Purification and characterization of RNA polymerase II resistant to alpha-amanitin from the mushroom Agaricus bisporus

The DNA-dependent RNA polymerases II or B (ribonucleosidetriphosphate:RNA nucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.6) from the mushroom Agaricus bisporus has been purified to apparent homogeneity. The purification procedures involve precipitation with polyethylenimine, selective elution of RNA polymerase II from the polyethylenimine precipitate, ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, CM-cellulose chromatography, and exclusion chromatography on Bio-Gel A-1.5M. With this procedure 11 mg of RNA polymerase II is recovered from 1.5 kg of mushroom tissue. RNA polymerase II from Agaricus bisporus has 12 subunits with the following molecular weights: 182,000, 140,000, 89,000, 69,000, 53,000, 41,000, 37,000, 31,000, 29,000, 25,000, 19,000, and 16,500. Purified RNA polymerase II from Agaricus bisporous was half-maximally inhibited by the mushroom toxin alpha-amanitin at a concentration of 6.5 microgram/mL (7 X 10(-6) M), which is 650-fold more resistant than mammalian RNA polymerases II. The apparent Ki for the alpha-amanitin-RNA polymerase complex was estimated to be 12 X 10(-6) M. The activity of purified RNA polymerase II from the mushroom was quite typical of other eukaryotic RNA polymerase II with regard to template preference, salt optima, and divalent metal cation optima.     

Clones of Aedes albopictus cells resistant to methylmercaptopurine riboside

Four clones of A. albopictus cells resistant to 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside (MMPR) (MMPR-10, -11, -12, and -21) were isolated after mutagenesis of the parental LT C-7 cells. As assayed by plating efficiencies these clones were from ten- to 20-fold more resistant to MMPR than the LT C-7 cells. Resistance was also demonstrated by the fact that concentrations of MMPR, which reduced the levels of ATP and GTP in LT C-7 cells, had no such effect in the MMPR-resistant cells. When de novo purine biosynthesis was measured by the incorporation of [14C]formate into ATP and GTP, MMPR had little effect on the MMPR-10 cells (15% inhibition) but did depress synthesis considerably in the MMPR-11 cells (80% inhibition) although not as severely as in the LT C-7 cells (95% inhibition). Three of the resistant clones which were tested also showed considerable resistance to guanosine. Although the mechanism of resistance to MMPR in these cells is not clear it likely involves some alteration in one of the early enzymes involved in purine biosynthesis. Resistant as well as sensitive cells showed a new high-performance liquid chromatography peak after treatment with MMPR suggesting that there was no defect in the uptake of MMPR. The conversion of labeled adenosine to AMP, ADP, and ATP in the resistant cells indicated that these cells were not deficient in adenosine kinase, another possible mechanism of resistance to MMPR. All clones showed a reduction in GTP following treatment with ribavirin; however, they varied considerably with respect to the amount of ribavirin triphosphate which they formed. In the case of the MMPR-11 cells the amount of ribavirin triphosphate formed was markedly sensitive to cultural conditions. The fact that the various MMPR-resistant cells responded differently to ribavirin, and that quantitative differences were also seen in their responses to MMPR (as measured by [14C]formate incorporation) and to guanosine, suggests that there are significant phenotypic differences among these resistant clones.     

Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants resistant to DNA polymerase inhibitors

Summary Isolation and characterization of Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants resistant to different DNA polymerase ase inhibitors (aphidicolin, ara-A and ara-C) have been described. A particular mutant (JK3-1-2A) characterized in detail was found to grow and synthesize DNA in medium containing an amount of aphidicolin tenfold greater than that which completely inhibited the growth and the DNA synthesis of the wild-type cells. An almost twofold increase in the specific activity of the DNA polymerase was seen in this mutant. The mutant DNA polymerase showed altered aphidicolin inhibition kinetics of dCMP incorporation; the apparent K _m for dCTP and the apparent K _i for aphidicolin were increased in the mutant. These alterations in the kinetic parameters were, however, abolished upon further purification of the enzyme. Ara-CTP was found to act as a competitive inhibitor of the dCMP incorporation by both the wild type and mutant enzymes. In contrast, the effect of aphidicolin on dCMP incorporation was either competitive (wild-type enzymes) or noncompetitive (mutant enzyme). The data presented showed that the sites of action for aphidicolin and ara-CTP were distinct; likewise the dCTP binding site appeared to be separate from other dNTP(s) binding sites. The drug resistance of the mutant was inherited as a dominant trait.Abbreviations ara-A 9--d-arabinofuranosyl adenine - ara-C 1--d-arabinofuranosyl cytosine - aph aphidicolin     

Human diploid fibroblast mutants with altered RNA polymerase II.

Clones resistant to the cytotoxic action of alpha-amanitin have been isolated from a strain of fetal human lung diploid fibroblasts. Resistant clones were recovered at a frequencey of 5 X 10(-8) after single-step selections following mutagenesis with the mutagen ethyl methane sulfonate. Following propagation in drug-free medium, the clones retained the selected phenotype and in both growth and plating experiments showed a 10-50-fold higher resistance than wild-type cells to the cytotoxicity of 0.25 microgram/ml alpha-amanitin. The alpha-amanitin sensitivity of RNA polymerase II purified from the mutant cells suggests the presence of two forms of the enzyme, one similar to that found in wild-type cells and a second form with increased resistance to alpha-amanitin inhibition. These results are consistent with previous evidence that alpha-amanitin resistance behaves as a codominant marker in mammalian cells.     

Differential Susceptibilities of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from the Americas to Zika Virus

BackgroundSince the major outbreak in 2007 in the Yap Island, Zika virus (ZIKV) causing dengue-like syndromes has affected multiple islands of the South Pacific region. In May 2015, the virus was detected in Brazil and then spread through South and Central America. In December 2015, ZIKV was detected in French Guiana and Martinique. The aim of the study was to evaluate the vector competence of the mosquito spp. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from the Caribbean (Martinique, Guadeloupe), North America (southern United States), South America (Brazil, French Guiana) for the currently circulating Asian genotype of ZIKV isolated from a patient in April 2014 in New Caledonia.Conclusions/SignificanceThis study suggests that although susceptible to infection, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were unexpectedly low competent vectors for ZIKV. This may suggest that other factors such as the large naïve population for ZIKV and the high densities of human-biting mosquitoes contribute to the rapid spread of ZIKV during the current outbreak.     

Spectroscopic studies on the mode of binding of ATP, UTP and alpha-amanitin with yeast RNA polymerase II

The binding affinity between the substrates ATP and UTP with the purified yeast RNA polymerase II have been studied here in the presence and absence of Mn2+. In the absence of template DNA, both ATP and UTP showed tight binding with the enzyme without preference for any specific nucleotide, unlike Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. Fluorescence titration of the tryptophan emission of the enzyme by nucleoside triphosphate substrates gave an estimated Kd value around 65 microM in the absence of Mn2+ whereas in the presence of Mn2+, the Kd was 20 microM. The effect of substrates on the longitudinal relaxation of the HDO proton in enzyme-substrate complex also yielded a similar Kd value.     

DNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity of Chinese hamster kidney cells sensitive to high concentrations of alpha-amanitin

Studies on the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase activities present in Chinese Hamster Kidney Cells have revealed an enzyme inhibited only by high concentrations of α-amanitin that corresponds to the previously described RNA polymerase C. Although primarily isolated from the cytoplasmic fraction derived from these cells, evidence is presented which strongly suggests that RNA polymerase C and the nuclear RNA polymerase III are one and the same enzyme.     

Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants resistant to DNA polymerase inhibitors. II. Segregational analysis and DNA transfection of the aphr gene

Genetic characterizations of the Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants resistant to the DNA polymerase inhibitors (aphidicolin, ara-A and ara-C) have been described. Resistance to all three inhibitors showed dominance among the progeny of somatic cell crosses between the wild type and mutant parents. Analysis of the segregation of the drug-resistant character among 566 hybrid progeny from somatic crosses between the wild type (aphs, ara-As, and ara-Cs) and the triple mutants (aphr, ara-Ar, ara-Cr) showed the involvement of at least three unlinked genes in controlling the expression of the resistance to different DNA polymerase inhibitors. The mutant (aphr) DNA was used to transfect aphidicolin resistance to recipient mouse Ltk- cells either directly or in combination with the plasmid pTK2 DNA. The aphidicolin resistance of the transfected cells was found to be a stable phenotype and could be used in multiple rounds of transfection, indicating the chromosomal integration of the transfecting gene.     

Human mutant cell lines with altered RNA polymerase II

A human fibrosarcoma cell line, HT-1080-6TG-9AM, resistant to α-amanitin at concentrations up to 10 μg/ml, was isolated after ethylmethanesulfonate mutagenesis and stepwise selection. The mutation is stable and dominant. RNA polymerase II purified from the mutant cells showed an altered affinity for labeled α-amanitin and the sensitivity of the enzyme to the fungal toxin was decreased 50-to 100-fold. This functional test demonstrated that the biochemical basis for the resistance of the cells to α-amanitin is due to an alteration of RNA polymerase II.