tk Enzyme expression in differentiating muscle cells is regulated through an internal segment of the cellular tk gene

A positive regulatory sequence of hepatitis B viral small X promoter

Hepatitis B viral X protein (HBx) and small X proteins (HBSx) are known to transactivate promoters for RNA polymerase II and RNA polymerase III. Small X promoter has been mapped in the 5'-distal half of the X open reading frame. A 5'-serial deletion analysis showed that there was a positive regulatory sequence for the efficient transcription of the small X promoter. Two cellular proteins of 110 kDa (p110) and 33 kDa (p33) bound at the 3' and 5' regions of the regulatory sequence, respectively. Mutation of p33-binding and p110-binding sites led to diminution and elevation, respectively, of activation properties of the positive element, suggesting that p33 participates in the transactivation and that p110 has an inhibitory effect on the function of p33. This possibility was further supported by the result demonstrating that in vitro phosphorylation of p110 reduced its target DNA-binding capability.

SV40T-immortalized lung alveolar epithelial cells display post-transcriptional regulation of proliferation-related genes

To study the regulation of proliferation of lung alveolar epithelial type 2 cells, we have established a cell line derived from neonatal type 2 cells by transfection with the SV40 large T antigen gene. We find that this cell line, designated SV40-T2, displays the same post-transcriptional control of expression of proliferation-related genes, including c-myc, ornithine decarboxylase, thymidine kinase, and histone, that we have previously described in primary isolates of type 2 cells (Clement et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87, 318-322, 1990). Both proliferating and nonproliferating SV40-T2 cells express these genes at high levels, but their translation products are only detected in proliferating cells. Using the histone gene as an example, we have found that regulation of expression occurs at the level of transcription and of mRNA turnover, as previously described in other mammalian systems. However, in addition, regulation of expression also occurs at the level of translation of the histone mRNA, because its protein product is not detectable in nonproliferating SV40-T2 cells. We have analyzed the steps which are potentially involved in this translational regulation of histone gene expression in SV40-T2 cells. In both proliferating and nonproliferating cells, histone mRNA was found to be efficiently transported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and to associate with the translationally active heavy polysomal fractions. These results indicate that control of histone gene expression (and perhaps that of other proliferation-related genes) in lung epithelial cells may involve either rapid and selective degradation of histone protein or binding factor(s) which modulate translational efficiency of histone mRNA.

Serum inhibition of proliferation of serum-free mouse embryo cells

Serum-free mouse embryo (SFME) cells, derived in medium supplemented with insulin, transferrin, high density lipoprotein, epidermal growth factor, and fibronectin, do not undergo crisis, maintain a predominantly diploid karyotype with no detectable chromosomal abnormalities for well over 100 population doublings in vitro, and are growth inhibited by concentrations of serum that are growth-stimulatory for most cell lines in culture. Serum inhibition of SFME cell proliferation was reversible and was not prevented by addition of the supplements of the serum-free medium, even when added repeatedly during the culture period. The serum effect on SFME cell proliferation could be detected after incubation in serum-containing medium for as little as 8 h. SFME cells in serum-containing medium were arrested in the G1 phase of the cell cycle with a greatly reduced rate of incorporation of precursors into DNA and thymidine kinase activity, while a reduction in rate of incorporation of amino acids into protein was not observed. SFME cultures maintained for extended periods in serum-containing medium underwent a crisis-like period followed by the appearance of variant cells capable of growing in serum-supplemented medium. These cells exhibited abnormal karyotype and were resistant to several inhibitors of proliferation active on the parent SFME cell type.

[3H]thymidine incorporation does not correlate with growth state in cultured alveolar type II cells

Quantitative measurement of [3H]thymidine [( 3H]TdR) incorporation into cultured cells is widely used as an indicator of cell proliferation. The observation that adult type II cells are able to incorporate large amounts of [3H]TdR despite the fact that they are not proliferating raised the question of the meaning of [3H]TdR incorporation in these cells. Comparing different systems of proliferating and nonproliferating type II cells and lung fibroblasts, we show that nonproliferating type II cells are able to synthesize some thymidine nucleotides used as immediate precursors for DNA synthesis and that most of the radioactivity incorporated into acid-insoluble material in these cells is actually in DNA. We found that hydroxyurea inhibited [3H]TdR incorporation into DNA, suggesting that nonreplicating type II cells use thymidine for scheduled, i.e., replicative, rather than unscheduled, or repair, DNA synthesis. However, newly synthesized DNA does not appear to be in a stable form, available for replication. These studies demonstrate that, in culture, adult type II cells initiate but are unable to complete scheduled DNA synthesis. They also establish that [3H]TdR incorporation cannot be used as an indicator of cell proliferation in cultured type II cells.

Adenovirus vaccine vectors expressing hepatitis B surface antigen: importance of regulatory elements in the adenovirus major late intron

Adenovirus types 4 and 7 are currently used as live oral vaccines for prevention of acute respiratory disease caused by these adenovirus serotypes. To investigate the concept of producing live recombinant vaccines using these serotypes, adenovirus types 4 (Ad4) and 7 (Ad7) were constructed that produce HBsAg upon infection of cell cultures. Ad4 recombinants were constructed that express HBsAg from a cassette inserted 135 bp from the right-hand terminus of the viral genome. The cassette contained the Ad4 major late promoter followed by leader 1 of the tripartite leader, the first intervening sequence between leaders 1 and 2, leaders 2 and 3, the HBsAg gene, and tandem polyadenylation signals from the Ad4 E3B and hexon genes. Using this same cassette, a series of Ad4 recombinants expressing HBsAg were constructed with deletions in the intervening sequence between leaders 1 and 2 to evaluate the contribution of the downstream control elements more precisely. Inclusion of regions located between +82 and +148 as well as +148 and +232 resulted in increases in expression levels of HBsAg in A549-infected cells by 22-fold and 44-fold, respectively, over the levels attained by an adenovirus recombinant retaining only sequences from +1 to +82, showing the importance of these elements in the activation of the major late promoter during the course of a natural Ad4 viral infection. Parallel increases were also observed in steady-state levels of cytoplasmic HBsAg-specific mRNA. When similar Ad7 recombinant viruses were constructed, these viruses also expressed 20-fold more HBsAg due to the presence of the intron. All Ad4 and Ad7 recombinants produced HBsAg particles containing gp27 and p24 which were secreted in the medium. When dogs were immunized intratracheally with one of these Ad7 recombinants, they seroconverted to both Ad7 and HBsAg to a high level.

Maintenance of dihydrofolate reductase enzyme after disappearance of DHFR mRNA during muscle cell differentiation

Terminally differentiating mouse muscle cells were used to examine the relationship between myogenic withdrawal from the cell cycle and the levels of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) mRNA and DHFR activity. Differentiation was induced by removal of fibroblast growth factor activity from the medium. DHFR mRNA was measured by a RNase protection assay. DHFR activity was measured by a spectrophotometric assay and by a [3H]methotrexate binding assay. Proliferative myoblasts contained four DHFR mRNA molecules and 1.8 X 10(5) DHFR enzyme molecules. By 12.5 h after induction, when [3H]thymidine labeling indices showed all cells had withdrawn from the cell cycle, DHFR mRNA levels had declined to 0.7 copies per cell. In contrast, myogenic withdrawal did not result in reduced DHFR activity. Qualitatively similar results, i.e. down-regulation of mRNA and constitutive expression of activity, were observed in a methotrexate-selected muscle cell line with greater than 50-fold amplification of the DHFR gene. Enzyme synthesis rate and stability measurements indicated that persistence of DHFR activity in postreplicative cells was due to a long enzyme lifetime rather than to continued synthesis from residual normal DHFR mRNA or an alternative mRNA species not detected by the RNase protection assay. Unlike DHFR, thymidine kinase (TK) activity disappeared rapidly as muscle cells differentiated. Both DHFR mRNA and TK mRNA are expressed in a replication-dependent manner; however, the enzymes encoded by these messages are subject to different fates in postreplicative cells.

Down-regulation of vimentin gene expression during myogenesis is controlled by a 5'-flanking sequence

During myogenesis, the intermediate filament proteins vimentin and desmin are differentially expressed. While desmin levels increase dramatically, vimentin mRNA levels decrease substantially. Here, we show that transfected whole- and mini-vimentin-coding genes (Vim) are expressed in fibroblasts (mouse L cells) and down-regulated during muscle cell differentiation in culture. Functional assays with 5'-end Vim::cat constructs demonstrate that this repression is controlled by a 5'-element (nt -321 to -160). This region is distinct from Vim promoter elements (nt -160 to +71) which do not contribute to vimentin's down-regulation during myogenesis.

Clonal derivation of a rat muscle cell strain that forms contraction-competent myotubes

A muscle cell strain capable of forming contracting myotubes was isolated from an established rat embryo cell line. The myogenic cells, termed rat myoblast omega or RMo cells, have a diploid complement of chromosomes (n = 42). In the presence of mitogen-containing growth medium, RMo cells proliferated with a cell generation time of about 12 hours. In mitogen-depleted medium, RMo cells withdrew from the cell cycle and formed myotubes that spontaneously contracted. Differentiated RMo cells produced creatine kinase isozymes in a ratio characteristic of skeletal muscle cells. RMo cells were easy to cultivate. Cells proliferated and differentiated equally well on gelatin-coated or noncoated culture dishes, at clonal or mass culture densities, and in all basal media tested. In most experiments, growth medium consisted of horse serum-containing medium supplemented with either chicken embryo extract or FGF activity; cells proliferated equally well in medium containing unsupplemented calf serum. RMo cells differentiated if growth medium was not replenished regularly. Alternatively, differentiation was induceable by incubation in mitogen-depleted medium consisting of basal medium supplemented either with 10(-6) M insulin, 0.5% serum, or 50% conditioned growth medium. RMo cells were competently transformed with cloned exogenous genes. Because it forms functional myofibrils, the RMo cell line constitutes a useful model system for studying the cell biology and biochemistry of proteins involved in contractile apparatus assembly and muscle disease.

Negative regulation of the hepatitis B virus pre-S1 promoter by internal DNA sequences

Expression of the surface antigen gene (S gene) of hepatitis B virus is directed by two distinct promoter elements with markedly different activities. The upstream (pre-S1) promoter produces a 2.4-kb transcript at very low levels while the downstream (pre-S2) promoter produces an approximately 2.1-kb transcript in relative abundance. We have constructed a series of internal deletion mutants to analyze differential regulation of the two S gene promoters. We show here that expression directed by the pre-S1 promoter is negatively regulated by DNA sequences containing the downstream pre-S2 promoter region. Nuclear run-on analysis indicates this down-regulation to be at the level of transcription. Furthermore, promoter repression does not appear to be due to products of the S gene region. Deletion mutagenesis studies have permitted the localization of a 61-bp region that may be involved in the apparent down-regulation of the pre-S1 promoter. These results suggest the use of an unusual regulatory mechanism by a dipromoter gene in which an active internal promoter may preclude efficient use of an upstream promoter.

An Ultrabithorax protein binds sequences near its own and the Antennapedia P1 promoters

The homeotic gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx), located in the bithorax complex of Drosophila, encodes a family of closely related proteins that direct the developmental fates of posterior thoracic and anterior abdominal metameres. We have purified a member of the Ubx protein family from an overproducing E. coli strain and have shown that it is sequence-specific DNA binding protein. The protein binds tightly to sequences near its own promoter and near the P1 promoter of Antenna-pedia (Antp), a homeotic gene Ubx is known to repress from genetic studies. The binding sites occur in clusters downstream of the transcription start sites, and far upstream at Antp P1. They range in size from 40 to 90 bp, and contain tandem repeats of the trinucleotide TAA or the related hexanucleotide TAA-TCG. These results suggest that the regulatory activities of Ubx are direct and are mediated by binding of Ubx proteins to promoter region sequences.

Deletion and hypermethylation of thymidine kinase gene in V79 Chinese hamster cells resistant to bromodeoxyuridine

Previous studies on V79 Chinese hamster cells have shown that bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) -resistant variants deficient in thymidine kinase (TK) activity arise by a multistep process which is initiated by a random event and progresses gradually during serial culture in the presence of the drug. In order to determine the molecular basis for the loss of TK activity in these cells, the TK gene was isolated from a lambda phage library of genomic V79 DNA, using a fragment of the human TK gene as a probe. One phage isolated contained the entire TK gene in a 15-kb insert, as demonstrated by the ability of the phage DNA to transform Ltk- mouse cells to the TK+ phenotype. Five fragments spanning the entire gene were then subcloned into the plasmid pUC12 for DNA methylation studies. With these probes it was shown by hybridization analysis that the copy number of the TK gene in V79 cells is about four times the copy number in CHO cells and Chinese hamster liver cells. Southern hybridization analysis of the DNA from first-stage variants partially resistant to BrdU indicated that partial resistance was accompanied by deletion of a number of copies of the TK gene in V79 cells. However, the subsequent gradual transition to full BrdU resistance and full loss of TK activity was correlated with a gradual hypermethylation of sites in the 5' region of the TK gene, with no further change in gene copy number.

Transcriptional repression of an embryo-specific muscle gene

Skeletal muscle involves both the induction and repression of gene expression. Although activation and up-regulation of several contractile protein genes has been shown to occur via transcriptional mechanisms, the mechanisms by which contractile protein genes are repressed during muscle development remain unknown. However, a post-transcriptional mechanism has been implicated in the repression of thymidine kinase expression during muscle development. The chicken cardiac troponin T (cTNT) gene is expressed in early embryonic skeletal muscle but is abruptly repressed in late embryonic/fetal development. Using run-on transcription assays we demonstrate here that cTNT gene repression occurs at the level of transcription. Thus, transcriptional as well as post-transcriptional mechanisms operate both to activate and repress gene expression during skeletal muscle development.

Isolated muscle cells as a physiological model

Summary of a symposium presented by the American Physiological Society (Cell and General Physiology Section and Muscle Group) at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, St. Louis, Missouri, April 15, 1986, chaired by M. Lieberman and F. Fay. This symposium reflects a growing interest in seeking new technologies to study the basic physiological and biophysical properties of cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle cells. Recognizing that technical and analytical problems associated with multicellular preparations limit the physiological significance of many experiments, investigators have increasingly focused on efforts to isolate single, functional embryonic, and adult muscle cells. Progress in obtaining physiologically relevant preparations has been both rapid and significant even though problems regarding cell purification and viability are not fully resolved. The symposium draws attention to a broad, though incomplete, range of studies using isolated or cultured muscle cells. Based on the following reports, investigators should be convinced that a variety of experiments can be designed with preparations of isolated cells and those in tissue culture to resolve questions about fundamental physiological properties of muscle cells.

The chicken thymidine kinase gene is transcriptionally repressed during terminal differentiation: the associated decline in TK mRNA cannot account fully for the disappearance of TK enzyme activity

Thymidine kinase (TK) is representative of a class of enzymes involved in DNA precursor biosynthesis that declines as cells withdraw from the cell cycle. If TK activity is regulated exclusively by the availability of messenger RNA, changes in enzyme activity levels should not precede or excede changes in TK mRNA levels. This prediction was tested in several tissues during chicken embryogenesis and in differentiating muscle cells in culture. A sensitive method of determining absolute TK mRNA levels was developed. A synthetic complimentary RNA probe spanning an intron acceptor site in the chicken TK gene was hybridized with cellular RNA or synthetic colinear TK RNA of known concentration. After RNase digestion and gel electrophoresis, the intensity of the protected fragment was used to calculate absolute TK mRNA levels. As few as 0.02 molecules of TK mRNA per cell could be measured accurately. Depending on the tissue type, 8-day embryos contained between 3 and 12 TK mRNAs per cell. Proliferating mouse muscle cells transformed with the chicken TK gene contained between 30 and 150 TK mRNAs per cell. Both in vivo and in vitro, TK mRNA levels declined as cells withdrew from the cell cycle during differentiation. In vivo, the decline in TK activity never preceded or exceeded observed changes in TK mRNA. However, in the cell culture system, TK activity consistently declined to a greater extent than TK mRNA. Thus, a translational or a post-translational mechanism must also be operative in controlling TK activity levels. Estimation of transcription rates in nuclei isolated from proliferating and differentiated muscle cell transformants indicated that the TK gene was transcriptionally repressed in postreplicative cells.

Cooperative interaction of multiple DNA elements in the human interferon-beta promoter

Analysis of promoter mutants and hybrids in permanently transformed murine L cells reveals several regulatory DNA sequence elements in the 5' flanking region of the human interferon-beta gene, which together constitute the inducible promoter. The elements consist almost exclusively of purine runs in the region -111 to -1. Deletion of single elements reduces the expression capacity drastically, whereas duplication leads to a synergism of inducible expression. These elements act together in a cooperative way to achieve high inducibility. Natural and mutant promoter fragments containing these elements impose inducibility on a heterologous promoter. However, typical enhancer activity in this system is not observed.

Sequence, structure and promoter characterization of the human thymidine kinase gene

The 12.9-kb human thymidine kinase gene (tk) has been sequenced in its entirety along with flanking regions. Consistent with the previously sequenced chicken tk sequence, the human tk is composed of seven exons. The intron sizes differ substantially, and are responsible for the four-fold greater size of the human relative to the chicken gene. Within the introns are found 13 Alu family repeated sequences and a polypyrimidine stretch. A functional promoter region has been located by fusing sequences from the 5' end of the tk gene to the chloramphenicl acetyl transferase (CAT) gene and assaying CAT activity following transfection into mouse L cells. Several putative transcription signals have been identified in the 5' end including 'TATAA' and 'CCAAT' sequences and 'G-C' elements, two of which are arranged in a 27-bp inverted repeat. There is also a 12-bp repeat, containing an inverted 'CCAAT' element. This repeat shows strong homology to a repeat in the chicken tk promoter as well as the 5' regions of other cell-cycle regulated genes, suggesting that it may be part of the promoter or a regulatory signal. The 5' flanking sequence is G + C-rich and has a high concentration of CpG dinucleotides.

Conserved elements in the 3' untranslated regions of c-fos and actin mRNAs

In this study, the nucleotide sequences of the 3' untranslated regions (UTR) of the mouse and human c-fos genes, and the rat and human beta-actin genes were examined. It is shown (i) that the 3' UTR of c-fos is highly conserved between mouse and man, (ii) that multiple copies of a 12 bp element occur, in clusters, in the 3' UTR both of c-fos and of beta-actin. This conserved 12 bp element is analogous to the putative repressor binding site previously identified (Renan, Bioscience Reports, 5 (1985), 739-753). These findings provide additional support for the proposal that regulatory signals are located in the 3' UTR's of certain genes.

Rescue of a tk-plasmid from transgenic mice reveals its episomal transmission

This communication demonstrates the usefulness of the plasmid rescue procedure for recovery of plasmids from transgenic mice. We have microinjected the plasmid pSK1 harbouring the Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene into fertilized mouse oocytes and succeeded in recovering plasmids from newborns by transformation of E. coli either with HindIII cut cellular DNA or with uncut DNA. The majority of the rescued plasmids were indistinguishable from pSK1 by restriction analysis. The rescued plasmids proved to be functionally active in a transient expression assay in mouse Ltk- cells. The pSK1 DNA sequences were inherited by up to 90% of the second generation progeny mice, which is not in agreement with a Mendelian transmission of heterozygous markers integrated into a single site of the chromosome. These data support the assumption that germ line transmission of non-integrated episomal plasmids can occur.

Properties of intracellular bovine papillomavirus chromatin

Episomal nucleoprotein complexes of bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) in transformed cells were exposed to DNase I treatment to localize hypersensitive regions. Such regions, which are indicative for gene expression, were found within the noncoding part of the genome, coinciding with the origin of replication and the 5' ends of most of the early mRNAs. However, there were also regions of hypersensitivity within the structural genes. These intragenic perturbations of the chromatin structure coincide with regulatory sequences at the DNA level. One of these regions maps in close proximity to a Z-DNA antibody-binding site which is located near the putative BPV-1 enhancer sequence.

Expression of human HPRT in the central nervous system of transgenic mice

Severe deficiency of hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) in man results in the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, an X-linked neurological disorder characterized by mental retardation, choreoathetosis and a compulsive tendency towards self-mutilation. Although the HPRT gene is normally constitutively expressed in all tissues at low levels, expression is elevated approximately fourfold in several regions of the central nervous system, particularly in the basal ganglia. The relationships between HPRT deficiency, tissue-specific alterations of nucleotide metabolism and the neuropathology of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome remain unclear. Here we have microinjected recombinant molecules containing human HPRT (hHPRT) complementary DNA, the mouse metallothionein-I (MT-I) promoter and the 3'-untranslated portion of the human growth hormone (hGH) gene into mouse embryos to produce transgenic animals that express hHPRT on induction by cadmium. The hHPRT cDNA in these experiments contained 88 base pairs (bp) of 5'-untranslated and 190 bp of 3'-untranslated sequences, and the full-length coding sequence. We studied the in vivo expression of this MT-hHPRT fusion gene and observed preferential hHPRT expression in tissues of the central nervous system (CNS). This study suggests that sequences within the hHPRT transcript (cDNA) influence CNS expression via increased synthesis or stability of messenger RNA.

Cell-type specificity of immunoglobulin gene expression is regulated by at least three DNA sequence elements

The regulation of cell-type specificity of immunoglobulin (lg) mu heavy chain (H) gene expression was examined by introducing various hybrid genes containing lg gene sequences combined with portions of a tissue-nonspecific transcription unit into lymphoid and nonlymphoid cells. Replacing the lymphocyte-specific IgH enhancer with a viral enhancer did not affect tissue specificity of mu Ig gene expression. We identified two new regulatory regions that provide transcriptional tissue specificity. First, the V H promoter region between position -154 and +57 was shown to direct lymphocyte-specific transcription of a bacterial gpt gene, even in the presence of a viral enhancer. Second, mu intragenic sequences, lacking the IgH enhancer, were found to regulate the level of accumulated Ig transcripts in a tissue-specific fashion. These results demonstrate that tissue specificity of Ig gene expression is not solely regulated by the enhancer but that the promoter, and as yet undefined intragenic sequences, contain lymphoid-specific regulatory information.