Developmental regulation of covalent modification of double-stranded RNA during silkmoth oogenesis

Follicular cells of the silkmoth Bombyx mori contain an enzymatic activity that modifies RNA duplexes in vitro. The modifying activity converts adenosine residues into inosine in duplex but not single-stranded RNA and mediates the partial unwinding of the complement strands. Because of the modification, the RNA loses its ability to form perfect duplexes with its complement upon reannealing in vitro. The modifying enzyme is localized in the cytoplasm of follicular cells and its activity is modulated in a developmentally regulated manner. In contrast, follicular nuclei contain an activity that inhibits the modification and unwinding of duplex RNA. The modifying activity is also present in the cytoplasm of unfertilized oocytes and its accumulation during oogenesis parallels that of the follicular cells. Examination of an established silkmoth cell line of ovarian origin revealed that, in contrast to the situation with follicular cells, the modifying activity has an exclusive nuclear localization. The cytoplasmic fraction of these cells is not only devoid of modifying activity but, as is the case with the nuclear fraction of follicular cells, contains an activity that inhibits duplex RNA modification and unwinding. We conclude that the modification promoting and inhibiting activities are not restricted to a single cell type and that their compartmentalization is developmentally regulated.     

The mechanism of adenosine to inosine conversion by the double-stranded RNA unwinding/modifying activity: a high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.

We have used directly combined high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to examine the mechanism of the reaction catalyzed by the double-stranded RNA unwinding/modifying activity [Bass & Weintraub (1988) Cell 55, 1089-1098]. A double-stranded RNA substrate in which all adenosines were uniformly labeled with 13C was synthesized. An LC/MS analysis of the nucleoside products from the modified, labeled substrate confirmed that adenosine is modified to inosine during the unwinding/modifying reaction. Most importantly, we found that no carbons are exchanged during the reaction. By including H2(18)O in the reaction, we showed that water serves efficiently as the oxygen donor in vitro. These results are consistent with a hydrolytic deamination mechanism and rule out a base replacement mechanism. Although the double-stranded RNA unwinding/modifying activity appears to utilize a catalytic mechanism similar to that of adenosine deaminase, coformycin, a transition-state analogue, will not inhibit the unwinding/modifying activity.     

Nucleic acid unwinding by hepatitis C virus and bacteriophage t7 helicases is sensitive to base pair stability

Helicases are motor enzymes that convert the chemical energy of NTP hydrolysis into mechanical force for motion and nucleic acid strand separation. Within the cell, helicases process a range of nucleic acid sequences. It is not known whether this composite rate of moving and opening the strands of nucleic acids depends on the base sequence. Our presteady state kinetic studies of helicases from two classes, the ring-shaped T7 helicase and two forms of non-ring-shaped hepatitis C virus (HCV) helicase, show that both the unwinding rate and processivity depend on the sequence and decrease as the nucleic acid stability increases. The DNA unwinding activity of T7 helicase and the RNA unwinding activity of HCV helicases decrease steeply with increasing base pair stability. On the other hand, the DNA unwinding activity of HCV helicases is less sensitive to base pair stability. These results predict that helicases will fall into a spectrum of modest to high sensitivity to base pair stability depending on their biological role in the cell. Modeling of the dependence provided the degree of the active involvement of helicase in base pair destabilization during the unwinding process and distinguished between passive and active mechanisms of unwinding.     

An unwinding activity that covalently modifies its double-stranded RNA substrate

An activity that unwinds double-stranded RNA has been reported to exist in several organisms. We have analyzed the RNA intermediates and final products of the unwinding reaction. Although the RNA becomes sensitive to single strand-specific ribonucleases during the reaction, the duplex is never completely unwound. Furthermore, the base pairing properties of the RNA are permanently altered; the reacted RNA cannot rehybridize to form the original duplex. We demonstrate that during the reaction many, but not all, of the adenosine residues are converted to inosine residues, and we propose that the covalent modification is responsible for the irreversible change in base pairing properties. Possible biological roles for the unwinding/modifying activity, as well as its relevance to antisense RNA experiments, are discussed.     

Identification and purification of a protein that stimulates the helicase activity of the Escherichia coli Rep protein

A polypeptide (Mr = 15,000) has been purified from Escherichia coli cell extracts that significantly stimulates the duplex DNA unwinding reaction catalyzed by E. coli Rep protein. The Rep helicase unwinding reaction was stimulated by as much as 20-fold, upon addition of the stimulatory protein, using either a 71-base pair or a 343-base pair partial duplex DNA molecule as a substrate. The purified Rep helicase stimulatory protein (RHSP) had no intrinsic helicase activity or ATP hydrolysis activity and did not stimulate the single-stranded DNA-dependent ATP hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by Rep protein. It is likely that RHSP stimulates the Rep helicase unwinding reaction by stoichiometric binding to single-stranded DNA. However, a specific interaction between Rep protein and RHSP cannot be ruled out, since RHSP did not stimulate the duplex DNA unwinding reactions catalyzed by E. coli helicase I or the recently discovered 75-kDa helicase. RHSP did stimulate the duplex DNA unwinding reaction catalyzed by E. coli helicase II. The identification and subsequent purification of RHSP from cell extracts demonstrates the feasibility of using direct helicase assays to purify stimulatory proteins.     

Radiation-induced DNA unwinding is influenced by cell shape and trypsin.

Incubation of cells in high salt/alkali typically leads to denaturation and unwinding of DNA, yet DNA from Chinese hamster V79 cells grown for 1 day as spheroids stops unwinding after only 5-10 min. We previously postulated that this was a result of "constraints" to DNA unwinding present in cells in spheroids but not in monolayers, and that these constraints could be responsible for the increased resistance of spheroids of V79 cells to killing by ionizing radiation (i.e., the contact effect). However, studies reported here indicate that this limited DNA unwinding is correlated with a round cell shape and lack of cell surface fibronectin. In round cells which continue to synthesize fibronectin, demonstration of constraints requires prior exposure to trypsin in order to digest cell surface fibronectin. However, trypsin did not influence cell killing by ionizing radiation. Therefore, the increase in radiation resistance of V79 spheroids and the change in their DNA unwinding kinetics both appear contingent upon a change in cell shape; differences in DNA denaturation rates which are detected in spheroids using the unwinding assay are apparently not directly responsible for the contact effect.     

Preferential selection of adenosines for modification by double-stranded RNA adenosine deaminase.

Double-stranded RNA adenosine deaminase (dsRAD), previously called the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) unwinding/modifying activity, modifies adenosines to inosines within dsRNA. We used ribonuclease U2 and a mutant of ribonuclease T1 to map the sites of modification in several RNA duplexes. We found that dsRAD had a 5' neighbor preference (A = U > C > G) but no apparent 3' neighbor preference. Further, the proximity of the strand termini affected whether an adenosine was modified. Most importantly, dsRAD exhibited selectivity, modifying a minimal number of adenosines in short dsRNAs. Our results suggest that the specific editing of glutamate receptor subunit B mRNA could be performed in vivo by dsRAD without the aid of specificity factors, and support the hypothesis that dsRAD is responsible for hypermutations in certain RNA viruses.     

DNA unwinding by replication protein A is a property of the 70 kDa subunit and is facilitated by phosphorylation of the 32 kDa subunit.

Replication protein A (RP-A) is a heterotrimeric single-stranded DNA binding protein with important functions in DNA replication, DNA repair and DNA recombination. We have found that RP-A from calf thymus can unwind DNA in the absence of ATP and MgCl2, two essential cofactors for bona fide DNA helicases (Georgaki, A., Strack, B., Podust, V. and Hübscher, U. FEBS Lett. 308, 240-244, 1992). DNA unwinding by RP-A was found to be sensitive to MgCl2, ATP, heating and freezing/thawing. Escherichia coli single stranded DNA binding protein at concentrations that coat the single stranded regions had no influence on DNA unwinding by RP-A suggesting that RP-A binds fast and tightly to single-stranded DNA. DNA unwinding by RP-A did not show directionality. Experiments with monoclonal antibodies strongly suggested that the 70kDa subunit is responsible for DNA unwinding. Phosphorylation of the 32kDa subunit of RP-A by chicken cdc2 kinase facilitated DNA unwinding indicating that this posttranslational modification might be important for modulating this activity of RP-A. Finally, DNA unwinding of a primer recognition complex for DNA polymerase delta which is composed of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, replication factor C and ATP bound to a singly-primed M13DNA slightly inhibited DNA unwinding. An important role for DNA unwinding by RP-A in processes such as initiation of DNA replication, fork propagation, DNA repair and DNA recombination is discussed.     

Coupling of DNA helicase and endonuclease activities of yeast Dna2 facilitates Okazaki fragment processing

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dna2 possesses both helicase and endonuclease activities. Its endonuclease activity is essential and well suited to remove RNA-DNA primers of Okazaki fragments. In contrast, its helicase activity, although required for optimal growth, is not essential when the rate of cell growth is reduced. These findings suggest that DNA unwinding activity of Dna2 plays an auxiliary role in Okazaki fragment processing. To address this issue, we examined whether the Dna2 helicase activity influenced its intrinsic endonuclease activity using two mutant proteins, Dna2D657A and Dna2K1080E, which contain only helicase or endonuclease activity, respectively. Experiments performed with a mixture of Dna2D657A and Dna2K1080E enzymes revealed that cleavage of a single-stranded DNA by endonuclease activity of Dna2 occurs while the enzyme translocates along the substrate. In addition, DNA unwinding activity efficiently removed the secondary structure formed in the flap structure, which was further aided by replication protein A. Our results suggest that the Dna2 unwinding activity plays a role in facilitating the removal of the flap DNA by its intrinsic endonuclease activity.     

Duplex unwinding and ATPase activities of the DEAD-box helicase eIF4A are coupled by eIF4G and eIF4B

Eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4A is a DEAD-box helicase that stimulates translation initiation by unwinding mRNA secondary structure. The accessory proteins eIF4G, eIF4B, and eIF4H enhance the duplex unwinding activity of eIF4A, but the extent to which they modulate eIF4A activity is poorly understood. Here, we use real-time fluorescence assays to determine the kinetic parameters of duplex unwinding and ATP hydrolysis by these initiation factors. To ensure efficient duplex unwinding, eIF4B and eIF4G cooperatively activate the duplex unwinding activity of eIF4A. Our data reveal that eIF4H is much less efficient at stimulating eIF4A unwinding activity than eIF4B, implying that eIF4H is not able to completely substitute for eIF4B in duplex unwinding. By monitoring unwinding and ATPase assays under identical conditions, we demonstrate that eIF4B couples the ATP hydrolysis cycle of eIF4A with strand separation, thereby minimizing nonproductive unwinding events. Using duplex substrates with altered GC contents but similar predicted thermal stabilities, we further show that the rate of formation of productive unwinding complexes is strongly influenced by the local stability per base pair, in addition to the stability of the entire duplex. This finding explains how a change in the GC content of a hairpin is able to influence translation initiation while maintaining the overall predicted thermal stability.     

Ded1p, a DEAD-box protein required for translation initiation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is an RNA helicase.

The Ded1 protein (Ded1p), a member of the DEAD-box family, has recently been shown to be essential for translation initiation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we show that Ded1p purified from Escherichia coli has an ATPase activity, which is stimulated by various RNA substrates. Using an RNA strand-displacement assay, we show that Ded1p has also an ATP-dependent RNA unwinding activity. Hydrolysis of ATP is required for this activity: the replacement of ATP by a nonhydrolyzable analog or a mutation in the DEAD motif abolishing ATPase activity results in loss of RNA unwinding. We find that cells harboring a Ded1 protein with this mutated DEAD motif are nonviable, suggesting that the ATPase and RNA helicase activities of this protein are essential to the cell. Finally, RNA binding measurements indicate that the presence of ATP, but not ADP, increases the affinity of Ded1p for duplex versus single-stranded RNA; we discuss how this differential effect might drive the unwinding reaction.     

Drunken-cell footprints: nuclease treatment of ethanol-permeabilized bacteria reveals an initiation-like nucleoprotein complex in stationary phase replication origins.

The nucleoprotein complex formed on oriC, the Escherichia coli replication origin, is dynamic. During the cell cycle, high levels of the initiator DnaA and a bending protein, IHF, bind to oriC at the time of initiation of DNA replication, while binding of Fis, another bending protein, is reduced. In order to probe the structure of nucleoprotein complexes at oriC in more detail, we have developed an in situ footprinting method, termed drunken-cell footprinting, that allows enzymatic DNA modifying reagents access to intracellular nucleoprotein complexes in E.coli, after a brief exposure to ethanol. With this method, we observed in situ binding of Fis to oriC in exponentially growing cells, and binding of IHF to oriC in stationary cells, using DNase I and Bst NI endonuclease, respectively. Increased binding of DnaA to oriC in stationary phase was also noted. Because binding of DnaA and IHF results in unwinding of oriC in vitro, P1 endonuclease was used to probe for intracellular unwinding of oriC. P1 cleavage sites, localized within the 13mer unwinding region of oriC ', were dramatically enhanced in stationary phase on wild-type origins, but not on mutant versions of oriC unable to unwind. These observations suggest that most oriC copies become unwound during stationary phase, forming an initiation-like nucleoprotein complex.     

The redox state of the baculovirus single-stranded DNA-binding protein LEF-3 regulates its DNA binding, unwinding, and annealing activities

The single-stranded (ss) DNA-binding protein LEF-3 of Autographa californica multinucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus promoted Mg(2+)-independent unwinding of DNA duplexes and annealing of complementary DNA strands. The unwinding and annealing activities of LEF-3 appeared to act in a competitive manner and were determined by the ratio of protein to DNA. At subsaturating and saturating concentrations, LEF-3 promoted annealing, whereas it promoted unwinding at oversaturation of DNA substrates. The LEF-3 binding to ssDNA and unwinding activity were sensitive to redox agents and were inhibited by oxidation of thiol groups in LEF-3 with 1,1'-azobis(N,N-dimethylformamide) (diamide) or by modification with the thiol-conjugating agent N-ethylmaleimide. Both oxidation and alkylation increased the dissociation constant of the interaction with model oligonucleotides indicating a decrease in an intrinsic affinity of LEF-3 for ssDNA. These results proved that free thiol groups are essential both for LEF-3 interaction with ssDNA and for DNA unwinding. In contrast, oxidation or modification of thiol groups stimulated the annealing activity of LEF-3 partially due to suppression of its unwinding activity. Treatment of LEF-3 with the reducing agent dithiothreitol inhibited annealing, indicating association of this activity with the oxidized protein. Thus, the balance between annealing and unwinding activities of LEF-3 was determined by the redox state of protein with the oxidized state favoring annealing and the reduced state favoring unwinding. An LEF-3 mutant in which the conservative cysteine Cys(214) was replaced with serine showed both a decreased binding to DNA and a reduced unwinding activity, thus indicating that this residue might participate in the regulation of LEF-3 activities.     

Purification and characterization of a new DNA-dependent ATPase with helicase activity from Escherichia coli

A previously unreported single-stranded DNA-dependent nucleoside 5'-triphosphatase with DNA unwinding activity has been purified from extracts of Escherichia coli lacking the F factor. Fractions of the purified enzyme contain a major polypeptide of Mr = 75,000 which contains the active site(s) for both ATP hydrolysis and helicase activity. This is consistent with the results of gel filtration chromatography which indicate a native molecular mass of 75 kDa. The 75-kDa helicase has a preference for ATP (dATP) as a substrate in the hydrolysis reaction and requires the presence of a single-stranded DNA cofactor. The helicase reaction catalyzed by the enzyme has been characterized using an in vitro strand displacement assay. The 75-kDa helicase displaces a 71-nucleotide DNA fragment in an enzyme concentration-dependent and time-dependent reaction. The helicase reaction depends on the presence of a hydrolyzable nucleoside 5'-triphosphate (NTP) suggesting that NTP hydrolysis is required for the unwinding activity. In addition, the enzyme can displace a 343-nucleotide DNA fragment albeit less efficiently. The direction of the unwinding reaction is 3' to 5' with respect to the strand of DNA on which the enzyme is bound. The molecular size of this helicase and the direction of the unwinding reaction are similar to both helicase II and Rep protein. However, the 75-kDa helicase has been shown to be distinct from both helicase II and Rep protein using immunological, physical, and genetic criteria. The discovery of a new helicase brings the total number of helicases found in E. coli cell extracts (lacking F factor) to five.     

A common mechanism for the ATP-DnaA-dependent formation of open complexes at the replication origin

Initiation of chromosomal replication and its cell cycle-coordinated regulation bear crucial and fundamental mechanisms in most cellular organisms. Escherichia coli DnaA protein forms a homomultimeric complex with the replication origin (oriC). ATP-DnaA multimers unwind the duplex within the oriC unwinding element (DUE). In this study, structural analyses suggested that several residues exposed in the central pore of the putative structure of DnaA multimers could be important for unwinding. Using mutation analyses, we found that, of these candidate residues, DnaA Val-211 and Arg-245 are prerequisites for initiation in vivo and in vitro. Whereas DnaA V211A and R245A proteins retained normal affinities for ATP/ADP and DNA and activity for the ATP-specific conformational change of the initiation complex in vitro, oriC complexes of these mutant proteins were inactive in DUE unwinding and in binding to the single-stranded DUE. Unlike oriC complexes including ADP-DnaA or the mutant DnaA, ATP-DnaA-oriC complexes specifically bound the upper strand of single-stranded DUE. Specific T-rich sequences within the strand were required for binding. The corresponding conserved residues of the DnaA ortholog in Thermotoga maritima, an ancient eubacterium, were also required for DUE unwinding, consistent with the idea that the mechanism and regulation for DUE unwinding can be evolutionarily conserved. These findings provide novel insights into mechanisms for pore-mediated origin unwinding, ATP/ADP-dependent regulation, and helicase loading of the initiation complex.     

甲磺酸培氟沙星抑制大肠杆菌RecQ解旋酶的体外DNA结合、解链和ATPase活性

RecQ家族解旋酶是DNA解旋酶中高度保守的一个重要家族,参与DNA复制、修复、重组、转录及维持端粒稳定等细胞代谢过程,在维持染色体稳定性与完整性中起着重要作用．甲磺酸培氟沙星(pefloxacin mesylate,PFM)是一种新型氟喹诺酮类抗菌药物,对一些革兰氏阴性菌具有明显的杀菌效果,临床上已广泛使用．本研究利用荧光偏振、自由磷检测技术研究PFM对大肠杆菌RecQ解旋酶的DNA结合活性、解链活性、ATPase活性的影响．结果表明,低浓度PFM可促进大肠杆菌RecQ解旋酶与ssDNA、dsDNA结合,达到一定量后PFM则抑制酶与DNA底物的结合,这种影响与DNA底物有关;PFM对RecQ解旋酶的DNA解链活性和ATP酶活性都具有抑制作用,但其抑制的效果有极显著差异(P<0.01)：比较PFM对两种活性抑制的Ci值(对解链活性抑制的Ci值为(1.5±0.2) μmol/L,对ATP酶活性抑制的Ci值为(0.010±0.005) μmol/L)可知,PFM对大肠杆菌RecQ解旋酶ATPase活性的抑制强于其解链活性. 这些结果可为研究以DNA解旋酶为药物靶标的分子机理奠定相关理论基础．     

Do DEAD-box proteins promote group II intron splicing without unwinding RNA?

The DEAD-box protein Mss116p promotes group II intron splicing in vivo and in vitro. Here we explore two hypotheses for how Mss116p promotes group II intron splicing: by using its RNA unwinding activity to act as an RNA chaperone or by stabilizing RNA folding intermediates. We show that an Mss116p mutant in helicase motif III (SAT/AAA), which was reported to stimulate splicing without unwinding RNA, retains ATP-dependent unwinding activity and promotes unfolding of a structured RNA. Its unwinding activity increases sharply with decreasing duplex length and correlates with group II intron splicing activity in quantitative assays. Additionally, we show that Mss116p can promote ATP-independent RNA unwinding, presumably via single-strand capture, also potentially contributing to DEAD-box protein RNA chaperone activity. Our findings favor the hypothesis that DEAD-box proteins function in group II intron splicing as in other processes by using their unwinding activity to act as RNA chaperones.