Interaction of oligonucleotides and ATP with preparations of sIgA possessing protein kinase activity

Interaction of secretory immunoglobulins A of a varying degree of purity with oligonucleotides and ATP has been studied by the method of affinity modification. For this aim we used reactive derivatives of 32P-labeled deoxyoligonucleotide (ClRCH2NHp(T)14) and [gamma-32P]ATP (ClR-32PppA) or ATP (ClR-pppA) bearing a 4-[(N-2-chloroethyl-N-methyl)amino]benzylamine residue. Preparations of sIgA were obtained from human milk by sequential chromatography on protein A-sepharose (P1), DEAE-fractogel (P2) and by gel-filtration in 50 mM NaOH (P3). It was revealed, that the H- and L-chains of sIgA P1; H-, L-chains and secretory component (SC) in sIgA P2 and only SC in sIgA P3 were exposed to modification after incubation with ClRCH2NHp(T)14. LPS, DNA, tRNA, heparin, sufficiently inhibited the modification of chains of sIgA P1. These competitors did not influence the modification of H- and L-chains of sIgA P2, but DNA, tRNA, heparin, inhibited binding of SC with the modifier. Suppressing affect of binding of ClRCH2NHp(T)14 with secretory component of sIgA P3 by d(T)14 has been observed as well. The research of ClR-32PppA interaction with sIgA P3 has shown that H- and L-chains of sIgA are exposed to modification. ATP inhibited the reaction. Study of the influence of modification on the protein kinase activity of sIgA P3 has revealed, that the preliminary incubation of sIgA P3 with ClR-pppA leads to inhibition of protein kinase activity. We suggest that sIgA, possessing the protein kinase activity (sIgA-abzymes) has an ATP-binding center (catalytic center) and has an oligonucleotide-binding center as well.     

Role of Subunits of 60 to 70S Avian Tumor Virus Ribonucleic Acid in Its Template Activity for the Viral Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymerase

Heating the 60 to 70S ribonucleic acid (RNA) of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) destroys both its subunit structure and its high template activity for RSV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase. In comparative analyses, it was found that the template activity of the RNA has a thermal transition of 70 C, whereas the 60 to 70S structure dissociates into 30 to 40S and several distinct small subunits with a T(m) of 55 C. Analysis by velocity sedimentation and isopycnic centrifugation of the primary DNA product obtained by incubation of 60 to 70S RSV RNA with RSV DNA polymerase indicated that most, but perhaps not all, DNA was linked to small (<10S) RSV RNA primer. Sixty percent of the high template activity of 60 to 70S RSV RNA lost after heat dissociation could be recovered by incubation of the total RNA under annealing conditions. The template activity of purified 30 to 40S subunits isolated from 60 to 70S RSV RNA was not enhanced significantly by annealing. However, in the presence of small (<10S) subunits also isolated from 60 to 70S RNA, the template activity of 30 to 40S RNA subunits was increased to the same level as that of reannealed total 60 to 70S RNA. It was concluded that neither the 30 to 40S subunits nor most of the 4S subunits of 60 to 70S RSV RNA contribute much as primers to the template activity of 60 to 70S RSV RNA. The predominant primer molecule appears to be a minor component of the <10S subunit fraction of 60 to 70S RSV RNA. Its electrophoretic mobility is similar to, and its dissociation temperature from 60 to 70S RSV RNA is higher than that of the bulk of 60 to 70S RSV RNA-associated 4S RNA. The role of primers in DNA synthesis by RSV DNA polymerase is discussed.     

Recognition of RNA by the S9.6 antibody creates pervasive artifacts when imaging RNA:DNA hybrids

The S9.6 antibody is broadly used to detect RNA:DNA hybrids but has significant affinity for double-stranded RNA. The impact of this off-target RNA binding activity has not been thoroughly investigated, especially in the context of immunofluorescence microscopy. We report that S9.6 immunofluorescence signal observed in fixed human cells arises predominantly from ribosomal RNA, not RNA:DNA hybrids. S9.6 staining was unchanged by pretreatment with the RNA:DNA hybrid–specific nuclease RNase H1, despite verification in situ that S9.6 recognized RNA:DNA hybrids and that RNase H1 was active. S9.6 staining was, however, significantly sensitive to RNase T1, which specifically degrades RNA. Additional imaging and biochemical data indicate that the prominent cytoplasmic and nucleolar S9.6 signal primarily derives from ribosomal RNA. Importantly, genome-wide maps obtained by DNA sequencing after S9.6-mediated DNA:RNA immunoprecipitation (DRIP) are RNase H1 sensitive and RNase T1 insensitive. Altogether, these data demonstrate that imaging using S9.6 is subject to pervasive artifacts without pretreatments and controls that mitigate its promiscuous recognition of cellular RNAs.     

Lactoferrin Is the Major Deoxyribonuclease of Human Milk

Lactoferrin is the major iron-transferring protein of human barrier fluids such as blood and milk. It is a polyfunctional protein capable of binding DNA exposed on the surface of various cells. Electrophoretically homogenous lactoferrin was prepared by sequential chromatography of human milk proteins on DEAE-cellulose, heparin-Sepharose, and Sepharose containing immobilized anti-lactoferrin antibodies. By subsequent chromatography on Blue Sepharose the resulting lactoferrin was fractionated into several subfractions with different affinity for the sorbent, and this was associated with separation of additional lactoferrin peaks with DNase activity from the main peak. By various techniques, in particular, by in situ testing the DNase activity of lactoferrin in a DNA-containing gel after SDS-electrophoresis, hydrolysis of DNA was for the first time shown to be an intrinsic property of lactoferrin. The substrate specificity of lactoferrin in hydrolysis of DNA was different from specificities of known human DNases. Hydrolysis of DNA was activated by bivalent metal ions and also by ATP and NAD. Unlike the main fraction of lactoferrin with the highest affinity for Blue Sepharose, all protein subfractions with DNase activity were cytotoxic and suppressed growth of human and mouse tumor cell lines.     

Low-molecular-weight (4.5S) ribonucleic acid in higher-plant chloroplast ribosomes.

A species of RNA that migrates on 10% (w/v) polyacrylamide gels between 5S and 4S RNA was detected in spinach chloroplasts. This RNA (referred to as 4.5 S RNA) was present in amounts equimolar to the 5S RNA and its molecular weight was estimated to be approx. 33 000. Fractionation of the chloroplast components showed that the 4.5S RNA was associated with the 50 S ribosomal subunit and that it could be removed by washing the ribosomes with a buffer containing 0.01 M-EDTA and 0.5 M-KCl. It did not appear to be a cleavage product of the labile 23 S RNA of spinach chloroplast ribosomes. When 125I-labelled 4.5 S RNA was hybridized to fragments of spinach chloroplast DNA produced by SmaI restriction endonuclease, a single fragment (mol.wt. 1.15 times 10(6)) became labelled. The same DNA fragment also hybridized to chloroplast 5 S RNA and part of the 23 S RNA. It was concluded that the coding sequence for 4.5 S RNA was part of, or immediately adjacent to, the rRNA-gene region in chloroplast DNA . A comparable RNA species was observed in chloroplasts of tobacco and pea leaves.     

Intracellular Virus-Specific Structures and RNAs in Oncornavirus-Producing Human Cells

Two kinds of virus-specific structures were isolated from the cytoplasm of Detroit-6 and human amnion cells producing oncornavirus-like particles. These structures represented A particles with the diameter of 70 to 80 nm and aggregated strands of nucleocapsids with the diameter of 3 and 6 nm. The structures were separated from cellular contaminants by isopycnic banding in linear sucrose gradients and subsequently further purified by sedimentation in velocity sucrose gradients. Their sedimentation coefficient was 250 and 150S, respectively. Both structures contain 60, 45, and 35S RNA species, and 150S structures also contained 20S RNA. The 35 and 20S RNA from the 150S structure formed hybrids with DNA enzymatically synthesized on extracellular virions. The structures displayed endogeneous polymerase activity, DNA product of the reaction being predominantly associated with 60S RNA. No 70S RNA was found in the cell structures of various densities. Also, the virions purified from tissue culture fluid contained 70S RNA. These findings are consistent with those on extracellular maturation of oncornavirus RNA.     

Purification and properties of a single strand-specific endonuclease from mouse cell mitochondria.

A nuclease was purified from mitochondria of the mouse plasmacytoma cell line, MCP-11 which acts on single-stranded DNA endonucleolytically and appears to have no activity upon native DNA. It degrades unordered RNA somewhat more effectively than it does DNA. The enzyme activity and the major detectable polypeptide migrate to a position corresponding to an Mr of 37,400 on denaturing polyacrylamide gels; in its native form the activity has an S value of 4.7, which corresponds to a molecular weight of roughly 73,000. The single-strand DNase activity has a pH optimum near 7.5, requires a divalent cation and is inhibited by EDTA, phosphate, KCl and NaCl. The enzyme is remarkably similar to fungal mitochondrial enzymes whose absence in various mutants correlates with defective DNA repair and recombination. It reacts weakly with antibody to a form of such an enzyme from Neurospora crassa.     

Intracisternal A particles from FLOPC-1 BALB/c myeloma: presence of high-molecular-weight RNA and RNA-dependent DNA polymerase.

Intracisternal A particles from the FLOPC-1 line of BALB/c myeloma have been shown to contain high-molecular-weight RNA (60 to 70S) that is sensitive to RNase, alkali degradation, and heat but resistant to Pronase treatment. The intracisternal A-particle RNA contains tract of poly (A) approximately 180 nucleotides long. As shown in a reconstitution experiment, by antigenic analysis of A-particle preparation and the SC cytopathogenicity assay, the 70S RNA was not due to contamination by type C virus particles. The FLOPC-1 intracisternal A particles also possess an endogenous RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. The enzyme required Mn2+ or Mg2+, dithiothreitol, detergent, and four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates for maximum activity. Enzymatic activity was maximally stimuated by poly (rC)-oligo (dG)12-18 and less with poly (rG)-oligo (dC)10 or poly (rA)-oligo (dT)12-18 as compare with synthetic DNA/DNA duplex templates such as poly (dA)-oligo (dT)12-18. The enzyme can utilize the A-particle endogenous RNA as template as shown by analysis of the early and late DNA products of the endogenous reaction by CsSO4 isopycnic gradient centrifuation and hybridization of purified 70S or 35S A-particle RNA with the purified complementary DNA product. Approximately 50% of the A-particle complementary DNA also hybridized with oncornavirus RNA.     

Dynamics of antibody nuclease activity in blood of women during pregnancy and lactation

In human milk we previously found catalytic antibodies (abzymes) catalyzing hydrolysis of DNA, RNA, NMP, NDP, and NTP and also phosphorylation of proteins and lipids. In the present study we have analyzed nuclease activities of antibodies in blood of women during pregnancy and lactation. Blood of healthy male and female volunteers lacked catalytically active antibodies, whereas antibodies from blood of pregnant women hydrolyzed DNA and RNA and their relative activity varied over a wide range. Relative blood abzyme activities significantly increased after delivery and at the beginning of lactation. The highest abzyme activity was observed in blood of parturient women. Although the dynamics of changes in antibody DNase activity during pregnancy was rather individual for each woman, there was a common trend in the increase in antibody activity in the first and/or third trimester of the pregnancy. The DNase activity of IgG and IgM from blood of healthy pregnant women was 4-5 times less than that from pregnant women with pronounced autoimmune thyroiditis.     

The isolation and characterization of a second oocyte 5s DNA from Xenopus laevis

A second and minor DNA component containing 5s RNA genes has been purified from the genomic DNA of Xenopus laevis (XIt 5S DNA). Some of its physical and chemical characteristics are described. It contains a 5S RNA gene sequence which has some oocyte and some somatic-specific residues, as well as nucleotides which differ from both types of 5S RNA. There are about 2000 of these 5S RNA genes per haploid complement of DNA compared to about 24,000 of the principal oocyte 5S RNA genes. The multiple repeating units of XIt 5S DNA are homogeneous in length (about 350 base pairs). We present evidence that XIt 5S RNA is transcribed in ovaries but not in somatic cells; XIt 5S DNA may therefore be under the same control as the major oocyte 5S DNA.     

DNA primase of human mitochondria is associated with structural RNA that is essential for enzymatic activity

DNA primase isolated from human mitochondria sediments in glycerol density gradients at 30S and 70S. These unusually high sedimentation coefficients are a result of association of the primase activity with RNA. Treatment of primase with nuclease not only affects its sedimentation behavior, but also inactivates the primase activity. The major RNA species that cofractionates with primase activity is shown by direct sequence analysis to be cytosolic 5.8S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Specific degradation of endogenous 5.8S rRNA using ribonuclease H and oligonucleotides complementary to 5.8S rRNA results in reduction of primase activity. Other small RNAs may play a structural role in the formation of an active DNA primase complex.