人Elongator复合物Elp4亚基基因可部分补偿酵母ELP4缺失菌株的生长缺陷

为研究人Elongator复合物EIp4亚基的功能,将人ELP4基因转入酵母ELP4基因缺失的突变菌株(elp4△菌株)中,并对转化菌株进行功能互补实验和SSA3和PHO5基因表达分析,结果表明人的ELP4基因不能恢复突变菌株对高盐的敏感性,但可以在一定程度上缓解突变菌株对高温、咖啡因(Caffeine)和6-氮尿嘧啶(6-AU)的敏感性,部分恢复低磷条件下PHO5基因表达延迟的缺陷,并可在热激条件下提高SSA3基因的表达,因此人的ELP4基因可以部分补偿酵母ELP4基因缺失所引起的生长缺陷,提示人的EIp4亚基可能与酵母的该亚基功能相似。     

人Elongator复合物Elp3亚基基因可显著补偿酵母elp3缺失菌株的生长缺陷

从HeLa细胞中分离的人的Elongator复合物在组成及与RNAPⅡ的作用方式上与酵母的Elongator复合物十分相似．但对其功能研究极少。为了研究人的Elongator复合物催化亚基Elp3的功能,将人elp3等基因转入酵母elp3基因缺失的突变菌株（elp3△菌株）,并对转化菌株进行功能互补实验和ssa和pho5基因表达分析,结果表明人elp3基因可显著恢复突变菌株对高温和Caffeine的敏感性．在低磷条件下显著补偿了突变株ph05基因表达延迟的缺陷．并可在热激条件下提高ssa3基因的表达。含酵母elp3非HAT区和人elp3 HAT区的融合yhelp3对上述缺陷有着更强的补偿能力。而HAT区催化结构域缺失的yhelp3HAT-没有任何补偿能力．表明人Elp3亚基可能与酵母的该亚基功能相似．人Elp3的HAT活性也为其行使功能所必需。     

延伸因子复合物对真核生物tRNA的修饰作用

延伸因子复合物(Elongator complex, Elp)由6个亚基蛋白Elp1～6组成,在真核细胞生物中呈现高度的进化保守,提示其具有重要的生物学功能。研究表明,Elp涉及多种细胞行为如转录延伸、细胞外分泌、端粒基因沉默和DNA损伤修复、神经系统的发育和功能等。然而越来越多的证据显示,Elp通过介导tRNA修饰影响翻译过程,从而间接调控上述细胞行为。在人类,ELP1/IKBKAP突变可导致家族性植物神经功能障碍症,ELP2、ELP3和ELP4基因的遗传变异也可能与其他神经退行性病变相关。本文对Elp的结构、Elp修饰tRNA和Elp相关疾病等的研究现状及其进展进行综述。     

Structure and expression of the human gene encoding major heat shock protein HSP70.

We have cloned a human gene encoding the 70,000-dalton heat shock protein (HSP70) from a human genomic library, using the Drosophila HSP70 gene as a heterologous hybridization probe. The human recombinant clone hybridized to a 2.6-kilobase polyadenylated mRNA from HeLa cells exposed to 43 degrees C for 2 h. The 2.6-kilobase mRNA was shown to direct the translation in vitro of a 70,000-dalton protein similar in electrophoretic mobility to the HSP70 synthesized in vivo. From the analysis of S1 nuclease-resistant mRNA-DNA hybrids, the HSP70 gene appears to be transcribed as an uninterrupted mRNA of 2.3 kilobases. We show that the cloned HSP70 gene contains the sequences necessary for heat shock-induced expression by two criteria. First, hamster cells transfected with a subclone containing the HSP70 gene and flanking sequences synthesized a HSP70-like protein upon heat shock. Second, human cells transfected with a chimeric gene containing the 5' flanking sequences of the HSP70 gene and the coding sequences of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene transcribed the chimeric gene upon heat shock. We show that the HSP70 mRNA transcribed in an adenovirus 5 transformed human cell line (293 cells) is identical to the HSP70 mRNA induced by heat shock.     

Effects of IKAP/hELP1 deficiency on gene expression in differentiating neuroblastoma cells: implications for familial dysautonomia

Familial dysautonomia (FD) is a developmental neuropathy of the sensory and autonomous nervous systems. The IKBKAP gene, encoding the IKAP/hELP1 subunit of the RNA polymerase II Elongator complex is mutated in FD patients, leading to a tissue-specific mis-splicing of the gene and to the absence of the protein in neuronal tissues. To elucidate the function of IKAP/hELP1 in the development of neuronal cells, we have downregulated IKBKAP expression in SHSY5Y cells, a neuroblastoma cell line of a neural crest origin. We have previously shown that these cells exhibit abnormal cell adhesion when allowed to differentiate under defined culture conditions on laminin substratum. Here, we report results of a microarray expression analysis of IKAP/hELP1 downregulated cells that were grown on laminin under differentiation or non-differentiation growth conditions. It is shown that under non-differentiation growth conditions, IKAP/hELP1 downregulation affects genes important for early developmental stages of the nervous system, including cell signaling, cell adhesion and neural crest migration. IKAP/hELP1 downregulation during differentiation affects the expression of genes that play a role in late neuronal development, in axonal projection and synapse formation and function. We also show that IKAP/hELP1 deficiency affects the expression of genes involved in calcium metabolism before and after differentiation of the neuroblastoma cells. Hence, our data support IKAP/hELP1 importance in the development and function of neuronal cells and contribute to the understanding of the FD phenotype.     

Subunit communications crucial for the functional integrity of the yeast RNA polymerase II elongator (gamma-toxin target (TOT)) complex

In response to the Kluyveromyces lactis zymocin, the gamma-toxin target (TOT) function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA polymerase II (pol II) Elongator complex prevents sensitive strains from cell cycle progression. Studying Elongator subunit communications, Tot1p (Elp1p), the yeast homologue of human IKK-associated protein, was found to be essentially involved in maintaining the structural integrity of Elongator. Thus, the ability of Tot2p (Elp2p) to interact with the HAT subunit Tot3p (Elp3p) of Elongator and with subunit Tot5p (Elp5p) is dependent on Tot1p (Elp1p). Also, the association of core-Elongator (Tot1-3p/Elp1-3p) with HAP (Elp4-6p/Tot5-7p), the second three-subunit subcomplex of Elongator, was found to be sensitive to loss of TOT1 (ELP1) gene function. Structural integrity of the HAP complex itself requires the ELP4/TOT7, ELP5/TOT5, and ELP6/TOT6 genes, and elp6Delta/tot6Delta as well as elp4Delta/tot7Delta cells can no longer promote interaction between Tot5p (Elp5p) and Tot2p (Elp2p). The association between Elongator and Tot4p (Kti12p), a factor that may modulate the TOT activity of Elongator, requires Tot1-3p (Elp1-3p) and Tot5p (Elp5p), indicating that this contact requires a preassembled holo-Elongator complex. Tot4p also binds pol II hyperphosphorylated at its C-terminal domain Ser(5) raising the possibility that Tot4p bridges the contact between Elongator and pol II.