-1 constructs but no increases from an endogenous gene encoding gamma-actin or glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Thus, induction is selective and not an artifact induced by transfecting DNA into cells. In run-on transcription experiments, the rates of transcription initiation of both transfected and integrated copies of the his gene increased about sixfold in cells treated with 2-AP. Thus, while increased initiation accounted for a portion of 2-AP induction, it could not cause the far greater increase in steady-state mRNA levels. 2-AP induction did not change mRNA decay rates and differed from the phorbol ester (phorbol myristate acetate)-induced activation of the protein kinase C-NF-kappa B pathway in its time course and in its requirement for new protein synthesis. Gel retardation assays showed that unlike phorbol myristate acetate induction, 2-AP induction is enhancer independent. Whereas many previous studies have implicated the activation of various protein kinases in gene induction, we here describe a mechanism of gene activation that appears to involve protein kinase inhibition as a component of the induction response.