ADP-ribosylation of nuclear proteins in the rat brain

The distribution of (ADP-ribose)n synthesized from [14C]NAD labeled at the adenyl ring in several protein fractions of isolated rat brain nuclei was studied. Preferential ADP-ribosylation of nonhistone nuclear proteins was shown to occur. It was demonstrated that pol (ADP-ribose)polymerase and DNA-topoisomerase II are located spatially close to each other. A correlation between ADP-ribosylation and the activity of nuclear matrix DNA-topoisomerase II was established.     

Methylation of Chromosomal Proteins in Neuronal and Glial Nuclei Purified from Cerebral Hemispheres of Rat During Postnatal Development

The process of methylation of chromosomal proteins [histones and nonhistone proteins (NHP)] in neuronal and glial cell nuclei obtained from cerebral hemispheres of rats at 1, 10, and 30 days of age was investigated. Purified neuronal and glial nuclei were incubated in the presence of S-adenosyl[methyl-3H]methionine. Histone and NHPs were extracted and fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The results obtained indicate remarkable differences in the process of methylation of histones and NHPs between neuronal and glial nuclei, especially during the first period of postnatal development. In both nuclear populations the histone fraction H3 was labeled to a greater degree than the other fractions and showed the major changes during postnatal development. The densitometric and radioactive patterns of NHPs show considerable changes in the two nuclear populations at the various ages examined. The main difference between neuronal and glial nuclei consists in the intense methylation of proteins with a molecular weight of approximately 100,000, which are present in neuronal nuclei and virtually absent in glial ones. The results obtained may be correlated with the different chromatin structures of neuronal and glial nuclei and with the patterns of maturation and differentiation of neuronal and glial cells during postnatal development.     

Studies on ribonucleic acid and homopolyribonucleotide formation in neuronal, glial and liver nuclei

1. Various types of nuclear preparations, with different ratios of neuronal to glial nuclei, were isolated from guinea-pig cerebral grey matter and ox cerebral grey matter and white matter. Conditions appropriate for the separate assay of RNA and poly A formation were described. Comparative rates of RNA and poly A formation were studied in cerebral and liver nuclei. 2. RNA polymerase activity per nucleus is higher in neuronal nuclei than in glial nuclei. In liver nuclei, the activity is much lower than in cerebral nuclei. The physical relationship between RNA polymerase and deoxyribonucleoprotein seems to differ in neuronal, glial and liver nuclei. 3. Poly A polymerase activity in liver nuclei is selectively activated by Mn(2+) and inhibited by GTP, CTP and UTP. On a DNA basis, the activity in an aggregate enzyme is the same as in intact nuclei. Poly A polymerase activity per nucleus is much higher in liver nuclei than in neuronal nuclei. Glial nuclei show an intermediate activity. 4. It is suggested that, in neuronal nuclei, the synthesis of RNA is more prominent than that of poly A under conditions where both polymers are formed simultaneously. This contrasts with liver nuclei, where more poly A is made than RNA. 5. In neuronal nuclei, the rate of CTP incorporation is much higher than in glial and liver nuclei. This incorporation is most probably due to poly C synthesis.     

Participation of Poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase of nuclear matrix in DNA repair

The poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase activity of brain and liver cell nuclei is changed during X-irradiation of rats. In the nuclear matrix, poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase activity increases at a low dose of irradiation (1.7 Gy) and decreases at a high dose (6.7 Gy). A significant part of the activity of nuclear NMN-adenylyltransferase, a key enzyme for biosynthesis of NAD (the substrate of poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase), has been found in the nuclear matrix. An interrelation between ADP-ribosylation taking place on the matrix level and eukaryotic cell DNA repair is suggested.     

Changes in the level of poly ADP-ribosylation during a cell cycle

In order to analyze the fluctuation of the poly ADP-ribosylation level during the cell cycle of synchronously growing He La S3 cells, we have developed three different assay systems; intact and disrupted nuclear systems, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in vitro system. The optimum conditions for poly ADP-ribosylation in each assay system were similar except the pH optimum. Under the conditions favoring poly ADP-ribosylation, little radioactivity incorporated into poly(ADP-ribose) was lost after termination of the poly ADP-ribosylation by addition of nicotinamide which inhibits the reactions by more than 90% in any system. In the intact nuclear system, the level of poly ADP-ribosylation increased slightly subsequent to late G2 phase with a peak at M phase. The high level of poly ADP-ribosylation in M phase was also confirmed by using selectively collected mitotic cells which were arrested in M phase by Colcemid. The level in mitotic chromosomes was 5.1-fold higher than that in the nuclei from logarithmically growing cells. Colcemid has no effect on the poly ADP-ribosylation. In the disrupted nuclear system, a relatively high level of poly ADP-ribosylation was observed during mid S-G2 phase. When poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase was extracted from the nuclei with a buffer solution containing 0.3 M KCl, more than 90% of the enzyme activity was recovered. The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in vitro system was dependent on both DNA and histone—10 μg each. In the enzyme system, enzyme activity was detected throughout the cell cycle and was observed to be highest in G2 phase. The high level at M phase observed in the intact nuclear system was not seen in the other two systems. Under the assay conditions, little influence of poly(ADP-ribose) degrading enzymes was noted on the level of poly ADP-ribosylation in any of the three systems. This was confirmed at various stages during the cell cycle through pulse-labeling and “chasing” by adding nicotinamide.     

The effect of Cu2+, Zn2+ cations and biogenic amines on the nuclear poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity in the rat brain

Study of the effects of Cu2+, Zn2+ cations and polyamines, spermine and spermidine, on the nuclear poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase activity of rat brain was carried out. It was shown that low concentrations of Cu2+ stimulate the activity of purified poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase. The poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase activity was increased 1.4-fold at 5 microM Cu2+. A further increase of Cu2+ concentration inhibited the enzymatic activity; at 50 microM Cu2+ the polymerase activity appeared to be fully inhibited. It was shown that Zn2+ inhibited only the poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase activity. Zn2+ at a concentration of 125 microM fully inhibited the enzymatic activity. Spermine and spermidine stimulated the poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase activity of brain nuclei of newborn and old rats.     

The effect of the x-ray irradiation of rats on the NAD-pyrophosphorylase and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase activities of brain nuclei and on the NAD content in nerve tissue

A study was made of the influence of X-irradiation of rats with various doses on NAD-pyrophosphorylase and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity of brain nuclei. It was shown that X-radiation was ineffective with regard to NAD-pyrophosphorylase activity of nuclei and increased their poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity. Stimulation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity of nuclei was a function of radiation dose and correlated with the decrease in the NAD content of nervous tissue. It was found that mainly nonhistone proteins were ADP-ribosylated in nuclei of both irradiated and nonirradiated rats.     

Cellular regulation of ADP-ribosylation of proteins. IV. Conversion of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity to NAD-glycohydrolase during retinoic acid-induced differentiation of HL60 cells.

Two enzymatic activities of the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase or transferase (ADPRT, EC 2.4.2.30), a DNA-associating abundant nuclear protein with multiple molecular activities, have been determined in HL60 cells prior to and after their exposure to 1 microM retinoic acid, which results in the induction of differentiation to mature granulocytes in 4-5 days. The cellular concentration of immunoreactive ADPRT protein molecules in differentiated granulocytes remained unchanged compared to that in HL60 cells prior to retinoic acid addition (3.17 +/- 1.05 ng/10(5) cells), as did the apparent activity of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase of nuclei. On the other hand, the poly(ADP-ribose) synthesizing capacity of permeabilized cells or isolated nuclei decreased precipitously upon retinoic acid-induced differentiation, whereas the NAD glycohydrolase activity of nuclei significantly increased. The nuclear NAD glycohydrolase activity was identified as an ADPRT-catalyzed enzymatic activity by its unreactivity toward ethenoadenine NAD as a substrate added to nuclei or to purified ADPRT. During the decrease in in vitro poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity of nuclei following retinoic acid treatment, the quantity of endogenously poly(ADP-ribosylated) ADPRT significantly increased, as determined by chromatographic isolation of this modified protein by the boronate affinity technique, followed by gel electrophoresis and immunotransblot. When homogenous isolated ADPRT was first ADP-ribosylated in vitro, it lost its capacity to catalyze further polymer synthesis, whereas the NAD glycohydrolase function of the automodified enzyme was greatly augmented. Since results of in vivo and in vitro experiments coincide, it appears that in retinoic acid-induced differentiated cells (granulocytes) the autopoly(ADP-ribosylated) ADPRT performs a predominantly, if not exclusively, NAD glycohydrolase function.     

Poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase activity and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in differentiating cardiac muscle.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity in nuclei isolated from differentiating cardiac muscle of the rat has been characterized and its activity measured during development. Optimum enzyme activity is observed at pH 8.5. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase is inhibited by ATP, thymidine, nicotinamide, theophylline, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine and caffeine and stimulated by actinomycin D. The activity measured under optimal assay conditions increases during differentiation of cardiac muscle and is inversely related to the rate of DNA synthesis and to the activities of DNA polymerase alpha and thymidine kinase. When DNA synthesis and the activity of DNA polymerase alpha are inhibited in cardiac muscle of the 1-day-old neonatal rat by dibutyryl cyclic AMP or isoproterenol, the specific activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase measured in isolated nuclei is increased. The concentration of NAD+ in cardiac muscle increases during postnatal development. In the adult compared with the 1-day-old neonatal rat the concentration of NAD+ relative to fresh tissue weight, DNA or protein increased 1.7-fold, 5.2-fold or 1.4-fold respectively. The concentration of NAD+ in cardiac muscle of the 1-day-old neonatal rat can be increased by approx. 20% by dibutyryl cyclic AMP. These data suggest that NAD+ and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase may be involved with the repression of DNA synthesis and cell proliferation in differentiating cardiac muscle.     

Noncovalent binding of poly(ADP-ribose) to nuclear matrix proteins: developmental changes and tissue specificity

Poly(ADP-ribose) is a nuclear polynucleotide involved in the regulation of chromatin functions via covalent and/or noncovalent modification of nuclear proteins. Using a binding assay on protein blots, we searched for poly(ADP-ribose) binding proteins in nuclear matrices from testes of differently aged rats as well as from various adult rat tissues (brain, liver, spleen). We found that nuclear matrix proteins represent a significant subset of the nuclear proteins that can establish noncovalent interactions with poly(ADP-ribose). The profiles of poly(ADP-ribose) binding nuclear matrix proteins appeared to be tissue-specific and changed during postnatal development in the testis. The isolation and analysis of endogenous poly-(ADP-ribose) from rat testes showed that the ADP-ribose polymers that bind nuclear matrix proteins in vitro are also present under physiologic conditions in vivo. These results further substantiate the possibility that poly(ADP-ribose) may affect chromatin functions through noncovalent interaction with specific protein targets, including nuclear matrix components.     

Poly(ADP-ribosylation) at successive stages of rooster spermatogenesis. Levels of polymeric ADP-ribose in vivo and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity and turnover of ADP-ribosyl residues in vitro

Rooster testis cells were separated by sedimentation at unit gravity and the in vivo levels of polymeric ADP-ribose were determined both in intact cells and isolated nuclei by fluorescence methods. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity was assayed after cell permeabilization or after isolation of nuclei. The turnover of ADP-ribosyl residues was determined in isolated nuclei using benzamide. The content of poly(ADP-ribose), the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity, and the turnover of ADP-ribosyl residues, decreased during the differentiation of the germinal cell line, especially at the end of spermiogenesis. Treatment of cells with 1 mM dimethyl sulfate for 1 h resulted in a marked stimulation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity in meiotic and premeiotic cells and also in round and late spermatids. The enzymatic activity was not detected and could not be induced in mature spermatozoa. These cells, however, still contained polymeric ADP-ribose with a 2% of branched form.     

Poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation) of nuclear matrix proteins in alkylating agent resistant and sensitive cell lines

Using Walker 256 breast carcinoma cell lines either with or without acquired resistance to alkylating agents, the structural framework proteins of the nucleus, the nuclear matrix proteins, were found to be effective acceptors for poly(ADP-ribose). Incubation of isolated nuclei with nicotinamide adenine [32P] dinucleotide ([32P] NAD), followed by the isolation of the nuclear matrix, demonstrated that two polypeptides of approximate molecular weight (Mr) 105 000 and 116 000 were extensively poly(ADP-ribosylated). By an in vitro [32P] NAD assay, the nuclear matrix fraction was found to maintain approx. 15% of the total nuclear matrix activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Confirmation that the trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitable material represented ADP-ribose units was achieved by enzymatic digestion of the nuclear matrix preparation with snake venom phosphodiesterase (SVP). Within 15 min, greater than 85% of the 32P label was digested by SVP and the final digestion products were found to be phosphoribosyl-AMP (PR-AMP) and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (5'-AMP) by thin layer chromatographic analysis. The average polymer chain length was estimated to be 6-7 ADP-ribose units. Because poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase has a putative role in DNA repair, a comparison of the nuclear matrix fractions from Walker resistant and sensitive tumor cell lines was made. In both cell lines, the quantitative and qualitative patterns of the nuclear matrix associated poly(ADP-ribosylation) were similar.     

Characterization of human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase with autoantibodies

The addition of poly(ADP-ribose) chains to nuclear proteins has been reported to affect DNA repair and DNA synthesis in mammalian cells. The enzyme that mediates this reaction, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, requires DNA for catalytic activity and is activated by DNA with strand breaks. Because the catalytic activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase does not necessarily reflect enzyme quantity, little is known about the total cellular poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase content and the rate of its synthesis and degradation. In the present experiments, specific human autoantibodies to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and a sensitive immunoblotting technique were used to determine the cellular content of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in human lymphocytes. Resting peripheral blood lymphocytes contained 0.5 X 10(6) enzyme copies per cell. After stimulation of the cells by phytohemagglutinin, the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase content increased before DNA synthesis. During balanced growth, the T lymphoblastoid cell line CEM contained approximately 2 X 10(6) poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase molecules per cell. This value did not vary by more than 2-fold during the cell growth cycle. Similarly, mRNA encoding poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase was detectable throughout S phase. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase turned over at a rate equivalent to the average of total cellular proteins. Neither the cellular content nor the turnover rate of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase changed after the introduction of DNA strand breaks by gamma irradiation. These results show that in lymphoblasts poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase is an abundant nuclear protein that turns over relatively slowly and suggest that most of the enzyme may exist in a catalytically inactive state.     

ADP-ribosylation of proteins in nuclei and mitochondria from tissues rats of various age exposed gamma-radiation

Constitutive and gamma-induced ADP-ribosylation of nuclei and mitochondrial proteins in 2- and 29-month-old rats was studied. ADP-ribosylation was determined by binding of [3H]-adenin with the proteins after incubation of cellular organells in reaction mixture supplemented with [adenin-2,8-3H]-NAD. It was detected that the level of total protein ADP-ribosylation in the nuclei is 4.5-6.2 times higher than in the mitochondria. By inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) with 3-aminobenzamidine and treatment of ADP-ribosylated proteins with phosphodiesterase I, it was demonstrated that about 90% of [3H]-adenin bound by proteins in the nuclei and 70% in the mitochondria was the result of PARP activity. The level of total ADP-ribosylation of nuclear and mitochondrial proteins in the tissues of old rats was reliably lower than in young animals. This reduction of ADP-ribosylation in old animals is the result of the lower activity of PARP, not of mono(ADP-ribosyl) transferase (MART). The level of ADP-ribosylation of proteins in the nuclei of brain and spleen cells of 2-month-old rats irradiated with of 5 and 10 Gy was by 49-109% higher than in the control. At the same doses of radiation, the level of ADP-ribosylation of nuclear proteins in brain and spleen of old rats increased only by 29-65% compared to the control. Unlike cell nuclei, the radiation-induced activation of ADP-ribosylation in mitochondria was less expressed: the level of ADP-ribosylation increased by 34-37% in young rats and by 11-27% in old animals. This increased binding of ADP-ribose residues by the proteins of nuclei and mitochondria from tissues of gamma-irradiated rats is exceptionally conditioned by activation of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation because the level of mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation remains constant. The results of this study enable the suggestion that poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation also occurs in the mitochondria of brain and spleen cells of the gamma-irradiated rats, though less pronounced than in cell the cell nuclei of these tissues. Thus, one of the probable causes of the less efficient repair of radiation-induced DNA damage in old organisms is a decline of both constitutive and induced poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of proteins in cell nucleus and mitochondria.     

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activity during the growth cycle of mouse fibroblasts (LS cells).

The specific activity of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase in isolated nuclei of mouse fibroblast cells (LS cells) was estimated throughout the growth cycle. The activity of this enzyme increased approx. 3-fold during the logarithmic phase of the cell population growth and was correlated with the increase in cell number. Upon dilution of the culture, the specific activity dropped, over 12–24 h, approx. 3-fold, to the new low level. This fluctuation in enzyme activity is unlike that of other metabolic enzymes in LS cells. It is not a result of changes in the medium. The specific enzyme activity during the growth cycle is not correlated with the DNA content of the cells. The physiological function of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase is discussed in relation to these results.     

Change in activity of nuclear poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase during the HeLa S3 cell cycle

The change in activity of nuclear poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase during the cell cycle of HeLa S3 cells was investigated. The poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase activity was solubilized from HeLa S3 cell nuclei and chromosomes only by sonication at high ionic strength. The enzyme hydrolyzed poly(ADP-ribose) exoglycosidically, producing ADP-ribose. After release from mitosis, the activity of the solubilized nuclear poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase per nucleus or per unit protein, assayed with [3H]poly(ADP-ribose) (average chain length, n = 15) as substrate, was lowest in the early G1 phase and highest in the late G1 phase. The specific activity in the late G1 phase was about two times that in the early G1 phase. The high activity remained constant during the S-G2-M phase. A similar change during the cell cycle was observed after release from hydroxyurea block. These results suggest that the activity of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase doubled during the G1 phase of the cell cycle of HeLa S3 cells.