Affinity blotting assay for 2-5A-dependent RNase

Diverse functions of RNase L and implications in pathology

The endoribonuclease L (RNase L) is the effector of the 2-5A system, a major enzymatic pathway involved in the molecular mechanism of interferons (IFNs). RNase L is a very unusual nuclease with a complex mechanism of regulation. It is a latent enzyme, expressed in nearly every mammalian cell type. Its activation requires its binding to a small oligonucleotide, 2-5A. 2-5A is a series of unique 5'-triphosphorylated oligoadenylates with 2'-5' phosphodiester bonds. By regulating viral and cellular RNA expression, RNase L plays an important role in the antiviral and antiproliferative activities of IFN and contributes to innate immunity and cell metabolism. The 2-5A/RNase L pathway is implicated in mediating apoptosis in response to viral infections and to several types of external stimuli. Several recent studies have suggested that RNase L could have a role in cancer biology and evidence of a tumor suppressor function of RNase L has emerged from studies on the genetics of hereditary prostate cancer.

An Alternative SplicedRNASELVariant in Peripheral Blood Leukocytes

2-5A-Dependent RNase L is an endoribonuclease that catalyzes RNA degradation and promotes apoptosis during the innate antiviral response in mammalian cells. Prior studies showed that RNASEL is widely expressed and suggested the presence of mRNA species of different sizes but lacked a characterization of these variants. Using RT-PCR, we show that RNASEL is expressed in all human tissues examined, whereas an alternatively generated spliced variant lacking the third exon (RNASEL del_Ex3) is solely expressed in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). Quantitative RT-PCR measurements of RNA from different PBL cell types separated by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) showed that complete RNASEL mRNA levels were significantly elevated in granulocytes compared with all other PBL cell types, whereas expression was lowest in CD8(+) T cells. The alternatively spliced RNASEL del_Ex3 transcript was present in all PBL cell types examined but at lower levels than the full-length RNASEL mRNA. The presence of high levels of RNase L protein in granulocytes was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Our findings are the first to demonstrate the presence of an alternatively spliced RNASEL mRNA and to demonstrate the variable expression of RNase L in different leukocytes. Our results suggest that RNase L plays an important role in granulocytes as an innate immunity enzyme that controls viral infections.

Localization of a molecular form of interferon-regulated RNase L in the cytoskeleton

RNase L (also termed 2-5A-dependent RNase) is a crucial enzyme involved in the molecular mechanism of interferon (IFN) action. Activated by 2',5'-oligoadenylate oligomers (2-5A), this enzyme controls the regulation of RNA stability in IFN-treated or virus-infected mammalian cells. Knowledge of RNase location within cells may provide additional information about its function. Previous work located RNase as a detergent-soluble molecule in nuclei and cytoplasm. In this study, we demonstrate that this enzyme was also present in a detergent-insoluble fraction associated with proteins of the cytoskeleton. A cellular fractionation procedure was used to prepare the cytoskeleton, which was shown to contain 2-5A binding activity not due to cytoplasmic contaminants. In contrast to the cytoplasmic fraction, which contained RNase L with a 2-5A-accessible site, the insoluble RNase molecular form of the cytoskeleton could not be assayed by the classic radiobinding method or the covalent UV cross-linking procedure, which only detects the 2-5A binding site in an open position, that is, free of 2-5A or with an unmasked 2-5A site. The 2-5A binding site present in the cytoskeleton was completely masked and not directly accessible to its 2-5A activator. This particular molecular form of RNase can be detected after a specific denaturing-renaturing treatment of the cytoskeleton, which separates the RNase from cytoskeletal proteins, unmasking the 2-5A site. The cytoskeletal RNase was no longer present at this site when cells were stimulated for a short time with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Our data suggest the existence of a pathway that targets the RNase to another subcellular location. To explore the issue further, we examined in vitro the ability of calcium and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) to catalyze significant phosphorylation of the RNase.

Lack of 2',5'-oligoadenylate-dependent RNase expression in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2

2',5'-adenylate oligonucleotide (2-5A)-dependent RNase and 2-5A-synthetase are two enzymes of the 2-5A system strongly implicated in the basal control of RNA decay of both interferon-treated and untreated cells. RNase is activated by a 2-5A produced by 2-5A-synthetase, both enzymes being overexpressed by type I-interferon (alpha/beta). We described here for the first time a cell line completely deficient in RNase and its mRNA, while p69 2-5A-synthetase was normally interferon alpha/beta-induced. The complete absence of this RNase in human hepatoma cells (HepG2) was shown using three different methods based on the binding of a [32P]-labeled 2-5A probe of high specific activity to its binding site. Negative Western blotting assay with a specific monoclonal antibody correlated the previous findings. RNase-specific mRNA was not detectable even after treatment of cells with 1000 units/ml of interferon alpha/beta. This is not due to a mutation of the gene because an intronless genomic DNA sequence encoding 2-5A-binding site was cloned and expressed. It is likely that the expression of 2-5A-dependent RNase was impaired at the transcriptional level while having the known IFN alpha/beta-transcriptional regulatory factors as revealed by induction of p69 2-5A-synthetase gene. This may account for a differential activation of 2-5A-dependent RNase and 2-5A-synthetase genes by type I-interferon, and suggests that other members of regulatory transcription factors, different from IRF-1 and STAT proteins, may participate in two different interferon alpha/beta signaling pathways.

Affinity purification and characterization of (2'-5')oligo(adenylate)-dependent RNase from mouse spleen

Murine (2'-5')An-dependent RNase, a key enzyme of the interferon system, was purified from mouse spleen by affinity chromatography to immobilized (2'-5')An. Since the ribonuclease has high affinity to (2'-5')An, optimal non-denaturing conditions were obtained to disrupt the (2'-5')An-nuclease complex. Low-pH buffers in the presence of 0.1% Triton X-100 removed almost 80% of the enzyme from the (2'-5')An-agarose, preserving its (2'-5')An binding activity and RNA cleavage function. Purification was monitored using a classical radiobinding assay, ultraviolet covalent crosslinking method and denaturing-renaturing affinity blotting assay. The purified enzyme was a 160-kDa dimer that migrated with an apparent molecular mass of 78 kDa and was > 80% pure, as assessed by silver-stained SDS gels. Both a 160-kDa dimer and 78-kDa monomer were found in the cellular extract at a 5:1 ratio. Binding of radiolabeled (2'-5')An to (2'-5')An-dependent RNase either in crude extract or in purified form reached equilibrium by 5 h at 4 degrees C. 2-Mercaptoethanol was required to obtain (2-'5')An-binding activity but, interestingly, in the absence of this reducing agent, (2'-5')An-binding activity was initiated by preincubation with poly(U), a synthetic substrate of the nuclease. This new mechanistic feature indicates that interaction of poly(U) with nuclease induced a conformational modification allowing, in a second step, the binding of (2'-5')An. Furthermore, when activated by low amounts of (2'-5')An, the eluted purified enzyme degraded mRNA but there was still degradation in the absence of (2'-5')An. This suggested a loss of regulatory protein(s) during the purification step. Scatchard analysis showed that the purified enzyme had a Kd of 106 pM for (2'-5')An, similar to estimates obtained using crude spleen extracts (Kd 112 pM), indicating that the purified nuclease had almost identical (2'-5')An-binding properties to those identified in spleen extracts.

2',5'-Oligoadenylate-dependent RNAse located in nuclei: biochemical characterization and subcellular distribution of the nuclease in human and murine cells

A cellular fractionation procedure allowed the rapid preparation of membraneless nuclei which contained a 2',5'-oligoadenylate (2-5A)-binding activity which was not due to cytoplasmic contaminants. Purified nuclei prepared from human lymphocytic leukaemia cells and mouse fibroblasts were found to contain 20-22% of the total cellular enzyme. In contrast with the cytoplasmic enzyme which was only present in a 2-5A-free form, 75% of the 2-5A-binding activity was found in the nuclei after a denaturing-renaturing procedure as the 2-5A-binding site was masked. Although the purification of nuclei from mouse fibroblasts was less effective, it appeared that, in confluent and growing cells, 50% and 75% respectively of the 2-5A-binding site was masked. Additional findings obtained by partial proteolysis and two-dimensional gel analysis provided definitive data on the nuclear location of this enzyme. Study of the nuclear 2-5A-dependent RNAase with a 2-5A-masked site could lead to an understanding of the molecular pathway involved in single-stranded RNA stability.