The application of shannon entropy in the identification of putative drug targets.

A major challenge in the field of functional genomics is the development of computational techniques for organizing and interpreting large amounts of gene expression data. These methods will be critical for the discovery of new therapeutic drug targets. Here, we present a simple method for determining the most likely drug target candidates from temporal gene expression patterns assayed with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and DNA microarrays.

Knowledge discovery in gene-expression-microarray data: mining the information output of the genome.

A key aspect of the genomics revolution is the transformation of large amounts of biological information into an electronic format, leading to an information-based approach to biomedical problems. Large-scale RNA assays and gene-expression-microarray studies, in particular, represent the second wave of the genomics revolution, providing gene-expression data that complement gene-sequence data and help our understanding of the molecular basis of health and disease. They are being applied at several stages in the drug-development process and could ultimately have broad applications in disease diagnosis and patient prognosis.

From expressed sequence tags to 'epigenomics': an understanding of disease processes.

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are at the forefront of technological change that is sweeping the biomedical research community. ESTs provide a high throughput means for identifying gene transcripts and monitoring complex gene expression patterns. EST-based technologies coupled with sophisticated computer analysis tools enable the informational content and output of the genome to be accessed and evaluated on a scale immensely larger than previously possible. EST-based technologies are being used to understand disease processes and to find better disease treatments, and will allow biology to move from single gene to multigene, or even more complex epigenetic, explanations for disease.

Caulobacter Lon protease has a critical role in cell-cycle control of DNA methylation.

CcrM, an adenine DNA methyltransferase, is essential for viability in Caulobacter crescentus. The CcrM protein is present only in the predivisional stage of the cell cycle, resulting in cell-cycle-dependent variation of the DNA methylation state of the chromosome. The availability of CcrM is controlled in two ways: (1) the ccrM gene is transcribed only in the predivisional. cell, and (2) the CcrM protein is rapidly degraded prior to cell division. We demonstrate here that CcrM is an important target of the Lon protease pathway in C. crescentus. In a lon null mutant, ccrM transcription is still temporally regulated, but the CcrM protein is present throughout the cell cycle because of a dramatic increase in its stability that results in a fully methylated chromosome throughout the cell cycle. Because the Lon protease is present throughout the cell cycle, it is likely that the level of CcrM in the cell is controlled by a dynamic balance between temporally varied transcription and constitutive degradation. We have shown previously that restriction of CcrM to the C. crescentus predivisional cell is essential for normal morphogenesis and progression through the cell cycle. Comparison of the lon null mutant strain with a strain whose DNA remains fully methylated as a result of constitutive expression of ccrM suggests that the effect of Lon on DNA methylation contributes to several developmental defects observed in the lon mutant. These defects include a frequent failure to complete cell division and loss of precise cell-cycle control of initiation of DNA replication. Other developmental abnormalities exhibited by the lon null mutant, such as the formation of abnormally long stalks, appear to be unrelated to altered chromosome methylation state. The Lon protease thus exhibits pleiotropic effects in C. crescentus growth and development.

Strategies for manipulating apoptosis for cancer therapy with tumor necrosis factor and lymphotoxin.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and lymphotoxin (LT), initially described as tumoricidal proteins, may be useful as adjuncts in cancer therapy. Treatment with TNF or LT was found to protect cells and animals against damage mediated by radiation or cytotoxic anticancer drugs. By contrast, tumor cells treated with TNF or LT were sensitized to these insults. We present a model in which TNF or LT induces both the synthesis of "protective" proteins such as manganous superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and the activation of "killing" proteins, such as proteases, depending on the level of the inducing signal. Although the p55-TNF/LT receptor is structurally related to the Fas receptor, they can each signal apoptosis by distinct pathways. Furthermore, activation of both receptors acts synergistically in stimulating apoptosis.

Coordinate cell cycle control of a Caulobacter DNA methyltransferase and the flagellar genetic hierarchy.

The expression of the Caulobacter ccrM gene and the activity of its product, the M.Ccr II DNA methyltransferase, are limited to a discrete portion of the cell cycle (G. Zweiger, G. Marczynski, and L. Shapiro, J. Mol. Biol. 235:472-485, 1994). Temporal control of DNA methylation has been shown to be critical for normal development in the dimorphic Caulobacter life cycle. To understand the mechanism by which ccrM expression is regulated during the cell cycle, we have identified and characterized the ccrM promoter region. We have found that it belongs to an unusual promoter family used by several Caulobacter class II flagellar genes. The expression of these class II genes initiates assembly of the flagellum just prior to activation of the ccrM promoter in the predivisional cell. Mutational analysis of two M.Ccr II methylation sites located 3' to the ccrM promoter suggests that methylation might influence the temporally controlled inactivation of ccrM transcription. An additional parallel between the ccrM and class II flagellar promoters is that their transcription responds to a cell cycle DNA replication checkpoint. We propose that a common regulatory system coordinates the expression of functionally diverse genes during the Caulobacter cell cycle.

Expression of Caulobacter dnaA as a function of the cell cycle.

The initiation of DNA replication is under differential control in Caulobacter crescentus. Following cell division, only the chromosome in the progeny stalked cell is able to initiate DNA replication, while the chromosome in the progeny swarmer cell does not replicate until later in the cell cycle. We have isolated the dnaA gene in order to determine whether this essential and ubiquitous replication initiation protein also contributes to differential replication control in C. crescentus. Analysis of the cloned C. crescentus dnaA gene has shown that the deduced amino acid sequence can encode a 486-amino-acid protein that is 37% identical to the DnaA protein of Escherichia coli. The gene is located 2 kb from the origin of replication. Primer extension analysis revealed a single transcript originating from a sigma 70-type promoter. Immunoprecipitation of a DnaA'-beta-lactamase fusion protein showed that although expression occurs throughout the cell cycle, there is a doubling in the rate of expression just prior to the initiation of replication.

A Caulobacter DNA methyltransferase that functions only in the predivisional cell.

Caulobacter crescentus was found to have a DNA methyltransferase, CcrM, that methylates the adenine base of the HinfI recognition sequence, GANTC. The ccrM gene was cloned, and DNA sequence analysis revealed that the predicted amino acid sequence has 49% identity with the Haemophilus influenzae methyltransferase HinfM. Expression of the ccrM gene was found to be restricted to the portion of the cell cycle immediately prior to cell division. At three separate chromosomal sites the CcrM recognition sequence is fully methylated in swarmer cells, becomes hemimethylated upon DNA replication in stalked cells, and does not become remethylated until just prior to cell division. The time of methyltransferase expression coincides with the time of methylation of these three chromosomal sites and of plasmid DNA in the predivisional cell. When ccrM gene expression is placed under control of a constitutive promoter, these chromosomal sites are fully methylated throughout the cell cycle. A high proportion of morphologically aberrant cells, and cells that have undergone an additional chromosome replication initiation, are found in this population. Thus, the temporal control of this methyltransferase appears to contribute to the accurate cell-cycle control of DNA replication and cellular morphology.