RNase F and 2′,5′-oligoA synthetase activities in mice after poly(I). poly(C) administration

The present study demonstrates the presence of considerable levels of 2′, 5′-oligoA synthetase activity in tissue extracts from mice. The interferon inducer, poly(I) .poly(C) , induced the synthetase activity in all the tissue extractsin vivo. Similarly, a significant amount of endonuclease RNase F activity is found to be present in these tissue extracts. But interferon induction does not seem to have any significant effect on RNase F activity.     

Inhibition of ADP-ribosylation of histone by diadenosine 5', 5"' -p (1), p(4)-tetraphosphate

Diadenosine 5′, 5?-p¹, p⁴-tetraphosphate (Ap4A) strongly inhibited ADP-ribosylation reaction of histone by purified bovine thymus poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. This compound showed a relatively weak inhibitory effect on Mg²⁺-dependent, enzyme-bound poly(ADP-ribose) synthesis. Among various adenine nucleotides tested, including several diadenosine nucleotides with varying phosphate chain length, Ap4A was the most effective inhibitor of the histone-modification reaction. Ap5A and Ap6A showed slightly lower inhibitory effect than Ap4A. Kinetic analysis of the inhibitor (Ap4A) with varying concentration of substrate (NAD⁺) revealed that this compound is a “mixed type inhibitor”, with a Ki value of 5.1 μM.     

Two inducers of cell differentiation enhance the 2'5' oligoadenylate synthetase activity in MSV transformed cells

The interferon induced 2′5′ oligoadenylate synthetase activity can be increased upon treatment of Moloney Sarcoma virus transformed cells with two inducers of cell differentiation: sodium n-butyrate and dimethyl sulfoxide. This effect does not seem to be the consequence of the inhibition of cell growth by butyrate since the basic level of the enzyme stayed the same in control cells whether growth was inhibited by the absence of serum in the medium or not. It did not seem either to be due to the induction of IFN by these compounds since we could not detect any antiviral activity in the supernatant of the treated cells. Treatment by interferon of the butyrate pretreated cells results in a higher enzyme activity and a higher antiviral state than in non-pretreated cells.     

Inhibitor of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase induced in human T lymphoblastoid cell line treated with deoxyadenosine, deoxycoformycin and interferon

The effect of deoxyadenosine (dAdo) with deoxycoformycin on the induction of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase by interferon was investigated. After semi-purification through poly(I):poly(C) gel, the activity was similar in control and dAdo-treated cells. However, the activity in the crude extract decreased with rising concentrations of dAdo. On the other hand, the level of 2'-phosphodiesterase, which is also induced by interferon and degrades 2',5'-oligoadenylate, showed no significant change after dAdo treatment. Thus, the crude extract was speculated to contain an inhibitor of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase. Further characterization of the inhibitor revealed that inhibition was not due to dATP accumulation in cells.     

Activation of peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine with poly(salicylic acid 5-aminodisulfide)

5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) inhibited by a mixed mechanism the peroxidase catalyzed oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in 0.015 M phosphate-citrate buffer (pH 6.4) supplemented with 5% DMSO and 5% DMF. Poly(salicylic acid 5-aminodisulfide) (poly(SAADS)) in 0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.2-7.4) supplemented with 5% DMSO and 5% DMF effectively activated the peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of TMB. The activation was quantitatively characterized by coefficients (M^–1) determined at different pH values: increased linearly with increase in pH up to the maximal value of 2.44·10⁵ M^–1 at pH 7.0. The activating effect of poly(SAADS) on the peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of TMB is explained by the activator properties of polyelectrolyte, with its anionic form interacting with peroxidase sites responsible for the acid-base catalysis.     

Toxic action of 2'-chloro-2,4-dinitro-5',6-di(trifluoromethyl) diphenylamine in the rat.

2'-Chloro-2,4-dinitro-5',6-di(trifluoromethyl)diphenylamine (CDTD) is a potent uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation in isolated rat liver or brain mitochondria. The concentration of CDTD causing 50% uncoupling in vitro is dependent on the mitochdonrial protein concentration and is 2 nM at 0.9 mg protein/ml for rat liver mitochondria. Oxidative phosphorylation can be restored to CDTD uncoupled liver mitochondria by the addition of a 10 000-fold molar excess of bovine serum albumin to DCTD. Rats given a lethal dose (7.0 mumol/kg) of CDTD intrapertioneally show signs of toxicity typical of uncoupling agents. Mitochondria isolated from the livers of these rats show almost complete inhibition of ATP synthesis and mitochondria obtained from the livers of rats at various times after a single oral dose show maximal inhibition of ATP synthesis 4 h after dosing with complete recovery by about 24 h. A single oral administration of 58 mumol/kg or above, but not intraperitoneal injection, of CDTD into rats produced an increase in the water content of the brain and spinal cord. The additional fluid has been shown to contain Na+ ions. The increase in cerebral fluid is dose related, no effect being seen at 23 mumol/kg. This extra fluid is thought to be responsible for the hind limb weakness observed in these rats. These observations suggest that there are two facets to CDTD toxicity: early deaths (within 2 h), which appear to be due to uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation, and delayed deaths, 2--3 days after dosing which are probably related to an increase in fluid in the brain and spinal cord.     

Raftlin is involved in the nucleocapture complex to induce poly(I:C)-mediated TLR3 activation

The double-stranded RNA analog, poly(I:C), extracellularly activates both the endosomal Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3 and the cytoplasmic RNA helicase, melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5, leading to the production of type I interferons (IFNs) and inflammatory cytokines. The mechanism by which extracellular poly(I:C) is delivered to TLR3-positive organelles and the cytoplasm remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that the cytoplasmic lipid raft protein, Raftlin, is essential for poly(I:C) cellular uptake in human myeloid dendritic cells and epithelial cells. When Raftlin was silenced, poly(I:C) failed to enter cells and induction of IFN-β production was inhibited. In addition, cellular uptake of B-type oligodeoxynucleotide that shares its uptake receptor with poly(I:C) was suppressed in Raftlin knockdown cells. Upon poly(I:C) stimulation, Raftlin was translocated from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane where it colocalized with poly(I:C), and thereafter moved to TLR3-positive endosomes. Thus, Raftlin cooperates with the uptake receptor to mediate cell entry of poly(I:C), which is critical for activation of TLR3.     

Induction of poly(I):poly(C)-binding 50 K protein and 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase in interferon-treated mouse L929 cells

A new protein retained by poly(I):poly(C)-Sepharose was induced together with dsRNA-dependent enzymatic activities, a protein kinase and 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2,5A synthetase), in interferon-treated mouse L929 cells; it had an apparent molecular weight of 50,000 (50 K) and was not phosphorylated by the protein kinase. The kinetics of the induction of the poly(I):poly(C)-binding 50 K protein were similar to those of dsRNA-dependent protein kinase and 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase, and their inductions were all dependent on the interferon dose added, though a relatively higher dose was required for the 50 K protein. When the interferon preparation was heated to 100 degrees C in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, its effect on cells of inducing the activity of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase was preserved completely, indicating that the interferon molecule itself is responsible for the induction of the synthetase. Since the induction of the enzymatic activity was inhibited by addition of either actinomycin D or cycloheximide, it may not be an activation of a latent enzyme but a de novo synthesis of the enzyme.     

Localization of Escherichia coli poly(A) polymerase I in cellular membrane

Poly(A) polymerase I (PAP I), the pcnB gene product, is the main enzyme responsible for RNA polyadenylation in Escherichia coli. Polyadenylated RNA molecules are rapidly degraded by a multiprotein complex called RNA degradosome. Here we demonstrate that apart from its presence in cytosol, PAP I is also localized in cellular membrane. Although this observation might appear surprising, it was demonstrated recently by others that E. coli RNA degradosome is also associated with the cytoplasmic membrane. Moreover, we show that development of single-stranded RNA bacteriophages MS2 and Qbeta, but not that of single-stranded DNA bacteriophage M13, is more efficient in the pcnB mutant relative to an otherwise isogenic pcnB(+) host.     

Effects of mutation in hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 5A on interferon resistance mediated by inhibition of PKR kinase activity in mammalian cells

The IFN-induced double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated protein kinase PKR is one of the key molecules in the antiviral effects of IFN. To clarify the effects of hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) on antiviral activity of IFN, in particular on PKR kinase activity, in mammalian cells, we established inducible NS5A-expressing cell lines derived from human osteosarcoma (Saos-2). The cells expressing NS5A derived from an IFN-resistant clone (NS5A-lb) that interacted with endogenous PKR in vitro, showed a suppressive effect on IFN function as determined by interference with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection, whereas NS5A (NS5A-2a) from an IFN-sensitive clone did not block the antiviral effect of IFN. A mutant with deletion of the IFN sensitivity determining region (ISDR) in NS5A-1b (NS5A-AISDR) also interacted with PKR and suppressed its activity in vitro. However, neither NS5A-2a nor the C-terminal truncated mutant of NS5A-1b (NS5A-deltaC) blocked PKR activity. These observations confirmed the previous report that the inhibitory effect of NS5A on IFN activity is mediated at least in part by the repression of PKR. In addition, we showed that IFN sensitivity was determined not only by the ISDR but that the involvement of the C-terminal region of NS5A-1b is important for the suppression of PKR activity.     

Regulation by a β-adrenergic receptor of a Ca2+-independent adenosine 3′,5′-(cyclic)monophosphate phosphodiesterase in C6 glioma cells

The hormonal control of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.17) activity has been studied by using as a model the isoproterenol stimulation of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in C6 glioma cells. A 2-fold increase in cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase specific activity was observed in homogenates of isoproterenol-treated cells relative to control. This increase reached a maximum 3 h after addition of isoproterenol, was selective for cyclic AMP hydrolysis, was reproduced by incubation with 8-Br cyclic AMP but not with 8-Br cyclic GMP and was limited to the soluble enzyme activity. The presence of 0.1 mM EGTA did not alter the magnitude of the increase in phosphodiesterase activity. Moreover, the calmodulin content in the cell extracts was not changed after isoproterernol. DEASE-Sephacel chromatography of the 100 000×g supernatant resolved two peaks of phosphodiesterase activity. The first peak hydrolyzed both cyclic nucleotides and was activated by Ca²⁺ and purified calmodulin. The second peak was specific for cyclic AMP but it was Ca²⁺- and calmodulin-insensitive. Isoproterenol selectively increased the specific activity of the second peak. Kinetic analysis of the cyclic AMP hydrolysis by the induced enzyme reveled a non-linear Hofstee plot with apparent K_m values of 2–5 μM. Cyclic GMP was not hydrolyzed by this enzyme in the absence or presence of calmodulin and failed to affect the kinetics of the hydrolysis of cyclic AMP. Gel filtration chromatography of the induced DEASE-Sephacel peak resolved a single peak of enzyme activity with an apparent molecular weight of 54 000.     

Circular dichroism spectra of DNA quadruplexes [d(G(5)T(5))](4) as formed with G(4) and T(4) tetrads and [d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5))]2 as formed with Watson-Crick-like (G-C)(2) and (T-A)(2) tetrads

We utilize electrophoresis and find that a thermally treated equimolar mixture of the oligonucleotide d(G(5)T(5)) and its complementary oligonucleotide d(A(5)C(5)) exhibits either two bands or a single band in one lane, depending on the conditions of the incubation solutions. The thermally treated d(G(5)T(5)) solution loaded in a different lane exhibits a single band of the parallel quadruplex [d(G(5)T(5))](4), which is composed of homocyclic hydrogen-bonded G(4) and T(4) tetrads previously proposed. For the thermally treated equimolar mixture of d(G(5)T(5)) and d(A(5)C(5)), the fast band is assigned to a Watson-Crick d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5)) duplex, so that the slow band with the same low mobility as that of [d(G(5)T(5))](4) may be assigned to either [d(G(5)T(5))](4) itself or a [d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5))](2) quadruplex. If the latter compound is true, this may be the antiparallel quadruplex composed of the heterocyclic hydrogen-bonded G-C-G-C and T-A-T-A tetrads proposed previously. After removing these three bands for the duplex and two kinds of hypothetical quadruplexes, we electrophoretically elute the corresponding compounds in the same electrophoresis buffer using an electroeluter. The eluted compounds are ascertained to be stable by electrophoresis. The circular dichroism (CD) and UV absorption spectra measured for the three isolated compounds are found to be clearly different. For the electrophoretic elution of the hypothetical [d(G(5)T(5))](4) quadruplex, the result of the molecularity of n = 4 obtained from the CD melting curve analysis provides further support for the formation of the parallel [d(G(5)T(5))](4) quadruplex already proposed. For the thermally treated equimolar mixture of d(G(5)T(5)) and d(C(5)A(5)), the fast band with a molecularity of n = 2 corresponds to the Watson-Crick duplex, d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5)). The slow band with a molecularity of n = 4 indicates the antiparallel quadruplex [d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5))](2), whose observed CD and UV spectra are different from those of [d(G(5)T(5))](4). By electrophoresis, after reannealing the eluted compound [d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5))](2), a distinct photograph showing the band splitting of this quadruplex band into the lower duplex and upper quadruplex bands is not possible; but by a transilluminator, we occasionally observe this band splitting with the naked eye. The linear response polarizability tensor calculations for the thus determined structures of the [d(G(5)T(5))](4) quadruplex, the McGavin-like [d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5))](2) quadruplex, and the Watson-Crick d(G(5)T(5)). d(A(5)C(5)) duplex are found to qualitatively predict the observed CD and UV spectra.