Expression of chimeric human beta- and delta-globin genes during erythroid differentiation

To determine whether sequences contained within the small intervening sequence (IVS 1) or large intervening sequence (IVS 2) are involved in the regulated expression of the human beta-globin gene, chimeric genes containing portions of the human beta- and delta-globin genes were stably transfected into mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. Since MEL cells can be induced to differentiate in culture, the expression of the chimeric genes was compared to the expression of beta and delta both before and after the induction of erythroid differentiation. The expression of beta delta 1, a beta-globin gene containing delta IVS 1 in place of beta IVS 1, was comparable to the expression of a beta-globin gene both before and after erythroid differentiation. However, the base-line expression of human beta-globin genes containing delta IVS 2 in place of beta IVS 2 was dramatically decreased. Furthermore, the substitution of delta IVS 2 for beta IVS 2 prevented the regulated increase in expression of the beta-globin gene upon induction. The results also indicate that sequences present in beta IVS 2 are not sufficient for this induced increase in expression since the substitution of beta IVS 2 for delta IVS 2 in a delta gene does not increase the regulated expression of delta during differentiation. These experiments suggest that either the presence of delta IVS 2 in a beta gene interrupts sequences required for the induced expression of beta-globin or that sequences in beta IVS 2 act in concert with other beta globin sequences not present in the delta-globin gene to permit optimal expression.     

Induction by synthetic polyribonucleotide poly(I) of differentiation of cultured mouse myeloid leukemic cells.

The effects of some synthetic polyribonucleotides on induction of differentiation of mouse myeloid leukemic M1 cells were examined. Poly(I) was found to be a potent inducer; on treatment with 100--200 microgram/ml of poly(I) for 2--4 days, M1 cells differentiated into cells resembling macrophages and granulocytes and developed phagocytosis and locomotive activities, Fc receptors and lysozyme activity. Poly(C) was less effective than poly(I) for induction of phagocytic activity, while the other single-stranded RNAs, poly(U) and poly(A), had no effect. Double-stranded RNAs, such as poly(I) . poly(C) and poly(A) . poly(U), were cytotoxic to M1 cells, and differentiation of the cells could not be detected even at the highest tolerable concentrations of these double-stranded RNAs.     

Dissociation of hemoglobin accumulation and commitment during murine erythroleukemia cell differentiation by treatment with imidazole

The effect of imidazole on DMSO-induced murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cell differentiation has been examined. While imidazole does inhibit heme, globin mRNA, and hemoglobin accumulation in DMSO-induced MEL cells, it does not affect the commitment of MEL cells to the specific limitation of proliferative capacity associated with the in vitro differentiation program. Furthermore, imidazole treatment does not affect DMSO-induced changes in cell volume, in the relative proportion of nuclear protein IP25, and in the specific activity of the enzyme cytidine deaminase. A clonal analysis in the presence of imidazole indicated that the drug prevents heme accumulation even in MEL cells already committed to terminal differentiation. These observations suggest that imidazole effectively dissociates two aspects of the erythroid differentiation program of MEL cells: globin gene expression and commitment to loss of proliferative capacity.     

Control of translation by the 5'- and 3'-terminal regions of the dengue virus genome

The genomic RNAs of flaviviruses such as dengue virus (DEN) have a 5' m7GpppN cap like those of cellular mRNAs but lack a 3' poly(A) tail. We have studied the contributions to translational expression of 5'- and 3'-terminal regions of the DEN serotype 2 genome by using luciferase reporter mRNAs transfected into Vero cells. DCLD RNA contained the entire DEN 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs), as well as the first 36 codons of the capsid coding region fused to the luciferase reporter gene. Capped DCLD RNA was as efficiently translated in Vero cells as capped GLGpA RNA, a reporter with UTRs from the highly expressed alpha-globin mRNA and a 72-residue poly(A) tail. Analogous reporter RNAs with regulatory sequences from West Nile and Sindbis viruses were also strongly expressed. Although capped DCLD RNA was expressed much more efficiently than its uncapped form, uncapped DCLD RNA was translated 6 to 12 times more efficiently than uncapped RNAs with UTRs from globin mRNA. The 5' cap and DEN 3' UTR were the main sources of the translational efficiency of DCLD RNA, and they acted synergistically in enhancing translation. The DEN 3' UTR increased mRNA stability, although this effect was considerably weaker than the enhancement of translational efficiency. The DEN 3' UTR thus has translational regulatory properties similar to those of a poly(A) tail. Its translation-enhancing effect was observed for RNAs with globin or DEN 5' sequences, indicating no codependency between viral 5' and 3' sequences. Deletion studies showed that translational enhancement provided by the DEN 3' UTR is attributable to the cumulative contributions of several conserved elements, as well as a nonconserved domain adjacent to the stop codon. One of the conserved elements was the conserved sequence (CS) CS1 that is complementary to cCS1 present in the 5' end of the DEN polyprotein open reading frame. Complementarity between CS1 and cCS1 was not required for efficient translation.     

Induction of murine erythroleukemia cell differentiation by proteinases is inhibited by aromatic poly-amidines

The effects of the tetra benzamidine serine-proteinase inhibitor 1,3-di-(p-amidinophenoxy) -2,2- bis- (p-amidinophenoxymethyl)propane (TAPP-H) and related compounds, including halo-derivatives, were determined on the erythroid differentiation of murine erythroleukemic cells induced by trypsin and kallikrein. These aromatic poly-amidines and their halo derivatives were found to be strong inhibitors of both trypsin and kallikrein mediated induction of commitment of MEL cells to erythroid differentiation, hemoglobin synthesis and accumulation, globin mRNA production. No inhibitory effects were detected by treating proteinase-induced MEL cells with benzamidine. Only slight inhibitory activity was found after treatment of trypsin-induced MEL cells with other antiproteinase compounds widely used in the control of proteinase-dependent functions, including leupeptin, antipain and Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitor. MEL cells induced to erythroid differentiation by proteinases could be proposed as an experimental system to test the biological activity of proteinase inhibitors.     

Modulation of cyclic AMP levels and differentiation by adenosine analogs in mouse erythroleukemia cells

Friend virus-transformed mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells can be induced to undergo erythroid differentiation by a variety of compounds, including dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and the adenosine analog xylosyladenine. The present studies have monitored the effects of the stable adenosine receptor ligand N6-phenylisopropyladenosine (PIA) on induction of MEL cell differentiation. PIA has been previously shown to stimulate adenylate cyclase activity in rat hepatic and mouse Leydig 1-10 cells as well as inhibit adenylate cyclase in adipocytes. In the present study, PIA was ineffective as an inducer of the differentiated MEL cell phenotype. However, the results demonstrate that PIA inhibits the induction of MEL cell differentiation by DMSO and xylosyladenine. The extent of this inhibition as determined by benzidine staining, induction of globin RNA, and loss of self-renewal capacity was dependent on PIA concentration. The results also demonstrate that PIA induces a rapid and sustained increase in cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels. Furthermore, there was a highly significant correlation between cAMP levels and inhibition of xylosyladenine-induced differentiation (r = 0.962, P less than 0.0005). This relationship is further supported by the demonstration that prostaglandins E1 and E2 increase MEL cell cAMP levels and inhibit induction of the differentiated MEL cell phenotype. Moreover, PIA inhibited induction of MEL cell differentiation by butyric acid, diazepam, hypoxanthine, and the aminonucleoside analog of puromycin. These results suggest that cAMP may act as a negative regulatory signal in the induction of MEL cell differentiation.     

Cloning of a housekeeping-type gene (MER5) preferentially expressed in murine erythroleukemia cells

DNA complementary to mRNA preferentially produced in murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells was cloned from a cDNA library of anemic mouse spleen mRNAs. An open reading frame was noted in the cloned DNA, and was tentatively designated MER5. The MER5 mRNA is abundant in three MEL cell lines, but less in other tissues or cell lines. The levels of the MER5 mRNA changed periodically during MEL cell differentiation and decreased as globin mRNA accumulated. The MER5 promoter region contained no typical TATA-like sequence, but possible target sequences for AP1, AP2, SP1 and octamer-binding protein. More interestingly, this promoter contained the duplicated CACCC boxes, which are common in the adult beta-globin promoter from many species, but uncommon for promoters of other eukaryotic genes.