Tissue localization of Drosophila melanogaster ras transcripts during development

Identification and expression analysis of ras gene in silkworm, Bombyx mori

Ras proteins play important roles in development especially for cell proliferation and differentiation in various organisms. However, their functions in the most insect species are still not clear. We identified three ras cDNAs from the silk worm, Bombyx mori. These sequences corresponded to three Ras of Drosophila melanogaster, but not to three mammalian Ras (H-Ras, K-Ras, N-Ras). Subsequently, the expression profiles of ras were investigated by quantitative real-time PCR using whole body of individuals from the embryonic to adult stages, and various tissues of 4th and 5th instar larvae. Each of three Bombyx ras showed different expression patterns. We also showed membrane localization of their products. These results indicate that the three Bombyx Ras are functional and have different roles.

Deregulation of the Egfr/Ras signaling pathway induces age-related brain degeneration in the Drosophila mutant vap

Ras signaling has been shown to play an important role in promoting cell survival in many different tissues. Here we show that upregulation of Ras activity in adult Drosophila neurons induces neuronal cell death, as evident from the phenotype of vacuolar peduncle (vap) mutants defective in the Drosophila RasGAP gene, which encodes a Ras GTPase-activating protein. These mutants show age-related brain degeneration that is dependent on activation of the EGF receptor signaling pathway in adult neurons, leading to autophagic cell death (cell death type 2). These results provide the first evidence for a requirement of Egf receptor activity in differentiated adult Drosophila neurons and show that a delicate balance of Ras activity is essential for the survival of adult neurons.

Deregulation of the Egfr/Ras signaling pathway induces age-related brain degeneration in the Drosophila mutant vap

Ras signaling has been shown to play an important role in promoting cell survival in many different tissues. Here we show that upregulation of Ras activity in adult Drosophila neurons induces neuronal cell death, as evident from the phenotype of vacuolar peduncle (vap) mutants defective in the Drosophila RasGAP gene, which encodes a Ras GTPase-activating protein. These mutants show age-related brain degeneration that is dependent on activation of the EGF receptor signaling pathway in adult neurons, leading to autophagic cell death (cell death type 2). These results provide the first evidence for a requirement of Egf receptor activity in differentiated adult Drosophila neurons and show that a delicate balance of Ras activity is essential for the survival of adult neurons.

Evidence of high expression of peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase in the rat uterus: estrogen regulation

In the present study, high levels of peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM), which catalyzes the two-step formation of bioactive alpha-amidated peptides from their glycine-extended precursors, have been found in the uterus. Expression of PAM was evaluated in the uterus of intact cycling adult female rats and after experimental manipulation of the estrogen status of the rats. During the estrous cycle, PAM mRNA levels exhibited striking changes inversely related to the physiological variations of plasma estrogen levels. The levels of PAM transcripts changed markedly during the estrous cycle, reaching the highest levels at metestrus. There was a 15-fold increase in the abundance of PAM mRNA between metestrus and proestrus. Chronic treatment of ovariectomized rats with 17beta-estradiol decreased PAM mRNA levels to values comparable with those found in intact rats at proestrus. Progesterone was without effect on PAM mRNA levels, indicating that the effect was specific for estradiol. In situ hybridization studies were conducted to determine the tissue disposition and cell types expressing PAM. High levels of PAM mRNA were localized in the endometrium at the level of luminal and glandular cells. A weak signal was observed in stromal cells, and the myometrium cells were negative. 17beta-Estradiol treatment induced an overall decrease of the hybridization signal, as compared with ovariectomized rats. These results demonstrate the presence of high levels of PAM in the uterus and indicate that estrogens are involved in regulating the expression of the enzyme in this tissue. However, the present study provides no information regarding whether this regulation takes place at the level of transcription or influences mRNA stability.

Bovine brain gray and white matter exhibit differential protein prenyl transferase activity

Protein farnesyl transferase and geranylgeranyl transferase-I activities were determined in gray and white matter from various regions of bovine brain. Farnesyl transferase activity was 3-8 times greater than geranylgeranyl transferase-I activity. However, farnesyl transferase activity was about 2 times greater in the white matter than in the gray matter in all regions of the brain. Mixing experiments indicated lack of farnesyl transferase activators in white matter. This difference in farnesyl transferase activity may be due to enzyme content and may have implications in brain cell function.

Conserved cis-elements bind a protein complex that regulates Drosophila ras2/rop bidirectional expression

The Drosophila ras2 promoter region exhibits bidirectional activity, as has been demonstrated for the human c-Ha-ras1 and the mouse c-Ki-ras. Here we address a unique case of ras regulation, as Drosophila ras2 provides the only example to date in which the flanking gene (rop) and its product have been isolated. A linking mechanism of control suggests a mutual interaction between the two gene products. Our studies indicate that the Drosophila ras2 promoter region shares with the human c-Ha-ras1 promoter a CACCC box and an AP-1-like sequence. A 14 bp promoter fragment which holds a CACCC element is demonstrated to interact with a specific transcription factor (factor B). This CACCC promoter element represents a stretch of imperfect palindrome. We present evidence that this factor can form a complex with another specific DNA-binding protein (factor A). The binding sites (A + B) for these protein factors are essential for 95% expression of both genes flanking the promoter (ras2 and rop). Region A consists of four overlapping consensus sequences: a TATA-like element, a DSE-like motif (the core sequence of the serum response element), a DRE octamer, which has been shown to play a role in cell proliferation, and a 5 bp direct repeat representing the GATA consensus sequence. Factor A has a very weak affinity to the full promoter region, but when complexed with factor B binding efficiency is enhanced. We also show that alterations of DNA-protein binding specificities can be achieved by supplementing the growth media with different sera.

Tissue-specific expression of the heat shock protein HSP27 during Drosophila melanogaster development

The alpha-crystallin-related heat shock (stress) protein hsp27 is expressed in absence of heat shock during Drosophila melanogaster development. Here, we describe the tissue distribution of this protein using an immunoaffinity-purified antibody. In embryos, hsp27 translated from maternal RNA is uniformly distributed, except in the yolk. During the first, second, and early third larval stages, hsp27 expression is restricted to the brain and the gonads. These tissues are characterized by a high level of proliferating cells. In late third instar larvae and early pupae, in addition to the central nervous system and the gonads, all the imaginal discs synthesize hsp27. The disc expression seems restricted to the beginning of their differentiation since it disappears during the second half of the pupal stage: no more hsp27 is observed in the disc-derived adult organs. In adults, hsp27 is still present in some regions of the central nervous system, and is also expressed in the male and female germ lines where it accumulates in mature sperm and oocytes. The transcript and the protein accumulate in oocytes since the onset of vitellogenesis with a uniform distribution similar to that found in embryos. The adult germ lines transcribe hsp27 gene while no transcript is detected in the late pupal and adult brain. These results suggest multiple roles of hsp27 during Drosophila development which may be related to both the proliferative and differentiated states of the tissues.

Growing and developing Dictyostelium cells express different ras genes

The expression of ras-related protein in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum is developmentally regulated. It was previously reported that Dictyostelium possesses a single ras gene (Ddras) that is maximally expressed during the pseudoplasmodial stage of development. We have isolated a series of cDNA clones derived from a second ras gene, DdrasG. It encodes a protein that is very similar to the protein encoded by Ddras, but in contrast to Ddras, DdrasG is only expressed during growth and early development. Although other eukaryotic organisms possess more than one ras gene, Dictyostelium is thus far unique in expressing different ras genes at different stages of development. In Dictyostelium the two ras proteins may fulfill different functions, with the DdrasG protein playing a role during cell growth and the Ddras protein playing a role in signal transduction during multicellular development.

A gene activated in mouse 3T3 cells by serum growth factors encodes a protein with "zinc finger" sequences

We have recently identified by cDNA cloning a set of genes that are rapidly activated in mouse 3T3 cells by serum or purified growth factors. Here we report that the cDNA (clone 268) derived from one of these immediate early genes (zif/268) encodes a protein with three tandem "zinc finger" sequences typical of a class of eukaryotic transcription factors. The mRNA of zif/268 is present in many organs and tissues of the mouse and is especially abundant in the brain and thymus tissue. The 5' genomic flanking sequence of zif/268 has sequences related to binding sites for known regulatory proteins, including four sequences that resemble the core of the serum response elements (SREs) upstream of the c-fos and actin genes. The SRE-like sequences could be responsible for the coordinate activation of zif/268 and fos after serum stimulation of 3T3 cells.

Convulsant-induced increase in transcription factor messenger RNAs in rat brain

Administration of the convulsants pentylenetetrazole (Metrazole) or picrotoxin to rats caused a dramatic increase in mRNAs of four putative transcription factor genes, zif/268, c-jun, jun-B, and c-fos, in neurons of the hippocampus and dentate gyrus, as well as other areas of the cerebral cortex, including pyriform cortex and cingulate cortex. The increase in these mRNAs was rapid and transient: amounts peaked within 1 hr and returned to baseline within 2 hr. These results extend the observation made by Morgan et al. [Morgan, J. I., Cohen, D. R., Hempstead, J. L. & Curran, T. (1987) Science 237, 192-197] that c-fos mRNA and protein are induced in rat brain after seizures. We hypothesize that the increase of these putative transcription factor mRNAs in the brain is part of a programmed genomic response of neurons to intense stimulation, which is analogous to the genomic response of nonneuronal cells to growth factors.

Tissue localization of Drosophila melanogaster insulin receptor transcripts during development

The Drosophila melanogaster insulin receptor (Drosophila insulin receptor homolog [dIRH]) is similar to its mammalian counterpart in deduced amino acid sequence, subunit structure, and ligand-stimulated protein tyrosine kinase activity. The function of this receptor in D. melanogaster is not yet known. However, a role in development is suggested by the observations that levels of insulin-stimulated kinase activity and expression of dIRH mRNA are maximal during Drosophila midembryogenesis. In this study, a 2.9-kilobase (kb) cDNA clone corresponding to both the dIRH tyrosine kinase domain and some of the 3' untranslated sequence was used to determine the tissue distribution of dIRH mRNA during development. Two principal mRNAs of 11 and 8.6 kb hybridized with the dIRH cDNA in Northern (RNA) blot analysis. The abundance of the 8.6-kb mRNA increased transiently in early embryos, whereas the 11-kb species was most abundant during midembryogenesis. A similar pattern of expression was previously determined by Northern analysis, using a dIRH genomic clone (L. Petruzzelli, R. Herrera, R. Arenas-Garcia, R. Fernandez, M. J. Birnbaum, and O. M. Rosen, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83:4710-4714, 1986). In situ hybridization revealed dIRH transcripts in the ovaries of adult flies, in which the transcripts appeared to be synthesized by nurse cells for eventual storage as maternal RNA in the mature oocyte. Throughout embryogenesis, dIRH transcripts were ubiquitously expressed, although after midembryogenesis, higher levels were detected in the developing nervous system. Nervous system expression remained elevated throughout the larval stages and persisted in the adult, in which the cortex of the brain and ganglion cells were among the most prominently labeled tissues. In larvae, the imaginal disk cells exhibited comparatively high levels of dIRH mRNA expression. The broad distribution of dIRH mRNA in embryos and imaginal disks is compatible with a role for dIRH in anabolic processes required for cell growth. The apparently elevated expression of dIRH mRNA in nervous tissue during mid- and late embryogenesis coincides with a period of active neurite outgrowth and suggests that dIRH may be involved in this process.

DNA sequence, structure, and tyrosine kinase activity of the Drosophila melanogaster Abelson proto-oncogene homolog

We report our molecular characterization of the Drosophila melanogaster Abelson gene (abl), a gene in which recessive loss-of-function mutations result in lethality at the pupal stage of development. This essential gene consists of 10 exons extending over 26 kilobase pairs of genomic DNA. The DNA sequence encodes a protein of 1,520 amino acids with strong sequence similarity to the human c-abl proto-oncogene beginning in the type lb 5' exon and extending through the region essential for tyrosine kinase activity. When the tyrosine kinase homologous region was expressed in Escherichia coli, phosphorylation of proteins on tyrosine residues was observed with an antiphosphotyrosine antibody. These results show that the abl gene is highly conserved through evolution and encodes a functional tyrosine protein kinase required for Drosophila development.

Tissue localization of Drosophila melanogaster insulin receptor transcripts during development

The Drosophila melanogaster insulin receptor (Drosophila insulin receptor homolog [dIRH]) is similar to its mammalian counterpart in deduced amino acid sequence, subunit structure, and ligand-stimulated protein tyrosine kinase activity. The function of this receptor in D. melanogaster is not yet known. However, a role in development is suggested by the observations that levels of insulin-stimulated kinase activity and expression of dIRH mRNA are maximal during Drosophila midembryogenesis. In this study, a 2.9-kilobase (kb) cDNA clone corresponding to both the dIRH tyrosine kinase domain and some of the 3' untranslated sequence was used to determine the tissue distribution of dIRH mRNA during development. Two principal mRNAs of 11 and 8.6 kb hybridized with the dIRH cDNA in Northern (RNA) blot analysis. The abundance of the 8.6-kb mRNA increased transiently in early embryos, whereas the 11-kb species was most abundant during midembryogenesis. A similar pattern of expression was previously determined by Northern analysis, using a dIRH genomic clone (L. Petruzzelli, R. Herrera, R. Arenas-Garcia, R. Fernandez, M. J. Birnbaum, and O. M. Rosen, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83:4710-4714, 1986). In situ hybridization revealed dIRH transcripts in the ovaries of adult flies, in which the transcripts appeared to be synthesized by nurse cells for eventual storage as maternal RNA in the mature oocyte. Throughout embryogenesis, dIRH transcripts were ubiquitously expressed, although after midembryogenesis, higher levels were detected in the developing nervous system. Nervous system expression remained elevated throughout the larval stages and persisted in the adult, in which the cortex of the brain and ganglion cells were among the most prominently labeled tissues. In larvae, the imaginal disk cells exhibited comparatively high levels of dIRH mRNA expression. The broad distribution of dIRH mRNA in embryos and imaginal disks is compatible with a role for dIRH in anabolic processes required for cell growth. The apparently elevated expression of dIRH mRNA in nervous tissue during mid- and late embryogenesis coincides with a period of active neurite outgrowth and suggests that dIRH may be involved in this process.

DNA sequence, structure, and tyrosine kinase activity of the Drosophila melanogaster Abelson proto-oncogene homolog

We report our molecular characterization of the Drosophila melanogaster Abelson gene (abl), a gene in which recessive loss-of-function mutations result in lethality at the pupal stage of development. This essential gene consists of 10 exons extending over 26 kilobase pairs of genomic DNA. The DNA sequence encodes a protein of 1,520 amino acids with strong sequence similarity to the human c-abl proto-oncogene beginning in the type lb 5' exon and extending through the region essential for tyrosine kinase activity. When the tyrosine kinase homologous region was expressed in Escherichia coli, phosphorylation of proteins on tyrosine residues was observed with an antiphosphotyrosine antibody. These results show that the abl gene is highly conserved through evolution and encodes a functional tyrosine protein kinase required for Drosophila development.

Heterologous expression and characterization of the human R-ras gene product

We directly expressed human R-ras 23,000-dalton protein (p23) cDNA in Escherichia coli under the control of the trp promoter. GTP-dependent phosphorylation of a p23 threonine 85 substitution mutant was observed. This result is in direct analogy to the autokinase activity of H-ras and K-ras threonine 59 substitution mutants. Normal p23 protein was detected in the human fibrosarcoma cell line HT1080 by immunoprecipitation with rabbit antibodies raised against an E. coli-expressed R-ras fusion protein. The R-ras p23 protein was found to be 3H labeled in the presence of [9,10(n)-3H]palmitic acid and is associated with the P100 membrane fraction of HT1080 cells. These data suggest that human R-ras p23 has biochemical properties very similar to those of the p21 products of the H-, K-, and N-ras proto-oncogenes. We constructed an R-ras minigene and engineered the expression of normal and mutant alleles from the simian virus 40 early region promoter. Normal and mutant R-ras gene products were authenticated by transient expression in COS-7 cells and immunoprecipitation. The valine 38-substituted R-ras p23 displayed reduced electrophoretic mobility. R-ras p21-like proteins, made by eliminating the first 26 R-ras codons, displayed evident mobility differences between the pro form and mature form, along with a valine 12 substitution-dependent change in electrophoretic mobility. Rat-1 fibroblasts were transfected with normal and mutant R-ras alleles and normal and activated H-ras alleles. Unlike the human T24 bladder oncogene-encoded p21, mutant R-ras alleles do not cause monolayer focus formation or growth in soft agar of rat fibroblasts.

Heterologous expression and characterization of the human R-ras gene product

We directly expressed human R-ras 23,000-dalton protein (p23) cDNA in Escherichia coli under the control of the trp promoter. GTP-dependent phosphorylation of a p23 threonine 85 substitution mutant was observed. This result is in direct analogy to the autokinase activity of H-ras and K-ras threonine 59 substitution mutants. Normal p23 protein was detected in the human fibrosarcoma cell line HT1080 by immunoprecipitation with rabbit antibodies raised against an E. coli-expressed R-ras fusion protein. The R-ras p23 protein was found to be 3H labeled in the presence of [9,10(n)-3H]palmitic acid and is associated with the P100 membrane fraction of HT1080 cells. These data suggest that human R-ras p23 has biochemical properties very similar to those of the p21 products of the H-, K-, and N-ras proto-oncogenes. We constructed an R-ras minigene and engineered the expression of normal and mutant alleles from the simian virus 40 early region promoter. Normal and mutant R-ras gene products were authenticated by transient expression in COS-7 cells and immunoprecipitation. The valine 38-substituted R-ras p23 displayed reduced electrophoretic mobility. R-ras p21-like proteins, made by eliminating the first 26 R-ras codons, displayed evident mobility differences between the pro form and mature form, along with a valine 12 substitution-dependent change in electrophoretic mobility. Rat-1 fibroblasts were transfected with normal and mutant R-ras alleles and normal and activated H-ras alleles. Unlike the human T24 bladder oncogene-encoded p21, mutant R-ras alleles do not cause monolayer focus formation or growth in soft agar of rat fibroblasts.

Differential expression of the ras gene family in mice

We compared the expression of the ras gene family (H-ras, K-ras, and N-ras) in adult mouse tissues and during development. We found substantial variations in expression among different organs and in the amounts of the different transcripts originating from each gene, especially for the N-ras gene. The expression patterns were consistent with the reported preferential tissue activation of ras genes and suggested different cellular functions for each of the ras genes.

Differential expression of the ras gene family in mice

We compared the expression of the ras gene family (H-ras, K-ras, and N-ras) in adult mouse tissues and during development. We found substantial variations in expression among different organs and in the amounts of the different transcripts originating from each gene, especially for the N-ras gene. The expression patterns were consistent with the reported preferential tissue activation of ras genes and suggested different cellular functions for each of the ras genes.