The sociopolitical in human genetics education.

Education must go beyond only countering essentialist and deterministic views of genetics.

Tumor necrosis factor reduces c-myc expression and cooperates with interferon-gamma in HeLa cells.

The suppression of the c-myc nuclear oncogene is associated with growth arrest and may therefore be directly controlled by naturally occurring growth inhibitors. The effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on c-myc expression was investigated in HeLa cells, which respond to these cytokines by a specific arrest in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Northern blot and nuclear transcription analyses indicated that each cytokine reduced within 1 to 3 hours the c-myc messenger RNA levels as a result of transcriptional inhibition. Adding the two cytokines together at saturating levels resulted in enhanced inhibition of c-myc transcription and of the c-myc messenger RNA steady-state levels. While the reduction of c-myc messenger RNA by IFN-gamma was dependent on new protein synthesis, the inhibitory effect of TNF on c-myc messenger RNA was direct and was not abrogated by cycloheximide. The differential effect of the protein synthesis inhibitor and the cooperative inhibitory effects of the two cytokines when added together suggest that IFN-gamma and TNF reduce c-myc transcription through different molecular mechanisms.

Transcription-dependent induction of G1 phase during the zebra fish midblastula transition.

The early development of the zebra fish (Danio rerio) embryo is characterized by a series of rapid and synchronous cell cycles with no detectable transcription. This period is followed by the midblastula transition (MBT), during which the cell cycle gradually lengthens, cell synchrony is lost, and zygotic transcription is initially detected. In this work, we examined the changes in the pattern of the cell cycle during MBT in zebra fish and whether these changes are dependent on the initiation of zygotic transcription. To characterize the pattern of the early zebra fish cell cycles, the embryonic DNA content was determined by flow cytometric analysis. We found that G1 phase is below detection levels during the first 10 cleavages and can be initially detected at the onset of MBT. Inhibition of zygotic transcription, by microinjection of actinomycin D, abolished the appearance of G1 phase at MBT. Premature activation of zygotic transcription, by microinjection of nonspecific DNA, induced G1 phase before the onset of MBT, while coinjection of actinomycin D and nonspecific DNA abolished this early appearance of G1 phase. We therefore suggest that during the early development of the zebra fish embryo, G1 phase appears at the onset of MBT and that the activation of transcription at MBT is essential and sufficient for the G1-phase induction.

Interferons and interleukin-6 suppress the DNA-binding activity of E2F in growth-sensitive hematopoietic cells.

Transcription factor E2F binds to cellular promoters of certain growth- and cell cycle-controlling genes and forms distinct heteromeric complexes with other nuclear proteins. We show here that alpha and beta interferons (alpha, beta) and interleukin-6 abolished the E2F-containing DNA-binding complexes in Daudi Burkitt lymphoma cells and in M1 myeloblastic cells, which responded to the cytokines by suppression of c-myc transcription. Time kinetics studies showed that the abolishment of E2F complexes coincided with reduction of c-myc expression and that both molecular events preceded the cell cycle block in G0/G1 phase. In contrast, the pattern of E2F complexes remained unchanged in an interferon-treated growth-resistant Daudi cell mutant that displayed relaxed regulation of c-myc. All of the DNA-binding E2F complexes, including those containing the retinoblastoma protein (pRB), cyclin A-p33cdk2, and the free forms of E2F, were reduced by interferons or interleukin-6. Their abolishment was unperturbed by pharmacological treatments that alleviated the cyclin A and pRB responses to interferon. Thus, changes in cyclin A expression and pRB phosphorylation are not primary events that influence the pattern of E2F responses to cytokines. Addition of EDTA to cell extracts of interferon-treated Daudi cells restored the DNA-binding activity of E2F, resulting in the appearance of a single E2F complex that exclusively contained pRB. It is suggested that the regulation of E2F by growth-inhibitory cytokines that induce cell cycle exit takes place at the level of the DNA-binding activity, and by that mean it differs basically from the phase-specific regulation of E2F in cycling cells.

p27 is involved in N-cadherin-mediated contact inhibition of cell growth and S-phase entry.

In this study the direct involvement of cadherins in adhesion-mediated growth inhibition was investigated. It is shown here that overexpression of N-cadherin in CHO cells significantly suppresses their growth rate. Interaction of these cells and two additional fibroblastic lines with synthetic beads coated with N-cadherin ligands (recombinant N-cadherin ectodomain or specific antibodies) leads to growth arrest at the G1 phase of the cell cycle. The cadherin-reactive beads inhibit the entry into S phase and the reduction in the levels of cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitors p21 and p27, following serum-stimulation of starved cells. In exponentially growing cells these beads induce G1 arrest accompanied by elevation in p27 only. We propose that cadherin-mediated signaling is involved in contact inhibition of growth by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and elevation of p27 levels.

Zebrafish cyclin D1 is differentially expressed during early embryogenesis.

We have isolated and determined the nucleotide sequence of a cDNA containing the complete coding region of cyclin D1 from embryonic zebrafish cDNA library. The cyclin D1 gene is a single copy gene within the zebrafish genome, which undergoes an alternative polyadenylation process. The initial expression of cyclin D1 transcript occurs at the presumed onset of G1 phase in the developing zebrafish embryo.

Zebrafish cyclin E regulation during early embryogenesis.

Cyclin E cDNA, cloned from a zebrafish embryonic cDNA library, was used for analysis of cyclin E regulation during early embryogenesis. During the rapid cell cycles of the early cleavage stage, which lacks a G1 phase, the cyclin E mRNA, protein, and associated H1 kinase activity were found to be constitutive, in contrast to their reported cyclic behavior during the cycle of cultured mammalian cells. These results suggest an additional role for cyclin E during early embryogenesis, in addition to its established role during the G1/S transition in somatic cells. These results support previous identification of cyclin E in early cleaving Drosophila and Xenopus embryos, and provide for the first time the direct demonstration of constitutive cyclin E activity throughout the M/S cycles of the embryonic cleavage stage. Cyclin E mRNA was reduced during epiboly (approximately 6-8 hr postfertilization, HPF), concomitantly with a marked reduction in cell division rates. In contrast, the cyclin E protein and cyclin E-CDK complexes remained constant throughout the first 24 hr, implying that the cyclin E protein is regulated post translationally and is not immediately affected by the levels of the corresponding mRNA. However, the cyclin E-CDK complexes present in 26 somite embryos (22 HPF) did not exhibit histone H(i) kinase activity. This discrepancy between high levels of cyclin E-CDK complexes and low enzymatic activity may be explained by the presence of putative cyclin E-CDK inhibitory mechanism. Here we show that multiple levels of regulation of the cyclin E mRNA, protein, and associated kinase activity are present during the first 24 hr of zebrafish embryonic development.

Autocrine beta-related interferon controls c-myc suppression and growth arrest during hematopoietic cell differentiation.

Different hematopoietic cells produce minute amounts of beta-related interferon (IFN) following induction of differentiation by chemical or natural inducers. The endogenous IFN binds to type I cell surface receptors and modulates gene expression in the producer cells. We show that self-induction of two members of the IFN-induced gene family differs in the dose response sensitivity and the prolonged kinetics of mRNA accumulation from the response to exogenous IFN-beta 1. Production and response to endogenous IFN are also detected when bone marrow precursor cells differentiate to macrophages after exposure to colony stimulating factor 1. In M1 myeloid cells induced to differentiate by lung-conditioned medium, addition of antibodies against IFN-beta partially abrogates the reduction of c-myc mRNA and the loss in cell proliferative activity, which both occur during differentiation. The endogenous IFN therefore functions as an autocrine growth inhibitor that participates in controlling c-myc suppression and the specific G0/G1 arrest during terminal differentiation of hematopoietic cells.

Autogenous production of interferon-beta switches on HLA genes during differentiation of histiocytic lymphoma U937 cells.

The expression of class I HLA genes was measured during the in vitro differentiation of human U937 lymphoma cells towards macrophages. Following the onset of differentiation by phorbol myristate acetate the levels of cytoplasmic mRNA that hybridized with a [32P]HLA-B cDNA probe increased by a factor of nine. Elevation in HLA mRNA accumulation was followed by an increase in the rate of synthesis of HLA proteins and also by a dramatic increase in class I HLA cell surface antigen expression, as shown by cytofluorimetric analysis. The elevation in HLA mRNA and surface antigens could be prevented by adding antibodies against human interferon-beta (IFN-beta) to the culture medium at the onset of differentiation. Interferon antiviral activity was detected in the medium of differentiated U937 cells. The same anti-IFN-beta antibodies prevented the increase in (2'-5')oligo(A) synthetase activity which also takes place in differentiating U937 cells. Accumulation of the IFN-induced (2'-5')oligo(A) synthetase in U937 cells is preceded by an increase in its specific 1.6-kb mRNA as shown by hybridization to cloned (2'-5')-oligo(A) synthetase cDNA. The enzyme was preferentially found in the nuclear fraction of differentiating U937 cells. We suggest that an autogenous production of interferon-beta by the differentiating cells, switches on expression of the class I HLA genes as well as that of the (2'-5')oligo(A) synthetase.

Preliminary crystallographic study of turkey gizzard vinculin.

Vinculin is a 117 kDa microfilament-associated protein located at the cytoplasmic aspects of focal contacts and cell-cell adherens type junctions. In both sites, vinculin participates in the formation of a submembrane 'plaque' structure which is responsible for the attachment of actin filaments to the plasma membrane. Vinculin consists of 1066 amino acids, which form a large 90 kDa globular head domain and a rod-like 29 kDa tail domain. The two domains are separated by several stretches of proline residues where the major proteolytic cleavage sites are located. The experimental procedure for isolation and purification of vinculin from smooth muscle has been developed and crystals of native vinculin suitable for X-ray analysis have been obtained. The homogeneity of the vinculin solution was analyzed prior to crystallization using dynamic light scattering. Crystals of vinculin have been obtained in buffer containing 2 mg ml(-1) protein, 0.9 M ammonium sulfate, 0.1 M MES pH 6.5 using both the hanging-drop and sitting-drop vapour-diffusion methods. The crystals have the form of rhombic plates and grow to maximal dimensions of 0.3 x 0.3 x 0.05 mm in two weeks. Preliminary X-ray data show that the crystals diffract to 3.5 A resolution at the X11 beamline of DESY and belong to the monoclinic space group P2(1). Crystal unit-cell parameters are estimated to be a = 57, b = 351, c = 70 A, alpha = 90, beta = 113, gamma = 90 degrees.

Cell-adhesion to crystal surfaces. Adhesion-induced physiological cell death.

Cultured epithelial cells interact massively, rapidly and stereospecifically with the ¿011¿ faces of calcium (R,R)-tartrate tetrahydrate crystals. It was suggested that the massive rapid adhesion represents an exaggerated and isolated form of the first initial events in the attachment of cultured cells to conventional tissue culture surfaces (Hanein, et al., Cells and Materials, 5, 197-210; 1995). Attachment is however not followed by normal cell spreading and development of focal adhesions, but results in massive cell death. In this study, the fate of the crystal-bound cells was characterized by electron microscopy, flow cytometry and microscopic morphometry and was found to display the characteristics of physiological cell death. We show that the direct interaction with the highly homogenous and repetitive ¿011¿ faces per se does not trigger the transduction of lethal transmembrane signals. We suggest that the excessive direct interactions between the cell membrane and the crystal, by impairing cell motion, prevent the evolution of RGD-dependent cell adhesion. This implies that the deprivation of proper extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor contacts of substrate-attached epithelial cells eventually triggers physiological cell death.