Hiroshi Nyunoya

Nucleotide sequence of a full-length cDNA for human fibroblast poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase

The complete nucleotide sequence of human fibroblast poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cDNA was determined. The cDNA contains an open reading frame for a 1014 amino acid polypeptide. In the DNA binding domain of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, there are predicted alpha-helix-turn-alpha-helix structures and two sequences each of about 100 amino acids that are similar to each other containing potential cysteine-zinc DNA binding structures. Within the 3 untranslated region, there is an AT-rich sequence containing ATTTA, a possible mRNA destabilizer.

Characterization of peripheral blood T-lymphocytes transduced with HTLV-I Tax mutants with different trans -activating phenotypes

Tax1, a transcriptional trans-activator of the Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I), induces the expression of many cellular genes through interaction with at least three distinct cellular transcription factors; CREB/ATF, NF-κB, and SRF. This Tax1-induced activation of cellular genes is considered to be a critical event in T-cell transformation by HTLV-I. To elucidate the role of each Tax1-inducible transcriptional pathway in T-cell transformation, we introduced Tax1 mutants with different trans-activating phenotypes into peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) by retroviral vectors. Analysis of these PBLs revealed that activation of the NF-κB pathway is sufficient to promote the growth response to IL-2. However, for the clonal expansion of CD4+ T-cells, which is a characteristic result of HTLV-I infection, activation of the CREB/ATF and SRF pathways is also required.

Characterization of a putative promoter region of the human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase gene: Structural similarity to that of the DNA polymerase β gene

The 5-flanking region of the human poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase gene was isolated and characterized. The nucleotide sequence of a part of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase gene completely matched that of the cDNA. The transcriptional initiation sites (cap sites) of this gene, located about 166-bp upstream from the translational initiation site, were identified by S1 mapping analysis. Neither CAAT box nor TATA box was found within 500-bp upstream from the cap sites of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase gene. The 200-bp immediately upstream of the cap site had a high G+C content (76.5%) and contained double repeats of the sequence CCGCCC, putative Sp1 binding sites, and a palindromic structure. The 5-flanking region of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase gene also showed promoter activity in chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assay and structural similarity to that of DNA polymerase beta gene.

Differential expression of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and DNA polymerase β in rat tissues

The activities of two DNA repair-related enzymes, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and DNA polymerase beta, and their mRNA levels were measured in 17 tissues of Wistar rats. A large variety in enzyme activity values could be detected in the tissues examined; the highest levels of activity for both enzymes were found in the testis. A good correlation between poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity and the level of the transcript of the gene coding for the enzyme was observed in many tissues. A less satisfactory correlation could be evidenced for DNA polymerase beta. The almost parallel amounts of the mRNAs for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and DNA polymerase beta in the tissues examined suggest a possible coexpression of the genes coding for these enzymes. Additional studies have been carried out in testis and liver by immunohistochemical techniques and by in situ hybridization analyses. While in the testis the spermatocytes were shown to contain both enzymes and their transcripts, in other types of cells this could not be observed. In the liver mRNAs and enzymes were only found in 20% of the hepatocytes. This may in part explain both the low levels of the mRNAs and the modest activities of the two enzymes in that tissue.

Evidence for phosphorylation oftrans-activator p40x of human T-cell leukemia virus type I produced in insect cells with a baculovirus expression vector

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) encodes a trans-activator protein p40x which positively regulates transcription of the viral RNA as well as interleukin-2 and its receptor genes. We placed a cDNA coding for p40x in baculovirus Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) expression vectors. Infection of BmN cells derived from an insect, B. mori (silkworm), with a recombinant virus led to the production of soluble p40x. The biological activity of the recombinant p40x was demonstrated by introducing the protein into intact NIH 3T3 cells that had been selected for genomic integration of HTLV-I LTR connected with the CAT gene. Immunocytochemical and cell fractionation analyses showed the localization of p40x in both the cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions of BmN cells. Analyses of 32P-labeled proteins of BmN cells by cell fractionation and subsequent immunoprecipitation revealed that the p40x present in each subcellular fraction was phosphorylated. The post-translational modification was inhibited by the addition of a protein kinase inhibitor K252a during the metabolic labeling of BmN cells. Phosphoamino acid analysis indicated that the phosphorylation occurred on serine residues of p40x.