Antagonism of 2–5 A-mediated inhibition of protein synthesis in intact cells by 2',5'-(pA)3

In vitro studies have shown that the translational inhibitory activity of 2–5 A can be blocked by the oligoribonucleotide 2',5'-(pA)₃. We have examined the effect of simultaneous introduction of inhibitor and antagonist into intact mouse cells using calcium phosphate coprecipitation. Upon introduction of 10⁻⁴ M 2',5'-(pA)₃ and 10⁻⁶ M 2–5 A, inhibition of protein synthesis was prevented. Efficiency of calcium phosphate precipitation of 2–5 A in the presence or absence of 2',5'-(pA)₃ was comparable. Introduction of 2',5'-(pA)₃ analogs showed that nucleotides which do not bind well to the 2–5 A dependent endonuclease do not prevent 2–5 A inhibitory activity. Thus, 2',5'-(pA)₃ functions as an antagonist of 2–5 A in vivo.     

喜盐鸢尾花色形成关键基因的克隆及表达分析

喜盐鸢尾(Iris halophila Pall.)及其变种蓝花喜盐鸢尾(I.halophila Pall.var.sogdiana(Bung)Grubov)因耐盐碱及其多种花色而具有盐碱地园艺开发价值。本文根据喜盐鸢尾内轮花被转录组测序结果,利用基因特异性引物从这2种植物中分别克隆了编码查尔酮合成酶(CHS)、查尔酮异构酶(CHI)、类黄酮-3',5'-羟基化酶类(F3'5'H-like)等基因的部分片段,并对它们在内轮花被中的表达水平进行实时定量PCR分析。序列分析结果确认在喜盐鸢尾中所克隆的CHS(311 bp)、CHI(457 bp)、F3'5'H-like(496 bp)3个基因(部分)未见文献报道与NCBI等数据库记录。其中F3'5'H-like基因与经典的属于细胞色素P450CYP75A亚家族的F3'5'H不同,而与万带兰的F3'5'H-like同属于CYP76AB亚家族,为一类新的蓝花相关基因。实时定量PCR表达分析结果表明,与黄花的喜盐鸢尾相比,蓝花喜盐鸢尾中CHS与F3'5'H-like显著上调表达,可能是其花色不同于喜盐鸢尾的主要原因。     

Catalytic Analysis of APOBEC3G Involving Real-Time NMR Spectroscopy Reveals Nucleic Acid Determinants for Deamination

APOBEC3G (A3G) is a single-stranded DNA-specific cytidine deaminase that preferentially converts cytidine to uridine at the third position of triplet cytosine (CCC) hotspots. A3G restricts the infectivity of viruses, such as HIV-1, by targeting CCC hotspots scattered through minus DNA strands, reverse-transcribed from genomic RNA. Previously, we developed a real-time NMR method and elucidated the origin of the 3''→5'' polarity of deamination of DNA by the C-terminal domain of A3G (CD2), which is a phenomenon by which a hotspot located closer to the 5''-end is deaminated more effectively than one less close to the 5''-end, through quantitative analysis involving nonspecific binding to and sliding along DNA. In the present study we applied the real-time NMR method to analyze the catalytic activity of CD2 toward DNA oligonucleotides containing a nucleotide analog at a single or multiple positions. Analyses revealed the importance of the sugar and base moieties throughout the consecutive 5 nucleotides, the CCC hotspot being positioned at the center. It was also shown that the sugar or base moieties of the nucleotides outside this 5 nucleotide recognition sequence are also relevant as to CD2''s activity. Analyses involving DNA oligonucleotides having two CCC hotspots linked by a long sequence of either deoxyribonucleotides, ribonucleotides or abasic deoxyribonucleotides suggested that the phosphate backbone is required for CD2 to slide along the DNA strand and to exert the 3''→5'' polarity. Examination of the effects of different salt concentrations on the 3''→5'' polarity indicated that the higher the salt concentration, the less prominent the 3''→5'' polarity. This is most likely the result of alleviation of sliding due to a decrease in the affinity of CD2 with the phosphate backbone at high salt concentrations. We also investigated the reactivity of substrates containing 5-methylcytidine (5mC) or 5-hydroxymethylcytidine, and found that A3G exhibited low activity toward 5mC.     

海南栽培肾茶的化学成分研究

为了解肾茶(Clerodendranthus spicatus)的化学成分,从海南栽培肾茶地上部分分离得到11个化合物,经波谱分析分别鉴定为:吐叶醇(1)、丁香脂素(2)、3,4-二羟基苯乙醇(3)、甜橙素(4)、5,6,7,4′-四甲氧基黄酮(5)、5-羟基-6,7,3′,4′-四甲氧基黄酮(6)、6-羟基-5,7,4′-三甲氧基黄酮(7)、5-羟基-6,7,3′,4′-四甲氧基黄烷酮(8)、3,3′,5-三羟基-4′,7-二甲氧基-二氢黄酮(9)、松脂素(10)和熊果酸(11)。化合物3、9和10为首次从肾茶中分离得到。对化合物1~6进行活性测试,结果表明化合物3~5对乙酰胆碱酯酶具有一定的抑制活性。     

Identification of restriction endonucleases sensitive to 5-cytosine methylation at non-CpG sites,including expanded (CAG)n/(CTG)n repeats

Most epigenetic studies assess methylation of 5'-CpG-3' sites but recent evidence indicates that non-CpG cytosine methylation occurs at high levels in humans and other species. This is most prevalent at 5'-CHG-3', where H = A, C or T, and it preferentially occurs at 5'-CpA-3' and 5'-CpT-3' sites. With the goal of facilitating the detection of non-CpG methylation, the restriction endonucleases ApeKI, BbvI, EcoP15I, Fnu4HI, MwoI and TseI were assessed for their sensitivity to 5-methylcytosine at GpCpA, GpCpT, GpCpC or GpCpG sites, where methylation is catalyzed by the DNA 5-cytosine 5'-GpC-3' methyltransferase M.CviPI. We tested a variety of sequences including various plasmid-based sites, a cloned disease-associated (CAG)83?(CTG)83 repeat and in vitro synthesized tracts of only (CAG)500?(CTG)500 or (CAG)800?(CTG)800. The repeat tracts are enriched for the preferred CpA and CpT motifs. We found that none of the tested enzymes can cleave their recognition sequences when they are 5'-GpC-3' methylated. A genomic site known to convert its non-CpG methylation levels upon C2C12 differentiation was confirmed through the use of these enzymes. These enzymes can be useful in rapidly and easily determining the most common non-CpG methylation status in various sequence contexts, as well as at expansions of (CAG)n?(CTG)n repeat tracts associated with diseases like myotonic dystrophy and Huntington disease.     

A method to find palindromes in nucleic acid sequences

Various types of sequences in the human genome are known to play important roles in different aspects of genomic functioning. Among these sequences, palindromic nucleic acid sequences are one such type that have been studied in detail and found to influence a wide variety of genomic characteristics. For a nucleotide sequence to be considered as a palindrome, its complementary strand must read the same in the opposite direction. For example, both the strands i.e the strand going from 5'' to 3'' and its complementary strand from 3'' to 5'' must be complementary. A typical nucleotide palindromic sequence would be TATA (5'' to 3'') and its complimentary sequence from 3'' to 5'' would be ATAT. Thus, a new method has been developed using dynamic programming to fetch the palindromic nucleic acid sequences. The new method uses less memory and thereby it increases the overall speed and efficiency. The proposed method has been tested using the bacterial (3891 KB bases) and human chromosomal sequences (Chr-18: 74366 kb and Chr-Y: 25554 kb) and the computation time for finding the palindromic sequences is in milli seconds.     

A novel context for the 'MutT' module, a guardian of cell integrity, in a diphosphoinositol polyphosphate phosphohydrolase.

Diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate (PP-InsP5 or ''InsP7'') and bisdiphosphoinositol tetrakisphosphate ([PP]2-InsP4 or ''InsP8'') are the most highly phosphorylated members of the inositol-based cell signaling family. We have purified a rat hepatic diphosphoinositol polyphosphate phosphohydrolase (DIPP) that cleaves a beta-phosphate from the diphosphate groups in PP-InsP5 (Km = 340 nM) and [PP]2-InsP4 (Km = 34 nM). Inositol hexakisphophate (InsP6) was not a substrate, but it inhibited metabolism of both [PP]2-InsP4 and PP-InsP5 (IC50 = 0.2 and 3 microM, respectively). Microsequencing of DIPP revealed a ''MutT'' domain, which in other contexts guards cellular integrity by dephosphorylating 8-oxo-dGTP, which causes AT to CG transversion mutations. The MutT domain also metabolizes some nucleoside phosphates that may play roles in signal transduction. The rat DIPP MutT domain is conserved in a novel recombinant human uterine DIPP. The nucleotide sequence of the human DIPP cDNA was aligned to chromosome 6; the candidate gene contains at least four exons. The dependence of DIPP''s catalytic activity upon its MutT domain was confirmed by mutagenesis of a conserved glutamate residue. DIPP''s low molecular size, Mg2+ dependency and catalytic preference for phosphoanhydride bonds are also features of other MutT-type proteins. Because overlapping substrate specificity is a feature of this class of proteins, our data provide new directions for future studies of higher inositol phosphates.     

Raccourci Pour la Synthese de la S-(Amino-3-propyll-5′-thio-5′-aoenosine

Abstract

Dans le but d'étudier le cornporternent biochirnique d'analogues de structure de la 5-Adénosyl Mgthionine [SAM), nous avons été arnenks à synthgtisér la S-[Amino-3-propyl)-5′-thio-5′-adiénosine. Après avoir mis enoeuvre les synthèses proposées dans la littérature (voie A) et avoir constaté qu'elles étaient longues (5 étapes minimum) et de faible rendernent en produit final désiré (23%), nous avons recherchié une approche plus rapide. C'est ainsi qu' partir de l'adénosine cornrnerciale, nous obtenons en deux étapes et avec un rendernent de 73%, la S-(Arnino-3-propyl)5′-thio-5′-adénosine (voie B).     

A DNA binding motif coordinating synthesis and degradation in proofreading DNA polymerases.

The functional significance of the conserved motif ''YxGG/A'', located between the 3''-5'' exonuclease and polymerization domains of eukaryotic-type DNA polymerases, has been studied by site-directed mutagenesis in phi29 DNA polymerase. Single substitutions at this region were obtained, and 11 phi29 DNA polymerase mutant derivatives were overproduced in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Nine mutants showed an altered polymerase/3''-5'' exonuclease balance on a template/primer DNA structure, giving rise to three different mutant phenotypes: (i) favored polymerization (high pol/exo ratio); (ii) favored exonucleolysis (low pol/exo ratio); and (iii) favored exonucleolysis and null polymerization. Interestingly, these three different phenotypes could be obtained by mutating a single amino acid at the ''YxGG/A'' motif. All different phenotypes could be directly related to defects in DNA binding at a particular active site. Thus, a high pol/exo ratio was related to a poor stability at the 3''-5'' exonuclease active site. On the contrary, a low pol/exo ratio or null polymerization capacity was related to a poor stability at the polymerization active site and either a normal or an increased accessibility to the exonuclease active site. These results allow us to propose that this motif, located in the connecting region between the N-terminal and C-terminal domains, has a primary role in DNA binding, playing a critical role in the coordination or cross-talk between synthesis and degradation.     

Flavonoids from Artemisia lanata

A new flavonoid, gossypetin-7,8,3',4'-tetramethyl ether (3,5-dihydroxy-7,8,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone) was isolated and its structure elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic methods. The known flavonoids 5-hydroxy-6,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone and artemetin were also isolated. Chemical transformations led to the conclusion that the structure previously reported as ‘8,3',4'-trimethoxyizalpinin’ (3,5-dihydroxy-7,8,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone) must be the isomer quercetagetin 6,7,3',4'-tetramethyl ether (3,5-dihydroxy-6,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone).