IMP dehydrogenase is recruited to the transcription complex through serine 2 phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II

IMPDH dysregulation in disease: a mini review

Inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is a highly conserved enzyme in purine metabolism that is tightly regulated on multiple levels. IMPDH has a critical role in purine biosynthesis, where it regulates flux at the branch point between adenine and guanine nucleotide synthesis, but it also has a role in transcription regulation and other moonlighting functions have been described. Vertebrates have two isoforms, IMPDH1 and IMPDH2, and point mutations in each are linked to human disease. Mutations in IMPDH2 in humans are associated with neurodevelopmental disease, but the effects of mutations at the enzyme level have not yet been characterized. Mutations in IMPDH1 lead to retinal degeneration in humans, and recent studies have characterized how they cause functional defects in regulation. IMPDH1 is expressed as two unique splice variants in the retina, a tissue with very high and specific demands for purine nucleotides. Recent studies have revealed functional differences among splice variants, demonstrating that retinal variants up-regulate guanine nucleotide synthesis by reducing sensitivity to feedback inhibition by downstream products. A better understanding of the role of IMPDH1 in the retina and the characterization of an animal disease model will be critical for determining the molecular mechanism of IMPDH1-associated blindness.

RNA-seq-based quanitative transcriptome analysis of meat color and taste from chickens administered by eucalyptus leaf polyphenols extract

To evaluate how eucalyptus leaf polyphenol extract (EPE) affects chicken meat color and taste, we added different levels of EPE (0%, 0.06%, 0.09%, and 0.12%) to chicken feed. The redness (a^* value) and the myoglobin content of breast muscle in EPE group were remarkably higher. Furthermore, the guanosine monophosphate, histidine, and glycine muscle contents were also enhanced. Transcriptome analysis showed that 10 candidate genes related to meat quality were affected by EPE treatment. The identified genes, with functions critical to chicken meat color and taste, will help to determine the molecular mechanisms of EPE.

Purine-Metabolising Enzymes and Apoptosis in Cancer

The enzymes of both de novo and salvage pathways for purine nucleotide synthesis are regulated to meet the demand of nucleic acid precursors during proliferation. Among them, the salvage pathway enzymes seem to play the key role in replenishing the purine pool in dividing and tumour cells that require a greater amount of nucleotides. An imbalance in the purine pools is fundamental not only for preventing cell proliferation, but also, in many cases, to promote apoptosis. It is known that tumour cells harbour several mutations that might lead to defective apoptosis-inducing pathways, and this is probably at the basis of the initial expansion of the population of neoplastic cells. Therefore, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that lead to apoptosis of tumoural cells is key to predicting the possible success of a drug treatment and planning more effective and focused therapies. In this review, we describe how the modulation of enzymes involved in purine metabolism in tumour cells may affect the apoptotic programme. The enzymes discussed are: ectosolic and cytosolic 5'-nucleotidases, purine nucleoside phosphorylase, adenosine deaminase, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, and inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase, as well as recently described enzymes particularly expressed in tumour cells, such as deoxynucleoside triphosphate triphosphohydrolase and 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine triphosphatase.

Identification and evaluation of PCR reference genes for host and pathogen in sugarcane-Sporisorium scitamineum interaction system

BACKGROUND

Sugarcane (Saccharum L. plant) is an important crop for sugar and bio-energy production around the world. Among sugarcane diseases, smut caused by Sporisorium scitamineum is one of the major fungal diseases causing severe losses to the sugarcane industry. The use of PCR reference genes is essential to the normalization of data on gene expression involving the sugarcane-S. scitamineum interaction system; however, no report that addresses criteria in selecting these reference genes has been published to date.

RESULTS

In this study, 10 sugarcane genes and eight S. scitamineum genes were selected as candidate PCR reference genes in the sugarcane-S. scitamineum interaction system. The stability and reliability of these 18 candidate genes were analyzed in smut-resistant (NCo376) and -susceptible (YC71-374) genotypes using the statistical algorithms geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and deltaCt method. Subsequently, the relative expression levels of the sugarcane chitinase I-3 gene and S. scitamineum chorismate mutase gene were determined to validate the applicability of these sugarcane and S. scitamineum PCR reference genes, respectively. We finally found that the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase gene (ACAD), serine/arginine repetitive matrix protein 1 gene (SARMp1), or their combination (ACAD + SARMp1) could be utilized as the most suitable reference genes for normalization of sugarcane gene expression in sugarcane bud tissues after S. scitamineum infection. Similarly, the inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase gene (S10), the SEC65-signal recognition particle subunit gene (S11), or their combination (S10 + S11) were suitable for normalization of S. scitamineum gene expression in sugarcane bud tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

The PCR reference genes ACAD, SARMp1, S10, and S11 may be employed in gene transcriptional studies involving the sugarcane-S. scitamineum interaction system.

Myeloid Leukemia Factor Acts in a Chaperone Complex to Regulate Transcription Factor Stability and Gene Expression

Mutations that affect myelodysplasia/myeloid leukemia factor (MLF) proteins are associated with leukemia and several other cancers. However, with no strong homology to other proteins of known function, the role of MLF proteins in the cell has remained elusive. Here, we describe a proteomics approach that identifies MLF as a member of a nuclear chaperone complex containing a DnaJ protein, BCL2-associated anthanogene 2, and Hsc70. This complex associates with chromatin and regulates the expression of target genes. The MLF complex is bound to sites of nucleosome depletion and sites containing active chromatin marks (e.g., H3K4me3 and H3K4me1). Hence, MLF binding is enriched at promoters and enhancers. Additionally, the MLF-chaperone complex functions to regulate transcription factor stability, including the RUNX transcription factor involved in hematopoiesis. Although Hsc70 and other co-chaperones have been shown to play a role in nuclear translocation of a variety of proteins including transcription factors, our findings suggest that MLF and the associated co-chaperones play a direct role in modulating gene transcription.

Ultrastructure of cytoplasmic and nuclear inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 "rods and rings" inclusions

Inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase catalyzes the critical step in the de novo synthesis of guanosine nucleotides: the oxidation of inosine monophosphate to xanthosine monophosphate. This reaction can be inhibited by specific inhibitors, such as ribavirin or mycophenolic acid, which are widely used in clinical treatment when required to inhibit the proliferation of viruses or cells. However, it was recently found that such an inhibition affects the cells, leading to a redistribution of IMPDH2 and the appearance of IMPDH2 inclusions in the cytoplasm. According to their shape, these inclusions have been termed "Rods and Rings" (R&R). In this work, we focused on the subcellular localization of IMPDH2 protein and the ultrastructure of R&R inclusions. Using microscopy and western blot analysis, we show the presence of nuclear IMPDH2 in human cells. We also show that the nuclear pool has an ability to form Rod structures after inhibition by ribavirin. Concerning the ultrastructure, we observed that R&R inclusions in cellulo correspond to the accumulation of fibrous material that is not surrounded by a biological membrane. The individual fibers are composed of regularly repeating subunits with a length of approximately 11 nm. Together, our findings describe the localization of IMPDH2 inside the nucleus of human cells as well as the ultrastructure of R&R inclusions.

Separate domains of fission yeast Cdk9 (P-TEFb) are required for capping enzyme recruitment and primed (Ser7-phosphorylated) Rpb1 carboxyl-terminal domain substrate recognition

In fission yeast, discrete steps in mRNA maturation and synthesis depend on a complex containing the 5'-cap methyltransferase Pcm1 and Cdk9, which phosphorylates the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) and the processivity factor Spt5 to promote transcript elongation. Here we show that a Cdk9 carboxyl-terminal extension, distinct from the catalytic domain, mediates binding to both Pcm1 and the Pol II CTD. Removal of this segment diminishes Cdk9/Pcm1 chromatin recruitment and Spt5 phosphorylation in vivo and leads to slow growth and hypersensitivity to cold temperature, nutrient limitation, and the IMP dehydrogenase inhibitor mycophenolic acid (MPA). These phenotypes, and the Spt5 phosphorylation defect, are suppressed by Pcm1 overproduction, suggesting that normal transcript elongation and gene expression depend on physical linkage between Cdk9 and Pcm1. The extension is dispensable, however, for recognition of CTD substrates "primed" by Mcs6 (Cdk7). On defined peptide substrates in vitro, Cdk9 prefers CTD repeats phosphorylated at Ser7 over unmodified repeats. In vivo, Ser7 phosphorylation depends on Mcs6 activity, suggesting a conserved mechanism, independent of chromatin recruitment, to order transcriptional CDK functions. Therefore, fission yeast Cdk9 comprises a catalytic domain sufficient for primed substrate recognition and a multivalent recruitment module that couples transcription with capping.

The dynamic determinants of reaction specificity in the IMPDH/GMPR family of (β/α)(8) barrel enzymes

The inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH)/guanosine monophosphate reductase (GMPR) family of (β/α)(8) enzymes presents an excellent opportunity to investigate how subtle changes in enzyme structure change reaction specificity. IMPDH and GMPR bind the same ligands with similar affinities and share a common set of catalytic residues. Both enzymes catalyze a hydride transfer reaction involving a nicotinamide cofactor hydride, and both reactions proceed via the same covalent intermediate. In the case of IMPDH, this intermediate reacts with water, while in GMPR it reacts with ammonia. In both cases, the two chemical transformations are separated by a conformational change. In IMPDH, the conformational change involves a mobile protein flap while in GMPR, the cofactor moves. Thus reaction specificity is controlled by differences in dynamics, which in turn are controlled by residues outside the active site. These findings have some intriguing implications for the evolution of the IMPDH/GMPR family.

A p53-inducible microRNA-34a downregulates Ras signaling by targeting IMPDH

p53 is a well-known transcription factor that controls cell cycle arrest and cell death in response to a wide range of stresses. Moreover, p53 regulates glucose metabolism and its mutation results in the metabolic switch to the Warburg effect found in cancer cells. Nucleotide biosynthesis is also critical for cell proliferation and the cell division cycle. Nonetheless, little is known about whether p53 regulates nucleotide biosynthesis. Here we demonstrated that p53-inducible microRNA-34a (miR-34a) repressed inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a rate-limiting enzyme of de novo GTP biosynthesis. Treatment with anti-miR-34a inhibitor relieved the expression of IMPDH upon DNA damage. Ultimately, miR-34a-mediated inhibition of IMPDH resulted in repressed activation of the GTP-dependent Ras signaling pathway. In summary, we suggest that p53 has a novel function in regulating purine biosynthesis, aided by miR-34a-dependent IMPDH repression.

The antibiotic potential of prokaryotic IMP dehydrogenase inhibitors

Inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) catalyzes the first committed step of guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP) biosynthesis, and thus regulates the guanine nucleotide pool, which in turn governs proliferation. Human IMPDHs are validated targets for immunosuppressive, antiviral and anticancer drugs, but as yet microbial IMPDHs have not been exploited in antimicrobial chemotherapy. Selective inhibitors of IMPDH from Cryptosporidium parvum have recently been discovered that display anti-parasitic activity in cell culture models of infection. X-ray crystal structure and mutagenesis experiments identified the structural features that determine inhibitor susceptibility. These features are found in IMPDHs from a wide variety of pathogenic bacteria, including select agents and multiply drug resistant strains. A second generation inhibitor displays antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori, demonstrating the antibiotic potential of IMPDH inhibitors.