The essential protein fap7 is involved in the oxidative stress response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Pos9 (Skn7) is an important transcription factor that, together with Yap1, induces the expression of oxidative stress target genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The activation of Pos9 upon an oxidative stress signal occurs post-translationally. In a mutant screen for factors involved in the activation of a Pos9-dependent reporter gene upon oxidative stress, we identified the mutant fap7-1 (for factor activating Pos9). This point mutant failed to activate a Gal4-Pos9 hybrid transcription factor, assayed by hydrogen peroxide-induced GAL1-lacZ reporter gene activities. Additionally, the fap7-1 mutant strain was sensitive to oxidative stress and revealed slow growth on glucose compared with the wild type. The fap7-1 mutation also affected the induction of the Pos9 target gene TPX1 and of a synthetic promoter previously identified to be regulated in a Yap1- and Pos9-dependent manner. This lack of induction was specific as the fap7-1 mutant response to other stresses such as sodium chloride or co-application of both hydrogen peroxide and sodium chloride was not affected, as tested with the Pos9-independent expression pattern of a TPS2-lacZ reporter system. We identified the gene YDL166c to be allelic to the FAP7 gene and to be essential. Fluorescence microscopy of Fap7-GFP fusion proteins indicated a nuclear localization of the Fap7 protein. Our data suggest that Fap7 is a nuclear factor important for Pos9-dependent target gene transcription upon oxidative stress.

The mitochondrial cytochrome c peroxidase Ccp1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is involved in conveying an oxidative stress signal to the transcription factor Pos9 (Skn7).

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae two transcription factors, Pos9 (Skn7) and Yap1, are involved in the response to oxidative stress. Fusion of the Pos9 response-regulator domain to the Gal4 DNA-binding domain results in a transcription factor which renders the expression of a GAL1-lacZ reporter gene dependent on oxidative stress. To identify genes which are involved in the oxygen-dependent activation of the Gal4-Pos9 hybrid protein we screened for mutants that failed to induce the heterologous test system upon oxidative stress (fap mutants for factors activating Pos9). We isolated several respiration-deficient and some respiration-competent mutants by this means. We selected for further characterization only those mutants which also displayed an oxidative-stress-sensitive phenotype. One of the respiration-deficient mutants (complementation groupfap6) could be complemented by the ISM1 gene, which encodes mitochondrial isoleucyl tRNA synthetase, suggesting that respiration competence was important for signalling of oxidative stress. In accordance with this notion a rho0 strain and a wild-type strain in which respiration had been blocked (by treatment with antimycin A or with cyanide) also failed to activate Gal4-Pos9 upon imposition of oxidative stress. Another mutant, fap24, which was respiration-competent, could be complemented by CCP1, which encodes the mitochondrial cytochrome c peroxidase. Mitochondrial cytochrome c peroxidase degrades reactive oxygen species within the mitochondria. This suggested a possible sensor function for the enzyme in the oxidative stress response. To test this we used the previously described point mutant ccp1 W191F, which is characterized by a 10(4)-fold decrease in electron flux between cytochrome c and cytochrome c peroxidase. The Ccp1W191F mutant was still capable of activating the Pos9 transcriptional activation domain, suggesting that the signalling function of Ccp1 is independent of electron flux rates.

The oxidative stress response mediated via Pos9/Skn7 is negatively regulated by the Ras/PKA pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Exposure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to elevated concentrations of hydrogen peroxide induces transcription of several genes involved in the oxidative stress response. Two major transcription factors are involved in this induction, Pos9/Skn7 and Yap1. Fusions of either Yap1 or Pos9/Skn7 with the Gal4 DNA binding domain are active as transcription factors. Gal4-Yap1-dependent reporter gene activity is only weakly regulated by oxidative stress. In contrast, fusion of the Gal4 DNA binding domain to the Pos9/Skn7 protein results in a transcription factor that is independent of the YAP1 gene and is strictly regulated by oxidative stress, indicating that a signaling cascade impinges on the Pos9/Skn7 protein. We have observed that the Ras/PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase A) pathway affects this signaling. When PKA activity was low (in the presence of multicopy PDE2 or a cyr1(D822-->A) mutation) maximum reporter gene activity was observed even in the absence of oxidative stress. In contrast, high PKA activity (in strains mutant for either pde2 or bcy1, or expressing the dominant active Ras2Val19) resulted in a complete loss of activation following oxidative stress. The transcription of Pos9/Skn7 target genes was also affected in Ras/PKA pathway mutants. Furthermore, we demonstrated that activated Pos9/Skn7 is necessary for Yap1-dependent reporter gene induction.

Transcriptional profiling on all open reading frames of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Open reading frames (6116) of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were PCR-amplified from genomic DNA using 12,232 primers specific to the ends of the coding sequences; the success rate of amplification was 97%. PCR-products were made accessible to hybridization by being arrayed at very high density on solid support media using various robotic devices. Probes made from total RNA preparations were hybridized for the analysis of the transcriptional activity of yeast under various growth conditions and of different strains. Experimental factors that proved critical to the performance, such as different RNA isolation procedures and the assessment of hybridization results, for example, were investigated in detail. Various software tools were developed that permit convenient handling and sound analysis of the large data quantities obtained from transcriptional profiling studies. Comprehensive arrays are being distributed within the European Yeast Functional Analysis Network (EUROFAN) and beyond.

Physiological and genetic characterisation of osmosensitive mutants of Saccharomyes cerevisiae.

The screening of 20,000 Saccharomyces cerevisiae random mutants to identify genes involved in the osmotic stress response yielded 14 mutants whose growth was poor in the presence of elevated concentrations of NaCl and glucose. Most of the mutant strains were more sensitive to NaCl than to glucose at the equivalent water activity (aw) and were classified as salt-sensitive rather than osmosensitive. These mutants fell into 11 genetic complementation groups and were designated osr1-osr11 (osmotic stress response). All mutations were recessive and showed a clear 2(+) : 2(-) segregation of the salt-stress phenotype upon tetrad analysis when crossed to a wild-type strain. The complementation groups osr1, osr5 and osr11 were allelic to the genes PBS2, GPD1 and KAR3, respectively. Whereas intracellular and extracellular levels of glycerol increased in the wild-type strains when exposed to NaCl, all mutants demonstrated some increase in extracellular glycerol production upon salt stress, but a number of the mutants showed little or no increase in intracellular glycerol concentrations. The mutants had levels of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, an enzyme induced by osmotic stress, either lower than or similar to those of the parent wild-type strain in the absence of osmotic stress. In the presence of NaCl, the increase in glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in the mutants did not match that of the parent wild-type strain. None of the mutants had defective ATPases or were sensitive to heat stress. It is evident from this study and from others that a wide spectrum of genes is involved in the osmotic stress response in S. cerevisiae.

Assessment of glucosylifosfamide mustard biodistribution in rats with prostate adenocarcinomas by means of in vivo 31P NMR and in vitro uptake experiments.

A combined in vitro/in vivo study was performed to evaluate the possible application of phosphorus (31P) NMR spectroscopy for therapy monitoring and to investigate glucosylifosfamide mustard (Glc-IPM) transport and biodistribution by radiotracer techniques. Dynamic in vivo 31P NMR measurements were performed in rats with prostate adenocarcinoma after i.v. injection of 1 mmol/kg body weight (bw) of ifosfamide (IFO) (n = 4) and 1 mmol/kg bw (n = 4) or 2.15 mmol/kg bw (n = 9) of Glc-IPM. In a biodistribution study with 14C-labeled Glc-IPM and a final dose of 0.8 mmol Glc-IPM/kg bw, the animals were killed 5, 30, 60, and 120 min after drug administration, an ethanol extraction was performed from several tissues, and the dose per g tissue was calculated. The same tumor cell line was used in saturation and competition experiments to further elucidate the transport mechanism. The 31P NMR signals of IFO and Glc-IPM showed no overlap with the endogenous phosphorus peaks. A rapid washout with a half-life between 25.9 +/- 5.6 min for the lower dose and 34.3 +/- 4.2 min for the higher dose of Glc-IPM was observed in the tumor. No statistically significant change of the pH value was observed during the examination period. The beta-nucleoside 5'-triphosphate (NTP)/inorganic phosphate (Pi) signal intensity ratio showed a tendency to decrease but without statistical significance. A rapid elimination was demonstrated by both the noninvasive NMR technique and the biodistribution study. No saturation was found in vitro for the Glc-IPM uptake, even at the concentration of 5 mM. Furthermore, the Glc-IPM uptake was not inhibited by the presence of 2-deoxyglucose and vice versa. The data show that the pharmacokinetics of Glc-IPM in the tumor can be followed in vivo by 31P NMR. The results presented are evidence for diffusion as the transport mechanism for Glc-IPM in this tumor model. However, the better visualization of Glc-IPM as compared to ifosfamide may be due to metabolic trapping of a negatively charged metabolite after deglycosylation.

The copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase.

Copper is distributed to distinct localizations in the cell through diverse pathways. We demonstrate here that the delivery of copper to copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is mediated through a soluble factor identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae LYS7 and human CCS (copper chaperone for SOD). This factor is specific for SOD1 and does not deliver copper to proteins in the mitochondria, nucleus, or secretory pathway. Yeast cells containing a lys7Delta null mutation have normal levels of SOD1 protein, but fail to incorporate copper into SOD1, which is therefore devoid of superoxide scavenging activity. LYS7 and CCS specifically restore the biosynthesis of holoSOD1 in vivo. Elucidation of the CCS copper delivery pathway may permit development of novel therapeutic approaches to human diseases that involve SOD1, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Mutants that show increased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide reveal an important role for the pentose phosphate pathway in protection of yeast against oxidative stress.

We have isolated several mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that are sensitive to oxidative stress in a screen for elevated sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide. Two of the sixteen complementation groups obtained correspond to structural genes encoding enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway. Allelism of the pos10 mutation (POS for peroxide sensitivity) to the zwf1/met1 mutants in the structural gene for glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase was reported previously. The second mutation, pos18, was complemented by transformation with a yeast genomic library. The open reading frame of the isolated gene encodes 238 amino acids. No detectable ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase activity was found in the pos18 mutant, suggesting that the corresponding structural gene is affected in this mutant. For that reason the gene was renamed RPE1 (for ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase). RPE1 was localized to chromosome X. The predicted protein has a molecular mass of 25966 Daltons, a codon adaptation index (CAI) of 0.32, and an isoelectric point of 5.82. Database searches revealed 32 to 37% identity with ribulose 5-phosphate epimerases of Escherichia coli, Rhodospirillum rubrum, Alcaligenes eutrophus and Solanum tuberosum. We have characterized RPE1 by testing enzyme activities in rpe1 deletion mutants and in strains that overexpress RPE1, and compared the hydrogen peroxide sensitivity of rpe1 mutants to that of other mutants in the pentose phosphate pathway. Interestingly, all mutants tested (glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, gluconate 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase, transketolase, transaldolase) are sensitive to hydrogen peroxide.

The response regulator-like protein Pos9/Skn7 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is involved in oxidative stress resistance.

We have isolated mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an increased sensitivity to oxidative stress. All pos9 mutants (pos for peroxide sensitivity) were hypersensitive to methylviologene, hyperbaric oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, but grew similarly to the wild-type under all other conditions tested. Isolation and sequencing of the respective POS9 gene revealed that it was identical to SKN7. The predicted Skn7/Pos9 protein possesses a domain with high homology to prokaryotic response regulators. These regulatory proteins are part of a simple signalling cascade termed a "two-component system", where a phosphorylation signal of a histidine kinase is transferred to a conserved aspartate residue of the response regulator. To test the functional role of the respective aspartate residue of Skn7/Pos9 protein in oxidative stress, we mutagenized this residue in vitro to alanine, arginine and glutamate. Only the glutamate allele (D427 to E) was able to rescue the hydrogen peroxide-sensitivity of pos9 mutants. By fusion experiments with the Gal4 DNA-binding domain we identified the isolated response regulator-like domain as a novel eukaryotic domain sufficient for gene activation. Whereas this hybrid protein activated transcription of a lacZ reporter gene under aerobic conditions, no activation was observed under anaerobic conditions, indicating that the response regulator domain is involved in a signalling reaction. Two-hybrid investigations also suggest an oligomerization of the Pos9 protein. Our results indicate that a two-component system is involved in the oxidative-stress response of yeast.

19F-[1H] nuclear Overhauser effect and proton decoupling of 5-fluorouracil and alpha-fluoro-beta-alanine.

19F-[1H] magnetic double-resonance experiments were performed on model solutions of the antitumor drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and of alpha-fluoro-beta-alanine (FBAL) in order to improve 19F NMR sensitivity for the application in pharmacokinetic studies in vivo. Upon driving the proton spins into saturation, a fluorine signal enhancement (nuclear Overhauser effect) was observed on the order of the theoretical NOE maximum gamma H/2 gamma F = 53% for purely dipolar coupled 19F-1H spin systems in extreme narrowing. The dependence of the effect on proton excitation frequency and temporal parameters was measured and cross-relaxation rate constants of 0.07 s-1 (5-FU) and 0.19 s-1 (FBAL) were determined. Irradiation of the proton spin system by a broad pulse during the 19F signal detection period removed FBAL multiplet splittings completely and narrowed the linewidth of this resonance band by a factor of six. Application of proton presaturation in the 19F NMR examination of a patient undergoing 5-FU chemotherapy enhanced the signal-to-noise ratio of the major 5-FU catabolite FBAL detected noninvasively in the liver.

Mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sensitive to oxidative and osmotic stress.

Although oxidative stress is involved in many human diseases, little is known of its molecular basis in eukaryotes. In a genetic approach, S. cerevisiae was used to identify elements involved in oxidative stress. By using hydrogen peroxide as an agent for oxidative stress, 34 mutants were identified. All mutants were recessive and fell into 16 complementation groups (pos1 to pos16 for peroxide sensitivity). They corresponded to single mutations as shown by a 2:2 segregation pattern. Enzymes reportedly involved in oxidative stress, such as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, as well as glutathione concentrations, were investigated in wild-type and mutant-cells. One complementation group lacked glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and was shown to be allelic to the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase structural gene ZWF1/MET19. In other mutants all enzymes supposedly involved in oxidative-stress resistance were still present. However, several mutants showed strongly elevated levels of glutathione reductase, gluconate-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. One complementation group, pos9, was highly sensitive to oxidative stress and revealed the same growth phenotype as the previously described yap1/par1 mutant coding for the yeast homologue of mammalian transcriptional activator protein, c-Jun, of the proto-oncogenic AP-1 complex. However, unlike par1 mutants, which showed diminished activities of oxidative-stress enzymes and glutathion level, the pos9 mutants did not reveal any such changes. In contrast to other recombinants between pos mutations and par1, the sensitivity did not further increase in par1 pos9 recombinants, which may indicate that both mutations belong to the same regulating circuit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The PAR1 (YAP1/SNQ3) gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a c-jun homologue, is involved in oxygen metabolism.

The PAR1/SNQ3 gene of S. cerevisiae, which increases resistance to iron chelators in multi-copy transformants, is identical to the YAP1 gene, a yeast activator protein isolated as a functional homologue of the human c-jun oncogene by binding specifically to the AP-1 consensus box. The observed H2O2-sensitivity of par1 mutants has been attributed to an increased sensitivity to reduced oxygen intermediates. Accordingly, par1 mutants did not survive an elevated oxygen pressure and were very sensitive to menadione and methylviologene, two chemicals enhancing the deleterious effects of oxygen. The specific activities of enzymes involved in oxygen detoxification, such as superoxide dismutase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glutathione reductase, were decreased in par1 mutants and increased after PAR1 over-expression. As in the case of oxygen detoxification enzymes, the cellular levels of glutathione were similarly affected. These observations indicate that PAR1/YAP1/SNQ3 is involved in the gene regulation of certain oxygen detoxification enzymes. The finding that H2O2 promotes DNA-binding of human c-jun is consistent with a similar function for PAR1/YAP1/SNQ3 and c-jun in cellular metabolism.