Efficient cleavage of RNA at high temperatures by a thermostable DNA-linked ribonuclease H.

To construct a DNA-linked RNase H, which cleaves RNA site-specifically at high temperatures, the 15-mer DNA, which is complementary to the polypurine-tract sequence of human immunodeficiency virus-1 RNA (PPT-RNA), was cross-linked to the unique thiol group of Cys135 in the Thermus thermophilus RNase HI variant. The resultant DNA-linked enzyme (d15-C135/TRNH), as well as the d15-C135/ERNH, in which the RNase H portion of the d15-C135/TRNH is replaced by the Escherichia coli RNase HI variant, cleaved the 15-mer PPT-RNA site-specifically. The mixture of the unmodified enzyme and the unlinked 15-mer DNA also cleaved the PPT-RNA but in a less strict manner. In addition, this mixture cleaved the PPT-RNA much less effectively than the DNA-linked enzyme. These results indicate that the cross-linking limits but accelerates the interaction between the enzyme and the DNA/RNA substrate. The d15-C135/TRNH cleaved the PPT-RNA more effectively than the d15-C135/ERNH at temperatures higher than 50 degrees C. The d15-C135/TRNH showed the highest activity at 65 degrees C, at which the d15-C135/ERNH showed little activity. Such a thermostable DNA-linked RNase H may be useful to cleave RNA molecules with highly ordered structures in a sequence-specific manner.

An epidermal growth factor receptor-leukocyte tyrosine kinase chimeric receptor generates ligand-dependent growth signals through the Ras signaling pathway.

Leukocyte tyrosine kinase (LTK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that belongs to the insulin receptor family. LTK is mainly expressed in pre B cells and brain. Previously we cloned the full-length cDNA of human LTK, but no ligands have so far been identified, and hence, very little is known about the physiological role of LTK. To analyze the function of the LTK kinase, we constructed chimeric receptors composed of the extracellular domain of epidermal growth factor receptor and the transmembrane and the cytoplasmic domains of LTK and established cell lines that stably express these chimeric molecules. When cultured in medium containing EGF, growth of these cell lines was stimulated, and these fusion proteins became autophosphorylated and associated with Shc in vivo in a ligand-dependent manner. By treatment with EGF, Shc was associated with the Grb2/Ash-Sos complex. Our analyses demonstrate that LTK associates with Grb2/Ash through an internal adaptor, Shc, depending on a ligand stimulation. The LTK binding site for Shc was tyrosine 862 at the carboxyl-terminal domain and to a lesser extent tyrosine 485 at the juxtamembrane domain. Both of them are located in NP/AXY motif which is consistent with binding sites for Shc. These findings demonstrate that LTK can activate the Ras pathway in a ligand-dependent manner and that at least one of the functions of this kinase is involved in the cell growth.

Characterization of three erythropoietin (Epo)-binding proteins in various human Epo-responsive cell lines and in cells transfected with human Epo-receptor cDNA.

Molecular cloning of a cDNA for a mouse erythropoietin (Epo) receptor (EpoR) has facilitated the understanding of the structure of this receptor. However, there is, as yet, no explanation for the discrepancy between the protein recognized by specific antibodies against mouse EpoR and the unexpectedly larger species that can be cross-linked to labeled Epo. It is unclear whether the product of an unidentified gene is included in the EpoR complex. In the present study, we directly compared the cross-linking patterns for human EpoR that were endogenously expressed in three types of Epo-responsive cell, and that was artificially expressed in nonhematopoietic cells after transfection with cDNA for human EpoR. We observed that 85-kD and 105-kD proteins formed ligand-receptor complexes in all the human Epo-responsive cells and, furthermore, that the formation of a complex derived from the 70-kD protein was dependent on the level of expression of the cloned EpoR mRNA in these cells. By contrast, a prominent cross-linked band derived from the 70-kD protein and a weaker band derived from the 80- to 85-kD protein, but no band derived from the 105-kD protein, could be shown in the case of nonhematopoietic cells transfected with the human EpoR cDNA. These observations suggest that the cloned cDNA for human EpoR alone does not allow generation of the complete EpoR in nonhematopoietic cells and that the 105-kD Epo-binding protein may represent the product of an as yet unidentified gene that is expressed in hematopoietic cells.

A novel signaling molecule, p130, forms stable complexes in vivo with v-Crk and v-Src in a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent manner.

p47v-crk (v-Crk), a transforming gene product containing Src homology (SH)-2 and -3 domains, induces an elevated level of tyrosine phosphorylation of several cellular proteins. Among these proteins, a 125-135 kDa protein (p130) shows marked phosphorylation at tyrosines and tight association with v-Crk, suggesting a direct signal mediator of v-Crk. Here we report the molecular cloning of rat p130 by immunoaffinity purification. The p130 is a novel SH3-containing signaling molecule with a cluster of multiple putative SH2-binding motifs of v-Crk. Immunochemical analyses revealed that p130 is highly phosphorylated at tyrosines during transformation by p60v-src (v-Src), as well as by v-Crk, forming stable complexes with these oncoproteins. The p130 behaves as an extremely potent substrate of kinase activity included in the complexes and it is a major v-Src-associated substrate of the Src kinase by partial peptidase mapping. Subcellular fractionation demonstrated that the cytoplasmic p130 could move to the membrane upon tyrosine phosphorylation. The p130 (designated Cas for Crk-associated substrate) is a common cellular target of phosphorylation signal via v-Crk and v-Src oncoproteins, and its unique structure indicates the possible role of p130Cas in assembling signals from multiple SH2-containing molecules.

The C-terminal SH3 domain of the mouse c-Crk protein negatively regulates tyrosine-phosphorylation of Crk associated p130 in rat 3Y1 cells.

We have isolated the mouse c-crk cDNA from a mouse liver cDNA library. It encodes 304 amino acids and consists mainly of SH2/SH3 regions. In Northern blot analysis, the mouse c-crk mRNA is expressed ubiquitously in every tissue and organ, suggesting that the c-Crk protein may be a common signal transducing molecule among tissues. In contrast to the v-Crk protein, which has a single SH3 domain, the c-Crk protein contains two, the more N-terminal SH3(1) domain and the C-terminal SH3(2) domain. To elucidate functions of these SH3 domains, we have constructed two c-crk mutants, B-crk and D-crk, which lack the SH3(2) and the SH3(1) domain, respectively. These mutants were expressed in rat 3Y1 cells, and examined for their transforming ability in terms of morphological phenotypes and for tyrosine phosphorylation profiles of cells expressing the mutant proteins. Morphological alteration and increased tyrosine phosphorylation of 130-140 kDa proteins, the major component of which is the Crk-associated p130, were observed in cells expressing B-Crk as well as those expressing v-Crk, but little in cells expressing c-Crk even at a similar level of expression. Although a highly tyrosine-phosphorylated form of the p130 was coimmunoprecipitated with c-Crk as well as B-Crk, the relative level of tyrosine phosphorylation of the p130, which is normalized to the amount of Crk protein immunoprecipitated, was 10 to 20 times higher in B-Crk-expressing cells than in c-Crk- or D-Crk-expressing cells. The present results indicate that the SH3(2) domain of mouse c-Crk protein negatively regulates tyrosine phosphorylation of the p130, and that lack of the SH3(2) domain in B-Crk and v-Crk may contribute, at least partly, to their morphological alteration or transforming ability through increasing tyrosine phosphorylation of the p130.