Distribution of endogenous murine leukemia virus DNA sequences among mouse chromosomes.

We used mouse-Chinese hamster somatic cell hybrids which lose mouse chromosomes to examine the distribution of murine leukemia virus DNA sequences in the genome of A/HeJ mice. We analyzed total cellular DNA from various hybrid clones for the presence of viral sequences by molecular hybridization and used the Southern blot hybridization procedure to identify viral DNA in cellular restriction endonuclease fragments. Our results show that murine leukemia virus DNA sequences are distributed among many mouse chromosomes in this strain. Chromosome 4 was shown to contain murine leukemia virus DNA sequences.     

Characterization of RNA molecules restricted to the nucleus in mouse L-cells

RNA molecules which are restricted to the nucleus in mouse L-cells were characterized by the technique of RNA/DNA hybridization. Competition of cytoplasmic RNA with labeled nuclear RNA of various sizes revealed that the RNA restricted to the cell nucleus is heterogeneous in size. Competition for sites on fractions of mouse DNA of various base compositions indicated that this unstable RNA is also heterogeneous in base composition. Fractionation of nuclei into three subfractions failed to separate the uniquely nuclear RNA from the precursors of cytoplasmic RNA. The significance of the selective transport of RNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and its importance in the control of gene activity in eucaryotic cells is discussed.     

Chromosome mapping of the murine syndecan gene.

The chromosomal localization of the murine syndecan gene was determined by analysis of DNA from a panel of mouse-hamster cell hybrids containing various mouse chromosomes, detection of immunoreactive syndecan in culture medium of these cells, and linkage analysis of a mouse interspecific backcross. Southern analysis of the mouse-hamster cell hybrid DNA shows two distinct hybridizing sequences, one on mouse Chromosome 12 and the other on the X chromosome. Localization of the syndecan gene to mouse Chromosome 12 was determined by detection of immunoreactive syndecan in the culture medium of cell hybrids containing mouse Chromosome 12. Hybrids containing other mouse chromosomes were negative. Linkage analysis by Southern hybridization of DNA from a mouse interspecific backcross using a syndecan-specific probe localized the syndecan gene locus, Synd, to the proximal end of Chromosome 12, tightly linked to the Pomc-1 and Nmyc loci. The syndecan gene is likely on human Chromosome 2 because this region shows conservation of synteny between mouse and human chromosomes.     

Lack of site specific recombination of exogenous DNA in mouse L cells

Plasmids were constructed containing the HSV thymidine kinase gene and two copies of X. borealis 5S rDNA. Mouse L TK- cells were transformed with these DNAs, with selection for the TK+ gene. Transformed cells were then analyzed by Southern blot hybridization and hybridization in situ to determine whether integration of the exogenous DNA occurred at regions of chromosomal homology i.e., at the 5S rDNA regions. Four cell lines were analyzed by Southern blots. Differences in restriction endonuclease specificity strongly suggested that integration was at a different site in each cell line. Two cell lines were further analyzed by hybridization in situ; each showed a single integration site, both different from each other and different from the mouse L cell 5S rDNA sites. Therefore, the presence of two copies of the 5S rDNA gene in the DNA introduced by gene transfer and approximately 300-350 copies of the mouse 5S rDNA gene was not sufficient in these experiments to produce homologous integration into a specific site.     

Quantitation of the viral DNA present in somatic cell hybrids between mouse and SV40-transformed human cells

Recent studies of somatic cell hybrids between mouse cells and SV40-transformed human cells have demonstrated a correlation between the expression of SV40 T-antigen and the presence of human chromosome 7. We have used two types of nucleic acid hybridization procedures to detect and quantitate the presence of viral DNA sequences in the DNA of the hybrid cell clones. Results of reassociation kinetics as well as hybridization with a single-strand probe indicate that SV40 DNA is present only in those hybrid clones which both contain human chromosome 7 and express the SV40 T-antigen. SV40 DNA was not detectable either in the clones which had lost human chromosome 7, or in the rare clones which retain human chromosome 7 but which do not express T-antigen. We have thus extended the correlation between human chromosome 7 and the SV40 T-antigen to the presence of integrated SV40 DNA in somatic cell hybrid clones.     

HRAS1-selected, chromosome mediated gene transfer; in situ hybridization with combined biotin and tritium label localizes the oncogene and reveals duplications of the human transgenome

Chromosomes isolated from a human bladder carcinoma cell line which contains the actively transforming oncogene HRAS1 on chromosome 11 can be used to transform mouse cells. We have analyzed these chromosome mediated gene transformants by in situ hybridization techniques using biotinylated human DNA and a double antibody detection system to visualize the whole of the transgenome in a number of cell lines. In some transformants, where the amount of the transgenome was below the level of detection by the simple biotin system, we used a gold-silver enhancement technique. We have developed a combined in situ hybridization procedure using biotinylated human DNA plus antibodies and 3H-labeled HRAS1 DNA plus autoradiography to locate the actively transforming oncogene within the human transgenome in a selection of these transformants. In each of these there were complex insertions of the transgenome, either at multiple sites or with duplicated inserts at a single site. Each insertion contained a copy of HRAS1. The double in situ hybridization analysis helps define the types of arrangement and rearrangement which can accompany the chromosome mediated gene transfer process and, consequently, the potentials and limitations of the technique as a somatic cell and molecular genetic tool. Our analysis also suggests that multiple copies of the HRAS1 gene may be needed for stable transformation.     

Gene for lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF1) mapped to human chromosome 4 (q23-q25) and mouse chromosome 3 near Egf.

LEF-1 is a 54-kDa nuclear protein that is expressed specifically in pre-B and T-cells. It binds to a functionally important site in the T-cell receptor alpha enhancer and contributes to maximal enhancer activity. LEF-1 is a member of a family of regulatory proteins that share homology with the high mobility group protein 1 (HMG1). The location of the LEF1 gene on human and mouse chromosomes was determined by Southern blot analysis of DNA from panels of interspecies somatic cell hybrids using a murine cDNA probe. Human-specific DNA fragments were detected in all somatic cell hybrids that retained the human chromosomal region 4cen-q31.2. Fluorescent in situ hybridization with two biotin-labeled overlapping human genomic cosmids revealed a specific hybridization signal at 4q23-q25. The homologous locus in the mouse was mapped to chromosome 3 by Southern analysis of rodent x mouse hybrid cell DNA. This chromosomal location was confirmed by the use of a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in recombinant inbred mouse strains. The results of this RFLP analysis indicated that the mouse Lef-1 gene was closely linked to Pmv-39 and Egf and was likely placed between these loci, both of which were previously mapped to distal mouse chromosome 3. Our mapping results did not suggest involvement of this gene in previously mapped genetic disorders or in known neoplasia-associated translocation breakpoints.     

Molecular cloning of genomic DNA segments partially coding for human thymidylate synthase from the mouse cell transformant

Mouse cells deficient in the enzyme thymidylate synthase [TS; EC 2.1.1.45] were serially transformed with human DNA to yield primary and secondary transformants which produced human TS [Ayusawa, D., Shimizu, K., Koyama, H., Takeishi, K., & Seno, T. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 48-53]. Southern blot hybridization of their genomic DNA showed that six secondary transformants examined contained in common a 5.5 kb EcoRI fragment hybridized with a human Alu sequence. From the secondary transformant genomic library constructed with phage lambda Charon 4A, two recombinant phage clones carrying Alu sequences were isolated. Restriction endonuclease mapping revealed that the insert DNAs of the two phage clones overlapped and covered a region of 19 kb in total. Within this region at least six Alu sequences were located. A 2.0 kb DNA fragment, prepared from an EcoRI fragment subcloned in plasmid pBR322 and free of Alu sequences, hybridized to a single band on RNA blots of primary and secondary transformant poly(A)+ RNA, but not to RNA of mouse wild-type and recipient cell lines. The relative amount of the presumed human TS mRNA was linearly correlated with the relative activity of human TS in various types of mouse transformant cells. These results indicate that these two phage clones contain genomic DNA sequences encoding human TS.     

Isolation of mouse x-chromosome specific DNA from an x-enriched lambda phage library derived from flow sorted chromosomes

A lambda phage library enriched in X(7) chromosomal material has been constructed from flow sorted chromosomes isolated from mice carrying the Cattanach translocation T(X;7)1Ct. The flow sorted fraction that was cloned contained 40% X(7) chromosomes, so that the resulting lambda phage library should be more than 10-fold enriched for X chromosomal DNA. Approximately 100,000 lambda phage clones were obtained; of these, at least 80% were recombinant. Three quarters of recombinants were positive for mouse repetitive DNA as detected either by phage plaque filter hybridization or by Southern blotting. Recombinant DNA inserts were prepared from some of the remaining nonrepetitive phage fraction. The X-chromosome specificity of cloned DNA inserts was tested by hybridization to DNA from mouse-hamster somatic cell hybrids that had retained all or most of the mouse X as the only mouse chromosome and by comparison of the extent of hybridization to DNA from male and female mice. Out of nine cloned unique sequence segments successfully examined thus far, two were presumably derived from the X. Possession of phage library highly enriched for mouse X DNA should facilitate molecular studies of the control of X chromosome gene expression.     

Human ornithine decarboxylase sequences map to chromosome regions 2pter----p23 and 7cen----qter but are not coamplified with the NMYC oncogene

Using a mouse cDNA probe for ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), we have identified and isolated an ODC cDNA clone from a lambda gt11 recombinant library prepared from human liver cell mRNA. The 2.0-kb insert of this clone hybridizes with several mouse genomic ODC DNA restriction fragments under conditions of low stringency, but reacts with only few human DNA fragments and a polyA+ RNA species of 2.2 kb under both nonstringent and stringent hybridization conditions. This suggests that, unlike the mouse genome, there are only few ODC genes in the human genome. The human ODC DNA fragments segregate with chromosome regions 2pter----p23 and 7cen----qter in mouse X human somatic cell hybrid clones containing normal, translocated, and deleted human chromosomes. Sequences of the short arm of chromosome 2 containing the NMYC oncogene at 2p23----p24 are often involved in DNA amplification in neuroblastomas and small-cell lung cancers. However, in at least three cases--one neuroblastoma cell line, one neuroblastoma tumor, and one lung carcinoma--the ODC sequences are not coamplified with the NMYC oncogene.     

Transplantation of the human insulin gene into fertilized mouse eggs

A circular recombinant plasmid composed of a 12.5 kb fragment of human DNA including the entire insulin gene and the 4.3 kb bacterial plasmid pBR322 was microinjected into fertilized C57BL/6 mouse eggs. 753 eggs were injected with 30000 gene copies in a volume of 1-2 pl; 379 eggs survived micromanipulation and were subsequently cultured to the blastocyst stage. From 282 embryos that were transferred into the uteri of pseudopregnant ICR/Swiss foster females, 60 fetuses and corresponding placentas could be recovered at day 16-19 of pregnancy. High molecular weight DNA was extracted from these tissues and was screened with radioactively labelled hybridization probes for the presence of the injected DNA sequences. By restriction endonuclease analysis in conjunction with Southern blot hybridization, we found that in two normally developed fetuses at day 18, the fetal and placental tissues contained the human insulin gene including the flanking regions and bacterial plasmid sequences. Our results indicate that the injected DNA integrated into the mouse genome within its pBR322 region and properly replicated with the host DNA during development. The intensities of the hybridization bands suggest that at least one copy of foreign plasmid DNA was present per cell in the two fetuses and their placentas.     

Sensitive detection and typing of human papillomavirus DNA in gynecological cell scrapings by slot-blot hybridization

A rapid and sensitive method for detecting and typing human papillomaviruses (HPVs) in cell scrapings is presented. DNA from scrapings is extracted and bound to nitrocellulose filters (Slot-Blot). By DNA-DNA hybridization with specific 32P-labelled HPV-probes (types 6/11 or 16/18) the patient's DNA is then analyzed for the presence of, and for the type of, HPV DNA sequences. A parallel hybridization with a human repetitive element (Alu sequence) allows quantitation of the different hybridization results. Experiments with HeLa cell DNA show that as little as 10(4) HPV sequences can be detected and typed specifically with this test. Evaluation of this test is completed within 6 to 7 days after cell collection. This Slot-Blot method was used to analyse 1330 specimens taken at the Bernese Dysplasia Outpatient Clinic. The results reveal a very high percentage (90%) of HPV-positive cases in the patient group examined.     

Interactions of Polyoma and Mouse DNAs. IV. Time Course and Extent of Integration of Polyoma DNA into Mouse DNA During Lytic Infection

The time course of covalent binding of polyoma viral DNA to mouse DNA was followed in mouse embryo cells that had been grown prior to infection in the presence of 5-bromodeoxyuridine. Density-labeled (HL) mouse DNA was separated from free polyoma DNA by CsCl isopycnic centrifugation. Polyoma DNA sequences present in HL mouse DNA were detected by hybridization with radioactive cRNA synthesized in vitro. In reconstruction experiments, the limit of detection was found to be, on the average, about 0.5 genome equivalent (g.e.) of polyoma DNA per cell. To find conditions for the isolation of HL mouse DNA and for its complete separation from free polyoma DNA, cultures infected at 4 degrees C were used. HL mouse DNA extracted with sodium dodecyl sulfate and high salt concentrations (5 to 6 M CsCl) and then purified by three consecutive CsCl density gradient centrifugations was free from detectable amounts of polyoma DNA, whereas HL mouse DNA extracted with chloroform and phenol and purified in the same way always contained contaminating, noncovalently bound polyoma DNA. In lytically infected bromodeoxyuridine-prelabeled mouse embryo cultures, polyoma DNA bound to HL mouse DNA that had been extracted by the sodium dodecyl sulfate-CsCl procedure was first detected in small amounts (1 to 2 g.e. per cell) at 10 h after infection. In cultures incubated with medium containing thymidine (5 mug/ml), 4 to 6 g.e. of polyoma DNA per cell was detected at 14 and 18 h after infection. In these samples, practically all viral DNA was bound to high-molecular-weight HL mouse DNA. In cultures incubated with normal medium (no additions) and extracted between 17 and 20 h after infection, 20 to 350 g.e. of polyoma DNA per cell banded with HL mouse DNA. However, when DNA of one of these samples was subfractionated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-salt precipitation prior to isolation of HL mouse DNA, about 80% of the viral DNA banding at increased density was present in the low-molecular-weight DNA fraction. This observation suggests that in normal medium some progeny viral DNA of increased density was synthesized. Covalent binding of polyoma DNA to density-labeled mouse DNA was demonstrated by alkaline CsCl density gradient centrifugation: nearly equal amounts of polyoma DNA were found in the H and L strands, respectively, as is expected for linear integration of viral DNA. The results lead to the conclusions that (i) early polyoma mRNA is transcribed from free parental viral DNA; (ii) covalent linear integration is first detectable at the time when tumor (T)-antigen is synthesized; and (iii) only few copies (<10 g.e./cell) become integrated between 10 and 18 h after infection, i.e., during the period when cellular and viral DNA replication starts in individual cells.     

Effects of DNA nonhomologous end-joining factors on telomere length and chromosomal stability in mammalian cells

DNA repair by nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) relies on the Ku70:Ku80 heterodimer in species ranging from yeast to man. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Ku also controls telomere functions. Here, we show that Ku70, Ku80, and DNA-PKcs, with which Ku interacts, associate in vivo with telomeric DNA in several human cell types, and we show that these associations are not significantly affected by DNA-damaging agents. We also demonstrate that inactivation of Ku80 or Ku70 in the mouse yields telomeric shortening in various primary cell types at different developmental stages. By contrast, telomere length is not altered in cells impaired in XRCC4 or DNA ligase IV, two other NHEJ components. We also observe higher genomic instability in Ku-deficient cells than in XRCC4-null cells. This suggests that chromosomal instability of Ku-deficient cells results from a combination of compromised telomere stability and defective NHEJ.