Comparison of bone marrow extracellular matrices.

We have compared the structure and composition of adult and fetal bovine bone marrow extracellular matrices. In contrast to fetal bone marrow, adult bone marrow has more oval fenestration and accumulation of adipocytes as well as lower protein content. These differences could be due to remodeling of bone marrow tissue as it develops. Zymogram analysis of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and tissue inhibitor of MMP (TIMP) activities showed that fetal, but not adult bone marrow extract contained a 96-kDa MMP and TIMP-1 and -2. These activities may contribute to the structural differences between adult and fetal bone marrow tissues.     

A DNA helicase induced by herpes simplex virus type 1.

We have identified and partially purified a DNA-dependent ATPase that is present specifically in herpes simplex virus type 1-infected Vero cells. The enzyme which has a molecular weight of approximately 440,000 differs from the comparable host enzyme in its elution from phosphocellulose columns and in its nucleoside triphosphate specificity. The partially purified DNA-dependent ATPase is also a DNA helicase that couples ATP or GTP hydrolysis to the displacement of an oligonucleotide annealed to M13 single-stranded DNA. The enzyme requires a 3' single-stranded tail on the duplex substrate, suggesting that the polarity of unwinding is 5'----3' relative to the M13 DNA. The herpes specific DNA helicase may therefore translocate on the lagging strand in the semidiscontinuous replication of the herpes virus 1 genome.     

Analysis of simian virus 40 infection of CV-1 cells by quantitative two-color fluorescence with flow cytometry

Quantitative two-color fluorescent analysis of Simian virus (SV40) infection of permissive CV-1 cells was investigated. Analysis included by quantitation of cellular DNA, the early viral tumor (T) antigen with a monoclonal antibody, and late viral (V) antigens with a polyclonal antibody. T antigen was detected in all phases of the cell cycle at 6 and 12 h, after SV40 infection of growth arrested cells. At later time intervals, the percentage of T-antigen-positive cells increased with the induction of the cells into successive rounds of DNA synthesis and an increase in tetraploid-polyploid cells. The amount of T antigen per cell increased as the cells entered the successive stages of the cell cycle (G0/G1----G2 + M----tetraploid S and G2 + M). The V antigen from adsorbed virus was detected immediately after infection. Synthesis of V antigen began in late S and G2 + M phases of the cell cycle. This quantitative analysis allows a definitive determination of antigen per cell in a population correlated with the cell cycle and may be useful in correlating viral and cellular events with transformation.     

Mutations in a herpes simplex virus type 1 origin that inhibit interaction with origin-binding protein also inhibit DNA replication.

The herpes simplex virus type 1 genome contains three origins of replication: OriL and a diploid OriS. The origin-binding protein, the product of the UL9 gene, interacts with two sites within OriS, box I and box II. A third site, box III, which is homologous to boxes I and II, may also be a binding site for the origin-binding protein. Mutations in these three sites significantly reduce OriS-directed plasmid replication measured in transient replication assays. The reduction in replication efficiency of the mutants correlates well with the decrease in the ability to bind to the origin-binding protein, as determined by Elias et al. (P. Elias, C. M. Gustafsson, and O. Hammarsten, J. Biol. Chem. 265: 17167-17173, 1990). The effect of multiple mutations in boxes I, II, and III on plasmid replication suggests that there are multiple binding sites in OriS for the origin-binding protein. These studies indicate that proper interaction of the origin-binding protein with the OriS sequence is essential for OriS-directed DNA replication.     

ATP-independent renaturation of complementary DNA strands by the mutant recA1 protein from Escherichia coli

In an effort to clarify the requirement for ATP in the recA protein-promoted renaturation of complementary DNA strands, we have analyzed the mutant recA1 protein which lacks single-stranded DNA-dependent ATPase activity at pH 7.5. Like the wild type, the recA1 protein binds to single-stranded DNA with a stoichiometry of one monomer per approximately four nucleotides. However, unlike the wild type, the mutant protein is dissociated from single-stranded DNA in the presence of ATP or ADP. The ATP analogue adenosine 5'-O-3' (thiotriphosphate) appears to stabilize the binding of recA1 protein to single-stranded DNA but does not elicit the stoichiometry of 1 monomer/8 nucleotides or the formation of highly condensed protein-DNA networks that are characteristic of the wild type recA protein in the presence of this analogue. The recA1 protein does not catalyze DNA renaturation in the presence of ATP, consistent with the dissociation of recA1 protein from single-stranded DNA under these conditions. However, it does promote a pattern of Mg2+-dependent renaturation identical to that found for wild type recA protein.     

Reinitiation Within One Cell Cycle of the Deoxyribonucleic Acid Synthesis Induced by Simian Virus 40

The infection of secondary cultures of Chinese hamster cells with simian virus 40 (SV40) induces the appearance of cells with polyploid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content or chromosomal component within one cell generation. The mechanism of this phenomenon was studied by the use of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) incorporation as a DNA density marker. When cultures were treated with (14)C-BUdR and colcemide and harvested at 48 hr postinfection, only hybrid and light DNA molecules were found in control cultures, whereas in infected cultures there were also heavy molecules. The proportion of heavy DNA synthesized during the experimental period varied from 13 to 25%. It was determined by DNA-DNA hybridization that the heavy DNA consisted of cellular DNA. In radioautographic experiments, it was shown that, under the conditions used, a fraction of the infected cell population twice replicated its complete DNA content. Analysis of the kinetics indicated that the heavy DNA resulted from the reinitiation of DNA synthesis after the initial replication of the entire cell DNA. It was concluded that, after infection with SV40, a fraction of the Chinese hamster cell population undergoes two cycles of DNA synthesis without intervening mitosis.