Gene expression shift towards normal B cells, decreased proliferative capacity and distinct surface receptors characterize leukemic blasts persisting during induction therapy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

In childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), persistence of leukemic blasts during therapy is of crucial prognostic significance. In the present study, we address molecular and cell biologic features of blasts persisting after 1 week of induction glucocorticoid therapy. Genome-wide gene expression analysis of leukemic samples from precursor B-cell ALL patients (n=18) identified a set of genes differentially expressed in blasts at diagnosis day 0 (d0) and persisting on day 8 (d8). Expression changes indicate a shift towards mature B cells, inhibition of cell cycling and increased expression of adhesion (CD11b/ITGAM) and cytokine (CD119/IFNGR1) receptors. A direct comparison with normal B cells, which are largely therapy resistant, confirmed the differentiation shift at the mRNA (n=10) and protein (n=109) levels. Flow cytometric analysis in independent cohorts of patients confirmed both a decreased proliferative activity (n=13) and the upregulation of CD11b and CD119 (n=29) in d8 blasts. The differentiation shift and low proliferative activity in d8 blasts may account for the persistence of blasts during therapy and affect their sensitivity to further therapeutic treatment. CD11b and CD119 are potential specific markers for d8 blast persistence and detection of minimal residual disease, which warrant further investigation.

c-Fos-induced activation of a TATA-box-containing promoter involves direct contact with TATA-box-binding protein.

Transcriptional activation in eukaryotes involves protein-protein interactions between regulatory transcription factors and components of the basal transcription machinery. Here we show that c-Fos, but not a related protein, Fra-1, can bind the TATA-box-binding protein (TBP) both in vitro and in vivo and that c-Fos can also interact with the transcription factor IID complex. High-affinity binding to TBP requires c-Fos activation modules which cooperate to activate transcription. One of these activation modules contains a TBP-binding motif (TBM) which was identified through its homology to TBP-binding viral activators. This motif is required for transcriptional activation, as well as TBP binding. Domain swap experiments indicate that a domain containing the TBM can confer TBP binding on Fra-1 both in vitro and in vivo. In vivo activation experiments indicate that a GAL4-Fos fusion can activate a promoter bearing a GAL4 site linked to a TATA box but that this activity does not occur at high concentrations of GAL4-Fos. This inhibition (squelching) of c-Fos activity is relieved by the presence of excess TBP, indicating that TBP is a direct functional target of c-Fos. Removing the TBM from c-Fos severely abrogates activation of a promoter containing a TATA box but does not affect activation of a promoter driven only by an initiator element. Collectively, these results suggest that c-Fos is able to activate via two distinct mechanisms, only one of which requires contact with TBP. Since TBP binding is not exhibited by Fra-1, TBP-mediated activation may be one characteristic that discriminates the function of Fos-related proteins.

Classic, atypically severe and neonatal Marfan syndrome: twelve mutations and genotype-phenotype correlations in FBN1 exons 24-40.

Mutations in the gene for fibrillin-1 (FBN1) cause Marfan syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder of connective tissue with prominent manifestations in the skeletal, ocular, and cardiovascular system. There is a remarkable degree of clinical variability both within and between families with Marfan syndrome as well as in individuals with related disorders of connective tissue caused by FBN1 mutations and collectively termed type-1 fibrillinopathies. The so-called neonatal region in FBN1 exons 24-32 comprises one of the few generally accepted genotype-phenotype correlations described to date. In this work, we report 12 FBN1 mutations identified by temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis screening of exons 24-40 in 127 individuals with Marfan syndrome or related disorders. The data reported here, together with other published reports, document a significant clustering of mutations in exons 24-32. Although all reported mutations associated with neonatal Marfan syndrome and the majority of point mutations associated with atypically severe presentations have been found in exons 24-32, mutations associated with classic Marfan syndrome occur in this region as well. It is not possible to predict whether a given mutation in exons 24-32 will be associated with classic, atypically severe, or neonatal Marfan syndrome.

Re-face stereospecificity of NADP dependent methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase from Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 as determined by NMR spectroscopy.

MtdA catalyzes the dehydrogenation of N(5),N(10)-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin (methylene-H4MPT) with NADP(+) as electron acceptor. In the reaction two prochiral centers are involved, C14a of methylene-H4MPT and C4 of NADP(+), between which a hydride is transferred. The two diastereotopic protons at C14a of methylene-H4MPT and at C4 of NADPH can be seen separately in 1H-NMR spectra. This fact was used to determine the stereospecificity of the enzyme. With (14aR)-[14a-2H(1)]-[14a-13C]methylene-H4MPT as the substrate, it was found that the pro-R hydrogen of methylene-H4MPT is transferred by MtdA into the pro-R position of NADPH.

Clustering of mutations associated with mild Marfan-like phenotypes in the 3' region of FBN1 suggests a potential genotype-phenotype correlation.

Mutations in the gene for fibrillin-1 (FBN1) cause Marfan syndrome, a dominantly inherited disorder of connective tissue that primarily involves the cardiovascular, ocular, and skeletal systems. There is a remarkable degree of variability both within and between families with Marfan syndrome, and FBN1 mutations have also been found in a range of other related connective tissue disorders collectively termed type-1 fibrillinopathies. FBN1 mutations have been found in almost all of the 65 exons of the FBN1 gene and for the most part have been unique to one affected patient or family. Aside from the "hot spots" for the neonatal Marfan syndrome in exons 24-27 and 31-32, genotype-phenotype correlations have been slow to emerge. Here we present the results of temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of FBN1 exons 59-65. Six mutations were identified, only one of which had been previously reported. Two of the six mutations were found in patients with mild phenotypes. Taken together with other published reports, our results suggest that a sizable subset (ca. 40%) of mutations in this region is associated with mild phenotypes characterized by the lack of significant aortic pathology, compared with about 7% in the rest of the gene. In two cases, mutations affecting analogous positions within one of the 43 cbEGF modules of FBN1 are associated with mild phenotypes when found in one of the 6 C-terminal modules (encoded by exons 59-63), but are associated with classic or severe phenotypes when found in cbEGF modules elsewhere in the gene.

Genomic organization of the human excitatory amino acid transporter gene GLT-1.

We present the genomic structure of the human glutamate transporter GLT-1 coding region, the intronic sequences adjacent to the exons, and oligonucleotide primer sequences for single strand conformational analysis. The exon-intron boundaries were determined using long-distance PCR and direct sequencing. The human GLT-1 coding region is composed of 10 exons spanning > 50 kb of genomic DNA. The exons range from 127 to 251 bp in length. The intron lengths vary considerably from 2.2 kb to > 15 kb. These data provide the basis for implementing a comprehensive screen for genetic alterations in the human GLT-1 gene using genomic DNA as a template.

Prognostic value of genetic alterations in children with first bone marrow relapse of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Despite risk-adapted treatment, survival of children with relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains poor compared with that of patients with initial diagnosis of ALL. Leukemia-associated genetic alterations may provide novel prognostic factors to refine present relapse treatment strategies. Therefore, we investigated the clinical relevance of 13 recurrent genetic alterations in 204 children treated uniformly for relapsed B-cell precursor ALL according to the ALL-REZ BFM 2002 protocol. The most common alterations were deletions of CDKN2A/2B, IKZF1, PAX5, ETV6, fusion of ETV6-RUNX1 and deletions and/or mutations of TP53. Multivariate analysis identified IKZF1 deletion and TP53 alteration as independent predictors of inferior outcome (P=0.002 and P=0.001). Next, we investigated how both alterations can improve the established risk stratification in relapsed ALL. Intermediate-risk relapse patients with low minimal residual disease are currently considered to have a good prognosis. In this group, deletion of IKZF1 and alteration of TP53 identify patients with significantly inferior outcome (P<0.001). In high-risk relapse patients, deletion of IKZF1 is strongly predictive of a second relapse after stem cell transplantation (P<0.001). We conclude that IKZF1 and TP53 represent relevant prognostic factors that should be considered in future risk assessment of children with relapsed ALL to indicate treatment intensification or intervention.

p53- and p21-dependent premature APC/C-Cdh1 activation in G2 is part of the long-term response to genotoxic stress.

The long-term cellular response to DNA damage is controlled by the tumor suppressor p53. It results in cell-cycle arrest followed by DNA repair and, depending on the degree of damage inflicted, premature senescence or apoptotic cell death. Here we show that in normal diploid fibroblasts the ubiquitin ligase anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C)-Cdh1 becomes prematurely activated in G2 as part of the sustained long-term but not the rapid short-term response to genotoxic stress and results in the degradation of numerous APC/C substrates. Using HCT116 somatic knockout cells we show that mechanistically premature APC/C activation depends on p53 and its transcriptional target p21 that mediates the signal through downregulation of the APC/C inhibitor Emi1. Cdc14B is dispensable in this setting but might function redundantly. Our data suggest an unexpected role for the APC/C in executing a part of the p53-dependent DNA damage response that leads to premature senescence.

The human cytomegalovirus immediate early 2 protein dissociates cellular DNA synthesis from cyclin-dependent kinase activation.

Passage through the restriction point late in G1 normally commits cells to replicate their DNA. Here we show that the previously reported cell cycle block mediated by the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediate early 2 (IE2) protein uncouples this association. First, IE2 expression leads to elevated levels of cyclin E-associated kinase activity via transcriptional activation of the cyclin E gene. This contributes to post-restriction point characteristics of IE2-expressing cells. Then these cells fail to undergo substantial DNA replication although they have entered S phase, and the induction of DNA replication observed after overexpression of cyclin E or D can be antagonized by IE2 without impinging on cyclin-associated kinase activities. These data suggest that IE2 secures restriction-point transition of cells before it stops them from replicating their genome. Our results fit well with HCMV physiology and support the view that IE2 is part of a viral activity which, on the one hand, promotes cell cycle-dependent expression of cellular replication factors but, on the other hand, disallows competitive cellular DNA synthesis.

Human cytomegalovirus 86-kilodalton IE2 protein blocks cell cycle progression in G(1).

The 86-kDa IE2 protein of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an important regulator of viral and host cell gene expression. Still, besides its function as a transcription factor, little is known about the biological activities of IE2. Here, we show that IE2 can induce a G(1) arrest in several different cell lines, including HCMV-permissive U-373 cells. The known transcriptional activation domains of IE2 are dispensable for G(1) arrest, favoring a posttranscriptional mechanism mediating this cell cycle effect. We show that like human primary fibroblasts U-373 cells arrest in G(1) upon infection with HCMV. This G(1) arrest occurs within 24 h after infection and in proliferating cells depends on viral gene expression. Our data therefore suggest that IE2 is at least partially responsible for blocking the transition from G(1) to S phase, which is induced when cells are infected with HCMV.

The retinoblastoma protein binds E2F residues required for activation in vivo and TBP binding in vitro.

The retinoblastoma (RB) tumour suppressor protein is capable of repressing the activity of promoters containing DNA binding sites for the transcription factor E2F. Recently a protein which binds RB and possesses the DNA binding characteristics of E2F has been cloned. Here we show that the E2F activation domain is the target for RB-induced repression. RB can silence the 57 residue E2F activation domain but cannot effectively repress an E2F mutant which has reduced RB binding capacity. Extensive mutagenesis of E2F shows residues involved in RB binding are required for transcription activation. Mutations which affect both functions most dramatically lie within the minimal RB binding region. A further subset of sensitive residues lies within a new repeat motif E/DF XX L X P which flanks the minimum RB binding site. These data show that RB can mask E2F residues involved in the activation process, possibly by mimicking a component of the transcriptional machinery. Consistent with this model, we find that the TATA box binding protein TBP can bind to the E2F activation domain in vitro in a manner indistinguishable from that of RB.

Regulation of transcription by E2F1/DP1.

The E2F1 transcription factor, in co-operation with DP1, controls the expression of several S-phase specific genes. This activity is most likely responsible for the oncogenic and S-phase inducing properties of E2F1, suggesting that this transcription factor plays a key role in regulating the cell cycle. The transcriptional activation functions of E2F1 are resident in a small C-terminal domain which can independently activate transcription. Here we review the protein-protein interactions which impinge upon and regulate this activation domain and put forward some models on their mechanism of action.

Effect of comonomer ratio on hydrocortisone diffusion from sustained-release composite capsules.

The daily in vitro release of hydrocortisone from composite polymer capsules is reported here for over 120 days. Increase in vinyl acetate comonomer content of the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer matrix brought about an increase in the diffusion rate. Variation in the initial drug content of the capsules from 40 mg to 20 mg affects the daily drug release less significantly than the variation in copolymer ratio. The correlation between vinyl acetate comonomer content and the percent crystallinity of the copolymer matrix is suggested as one of the possible major factors in controlling diffusion rate from this drug-polymer system. The diffusion constant (D) calculated was 0.212 X 10(10) cm2/sec when the copolymer carrier has 30% vinyl acetate content and 0.430 X 10(11) cm2/sec when the copolymer carrier has 20% vinyl acetate content for capsules with 20 mg initial drug content, and 0.118 X 10(-11) cm2/sec and 0.226 X 10(-11) cm2/sec, respectively, for capsules with 40 mg initial drug content.

The activation domain of transcription factor PU.1 binds the retinoblastoma (RB) protein and the transcription factor TFIID in vitro: RB shows sequence similarity to TFIID and TFIIB.

The retinoblastoma (RB) tumor suppressor protein and the TATA-box-binding protein TFIID form contacts with a number of viral transactivator proteins. One of these, the adenovirus E1A protein, can bind to both proteins. Here we present evidence that the cellular transcription factor PU.1 can bind to both RB and TFIID. Like E1A, PU.1 binds to the conserved C-terminal domain of TFIID and to the RB "pocket" domain. The PU.1 sequences required to bind either protein lie within a 75-amino acid region which functions as an independent activation domain in vivo. The ability of PU.1 to contact directly both RB and TFIID through the same 75-residue domain prompted us to look for sequence similarity between these two proteins. We find that the previously defined domain A of the RB pocket shows sequence similarity to the conserved C terminus of TFIID, whereas domain B shows sequence similarity to a second general transcription factor, TFIIB. The potential for RB to influence transcription by using TFIID- and TFIIB-related functions is discussed.

A 10-base-pair element of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat (LTR) is an absolute requirement for transactivation by the human cytomegalovirus 72-kilodalton IE1 protein but can be compensated for by other LTR regions in transactivation by the 80-kilodalton IE2 protein.

Transient gene expression studies have indicated that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) specifically transactivates the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) long terminal repeat (LTR). We show here, by a specific mutational analysis, that only the TATA box region is obligatory for transactivation of the HIV-1 LTR by HCMV. Similarly, this element is also sufficient for transactivation by either the HCMV 72-kDa major immediate-early 1 (IE1) or 80-kDa IE2 gene product independently. However, deletion of a 10-bp region from the minimal responsive element, 5' to the TATA box, dramatically reduced the level of HCMV 72-kDa IE1 or 80-kDa IE2 transactivation, indicating a crucial role for this element in transactivation. Whereas inclusion of the TAR element or Sp1 sites on this 10-bp-deleted minimal promoter had no effect on the removal of IE1 transactivation, TAR and Sp1 elements did compensate for the 10-bp element in transactivation by IE2 and HCMV. Consequently, the sequence requirements of the HIV-1 LTR for transactivation by HCMV can be reproduced by these IE1 and IE2 gene products of HCMV.

The human cytomegalovirus 80-kilodalton but not the 72-kilodalton immediate-early protein transactivates heterologous promoters in a TATA box-dependent mechanism and interacts directly with TFIID.

We have asked how the human cytomegalovirus major immediate-early 1 (IE1) and 2 (IE2) proteins act to transactivate heterologous cellular and viral promoters. Here we show that transactivation of the human immunodeficiency virus long terminal repeat and the 70,000-molecular-weight heat shock protein (hsp70) promoter by IE1 is TATA box independent and that the IE1 protein does not interact directly with the TATA box-binding factor TFIID. Conversely, transactivation of these promoters by IE2 is TATA box dependent and a direct interaction between IE2 and TFIID occurs, suggesting that IE2 transactivation is mediated through interaction with TFIID.

The 72K IE1 and 80K IE2 proteins of human cytomegalovirus independently trans-activate the c-fos, c-myc and hsp70 promoters via basal promoter elements.

Growth-regulating cellular genes or genes encoding proteins involved in cell cycle control are likely to be major targets of viral gene products in the establishment of a cellular state favourable for a permissive infection. We have examined whether infection of permissive fibroblasts with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) results in trans-regulation of such cellular genes. Here we have shown that the proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-myc are specifically induced during immediate early (IE) and early times of HCMV infection, as has recently been shown for the heat shock protein 70 gene (hsp70). Deletion analyses and transfection assays of all three promoters showed that previously defined control sequences upstream of the constitutive promoters and downstream of the mRNA cap site are not required for this up-regulation by HCMV, such that the minimal inducible promoters of c-fos, c-myc and the hsp70 gene contained only 50 to 60 bp upstream of the transcription start site. Cotransfection assays with vectors expressing HCMV major IE cDNAs showed that the 72K IE1 and 80K IE2 proteins are involved in the up-regulation of these promoters. IE1 and IE2 products independently were able to up-regulate the minimal constitutive promoters of the constructs tested here, but trans-activation by IE1 and IE2 together was synergistic. In the case of the hsp70 promoter, promoter constructs containing a variety of different TATA elements could be activated by the 72K IE1 and 80K IE2 proteins.

Differential effect of FBN1 mutations on in vitro proteolysis of recombinant fibrillin-1 fragments.

Mutations in the fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1) cause Marfan syndrome (MFS), an autosomal dominant disorder of connective tissue with highly variable clinical manifestations. FBN1 contains 47 epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like modules, 43 of which display a consensus sequence for calcium binding (cbEGF). Calcium binding by cbEGF modules is thought to be essential for the conformation and stability of fibrillin-1. Missense mutations in cbEGF modules are the most common mutations found in MFS and generally affect one of the six highly conserved cysteines or residues of the calcium-binding consensus sequence. We have generated a series of recombinant fibrillin-1 fragments containing six cbEGF modules (cbEGF nos. 15-20) with various mutations at different positions of cbEGF module no. 17, which is known to contain a cryptic cleavage site for trypsin. A mutation affecting a residue of the calcium-binding consensus sequence (K1300E) found in a patient with relatively mild clinical manifestations of classic MFS caused a modest increase in susceptibility to in vitro proteolysis by trypsin, whereas a mutation affecting the sixth cysteine residue of the same cbEGF module (C1320S) reported in a severely affected patient caused a dramatic increase in susceptibility to in vitro proteolysis by trypsin. A mutation at the cryptic cleavage site for trypsin abolished sensitivity of wild-type fragments and fragments containing K1300E to trypsin proteolysis. Whereas the relevance of in vitro proteolysis to the in vivo pathogenesis of MFS remains unclear, our findings demonstrate that individual mutations in cbEGF modules can affect these modules differentially and may suggest an explanation for some genotype-phenotype relationships in MFS.

Functional interaction between the HCMV IE2 transactivator and the retinoblastoma protein.

The 86 kDa immediate early IE2 protein of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can activate transcription of both viral and cellular genes and can repress transcription from its own promoter. Using two in vivo assays, we provide evidence of a functional interaction between IE2 and the retinoblastoma (RB) protein: IE2 alleviates RB-induced repression of a promoter bearing E2F binding sites and RB alleviates IE2-mediated repression of its own promoter. These functional effects are likely to be a result of a direct contact between IE2 and RB, which we can demonstrate both in vitro and in HCMV-infected cells. The interaction between IE2 and RB shows similar characteristics to the interaction between RB and E1A. First, binding to IE2 requires an intact RB pocket domain. Secondly, the binding is sensitive to the phosphorylation state of RB, because cyclin A-CDK-induced phosphorylation of RB diminishes IE2 binding. Thirdly, the IE2 domain required for RB binding is separate to the domains necessary for TBP and TFIIB binding. Our results demonstrate that large and small DNA viruses have a common interface with the host cell, namely the association with the RB tumour suppressor protein.