Limited proteolysis. Early steps in the processing of large premature termination fragments of beta-galactosidase in Escherichia coli

The mechanism by which large premature termination fragments of beta-galactosidase were degraded in Escherichia coli was studied using quantitative immunoprecipitation techniques. Two different lacZ nonsense mutants which produced apparent primary translation products of 96,000 and 109,000 daltons, respectively, were both shown to produce a second beta-galactosidase-related polypeptide of Mr = 90,000. These 90,000-dalton polypeptides appeared to be the same in both strains since they co-migrated when analyzed as a mixture on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and were indistinguishable when analyzed by one-dimensional peptide mapping. Pulse-chase experiments established a stoichiometric precursor-product relationship between the primary mutant gene products (called the A polypeptides) and the common 90,000-dalton polypeptide (called the B polypeptide). No intermediates were detected between the A and B polypeptides. We propose that there is a common pathway for the degradation of these different large fragments of beta-galactosidase. According to this model, the first step would be a specific endoproteolytic cleavage of the primary translation product which produces the 90,000-dalton polypeptide as a common intermediate. The kinetic analysis demonstrated a first order decay of both A and B polypeptides but, surprisingly, the first order rate constant for the decay of A appeared dependent upon the induction regimen. This result suggested that degradation may possibly be autoregulated either by the intracellular level of A or by other intermediates in the degradation pathway.     

Factors influencing recombinant protein yields in an insect cell-bacuiovirus expression system: multiplicity of infection and intracellular protein degradation

The insect cell (Sf9)-baculovirus (AcNPV) expression system was employed for the synthesis of beta-galactosidase, a model heterologous protein. In the recombinant virus studied, the lacZ gene is fused to a portion of the polyhedrin structural gene and is under the control of the polyhedrin promoter. The effect of the multiplicity of infection (MOI) on product titer was determined by infecting cells with MOI values ranging from 0 to 100 and monitoring the production of beta-galactosidase with time. The relationship between final product titer and MOI was dependent on the growth phase of the cells prior to infection. The final product titer from cells infected in the early exponential phase was relatively independent of MOI. For cells infected in late-exponential phase there was a logarithmic relationship between the final beta-galactosidase titer and the MOI used, with the highest MOI studied resulting in greatest protein synthesis. The synthesis and degradation rates of beta-galactosidase were investigated by a pulse-chase technique using L-[(35)S]-methionine. At 24 h postinfection, the degradation rate is of the same order of magnitude as the synthesis rate. However, the synthesis rate of beta-galactosidase increases dramatically at 96 h postinfection. During this later period, the degradation rate is negligible. Although degradation of recombinant protein occurs in this system, degradation activity declines as infection proceeds and is insignificant late in intention when recombinant protein expression is intense.     

Autogenous control of Escherichia coli threonyl-tRNA synthetase expression in vivo

The regulation of the expression of thrS, the structural gene for threonyl-tRNA synthetase, was studied using several thrS-lac fusions cloned in lambda and integrated as single copies at att lambda. It is first shown that the level of beta-galactosidase synthesized from a thrS-lac protein fusion is increased when the chromosomal copy of thrS is mutated. It is also shown that the level of beta-galactosidase synthesized from the same protein fusion is decreased if wild-type threonyl-tRNA synthetase is overproduced from a thrS-carrying plasmid. These results strongly indicate that threonyl-tRNA synthetase controls the expression of its own gene. Consistent with this hypothesis it is shown that some thrS mutants overproduce a modified form of threonyl-tRNA synthetase. When the thrS-lac protein fusion is replaced by several types of thrS-lac operon fusions no effect of the chromosomal thrS allele on beta-galactosidase synthesis is observed. It is also shown that beta-galactosidase synthesis from a promoter-proximal thrS-lac operon fusion is not repressed by threonyl-tRNA synthetase overproduction. The fact that regulation is seen with a thrS-lac protein fusion and not with operon fusions indicates that thrS expression is autoregulated at the translational level. This is confirmed by hybridization experiments which show that under conditions where beta-galactosidase synthesis from a thrS-lac protein fusion is derepressed three- to fivefold, lac messenger RNA is only slightly increased.     

Synthesis and degradation of termination and premature-termination fragments of beta-galactosidase in vitro and in vivo.

A number of abnormal polypeptides which are products of the lacZ gene in Escherichia coli have been characterized. A variety of experiments indicates that one class of at least nine different fragments arises from premature termination of protein synthesis. They have been detected as products of protein synthesis both in vitro and in vivo, although the percentage of fragments made in vitro is greater than that in vivo. The percentage of total Z gene-encoded protein which is found as fragments is estimated to be roughly 23% in vivo. This means that about 31% of the total number of β-galactosidase monomers synthesized are prematurely terminated molecules. The average molecular weight of the polypeptides produced is 91,000. This corresponds to a termination event occurring on the average once every 3200 codons. The sites at which termination occurs appear to be specific and are located primarily near the 3′-end of the gene.Polypeptides synthesized in vitro and in vivo from templates containing mutations in the Z gene have also been compared. Most of the mutationally generated fragments synthesized in vitro are stable, unlike their in vivo counterparts, which are often rapidly degraded. One fragment, however, generated by an early amber mutation in the Z gene, is degraded in the in vitro system. The mechanism of degradation appears to be specific for small abnormal polypeptides. Internal reinitiation polypeptides generated by nonsense mutations, which have been found in vivo, are not detected in the in vitro protein synthesis system under the conditions used here.     

Regulated expression by readthrough translation from a plasmid-encoded beta-galactosidase.

We have characterized expression of beta-galactosidase from a plasmid cloning vehicle, pBGP120, which carries most of the lacZ gene and contains a single EcoRI site near the end of lacZ. In addition, we have examined expression of heterologous DNA inserted at the position of the EcoRI site. The EcoRI site was shown to be within the sequence coding for beta-galactosidase and its precise location and phase were deduced. Insertion of heterologous EcoRI-generated DNA fragments altered the molecular weight of the plasmid-encoded beta-galactosidase polypeptide. Those insertions that were in the correct phase were expressed at a high level as a fused protein. The different forms of beta-galactosidase polypeptides produced by various hybrid plasmids were all stable proteins. The level of expression of the plasmid-encoded beta-galactosidase was several times higher than maximal expression of chromosome-encoded beta-galactosidase, suggesting that expression is proportional to gene copy number. The expression of the plasmid lacZ gene was controlled by cyclic AMP. When grown in a cya strain (DG74), expression was dependent on exogenous cyclic AMP. Although in normal strains there was insufficient lac repressor to inactivate all copies of the plasmid, repressor regulation was restored when the plasmid was grown in a strain (M96) that overproduces the lac repressor.     

'Promoter trapping' in Caenorhabditis elegans.

A screen of gene expression patterns has been developed for the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Promoter-reporter gene fusions were constructed in vitro by ligating C. elegans genomic DNA fragments upstream of a lacZ gene. Patterns of beta-galactosidase expression were examined by histochemical staining of C. elegans lines transformed with the constructs. beta-galactosidase expression depended on translational fusion, so constructs were assayed in large pools to expedite detection of the low proportion that were active. Expression in a variety of cell types and temporal patterns was observed with different construct pools. The most striking expression patterns were obtained when the beta-galactosidase activity was localized to subcellular structures by the C. elegans portion of the fusion protein. The active constructs of three selected pools were identified subsequently by an efficient combinatorial procedure. The genomic locations of the DNA fragments from the active constructs were determined and appear to define previously uncharacterized genetic loci.     

Degradation of a nuclear-localized protein in mammalian COS cells, using Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase as a model protein.

To investigate the mechanism of degradation of proteins localized in the nucleus, we constructed genes encoding modified Escherichia coli beta-galactosidases and expressed them in mammalian COS cells. When the beta-galactosidase with a nuclear localization signal from SV 40 T antigen was expressed in COS cells, the beta-galactosidase polypeptide was localized in the nuclei and was stable for at least 4 h. When 16 amino acid residues were deleted from the C-terminal end, the beta-galactosidase polypeptide was also observed in the nuclei but it was degraded rapidly, with a half-life of 1.6 h. When the nuclear localizing signal was replaced with a mutant sequence, which lacks nuclear targeting activity, the beta-galactosidase polypeptides were present throughout the cells rather than in the nuclei. The beta-galactosidase polypeptide with the complete C terminus was stable and the cytoplasmic truncated polypeptide was degraded at the same rate as the nuclear C terminus truncated polypeptide. The beta-galactosidase polypeptides with the complete C terminus were present as a tetramer as reported previously and had beta-galactosidase activity, but the C terminus truncated polypeptides were present as monomer and had no enzyme activity, indicating that C terminus truncated beta-galactosidase is malfolded. Together, the results suggest that a nuclear-localized malfolded protein is degraded as rapidly as a cytoplasmic malfolded protein.     

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay: terminating erroneous gene expression

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay is a surveillance pathway that reduces errors in gene expression by eliminating aberrant mRNAs that encode incomplete polypeptides. Recent experiments suggest a working model whereby premature and normal translation termination events are distinct as a consequence of the spatial relationship between the termination codon and mRNA binding proteins, a relationship partially established by nuclear pre-mRNA processing. Aberrant termination then leads to both translational repression and an increased susceptibility of the mRNA to multiple ribonucleases.