Statistical analysis of Peptide electron transfer dissociation fragmentation mass spectrometry.

It is well established that protein sequence determination may be achieved by mass spectrometric analysis of protonated tryptic peptides subjected to collisional activation. When separated by nanoflow HPLC, a high percentage of peptides from complex mixtures of proteins can usually be identified. Recently, alternative, radical-driven fragmentation approaches of electron capture dissociation and the more common electron transfer dissociation (ETD) have been introduced and made widely available. In order to utilize these techniques in large scale proteomics studies, it is important to characterize the performance of these fragmentation processes on peptides formed by a range of enzymatic cleavages. In this study, we present a statistical analysis of the ion types that are observed from peptides produced by different enzymes and highlight the different characteristics of ETD spectra of doubly charged precursors in comparison to precursors of higher charge states.

Relationship between chromosome condensation and metaphase lysine-rich histone phosphorylation.

Treatment of metaphase HTC cells with ZnCl2 inhibits histone phosphatase activity and leads to an increase in the hyperphosphorylated forms of the lysine-rich (F1) histone. Under normal conditions a massive phosphatase activity is triggered as the cells shift from M into G1 phase. In the presence of ZnCl2 this activity is abolished and thehyperphosphorylated form of F1 persists intact into G1. We have asked the simple question of whether the chromosome can still extend during the M-G1 transition even if the F1 histone is maintained in the hyperphosphorylated form. We observe an apparently normal extension os the chromosomal material under these conditions, though it is evident that high levels of ZnCl2 have rather substantial effects on other cell functions.

Evolution of a Functional Taxonomy of Career Pathways for Biomedical Trainees.

Several reports have shown that doctoral and postdoctoral trainees in biomedical research pursue diverse careers that advance science meaningful to society. Several groups have proposed a three-tier career taxonomy to showcase these outcomes. This three-tier taxonomy will be a valuable resource for institutions committed to greater transparency in reporting outcomes, to not only be transparent in reporting their own institutional data but also to lend greater power to a central repository.

The structure and assembly of active chromatin.

Much effort has been expended towards understanding the details of how nucleosomes are established on newly replicated DNA. More recently it has begun to be possible to study the binding of both trans-acting factors and histones to DNA. This review is concerned with an assessment of the current status of this work. In addition, we discuss some of the questions that still need to be addressed in order to understand how trans-acting factors can establish extensive interactions with the DNA of active genes while they are excluded from inactive genes.

At least two nuclear proteins bind specifically to the Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat enhancer.

We used the sensitive gel electrophoresis DNA-binding assay and DNase I footprinting to detect at least two protein factors (EFI and EFII) that bound specifically to the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) enhancer in vitro. These factors were differentially extracted from quail cell nuclei, recognized different nucleotide sequences in the U3 region of the RSV long terminal repeat, and appeared to bind preferentially to opposite DNA strands as monitored by the DNase I protection assay. The EFI- and EFII-protected regions within U3 corresponded closely to sequences previously demonstrated by deletion mutagenesis to be required for enhancer activity, strongly suggesting a functional significance for these proteins. Only weak homologies between other enhancer consensus sequence motifs and the EFI and EFII recognition sites were observed, and other viral enhancers from simian virus 40 and Moloney murine sarcoma virus did not compete effectively with the RSV enhancer for binding either factor.

Purification and properties of the Rous sarcoma virus internal enhancer binding factor.

The internal enhancer binding factor (IBF) that specifically binds sequences within the gag gene internal enhancer of Rous sarcoma virus Schmidt-Ruppin A was purified to near homogeneity from BHK cells. The polypeptides that constituted IBF DNA-binding activity were identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel analysis. As isolated from BHK cells, IBF consisted of two different but related polypeptides. One (IBF alpha) had a molecular weight of 40,000; the other (IBF beta) had a molecular weight of 20,000 and appeared to be a proteolytic product of IBF alpha. The site within the gag gene to which IBF bounds in vitro (internal enhancer site 2; nucleotides 856 to 878 of the Rous sarcoma virus genome) were demonstrated to function as a cis-acting transcriptional stimulatory element both in vivo and in vitro. By using HeLa cell nuclear transcription extracts, purified IBF was found to function as a trans-acting transcription factor that stimulated transcription in vitro. Purified IBF was also demonstrated to be very similar to EBP20 (K. Carlberg, T. A. Ryden, and K. Beemon, J. Virol. 62:1617-1624, 1988), and it may well belong to the same family of DNA-binding proteins.

Hormonal regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene expression is mediated through modulation of an already disrupted chromatin structure.

We used indirect end labeling to identify a series of five hypersensitive (HS) sites in the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene in H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. These sites were found at -4800 base pairs (bp) (site A), at -1300 bp (site B), over a broad domain between -400 and -30 bp (site C), at +4650 bp (site D), and at +6200 bp (site E). Sites A to D were detected only in cells capable of expressing the PEPCK gene, whereas site E was present in all of the cells examined thus far. The HS sites were present in H4IIE cells even when transcriptional activity was reduced to a minimum by treatment with insulin. Stimulation of transcription by a cyclic AMP analog to a 40-fold increase over the insulin-repressed level did not affect the main features of the HS sites. Furthermore, increased transcription did not disrupt the nucleosomal arrangement of the coding region of the gene, nor did it affect the immediate 5' region (site C), which is always nucleosome-free. In HTC cells, a rat hepatoma line that is hormonally responsive but unable to synthesize PEPCK mRNA, the four expression-specific HS sites were totally absent. Our experimental results also showed that, although there is a general correlation between lack of DNA methylation and transcriptional competence of the PEPCK gene, the role, if any, of methylation in the regulation of PEPCK gene activity is likely to be exerted at very specific sites.

Extinction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene expression is associated with loss of a specific chromatin-binding protein from a far upstream domain.

We have analyzed the chromatin structure of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene in hepatoma x fibroblast hybrids with different extinction phenotypes. These hybrids included a karyotypically complete hybrid in which all liver gene activity was extinguished, a microcell hybrid that contained a single mouse chromosome 11 and in which PEPCK gene activity was decreased but inducible by cyclic AMP, and a segregant line that had lost all mouse chromosomes and in which the PEPCK gene was reexpressed. We found that only in the completely extinguished hybrid was PEPCK chromatin structure radically different from that in the parental hepatoma cells. In this hybrid, there was no evidence of any factors binding to the promoter or to the upstream hypersensitive site at -4800 base pairs. In the other cell lines, even when PEPCK gene transcription was low, the PEPCK chromatin showed characteristic structures typical of a transcriptionally competent gene, with hypersensitive sites at positions previously described. Loss of the upstream hypersensitive site was also shown to be correlated with the absence of a liver-specific protein factor that binds specifically to the upstream region.

Transcription factor requirements for in vitro formation of transcriptionally competent 5S rRNA gene chromatin.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae 5S rRNA gene was used as a model system to study the requirements for assembling transcriptionally active chromatin in vitro with purified components. When a plasmid containing yeast 5S rDNA was assembled into chromatin with purified core histones, the gene was inaccessible to the yeast class III gene transcription machinery. Preformation of a 5S rRNA gene-TFIIIA complex was not sufficient for the formation of active chromatin in this in vitro system. Instead, a complete transcription factor complex consisting of TFIIIA, TFIIIB, and TFIIIC needed to be formed before the addition of histones in order for the 5S chromatin to subsequently be transcribed by RNA polymerase III. Various 5S rRNA maxigenes were constructed and used for chromatin assembly studies. In vitro transcription from these assembled 5S maxigenes revealed that RNA polymerase III was readily able to transcribe through one, two, or four nucleosomes. However, we found that RNA polymerase III was not able to efficiently transcribe a chromatin template containing a more extended array of nucleosomes. In vivo expression experiments indicated that all in vitro-constructed maxigenes were transcriptionally competent. Analyses of protein-DNA interactions formed on these maxigenes in vivo by indirect end labeling indicated that there are extensive interactions throughout the length of these maxigenes. The patterns of protein-DNA interactions formed on these genes are consistent with these DNAs being assembled into extensive nucleosomal arrays.

Interaction of a liver-specific factor with an enhancer 4.8 kilobases upstream of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene.

We have previously identified a series of five DNase-I hypersensitive (HS) sites within and around the rat phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene. The far upstream region has now been sequenced, and the tissue-specific HS site has been mapped more precisely at 4,800 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site of the PEPCK gene. DNA fragments that include the HS site were cloned upstream of various promoters to test whether these regions modulate transcription of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity was enhanced when the DNA fragment encompassing the upstream HS site was linked to various lengths of the PEPCK promoter or to the heterologous simian virus 40 promoter. This upstream region in conjunction with the proximal promoter, which may contain a tissue-specific element, conferred maximum activation in H4IIE hepatoma cells, which express the endogenous PEPCK gene. When these experiments were performed in XC cells, in which the gene is not expressed, transcriptional activation by the upstream element was still significant. Evidence of a specific protein-DNA interaction, using DNA mobility shift and DNase I footprinting assays, was obtained only when using H4IIE cell nuclear extracts. Competition assay showed that the interacting factor may be similar or identical to the liver-specific factor HNF3. We suggest that this protein factor binds to DNA within the HS site and interacts with the proximal promoter region to control tissue-specific high-level expression of the PEPCK gene.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase is necessary for the integration of hepatic energy metabolism.

We used an allelogenic Cre/loxP gene targeting strategy in mice to determine the role of cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) in hepatic energy metabolism. Mice that lack this enzyme die within 3 days of birth, while mice with at least a 90% global reduction of PEPCK, or a liver-specific knockout of PEPCK, are viable. Surprisingly, in both cases these animals remain euglycemic after a 24-h fast. However, mice without hepatic PEPCK develop hepatic steatosis after fasting despite up-regulation of a variety of genes encoding free fatty acid-oxidizing enzymes. Also, marked alterations in the expression of hepatic genes involved in energy metabolism occur in the absence of any changes in plasma hormone concentrations. Given that a ninefold elevation of the hepatic malate concentration occurs in the liver-specific PEPCK knockout mice, we suggest that one or more intermediary metabolites may directly regulate expression of the affected genes. Thus, hepatic PEPCK may function more as an integrator of hepatic energy metabolism than as a determinant of gluconeogenesis.

Side-chain fragmentation of alkylated cysteine residues in electron capture dissociation mass spectrometry.

The recent development of novel fragmentation processes based on either electron capture directly or transfer from an anion show great potential for solving problems in proteomics that are intractable by the more widely employed thermal-based fragmentation processes such as collision induced dissociation. The dominant fragmentation occurring upon electron capture dissociation of peptides is cleavage of N-C alpha bonds in the peptide backbone to form c and z* ions. In the case of disulfide-linked peptides, it has also been shown that electron capture on one of the cystine sulfur atoms is favored, resulting in cleavage of the disulfide bond. In this study, we report that electron capture on the sulfur of alkylated cysteine residues is also a dominant process, causing cysteine side-chain loss from z* ions.

Characterization of a kidney-specific pattern of chromatin structure in the rat phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene.

The kidney-specific chromatin structure of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene was examined and compared to that of the liver. Kidney nuclear extracts were found to lack a liver-enriched factor, pepA, that binds to HSS A, a distal enhancer of the PEPCK gene that may be involved in opening the chromatin domain of the PEPCK gene in the liver. To begin the characterization of the kidney-specific chromatin structure of the PEPCK gene, nuclease hypersensitive sites (HSS) were mapped by indirect end-labeling analysis in proximal tubules from control rats, proximal tubules from acidotic rats which express induced levels of PEPCK, and NRK52E cells, a rat kidney epithelial cell line which does not express the PEPCK gene. A subset of HSS, at -400/+1 over the proximal promoter and at +1900 within the coding region, correlate with kidney-specific PEPCK expression. Two other HSS, at -3.1 kb and +6.2 kb, are detected in kidney cells regardless of PEPCK expression. The HSS at -4800, -1240, and +4650, previously identified in PEPCK-expressing liver cells, were not observed in the kidney. As in the liver, the pattern of hypersensitivity in the kidney does not change by altering the rate of transcription.

Comparative studies on highly metabolically active histone acetylation.

Histone acetate is hydrolyzed rapidly in logarithmically dividing hepatoma tissue culture cells (Jackson, V., Shires, A., Chalkley, R. and Granner, D.K. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 4856--4863). The phenomenon has been analyzed further in hepatoma tissue culture cells at various stages of the cell cycle, in stationary phase, and in the presence of actinomycin D. We also investigated the phenomenon in Tetrahymena pyriformis macronuclei, bovine thymocytes, and human foreskin fibroblasts. The data suggest that this highly metabolically active histone acetylation while altered in mitotic cells, is independent of the overall rate of cell division, and is only slightly sensitive to actinomycin D. Finally, we conclude that the same general phenomenon is found in both cancerous and normal cells and is apparently common to cells from various stages of the evolutionary scale.

Histone deacetylation in nuclei isolated from hepatoma tissue culture cells. Inhibition by sodium butyrate.

Nuclei from hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cells were isolated by standard methods and incubated in media commonly used for nuclease digestions (DNAase I and micrococcal nuclease) and for in vitro RNA synthesis. During the incubation, histones can be deacetylated from both control cells and cells treated with 6 mM sodium butyrate to enhance the levels of histone acetylation. Deacetylation of histone is much more apparent in nuclei isolated from sodium butyrate-treated cells. Inclusion of 6 mM sodium butyrate in the incubation medium effectively inhibits the endogenous deacetylase activity acting on histones H3 and H4, whereas sodium acetate at the same concentration has very little inhibitory effect.

The phosphorylation region of lysine-rich histone in dividing cells.

N-Bromosuccinimide cleavage of in vivo 32P-labelled lysine-rich histone isolated from rapidly dividing cells has been studied. N-Bromosuccinimide cleaves F1-histone into two fragments, a small N-terminal piece and a larger C-terminal portion. The phosphate-induced microheterogeneity and associated radioactivity which has been linked to cell replication, is found in the carboxyterminal fragment, No phosphorous is found associated with the amino-terminal fragment when histone phosphorylation is associated with cell division. The specific tryptic phosphopeptides obtained from in vivo labelled F1 are clearly different from those obtained from in vitro incubations of free F1-histones and cytoplasmic protein kinase.

Characterization of rat pseudogenes for enhancer factor I subunit A: ripping provides clues to the evolution of the EFIA/dbpB/YB-1 multigene family.

Genomic Southern blot analysis of rat EFIA (gene encoding enhancer factor I subunit A) reveals a complex band pattern when cDNA subfragment probes are used. Screening a rat genomic library with a rat EFIA cDNA probe yields two different processed EFIA pseudogenes, designated rat psi EFIA#(2/3) and #(4/7), in addition to two other different, but less extensively characterized clones. psi EFIA#(4/7) has no open reading frame (ORF) sequences. psi EFIA#(2/3) contains two ORFs (83 and 178 codons), the products of which (if expressed) might be negative-acting EFIA transcription factors. Located nearly 0.6 kb upstream from psi EFIA#(2/3) is a perfect 69-bp dinucleotide (CT) tandem repeat, a sequence element associated with other isolated pseudogenes. Additionally, the 3' end of this processed gene is interrupted by an unusual retroposon, an inverted dimeric B1-like short interspersed repetitive element (SINE). The isolation of several independent clones of the same EFIA processed pseudogenes indicates that they comprise a significant component of the rat EFIA copy multiplicity. The phenomenon of repeat induced point mutagenesis (ripping) at rat EFIA pseudogene CpG doublets occurs at a frequency at least 6.5 times higher than predicted from random mutagenesis. This is consonant with the proposal that ripping may be the mechanism which inactivates the ectopic recombination potential of the rat EFIA pseudogenes.

Isolation of the CCAAT transcription factor subunit EFIA cDNA and a potentially functional EFIA processed pseudogene from Bos taurus: insights into the evolution of the EFIA/dbpB/YB-1 gene family.

The genomic copy multiplicity of the CCAAT transcription complex component enhancer factor I subunit A (EFIA) has been examined. When a mammalian genomic Southern blot was hybridized to a rat EFIA cDNA, a complex pattern consisting of numerous related sequences was found in all the species examined, with Bos taurus being the least complex. An EFIA#1 cDNA from Bos taurus was isolated from a primary lung endothelial cell cDNA library by screening with the 1489-bp rat EFIA cDNA. The deduced bovine EFIA#1 amino acid (aa) sequence is 98% identical to rat EFIA and 100% identical to human EFIA/DbpB/YB-1 family member DNA-binding protein B (DbpB). In addition, a processed EFIA pseudogene from Bos taurus, designated bovine psi EFIA#1, was obtained from a genomic library by screening with a rat EFIA cDNA probe. The bovine psi EFIA#1 gene has an ORF which, if expressed, would encode a 140-aa sequence, with aa 31-140 having 84% identity to bovine EFIA#1. The genomic cloning data indicate that processed pseudogenes are partially responsible for the complexity of the EFIA genomic Southern blots. The phenomenon of 'repeat induced point mutation' (ripping) at bovine psi EFIA#1 gene CpG dinucleotides occurs at a 6.5-fold higher frequency than expected from random mutagenesis. Therefore, ripping is likely to be the mechanism by which the bovine EFIA#1 pseudogene's ectopic recombination potential was inactivated.

Identification of GlcNAcylation sites of peptides and alpha-crystallin using Q-TOF mass spectrometry.

The addition of a single N-acetylglucosamine residue O-linked to serine and threonine residues of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins is a widespread modification throughout all eukaryotes. The conventional method for detecting and locating sites of modification is a multi-step radioactivity-based protocol. In this paper we show that using quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry, modification sites can be identified at a significantly higher sensitivity than previous approaches. This is the first demonstration that sites of O-GlcNAcylation can be identified directly using mass spectrometry.

Isolation and characterization of the mouse cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) gene: evidence for tissue-specific hypersensitive sites.

A 72 kilobase pair DNA fragment that contains the mouse phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene locus, pck1, was isolated from a genomic bacterial artificial chromosome library. The region from approximately -5.5 to +6.6 kilobase pairs relative to the pck1 transcription start site was sequenced and exhibits a high degree of homology to the rat and human genes. Additionally, the chromatin structure of the PEPCK gene in mouse liver resembles that seen in rat. Backcross panel analysis of a microsatellite sequence confirms that the gene is located on chromosome 2. Hypersensitive site analysis was performed on nuclei isolated from the adipocyte cell line 3T3-F442A in the preadipose and adipose states. Several hypersensitive sites are present in the undifferentiated 3T3-F442A cells, before PEPCK mRNA is detected. The same sites are present after differentiation, however, the sensitivity of mHS 3 increases relative to the others. We conclude that the chromatin is open in 3T3-F442A cells and that factors are able to bind in the undifferentiated state but that something else is required for transcription.