Poly A-containing histone H4 mRNA variant (H4-v. 1): isolation and sequence determination from bovine adrenal medulla

The histone replacement gene His4r is involved in heat stress induced chromatin rearrangement

His4r is the only known variant of histone H4 in Drosophila. It is encoded by the His4r single-copy gene that is located outside of the histone gene cluster and expressed in a different pattern than H4, although the encoded polypeptides are identical. We generated a null mutant (His4r^Δ42) which is homozygous viable and fertile without any apparent morphological defects. Heterozygous His4r^Δ42 is a mild suppressor of position-effect variegation, suggesting that His4r has a role in the formation or maintenance of condensed chromatin. Under standard conditions loss of His4r has a modest effect on gene expression. Upon heat-stress the induction of the Heat shock protein (HSP) genes Hsp27 and Hsp68 is stronger in His4r^Δ42 mutants with concordantly increased survival rate. Analysis of chromatin accessibility after heat shock at a Hsp27 regulatory region showed less condensed chromatin in the absence of His4r while there was no difference at the gene body. Interestingly, preconditioning before heat shock led to increased chromatin accessibility, HSP gene transcription and survival rate in control flies while it did not cause notable changes in His4r^Δ42. Thus, our results suggest that His4r might play a role in fine tuning chromatin structure at inducible gene promoters upon environmental stress conditions.

Antimicrobial effects of H4-(86-100), histogranin and related compounds--possible involvement of DNA gyrase

Histone-derived antimicrobial peptides have been identified in various organisms from plants to humans. The rat histone H4 mRNA variants, H4-v.1 and rat histogranin (HNr) mRNAs, were recently reported to be involved in the synthesis of H4-(86-100) and its related peptide HNr, respectively. Herein, the two peptides were investigated for putative antimicrobial activity and found to inhibit growth of gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. Their inhibitory potencies in E. coli (LD(50): 3.48 and 4.34 microg x mL(-1)) are comparable to that of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 (LD(50): 4.10 microg x mL(-1)). The antimicrobial activities of H4-(86-100) and HNr depend upon the integrity of the molecules, as precursors [H4-(84-102), pro-HNr] and fragments [bovine histogranin (HNb)-(1-13), HNb-(3-13), H4-(89-102) or OGP] are at least five times less potent than the parent peptides. Among various HN-like compounds, cyclo-(-Gly-pCl-Phe-Tyr-D-Arg) (compound 3) and N-5-guanidino pentanamide-(2R)-yl-2-N-(p-hydroxyphenylacetyl)-4-(p-chlorobenzoyl)-phenylene diamine (compound 8) display antimicrobial activities comparable to that of HNr. Interestingly, the antimicrobial activities of H4-(86-100), HNr and compound 3, like those of quinolone antibiotics acting as DNA gyrase poisons, are potentiated by ATP (1 mM) and coumermycin A1 (a DNA gyrase-linked ATPase inhibitor) and blocked by 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP, an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation) and fluoroacetic acid (a metabolic poison). Finally, in vitro experiments indicate that H4-(86-100), HNr, compound 3 and compound 8, but not HNb-(1-13) or HNb-(3-13), inhibit DNA gyrase-mediated supercoiling of pBR322 DNA. These data indicate that the naturally occurring H4-(86-100) and HNr display antimicrobial effects that involve a modulation of ATP-dependent DNA gyrase.

Characterization, localization and possible anti-inflammatory function of rat histone H4 mRNA variants

Two histone H4 mRNA variants, H4-v.1 and histogranin mRNAs, were detected in the rat genome and measured in various tissues and isolated alveolar macrophages. Medium to high levels of both mRNAs were present in the liver, adrenal glands, thymus, bone marrow and alveolar macrophages. H4-v.1 cDNA contained an open reading frame that coded for unmodified whole histone H4, whereas histogranin cDNA lacked the first ATG codon and contained an open reading frame that coded for modified (Thr89) H4-(84-102). The two genes displayed a sequence homologous (> 80%) to the open reading frame of core H4 somatic (H4s) and H4 germinal (H4g) and their variant nature was supported by the absence of histone consensus palindromic and purine-rich sequences in the proximal 3'UTR, and the presence of a polyadenylation signal in the distal 3'UTR and of specific upstream transcription factor-binding sites. H4-v.1 and histogranin transcripts, but not H4s transcript, were selectively induced by lipopolysaccharide and/or interferon gamma in alveolar macrophages. In vitro transcription/translation experiments with H4-v.1 and histogranin cDNA pCMV constructs produced peptides with the molecular mass (2 kDa) of the alternative histone H4 translation product which, like synthetic H4-(86-100) and [Thr89]H4-(86-100) or rat histogranin, inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced prostaglandin E(2) release from rat alveolar macrophages. The synthetic peptides also inhibited the secretion of the CXC chemokine interleukin-8 (GRO/CINC-1) in response to lipopolysaccharide. The presence of H4-v.1 and histogranin mRNAs in tissues wherein immune reactions take place and the inhibitory effects of their translation products on prostaglandin E(2) and interkeukin-8 secretion by activated alveolar macrophages suggest an anti-inflammatory function.

Correlation between the expression of the histone H4 mRNA variant H4-v.1 and the levels of histone H4-(86-100) and H4-(89-102) (OGP) in various rat tissues and alveolar macrophages

We studied the expression of the osteogenic and antinociceptive C-terminal histone H4-related peptide fragments, H4-(89-102) (OGP) and H4-(86-100), respectively, within various rat tissues and isolated alveolar macrophages (AM) by radioimmunoassay (RIA). OGP was located mainly within the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and lungs whereas H4-(86-100) was more concentrated within the bone marrow, lymph nodes, spinal cord, pituitaries and thymus. The expression pattern of the two peptides showed similarities with the tissue expression pattern of the histone H4 mRNA variant H4-v.1. In rat AM, OGP and H4-(86-100) levels were significantly stimulated (2.6- and 1.9-fold, respectively) by LPS (1 microg/ml), along with H4-v.1 mRNA (4.1-fold), but not whole histone H4 (1.1-fold) nor total histone H4 mRNA (1.1-fold). The results suggest that H4-v.1 mRNA may play a role in the synthesis of the naturally occurring peptides H4-(86-100) and OGP via the alternative translation product H4-(84-102), but not whole histone H4.

Histone gene complement, variant expression, and mRNA processing in a urochordate Oikopleura dioica that undergoes extensive polyploidization

Considerable data exist on coding sequences of histones in a wide variety of organisms. Much more restricted information is available on total histone gene complement, gene organization, transcriptional regulation, and histone mRNA processing. In particular, there is a significant phylogenetic gap in information for the urochordates, a subphylum near the invertebrate-vertebrate transition. In this study, we show that the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica has a histone gene complement that is similar to that of humans, though its genome size is 40- to 50-fold smaller. At a total length of 3.5 kb, the H3, H4, H1, H2A, and H2B quintet cluster is the most compact described thus far, but despite very rapid early developmental cleavage cycles, no extensive tandem repeats of the cluster were present. The high degree of variation within each of the complements of O. dioica H2A and H2B subtypes resembled that found in plants as opposed to more closely related vertebrate and invertebrate species, and developmental stage-specific expression of different subtypes was observed. The linker histone H1 was present in relatively few copies per haploid genome and contained short N- and C-terminal tails, a feature similar to that of copepods but different from many standard model organisms. The 3'UTRs of the histone genes contained both the consensus stem-loop sequence and the polyadenylation signals but lacked the consensus histone downstream element that is involved in the processing of histone mRNAs in echinoderms and vertebrates. Two types of transcripts were found, i.e., those containing both the stem-loop and a polyA tail as well as those cleaved at the normal site just 3' of the stem-loop. The O. dioica data are an important addition to the limited number of eukaryotes for which sufficiently extensive information on histone gene complements is available. Increasingly, it appears that understanding the evolution of histone gene organization, transcriptional regulation, and mRNA processing will depend at least as much on comparative analysis of constraints imposed by certain life history features and cell biological characteristics as on projections based on simple phylogenetic relationships.

Cellular and molecular deviations in bovine in vitro-produced embryos are related to the large offspring syndrome

The large offspring syndrome (LOS) is observed in bovine and ovine offspring following transfer of in vitro-produced (IVP) or cloned embryos and is characterized by a multitude of pathologic changes, of which extended gestation length and increased birthweight are predominant features. In the present study, we used bovine blastocysts to analyze cellular parameters, i.e., the number of cells in Day 7 blastocysts and the size of Day 12 elongating blastocysts, and molecular parameters, i.e., the relative abundance of developmentally important genes: glucose transporter (Glut) 1, Glut-2, Glut-3, Glut-4, heat shock protein (Hsp) 70.1, Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD), histone H4.1, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF) I receptor (R), and IGFII-R. Some blastocysts were produced by in vitro maturation and fertilization followed by in vitro culture in synthetic oviduct fluid medium supplemented with BSA or human serum or by in vivo culture in the sheep oviduct. Other blastocysts were derived in vivo from the uterine horns of superovulated donors. The findings made in the early embryos were related to a representative number of calves obtained from each production system and from artificial insemination (AI). In vitro culture of bovine embryos in the presence of high concentrations of serum or BSA significantly increased the number of cells in Day 7 blastocysts, the size of blastocysts on Day 12, and the relative abundance of the transcripts for Hsp70.1, Cu/Zn-SOD, Glut-3, Glut-4, bFGF, and IGFI-R when compared with embryos from the in vivo production groups. Birthweights of calves derived from IVP embryos were significantly higher than those of calves derived from sheep oviduct culture, superovulation, or AI. The results support the hypothesis that persistence of early deviations in development is causally involved in the incidence of LOS, in particular in increased birthweights. The cellular and molecular parameters analyzed in this study can be considered early markers of LOS in cattle.

Non-opioid antinociceptive effects of supraspinal histogranin and related peptides: possible involvement of central dopamine D(2) receptor

The antinociceptive effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of histogranin (HN) and related peptides were assessed in the mouse writhing and tail-flick assays. In the writhing test, the peptides displayed dose-dependent analgesic effects with an AD(50) of 23.9 nmol/mouse for HN and the following order for other peptides: HN-(7-15)<histone H4-(86-100) approximately HN approximately HN-(7-10)<[Ser(1)]HN<osteogenic growth peptide (OGP) approximately HN-(1-10). HN-(6-9) and HN-(8-10) did not show any significant analgesic activity at 50 nmol/mouse. The importance of the C- and N-terminal amino acids in the analgesic activity of the peptides was demonstrated by the prolonged effects of HN and [Ser(1)]HN ( approximately 30 min) compared with those of HN fragments (HN-(7-15), HN-(1-10) and HN-(7-10): 5-10 min). The analgesic activity of [Ser(1)]HN (50 nmol/mouse) was not affected by the coadministration of opioid (naloxone, 1 nmol/mouse), NMDA (CPP, 0.3 and MK-801, 0.3 nmol/mouse) and D(1) (SCH-23390, 0.5 nmol/mouse) receptor antagonists, but it was significantly antagonized by the coinjection of the D(2) receptor antagonist raclopride (0.5 nmol/mouse). In the mouse tail-flick assay, HN and related peptides (50 nmol/mouse) also showed significant analgesic activity (15-35% MPE). The analgesic effect of [Ser(1)]HN was dose-dependent and, at 75 nmol/mouse, lasted for up to 45 min, and was partially blocked by the coadministration of raclopride (1 nmol/mouse), but not naloxone (2 nmol/mouse). In the mouse rotarod assay, relative high doses (75-100 nmol/mouse) of HN and related peptides did not significantly affect motor coordination. These results indicate that supraspinal administration of HN and related peptides induce significant non-opioid analgesic effects devoid of motor activity by a mechanism that involves the participation of central dopamine D(2) receptors.