Transcription unit of the chicken histone H5 gene and mapping of H5 pre-mRNA sequences

The poly(A) signal, without the assistance of any downstream element, directs RNA polymerase II to pause in vivo and then to release stochastically from the template

Genes encoding polyadenylated mRNAs depend on their poly(A) signals for termination of transcription. Typically, transcription downstream of the poly(A) signal gradually declines to zero, but often there is a transient increase in polymerase density immediately preceding the decline. Special elements called pause sites are traditionally invoked to account for this increase. Using run-on transcription from the nuclei of transfected cells, we show that both the pause and the gradual decline that follow a poly(A) site are generated entirely by the poly(A) signal itself in a series of model constructs. We found no other elements to be involved and argue that the elements called pause sites do not function through pausing. Both the poly(A)-dependent pause and the subsequent decline occurred earlier for a stronger poly(A) signal than for a weaker one. Because the gradual decline resembles the abortive elongation that occurs downstream of many promoters, one model has proposed that the poly(A) signal flips the polymerase from the elongation mode to the abortive mode like a binary switch. We compared abortive elongators with poly(A) terminators and found a 4-fold difference in processivity. We conclude that poly(A) terminating polymerases do not merely revert to their prior state of low processivity but rather convert to a new termination-prone condition.

An immediate response of ribosomal transcription to growth factor stimulation in mammals is mediated by ERK phosphorylation of UBF

Ribosomal transcription in mammals is regulated in response to growth, differentiation, disease, and aging, but the mechanisms of this regulation have remained unresolved. We show that epidermal growth factor induces immediate, ERK1/2-dependent activation of endogenous ribosomal transcription, while inactivation of ERK1/2 causes an equally immediate reversion to the basal transcription level. ERK1/2 was found to phosphorylate the architectural transcription factor UBF at amino acids 117 and 201 within HMG boxes 1 and 2, preventing their interaction with DNA. Mutation of these sites inhibited transcription activation and abrogated the transcriptional response to ERK1/2. Thus, growth factor regulation of ribosomal transcription likely acts by a cyclic modulation of DNA architecture. The data suggest a central role for ribosome biogenesis in growth regulation.

Poly(A)-driven and poly(A)-assisted termination: two different modes of poly(A)-dependent transcription termination

We mapped the elements that mediate termination of transcription downstream of the chicken betaH- and betaA-globin gene poly(A) sites. We found no unique element and no segment of 3'-flanking DNA to be significantly more effective than any other. When we replaced the native 3'-flanking DNA with bacterial DNA, it too supported transcription termination. Termination in the bacterial DNA depended on a functional poly(A) signal, which apparently compelled termination to occur in the downstream DNA with little regard for its sequence. We also studied premature termination by poorly processive polymerases close to the promoter. The rate of premature termination varied for different DNA sequences. However, the efficiencies of poly(A)-driven termination and promoter-proximal premature termination varied similarly on different DNAs, suggesting that poly(A)-driven termination functions by returning the transcription complex to a form which resembles a prior state of low processivity. The poly(A)-driven termination described here differs dramatically from the poly(A)-assisted termination previously described for the simian virus 40 (SV40) early transcription unit. In the SV40 early transcription unit, essentially no termination occurs downstream of the poly(A) site unless a special termination element is present. The difference between the betaH-globin and SV40 modes of termination is governed by sequences in the upstream DNA. For maximum efficiency, the betaH-globin poly(A) signal required the assistance of upstream enhancing sequences. Moreover, the SV40 early poly(A) signal also drove termination in betaH-globin style when it was placed in a betaH-globin sequence context. These studies were facilitated by a rapid, improved method of run-on transcription analysis, based on the use of a vector containing two G-free cassettes.

Histone H5 in the control of DNA synthesis and cell proliferation

The linker histones (H1, H5, H1 degrees) are involved in the condensation of chromatin into the 30-nanometer fiber. This supranucleosome organization correlates with the resting state of chromatin, and it is therefore possible that the linker histones play an active role in the control of chromatin activity. The effect of H5 has been directly determined by expression of an inducible transfected H5 gene in rat sarcoma cells, which do not produce H5. Transfection resulted in the reversible inhibition of DNA replication and arrest of cells in G1, at which time H5 concentrations approached that of terminally differentiated avian erythrocytes. The arrest of proliferation was accompanied by specific changes in gene expression probably related to the cell cycle block. The selectivity of these effects suggest that H5 plays an active role in the control of DNA replication and cell proliferation.

Early events in murine erythroleukemia cells induced to differentiate. Accumulation and gene expression of the transformation-associated cellular protein p53

Oncogenes may play a crucial role in the genetic program of cellular differentiation; even, probably, at a very early stage in this program, which can be described as pre-commitment. We have investigated the variation in, and the control level of, the accumulation of the transformation-associated cellular protein p53 in murine erythroleukemia cells induced to differentiate by hexamethylene bisacetamide. Using flow cytofluorimetry after double staining of the cells, we have found that p53 decreased from two hours after the input of the inducer, to reach a basal level of about 30% of the starting value. The stability of the protein was found to be affected neither by the inducer nor by the position of the cells in the cell cycle. Looking for the regulation mechanism of the p53 decay, we found that the mRNA started to decrease as early as half an hour after the hexamethylene bisacetamide was put in the culture medium, and that the transcription rate of the gene itself could not account for the observed down-regulation of the mRNA, suggesting a post-transcriptional control for the mRNA accumulation. This control did not require the de-novo synthesis of a protein component, as shown by cycloheximide experiments, but seemed to be governed by the induced synthesis of an RNA molecule. Hypothetical models for such a regulation process are discussed in the light of recent reports on the metabolism of mRNA.

Characterization of mouse H3.3-like histone genes

We designed a strategy to select genomic clones of mouse replication-independent H3.3 histone genes. We obtained three clones which met our selection criteria for being H3.3 genes. Upon sequencing two of these clones we found that they were unlike previously isolated chicken H3.3 clones: they code for several unpredicted amino acid substitutions and contain no introns in the coding regions. We showed by S1 nuclease assays that these genes are protected by mRNAs that have expression characteristics of H3.3 mRNA. The protection data and nucleotide sequence analysis show that the H3.3 transcripts can be processed at one of four cleavage/polyadenylation sites. We show that these genes probably evolved through reverse transcription intermediates, and are processed pseudogenes which are no longer under selective pressure. The 5' and 3' transcribed, nontranslated sequences show extensive homology to those of a human cDNA clone, and we suggest that these sequences may be required for appropriate regulation of expression of H3.3 genes.