N. De Groot

The RAD7 and RAD16 genes, which are essential for pyrimidine dimer removal from the silent mating type loci, are also required for repair of the nontranscribed strand of an active gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The rad16 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was previously shown to be impaired in removal of UV-induced pyrimidine dimers from the silent mating-type loci (D. D. Bang, R. A. Verhage, N. Goosen, J. Brouwer, and P. van de Putte, Nucleic Acids Res. 20:3925-3931, 1992). Here we show that rad7 as well as rad7 rad16 double mutants have the same repair phenotype, indicating that the RAD7 and RAD16 gene products might operate in the same nucleotide excision repair subpathway. Dimer removal from the genome overall is essentially incomplete in these mutants, leaving about 20 to 30% of the DNA unrepaired. Repair analysis of the transcribed RPB2 gene shows that the nontranscribed strand is not repaired at all in rad7 and rad16 mutants, whereas the transcribed strand is repaired in these mutants at a fast rate similar to that in RAD+ cells. When the results obtained with the RPB2 gene can be generalized, the RAD7 and RAD16 proteins not only are essential for repair of silenced regions but also function in repair of nontranscribed strands of active genes in S. cerevisiae. The phenotype of rad7 and rad16 mutants closely resembles that of human xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group C (XP-C) cells, suggesting that RAD7 and RAD16 in S. cerevisiae function in the same pathway as the XPC gene in human cells. RAD4, which on the basis of sequence homology has been proposed to be the yeast XPC counterpart, seems to be involved in repair of both inactive and active yeast DNA, challenging the hypothesis that RAD4 and XPC are functional homologs.

Double mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with alterations in global genome and transcription-coupled repair.

The nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway is thought to consist of two subpathways: transcription-coupled repair, limited to the transcribed strand of active genes, and global genome repair for nontranscribed DNA strands. Recently we cloned the RAD26 gene, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog of human CSB/ERCC6, a gene involved in transcription-coupled repair and the disorder Cockayne syndrome. This paper describes the analysis of yeast double mutants selectively affected in each NER subpathway. Although rad26 disruption mutants are defective in transcription-coupled repair, they are not UV sensitive. However, double mutants of RAD26 with the global genome repair determinants RAD7 and RAD16 appeared more UV sensitive than the single rad7 or rad16 mutants but not as sensitive as completely NER-deficient mutants. These findings unmask a role of RAD26 and transcription-coupled repair in UV survival, indicate that transcription-coupled repair and global genome repair are partially overlapping, and provide evidence for a residual NER modality in the double mutants. Analysis of dimer removal from the active RPB2 gene in the rad7/16 rad26 double mutants revealed (i) a contribution of the global genome repair factors Rad7p and Rad16p to repair of the transcribed strand, confirming the partial overlap between both NER subpathways, and (ii) residual repair specifically of the transcribed strand. To investigate the transcription dependence of this repair activity, strand-specific repair of the inducible GAL7 gene was investigated. The template strand of this gene was repaired only under induced conditions, pointing to a role for transcription in the residual repair in the double mutants and suggesting that transcription-coupled repair can to some extent operate independently from Rad26p. Our findings also indicate locus heterogeneity for the dependence of transcription-coupled repair on RAD26.

Lymphocyte Homing and Ig Secretion in the Murine Mammary Gland

In mice the majority of the immunoglobulins (Ig) in milk belongs to the IgA class. Prior to its transepithelial transportation into the milk, dimeric IgA (dIgA) is bound to the transmembrane form of the secretory component or polymeric Ig receptor (SC/pIgR). The latter is synthesized in the epithelial cells lining the ducts and alveoli of the mammary gland. A candidate for playing the role of adhesion molecule to primed lymphocytes present in the murine mammary gland might be the mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule‐1 (MAdCAM‐1). We studied the correlation between the levels of IgA in colostrum and milk, the number of IgA producing plasma cells in the mammary gland and the expression of MAdCAM‐1 in mammary gland endothelial cells during pregnancy and lactation. The relation between the IgA levels in the milk and the expression levels of pIgR in mammary gland epithelial cells was also investigated. We found that the expression of MAdCAM‐1 and pIgR starts in early–mid pregnancy; the number of IgA‐producing plasma cells and the IgA concentration in milk increase from early lactation onwards. The MAdCAM‐1 expression declines during lactation whereas the pIgR levels and IgA‐producing plasma cell numbers rise until the end of lactation. Because the MAdCAM‐1 level starts to rise several days before the rise of the IgA‐producing plasma cell level, MAdCAM‐1 cannot be the rate determining factor governing extravasation of primed B cells to the mammary gland. We also conclude that the pIgR is present in sufficient amounts to enable increasing S‐IgA secretion into the milk during lactation.

Increased immunoglobulin A levels in milk by over‐expressing the murine polymeric immunoglobulin receptor gene in the mammary gland epithelial cells of transgenic mice

The polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) transports dimeric immunoglobulin A (dIgA) across the epithelial cell layers into the secretions of various mucosal and glandular surfaces of mammals. At these mucosal sites, such as the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, urogenital tract and the mammary glands, dIgA protects the body against pathogens. The pIgR binds dIgA at the basolateral side and transports it via the complex mechanism of transcytosis to the apical side of the epithelial cells lining the mucosa. Here, the extracellular part of the receptor is cleaved to form the secretory component (SC), which remains associated to dIgA, thereby protecting it from degradation in the secretions. One pIgR molecule transports only one dIgA molecule (1 : 1 ratio) and the pIgR is not recycled after each round of transport. This implies that the amount of available receptor could be a rate‐limiting factor determining both the rate and amount of IgA transported per cell and therefore determining the total IgA output into the lumen or, in case of the mammary gland, into the milk. In order to test this hypothesis, we set up an in vivo model system. We generated transgenic mice over‐expressing the murine pIgR gene under lactogenic control, by using a milk gene promoter, rather than under immunological control. Mice over‐expressing the pIgR protein, in mammary gland epithelial cells, from 60‐ up to 270‐fold above normal pIgR protein levels showed total IgA levels in the milk to be 1·5–2‐fold higher, respectively, compared with the IgA levels in the milk of non‐transgenic mice. This indicates that the amount of pIgR produced is indeed a limiting factor in the transport of dIgA into the milk under normal non‐inflammatory circumstances.