Search

It has been shown that the E7 protein of the high-risk HPV-16 transforms cells in vitro and binds pRB, p107 and p130, so called pocket proteins associated in cells with DREAM proteins, while that of the low-risk HPV-6 does not transform cells and binds p130 but not pRB or p107. These facts may indicate that p130 is essential for the HPV life cycle. To gain further insight into the relationship between HPV E7 proteins and pocket protein-DREAM complexes, E7 proteins of HPVs of various risk categories were expressed via appropriate vectors in T98G cells and the levels of various pocket proteins either total or associated with DREAM were analyzed. The obtained results demonstrated that high-risk HPV-16, HPV-18 and HPV-33, low-risk HPV-1 and HPV-11, and cutaneous HPV-48 disrupted pocket protein-DREAM complexes in T98G cells to a similar extent.

Background Retinoblastoma like protein 2 (RBL2) or p130 is a member of the pocket protein family, which is infrequently mutated in human tumours. Its expression is posttranscriptionally regulated and largely G0 restricted. We have previously shown that E6/E7 oncoproteins encoded by human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16, which is a high-risk type for cervical cancer development, must target p130 to promote the host cell to exit from quiescence (G0) state and enter S phase of the cell cycle. P130 is associated with the DREAM (DP, RB-like, E2F and MuvB) complex in G0/G1, which prevents S phase progression by repressing transcription of E2F-regulated genes. E7 proteins could potentially disrupt the p130-DREAM complex through two known mechanisms: direct interaction with p130 or induction of cyclin dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) phosphorylation by interacting with its inhibitor, p21CIP1. Methods In this study we have used p130 mutants deficient in binding the E7 LXCXE domain (p130mE7), unphosphorylatable by CDK2 (p130PM22) or a combination of both (p130PM22/mE7) to investigate these mechanisms used by E7 proteins to disrupt the p130-DREAM complex and promote cell cycle progression. Results We found that HPV16 E7 binding to p130 through its LXCXE domain was absolutely required to disrupt p130-DREAM to promote S phase of the cell cycle, as HPV16 E7 was unable to suppress p130mE7 but could suppress p130PM22. In contrast, the E7 protein encoded by a cutaneous HPV type that lacks a functional LXCXE domain, HPV 48 E7, was also able to disrupt p130-DREAM to promote cell cycling, but through the alternative mechanism. Thus, HPV48 E7 could suppress a cell cycle block imposed by p130mE7, but was unable to suppress p130PM22. Conclusions Overall, these results indicate that suppression of p130 is required for HPV-induced cell cycling, and that different HPV E7 proteins can use alternative mechanisms to achieve this. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12985-015-0460-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

There are two hypotheses explaining a fulminant outcome after hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, both of which may be applicable at the same time: (i) basal core promoter (BCP) mutations increase viral replication, allowing rapid spread of the virus through the liver, and (ii) pre-core (pre-C) mutations abrogating hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) synthesis remove its tolerogenic effect, leading to a vigorous immune response. This study investigated the effect of these mutations on virus replication efficiency and HBeAg production. Substitutions A1762T/G1764A and T1753C, C1766T and T1768A in the BCP region, and G1896A and G1899A in the pre-C region, were examined either alone or in combination, using a common genetic background. Huh7 cells were transfected with these constructs and real-time PCR was used to quantify released virion-associated and intracellular HBV DNA, pregenomic RNA and pre-C mRNA. In addition, culture supernatants were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBeAg. The double BCP mutation (A1762T/G1764A) and the pre-C mutations (G1896A, G1899A), either alone or in combination, had no appreciable effect on the replication capacity of the virus. In contrast, clones with mutations at positions 1766/1768, 1762/1764/1766 and 1753/1762/1764 exhibited increased-replication phenotypes. HBeAg was undetectable in all cultures transfected with constructs bearing the G1896A stop-codon mutation, as expected. In contrast, constructs with additional mutations in the BCP region had appreciably lower levels of HBeAg expression than the wild type. Thus, core promoter mutations other than those at 1762/1764 appear to upregulate viral DNA replication and, at the same time, greatly reduce HBeAg production.

To investigate the potential functional cooperation between p27Kip1 and p130 in vivo, we generated mice deficient for both p27Kip1 and p130. In p27Kip1-/-; p130-/- mice, the cellularity of the spleens but not the thymi is significantly increased compared with that of their p27Kip1-/- counterparts, affecting the lymphoid, erythroid, and myeloid compartments. In vivo cell proliferation is significantly augmented in the B and T cells, monocytes, macrophages, and erythroid progenitors in the spleens of p27Kip1-/-; p130-/- animals. Immunoprecipitation and immunodepletion studies indicate that p130 can compensate for the absence of p27Kip1 in binding to and repressing CDK2 and is the predominant CDK-inhibitor associated with the inactive CDK2 in the p27Kip1-/- splenocytes. The finding that the p27Kip1-/-; p130-/- splenic B cells are hypersensitive to mitogenic stimulations in vitro lends support to the concept that the hyperproliferation of splenocytes is not a result of the influence of their microenvironment. In summary, our findings provide genetic and molecular evidence to show that p130 is a bona fide cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor and cooperates with p27Kip1 to regulate hematopoietic cell proliferation in vivo.

It is well-established that HPV E7 proteins, encoded by human papillomavirus (HPV) genes, frequently associated with cervical cancers bind avidly to the retinoblastoma (RB) family of pocket proteins and disrupt their association with members of the E2F transcription factor family. Our previous study showed that the repressive p130-dimerization partner, RB-like, E2F and multi-vulval class (DREAM) complex was disrupted by HPV16 E7 proteins in order to maintain the viral replication in CaSki cells. However, we would like to address whether the activator B-myb-DREAM complex is critical in regulating the replication and mitosis phase since our previous study showed increased B-myb-DREAM expression in HPV-transformed cell lines when compared to control cells.The association of B-myb with both LIN-54 and LIN-9 was equally decreased by depleting LIN-54 in CaSki cells. Flow cytometry analysis showed that LIN-54 depletion caused an increased proportion of G2/M cells in T98G, SiHa and CaSki cells. The mRNA levels of certain S/G2 genes such as cyclin B, aurora kinase A and Polo-like kinase 1 have demonstrated a marginal increased in CaSki-Lin-54-depleted cells when compared to SiHa- and T98G-Lin-54-depleted cells. We further confirmed this experiment by depleting the B-myb itself in CaSki cells and the results showed the same pattern of cell cycle and mRNA levels for S/G2 genes when compared to LIN-54- and LIN-9-depleted cells.The B-myb-DREAM complex might not be vital for progression through mitosis in cells lacking a G1/S checkpoint and not as crucial as the p130-DREAM complex for the survival of the HPV virus.

The cell cycle-regulated B-Myb transcription factor is required for early embryonic development and is implicated in regulating cell growth and differentiation. In addition to its transcriptional regulatory properties, recent data indicate that B-Myb can release active cyclin/Cdk2 activity from the retinoblastoma-related p107 protein by directly interacting with the p107 N terminus. As this p107 domain has homology to the cyclin-binding domains of the p21Waf1/Cip1 family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs), we investigated in this study whether B-Myb could also interact with these CKIs. No in vivo interaction was found with either p21Waf1/Cip1 or p27 KIP1 , however, binding to p57 KIP2 was readily detectable in both in vivo and in vitro assays. The B-Myb-interacting region of p57 KIP2 mapped to the cyclin-binding domain. Consistent with this, B-Myb competed with cyclin A2 for binding to p57 KIP2 , resulting in release of active cyclin/Cdk2 kinase. Moreover, B-Myb partially overcame the ability of p57 KIP2 to induce G1 arrest in Saos-2 cells. Despite similarities with previous p107 studies, the B-Myb domains required for interaction with p57 KIP2 were quite different from those implicated for p107. Thus, it is evident that B-Myb may promote cell proliferation by a non-transcriptional mechanism that involves release of active cyclin/Cdk2 from p57 KIP2 as well as p107.

B-MYB is an ubiquitous protein required for mammalian cell growth. In this report we show that B-MYB transactivates its own promoter through a 120 bp segment proximal to the transcription start site. The B-MYB-responsive element does not contain myb-binding sites and gel-shift analysis shows that SP1, but not B-MYB, protein contained in SAOS2 cell extracts binds to the 120 bp B-myb promoter fragment. B-MYB-dependent transactivation is cooperatively increased in the presence of SP1, but not SP3 overexpression. When the SP1 elements of the B-myb promoter are transferred in front of a heterologous promoter, an increased response to B-MYB results. In contrast, c-MYB, the prototype member of the Myb family, is not able to activate the luciferase construct containing the SP1 elements. With the use of an SP1-GAL4 fusion protein, we have determined that the cooperative activation occurs through the domain A of SP1. These observations suggest that B-MYB functions as a coactivator of SP1, and that diverse combinations of myb and SP1 sites may dictate the responsiveness of myb-target genes to the various members of the myb family.

Transcription of the B-Myb gene is cell cycle regulated by an E2F-dependent mechanism and its product, B-Myb, is itself a transcription factor required for S-phase entry. Previously, we have shown that B-Myb is specifically phosphorylated during S-phase and that similar modification to a less electrophoretically mobile form could be induced by baculovirus-expressed cyclin A/Cdk2 kinase. We report here that cyclin A-mediated phosphorylation of B-Myb is associated with a marked increase in transactivation function in U-2 OS cells. In contrast to previous studies, transactivation of the luciferase reporter was dependent upon Myb binding sites located upstream of the promoter. Enhancement of B-Myb activation function was also obtained by truncation of the C-terminus just downstream of a domain conserved in evolution. Potentiation of B-Myb activity by phosphorylation was not simply a consequence of overcoming the negative effect of the C-terminus, however, as the truncated protein was to a lesser extent also activated by cyclin A/Cdk2. Whereas wild-type B-Myb transactivation activity could not be potentiated by cyclin A/Cdk2 in NIH3T3 cells, the truncated protein was hyperactive. Finally, we showed that B-Myb synergises with cyclin A to promote U-2 OS cells into S-phase.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) with tropism for mucosal epithelia are the major aetiological factors in cervical cancer. Most cancers are associated with so-called high-risk HPV types, in particular HPV16, and constitutive expression of the HPV16 E6 and E7 oncoproteins is critical for malignant transformation in infected keratinocytes. E6 and E7 bind to and inactivate the cellular tumour suppressors p53 and Rb, respectively, thus delaying differentiation and inducing proliferation in suprabasal keratinocytes to enable HPV replication. One member of the Rb family, p130, appears to be a particularly important target for E7 in promoting S-phase entry. Recent evidence indicates that p130 regulates cell-cycle progression as part of a large protein complex termed DREAM. The composition of DREAM is cell cycle-regulated, associating with E2F4 and p130 in G0/G1 and with the B-myb transcription factor in S/G2. In this study, we addressed whether p130–DREAM is disrupted in HPV16-transformed cervical cancer cells and whether this is a critical function for E6/E7. We found that p130–DREAM was greatly diminished in HPV16-transformed cervical carcinoma cells (CaSki and SiHa) compared with control cell lines; however, when E6/E7 expression was targeted by specific small hairpin RNAs, p130–DREAM was reformed and the cell cycle was arrested. We further demonstrated that the profound G1 arrest in E7-depleted CaSki cells was dependent on p130–DREAM reformation by also targeting the expression of the DREAM component Lin-54 and p130. The results show that continued HPV16 E6/E7 expression is necessary in cervical cancer cells to prevent cell-cycle arrest by a repressive p130–DREAM complex.

It has recently been discovered that cell-cycle gene transcription is regulated by a core complex named LINC that switches from a transcriptionally repressive complex in G(0)-G(1) with the p130 or p107 pocket proteins and E2F4 to a transcriptionally active complex in S-G(2) containing B-Myb. We have studied the function of LINC in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells, which are distinguished by a rapid cell cycle resulting from an extremely short G(1) phase. We show that suppressing expression of the LINC component, Lin-9, in F9 cells causes arrest in mitosis, and we have used this system to screen for transcriptional targets. In these cells, B-Myb was found in complexes with Lin-9 and several other LINC constituents, however, the pocket proteins did not associate with LINC unless F9 cells were differentiated. Lin-9 and B-Myb were both required for transcription of G(2)/M genes such as Cyclin B1 and Survivin. Moreover, B-Myb was demonstrated to recruit Lin-9 to the Survivin promoter through multiple Myb-binding sites. The demonstration that a B-Myb/LINC complex is vital for progression through mitosis in cells lacking a G(1)/S checkpoint has implications for both undifferentiated embryonal cells and for cancers in which pocket protein function is compromised.

Using a binding site selection procedure, we have found that sequence-specific DNA-binding by the mouse c-myb protein involves recognition of nucleotides outside of the previously identified hexanucleotide motif. Oligonucleotides containing a random nucleotide core were immunoprecipitated in association with c-Myb, amplified by the Polymerase Chain Reaction and cloned in plasmids prior to sequencing. By alignment of sequences it was apparent that additional preferences existed at each of three bases immediately 5' of the hexanucleotide consensus, allowing an extension of the preferred binding site to YGRCVGTTR. The contributions of these 5' nucleotides to binding affinity was established in bandshift analyses with oligonucleotides containing single base substitutions; in particular, it was found that replacement of the preferred guanine at position -2 with any other base greatly reduced c-Myb binding. We found that the protein encoded by the related B-myb gene bound the preferred c-Myb site with similar affinity; however, B-Myb and c-Myb showed distinct preferences for the identity of the nucleotide at position -1 relative to the hexanucleotide consensus. This study demonstrates that the c-Myb DNA-binding site is more extensive than recognised hitherto and points to similar but distinct nucleotide preferences in recognition of DNA by related Myb proteins.

Previous studies have shown that the cell cycle-regulated B-myb promoter contains a conserved E2F binding site that is critical for repressing transcription in quiescent cells. To investigate its significance for permanent promoter silencing, we have inactivated this binding site in the mouse genome. Mice homozygous for the mutant B-mybmE2F allele were fully viable, however, B-myb transcription was derepressed during quiescence in mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) derived from mutant animals. Moreover, it was found that mutation of the E2F site resulted in abnormal maintenance of B-myb expression in senescent MEFs and in differentiated brain tissue. These findings therefore reveal a direct and primary role for repressive E2F complexes in silencing gene expression in post-mitotic cells. Analysis of histone modifications at the promoter showed that histone H3 lysine 9 was constitutively acetylated throughout the cell cycle in homozygous mutant MEFs. This mouse system is the first description of an E2F site mutation in situ and will facilitate the study of E2F function in vivo.

The cell cycle-regulated B-Myb transcription factor is required for early embryonic development and is implicated in regulating cell growth and differentiation. In addition to its transcriptional regulatory properties, recent data indicate that B-Myb can release active cyclin/Cdk2 activity from the retinoblastoma-related p107 protein by directly interacting with the p107 N terminus. As this p107 domain has homology to the cyclin-binding domains of the p21(Waf1/Cip1) family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs), we investigated in this study whether B-Myb could also interact with these CKIs. No in vivo interaction was found with either p21(Waf1/Cip1) or p27(KIP1), however, binding to p57(KIP2) was readily detectable in both in vivo and in vitro assays. The B-Myb-interacting region of p57(KIP2) mapped to the cyclin-binding domain. Consistent with this, B-Myb competed with cyclin A2 for binding to p57(KIP2), resulting in release of active cyclin/Cdk2 kinase. Moreover, B-Myb partially overcame the ability of p57(KIP2) to induce G1 arrest in Saos-2 cells. Despite similarities with previous p107 studies, the B-Myb domains required for interaction with p57(KIP2) were quite different from those implicated for p107. Thus, it is evident that B-Myb may promote cell proliferation by a non-transcriptional mechanism that involves release of active cyclin/Cdk2 from p57(KIP2) as well as p107.

Despite biochemical and genetic data suggesting that E2F and pRB (pocket protein) families regulate transcription via chromatin-modifying factors, the precise mechanisms underlying gene regulation by these protein families have not yet been defined in a physiological setting. In this study, we have investigated promoter occupancy in wild-type and pocket protein-deficient primary cells. We show that corepressor complexes consisting of histone deacetylase (HDAC1) and mSin3B were specifically recruited to endogenous E2F-regulated promoters in quiescent cells. These complexes dissociated from promoters once cells reached late G1, coincident with gene activation. Interestingly, recruitment of HDAC1 complexes to promoters depended absolutely on p107 and p130, and required an intact E2F-binding site. In contrast, mSin3B recruitment to certain promoters did not require p107 or p130, suggesting that recruitment of this corepressor can occur via E2F-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Remarkably, loss of pRB had no effect on HDAC1 or mSin3B recruitment. p107/p130 deficiency triggered a dramatic loss of E2F4 nuclear localization as well as transcriptional derepression, which is suggested by nucleosome mapping studies to be the result of localized hyperacetylation of nucleosomes proximal to E2F-binding sites. Taken together, these findings show that p130 escorts E2F4 into the nucleus and, together with corepressor complexes that contain mSin3B and/or HDAC1, directly represses transcription from target genes as cells withdraw from the cell cycle.

B-Myb is a cell-cycle regulated transcription factor which is implicated in cell proliferation and has an essential role in early embryonic development. In this study we examined the functions of B-Myb required to overcome G1 arrest in Saos-2 cells induced by the retinoblastoma-related p107 protein. Our results demonstrated that this activity was independent of B-Myb transactivation function, but correlated with its capacity to form an in vivo complex with p107. A large proportion of B-Myb formed complexes with p107 in cotransfected cells, however, B-Myb bound weakly to the related p130 protein and not at all to pRb. In contrast to the E2F transcription factors, which bind the p107 C-terminal pocket domain, B-Myb recognizes an N-terminal p107 region which overlaps the larger cyclin-binding domain. B-Myb and cyclin A2 formed mutually exclusive complexes with p107, and B-Myb enhanced the activity of co-transfected cyclin E kinase activity, implying that B-Myb affects the cell cycle by preventing sequestration of active cyclin/cdk2 complexes. This study defines a novel function of B-Myb and further suggests that the p107 N-terminus provides an interaction domain for transcription factors involved in cell cycle control.

International audience; Transcription from the B-myb (MybL2 gene) promoter is strictly cell cycle-regulated by repression mediated through an E2F site during G(0)/early G(1). We report here the characterization of a corepressor site (downstream repression site (DRS)) required for this activity that is closely linked to the E2F site. Systematic mutagenesis of the DRS enabled a consensus to be derived, and it is notable that this sequence is compatible with cell cycle gene homology region sequences associated with cell cycle-dependent elements in the cyclin A, cdc2, and CDC25C promoters. The B-myb promoter is inappropriately active during Go in mouse embryo fibroblasts lacking the p107 and p130 pocket proteins, and we show that the ability of transfected p107 and p130 to re-impose repression on the promoter is dependent on the DRS. In contrast, transfected Rb was unable to repress the B-myb promoter. Consistent with the notion that Rb-E2F complexes are unable to bind the B-myb promoter E2F site in vivo, footprinting showed that this site is unoccupied in cells lacking p107 and p130. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed a requirement for the DRS in recruiting p107 and p130 complexes to the B-myb promoter, indicating that in vivo the DRS governs the occupancy of the adjacent E2F site by transcriptional repressors.

Cyclin A1 is tissue-specifically expressed during spermatogenesis, but it is also highly expressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Its pathogenetic role in AML and in the cell cycle of leukemic blasts is unknown. B-myb is essential for G1/S transition and has been shown to be phosphorylated by the cyclin A2/cdk2 complex. Here it is demonstrated that cyclin A1 interacts with the C-terminal portion of B-myb as shown by glutathione S-transferase (GST) precipitation. This interaction is confined to cyclin A1 because binding could not be detected between cyclin A2 and B-myb. Also, cdk2 was not pulled down by GST–B-myb from U937 lysates. In addition, co-immunoprecipitation of cyclin A1 and B-myb in leukemic cells evidenced protein interaction in vivo. Baculovirus-expressed cyclin A1/cdk2 complexes were able to phosphorylate human as well as murine B-myb in vitro. Tryptic phosphopeptide mapping revealed that cyclin A1/cdk2 complexes phosphorylated the C-terminal part of B-myb at several sites including threonine 447, 490, and 497 and serine 581. These phosphorylation sites have been demonstrated to be important for the enhancement of B-myb transcriptional activity. Further studies showed that cyclin A1 cooperated with B-myb to transactivate myb binding site containing promoters including the promoter of the human cyclin A1 gene. Taken together, the data suggest that cyclin A1 is a tissue-specific regulator of B-myb function and activates B-myb in leukemic blasts.

The A-myb transcription factor shows a restricted tissue distribution and is cell cycle regulated. Furthermore its deregulation has profound effects on the growth and/or differentiation of the cells in which it is normally expressed. We have therefore characterized its promoter. A 12 kb genomic clone was isolated that comprises the first exon, part of the first intron as well as upstream regulatory sequences. Multiple transcription start sites have been identified which operate in both B lymphocytes and epithelial cells and the upsteam region was shown to have promoter, activity. The boundaries of the minimal promoter region (−183−14), of a positive upstream (−538−183) and a negative downstream regulatory region (NRE) (+83+374) have been defined. The NRE is promoter- and orientation-independent but position specific. The A-myb minimal promoter is GC-rich, does not contain any TATA box but has a functional CCAAT box. The CCAAT box and minimal promoter is highly conserved in the corresponding murine sequence. The CCAAT box efficiently binds the NF-Y complex and its mutation decreases basal promoter activity by 50%. Two Sp1 binding sites are present upstream from the CCAAT box which can bind Sp1 and contribute to A-myb promoter activity by 70 and 30%, respectively. The two Sp1 sites and CCAAT box together contribute to over 80% of A-myb basal promoter activity and are therefore the major regulatory elements. Finally, we show that the promoter is cell cycle regulated and that the SP1 and CCAAT elements are required for S phase induction.

In response to UV irradiation, mouse NIH3T3 fibroblasts transiently arrest predominantly in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Here, we investigate the role of the retinoblastoma-related pocket proteins in this biological process. We report here that UV induces an increase in p107/E2F complexes, shown previously to be repressors of E2F-dependent transcriptional activity. Several lines of evidence indicate that the increase of p107/E2F complexes following UV irradiation is a consequence of rapid dephosphorylation of p107. First, UV-mediated p107 dephosphorylation could be abolished by pretreatment of NIH3T3 fibroblasts with the serine/threonine phosphatase inhibitors calyculin A and okadaic acid. Second, alteration of protein phosphatase 2A holoenzyme composition by over-expression of specific B subunits interfered with UV-mediated dephosphorylation of p107. Consistent with this, p107 could be dephosphorylated in vitro with PP2A. Moreover, dephosphorylation of p107 was shown to be independent of the activity of p53 and p21, as it occurred also in UV-treated p53-null as well as p21-null mouse fibroblasts. We observed a close correlation between the UV dosages required for G1 cell cycle arrest and p107 dephosphorylation. Our data suggest a model in which UV radiation-induced cell cycle arrest depends, at least in part, on the induction of a PP2A-like phosphatase that acts on p107.

Expression of the B-Myb transcription factor is upregulated during late G1 phase of the cell cycle by an E2F-dependent transcriptional mechanism. B-Myb is specifically phosphorylated during S phase, suggesting that a cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) regulates its activity. Consistent with this notion, the S phase-specific cyclin A/Cdk2 was found previously to enhance B-Myb transactivation activity in cotransfected cells. In this study we provide evidence that B-Myb is a direct physiological target for cyclin A/Cdk2. We demonstrate that B-Myb is an in vitro substrate for cyclin A/Cdk2, but not for cyclin D1/Cdk4 or cyclin E/Cdk2. By mutating candidate Cdk2 phosphorylation sites, we show that B-Myb is phosphorylated at Thr447, Thr490, Thr497 and Ser581 by cyclin A/Cdk2 in vitro and that these sites are also phosphorylated in cycling U-2 OS cells. Inhibition of endogenous Cdk2 by dominant negative Cdk2 attenuated phosphorylation of Thr447, Thr490 and Thr497, but had no effect upon Ser581 modification. B-Myb transactivation activity was significantly reduced in a mutant containing amino acid substitutions at all four identified cyclin A/Cdk2 sites and was constitutively low in Saos-2 cells where endogenous cyclin A/Cdk2 activity was unable to phosphorylate ectopically expressed B-Myb. These data indicate that phosphorylation by cyclin A/Cdk2 is directly involved in enhancing B-Myb transactivation activity and that levels of endogenous cyclin A/Cdk2 activity may contribute to cell line-specific B-Myb function.

B-MYB expression is associated with cell proliferation and recent studies have suggested that it promotes the S phase of mammalian cells. Based on its homology to the transcription factors c-MYB and A-MYB, B-MYB is thought to be involved in transcriptional regulation; however, its activity is not detectable in several cell lines. It was postulated that B-MYB function may depend on the presence of a cofactor, and recent studies suggested that B-MYB is phosphorylated specifically during S phase in murine fibroblasts. In this report we provide evidence that the product of the human B-myb gene can be activated in vivo by coexpression with cyclin A or cyclin E. Transfection studies showed that B-MYB was a weak transcriptional activator in SAOS-2 cells and was unable to promote their proliferation. In contrast, overexpression of both B-MYB and cyclin A or cyclin E caused a drastic increase in the number of SAOS-2 cells in S phase. Also, overexpression of cyclin A and cyclin E in SAOS-2 cells enhanced the ability of B-MYB, but not c-MYB, to transactivate various promoters, including the cdc2 promoter, the HIV-1-LTR, and the simian virus 40 minimal promoter. A direct role for cyclin-dependent activation of B-MYB was demonstrated using an in vitro transcription assay. These observations suggest that one mechanism by which cyclin A and E may promote the S phase is through modification and activation of B-MYB.

The ability to ablate the activity of specific transcription factors in vivo is a potentially important tool to study their roles in cellular processes such as the cell cycle. Previously, production of a dominant interfering c-Myb protein (comprising a fusion of the c-Myb DNA binding domain with the Drosophila Engrailed transrepressor) was found to inhibit the proliferation of immature thymocytes in the developing thymus of transgenic mice. We report here the further development of this stratagem by rendering the c-Myb/Engrailed protein conditionally active by fusion to a modified estrogen receptor hormone binding domain, ER. Co-transfection experiments in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts showed that the resulting chimeric protein, Myb/En/ER, repressed transactivation of a c-Myb-responsive reporter only in the presence of the synthetic steroid, 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT). Additionally, we found that Myb/En/ER could counteract transactivation by C/EBP-beta of the mim-1 promoter, which contains juxtaposed Myb and C/EBP binding sites. Cytotoxic T-cells stably producing the inactive Myb/En/ER protein were readily obtained by gene transfection. The addition of OHT to these cells resulted in inhibition of proliferation and arrest in G1. The utility of this experimental system to study Myb and other transcription factors is discussed.

The retinoblastoma protein family has been implicated in growth control and modulation of the activity of genes involved in cell proliferation, such as B-myb. Recent evidence indicates that the product of the B-myb gene is necessary for the growth and survival of several human and murine cell lines. Upon overexpression, B-myb induces deregulated cell growth of certain cell lines. Here we show that B-myb overexpression is able to induce DNA synthesis in p107 growth-arrested human osteosarcoma cells (SAOS2). p107 might exert its growth-suppressive activity by regulating B-myb gene transcription. Indeed, p107 down-modulated B-myb promoter activity and drastically decreased E2F-mediated transactivation. Finally, B-myb was able to stimulate DNA synthesis of both stably and transiently transfected human glioblastoma cells (T98G). Altogether, these data provide definitive evidence that the human B-myb protein is involved in growth control of human cells, and that p107 has a significant role in regulating B-myb gene activity.

We demonstrate here that activity of the human B-myb promoter is regulated during the cell cycle by the E2 transcription factor (E2F). Comparison of the human B-myb promoter sequence with that of its murine counterpart revealed an evolutionally conserved sequence that contains an E2F-binding site. In transiently transfected murine NIH3T3 and human HaCaT cells, luciferase (Luc) reporter activity directed by the human B-myb promoter was found to increase significantly in late G1/S phase of the cell cycle. Mutation of the promoter E2F site resulted in significantly greater Luc activity in NIH3T3 and HaCaT cells made quiescent by serum deprivation, indicating that E2F repressed transcription of this gene during G0. Analysis of E2F DNA-binding activity in G0 HaCaT cells revealed a distinct complex that apparently contained neither the retinoblastoma gene protein, pRb, nor the related p107 protein. De-repression of transcription in S phase was accompanied by the disappearance of this G0 E2F complex and the appearance of a distinct complex containing p107. In addition, complexes containing pRb were detected at both stages of the cell cycle.

HPV16 is a human tumour virus encoding two principal oncoproteins, E6 and E7. Expression of E7 can induce DNA synthesis in quiescent cells and this property coincides with its ability to bind to the cell proteins pRb and p107. As these cell proteins are regulators of the transcription factor E2F, we have investigated whether the interaction with E7 could result in induction of cell cycle regulated genes. We show that B-myb, whose induction at the G1/S boundary is regulated by release from E2F mediated transcriptional repression, is a target for transcriptional activation by E7 and is the first E7 responsive cell gene to be identified. E7 transactivation leads to both inappropriate transcription of B-myb during G1 and constitutive over-expression in cycling cells. B-Myb plays an essential role in cell cycle progression, and activation by E7 is likely to contribute to the mitogenic activity of the viral oncoprotein. Regulation of the B-myb promoter in NIH3T3 cells correlates with binding of distinct p107-containing complexes at the E2F binding site, and analysis of E7 mutants confirms that B-myb transcription in these cells is regulated through interactions with p107 rather than pRb. These results provide the first example of a potentially specific role for p107 in the regulation of the cell cycle.

The transcription regulatory properties of murine B-myb protein were compared to those of c-myb. Whereas c-Myb trans-activated an SV40 early promoter containing multiple copies of an upstream c-Myb DNA-binding site (MBS-1), and similarly the human c-myc promoter, B-Myb was unable to do so. Full-length B-Myb translated in vitro did not bind MBS-1; however, truncation of the B-Myb C-terminus or fusion of the B-Myb DNA-binding domain to the c-Myb C-terminus showed that it was inherently competent to interact with this motif. Further evidence from co-transfection experiments, demonstrating that B-Myb inhibited trans-activation by c-Myb, suggested that failure of B-Myb to trans-activate these promoters did not simply occur through lack of binding to MBS-1. Moreover, using GAL4/B-Myb fusions, it was found that an acidic region of B-Myb, which by comparison to c-Myb was expected to contain a transcription activation domain, actually had no inherent trans-activation activity and indeed appeared to trans-inhibit c-Myb. In contrast to the above findings, both B-Myb and c-Myb were able to weakly trans-activate the DNA polymerase alpha promoter. Results obtained here demonstrate that the activities of B-Myb and c-Myb are clearly distinct and suggest that these related proteins may have different functions in regulation of target gene expression.

The uptake of phenylalanine and tyrosine into seedling root tips of Cucumis melo and Caesalpinia tinctoria depended on coexisting metabolic and non-metabolic processes. Competitive inhibition studies and kinetic experiments indicated that a single active uptake system operated for all α-amino acids. This active uptake system is compared to those occurring in other types of organism, and the possible role of cation-exchange uptake is discussed. 3-Hydroxymethylphenylalanine and 4-hydroxy-3-hydroxymethylphenylalanine, natural products of Caesalpinia tinctoria , inhibited phenylalanine uptake more in Cucumis than in Caesalpinia .

The protein coding region of the herpes simplex virus type-1 glycoprotein D (gD) gene was mapped, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The predicted amino acid sequence of the gD polypeptide was found to contain a number of features in common with other virus glycoproteins. Insertion of this protein coding region into a bacterial expressor plasmid enabled synthesis in Escherichia coli of an immunoreactive gD-related polypeptide. The potential of this system for preparation of a type-common herpes simplex virus vaccine is discussed.

We describe a 1635-bp Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) DNA sequence containing the entire coding region of glycoprotein D (gD-2). The amino acid sequence of gD-2, deduced from the nucleotide sequence, was compared to that of the analogous Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein (gD-1). The two glycoproteins are 85% homologous and contain highly conserved regions of as much as 49 amino acids in length. Comparison of DNA sequences upstream from gD-1 and gD-2 coding regions identified possible conserved regulatory sequences.

The role of nuclear protooncogenes during erythroid cell differentiation was examined by transfecting exogenous c-fos and c-myb genes into mouse erythroleukemia cells, which can be induced to differentiate either with erythropoietin (Epo) or dimethyl sulfoxide. Expression of exogenous c-myb or c-fos oncogene completely inhibited Epo-induced erythroid differentiation but only partially inhibited dimethyl sulfoxide-induced differentiation. Normally Epo-induced differentiation leads to a drastic decline of c-myb mRNA levels and an increase of c-myc transcripts in the early stage of differentiation. Cells expressing exogenous c-fos gene, however, maintained high levels of c-myb mRNA after Epo treatment. This high level of c-myb transcripts was found to be due to block of transcription shutoff (or transcriptional activation) rather than to mRNA stabilization. It is concluded that the down-regulation of endogenous c-myb gene expression is a prerequisite for commitment of Epo-induced erythroid differentiation and that expression of c-myb gene may be indirectly regulated by c-fos gene product. We also concluded that early down-regulation of c-myc gene expression is not essential for erythroid differentiation and that gene regulation of chemically induced erythroid differentiation may differ from that of Epo-induced differentiation.

We have developed a cassette of the bacteriophage lambda (λ) cI857 temperature–sensitive repressor gene from which the functional PR promoter has been deleted. This cassette was placed into an expression vector that uses the PL promoter for expression of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV–1) glycoprotein D gene (gD–1) in E. coli. Control of the gD–1 production from this plasmid was compared to an expression vector lacking the cI857 cassette but regulated by an E. coli (cI857) lysogen. The lysogen allowed expression of the gD–1 gene at 37°C, whereas cells containing the cI857 cassette maintained repression of gD–1. Both systems were fully induced at 42°C. The ability to grow cells at 37°C while maintaining repression of transcription from PL should be advantageous for large scale fermentations.

We have identified and characterized a 3.0 kilobase (kb) mRNA containing coding sequences of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein D (gD) gene. The synthesis of this 3.0 kb mRNA was unaffected by the presence of cytosine arabinoside, but was made in greatly reduced amounts in cells infected with HSV-1 in the presence of cycloheximide: it was, therefore, classified as an early mRNA. By nuclease protection experiments, it was found that the 3.0 kb mRNA is unspliced and, further, that it is 3' co-terminal with a smaller 1.6 kb early mRNA which is transcribed from a DNA sequence 3' to the gD coding sequence. We describe the use of the Xenopus laevis oocyte system to produce HSV-1 gD in vitro. Oocytes injected with mRNA isolated from HSV-1-infected Vero cells synthesized gD, which was identified by immunoprecipitation. Injection of a plasmid clone containing the HSV-1 BamHI J fragment (0.89 to 0.93 map units) into the nuclei of Xenopus oocytes also resulted in synthesis of gD.

We describe the nucleotide sequence of a herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA fragment containing the intron of the immediate-early mRNA-5 (IE mRNA-5) gene. The location of the intron within this fragment was determined by a Berk & Sharp nuclease S1 protection analysis, and by cloning and sequencing cDNA containing sequences overlapping t he IE mRNA-5 splice point. We found that the 149 base pair (bp) intron contained four copies of an identical 23 bp GC rich tandem repeat followed by a further reiteration consisting of the first 15 bp only.

When the entire Us region of HSV-1 (Patton) was cloned as an EcoRI fragment in bacteriophage λgtWES, the BamHI B6B5 fragment was observed to vary in size among independent isolates [Umene and Enquist, Gene 13 (1981) 251–268]. This fragment polymorphism also occurred in DNA of HSV-1 single plaque isolates. We report here that this heterogeneity is due to variation in copy number of a 15-bp tandem repeat of sequence 5'-CCACTCCCCACCCAC-3', which apparently lies in an intergenic region of the HSV-1 DNA.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) cause both persistent and latent infections, including recurrent cutaneous disease, lethal neonatal disease, central nervous system disease and other clinical syndromes. Modified live vaccines or conventionally prepared subunit vaccines have generally been unsuccessful in the treatment of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections from the standpoints of safety and efficacy. It has been established that HSV-1 and HSV-2 infectivity may be neutralized in vitro with antisera directed specifically against each of the four major glycoproteins of the virus (gA/gB, gC, gD and gE) and antisera against glycoprotein gD, of either HSV-1 or HSV-2, are capable of neutralizing both HSV-1 and HSV-2 infectivity in vitro and in vivo. We have previously reported on the identification, DNA sequence and expression at low level in Escherichia coli of the gD gene of HSV-1 strain Patton. Here we describe construction of a hybrid gene encoding a chimaeric protein containing HSV-1 gD, bacteriophage lambda Cro and E. coli beta-galactosidase (gD-beta-gal) protein, which is expressed at high level in E. coli. Moreover, the chimaeric protein elicits antibodies in rabbits that not only immunoprecipitate gD from cells infected with HSV-1 and HSV-2 but also neutralize HSV-1 and HSV-2 infectivity in vitro.

A pseudorabies virus (Becker strain) glycoprotein gene was located in the UL region at map position 0.40. The gene was identified by using open reading frame Escherichia coli plasmid expression vectors and specific antibody reagents. A 1.55-kilobase unspliced transcript from the gene was detected in pseudorabies virus-infected tissue culture cells. The DNA sequence revealed a single open reading frame of 1,437 base pairs encoding 479 amino acids. The predicted primary translation product has a molecular weight of 50,860 and contains features of a typical herpesvirus glycoprotein. An E. coli expression plasmid was constructed that contained essentially all of the open reading frame for this gene. Antibodies raised in rabbits against the protein expressed in bacteria by this plasmid immunoprecipitated pseudorabies virus-specific glycoproteins of 92,000 and 74,000 daltons from infected cell extracts. It is likely that these two forms represent different glycosylation states of the protein.

We have used elements of the E. coli lactose ( lac ) Operon to produce a collection of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 glycoprotein D (gD-1 and gD-2) antigens. Our approach employed recombinant DNA techniques to construct plasmids with various segments of the gD-1 and gD-2 coding sequences fused to the lac Z gene. Such hybrid genes were expressed in a regulated manner in E. coli by joining them to the lac promoter-operator region. Efficient translation of these hybrid genes was facilitated by incorporating a coding sequence specifying a short peptide leader ( λcro ) in the plasmid expression vectors resulting in synthesis of chimeric Cro-gD-β-galactosidase proteins. In addition, insertion of synthetic translation terminators at the junction of gD and lac Z enabled us to produce specific truncated gD polypeptide sequences unfused to β-galactosidase. The gD antigens produced in E. coli were not glycosylated and were generally recovered as dense insoluble aggregates. Proteins containing portions of gD-1 or gD-2 were analyzed by immunoprecipitation using anti-HSV rabbit serum and a number of monoclonal antibodies recognizing different epitopes of gD-1. Initial animal studies were done with antigens that reacted with neutralizing antisera or monoclonal antibodies. When these bacterially produced proteins were injected into rabbits, antibodies were produced that specifically immunoprecipitated authentic gD polypeptides and neutralized the infectivity of both virus types. These studies suggest that gene fusion techniques can be used to produce immunogenic proteins in large quantity. These polypeptides are not only useful in analyses of gene structure and function, but also can provide novel diagnostic reagents and well-defined pure antigens for vaccine development.

Controlled transcription of animal virus DNAs provides potentially useful models for elucidating the mechanisms which regulate eukaryotic gene expression. The progressive transcription of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) genome has been described previously1–3. Infection of permissive cells with HSV-1 in the presence of the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide resulted in transcription of a restricted set of virus RNAs, referred to as the immediate early RNAs, which map within certain regions of the virus genome only3–5. Removal of cycloheximide led to the transcription of additional virus DNA sequences, which were expressed during the normal replicative cycle both at early and late times post-infection (before and after the onset of virus DNA replication, respectively) and which map throughout the virus genome3. Previously, we have described a temperature-sensitive mutant of HSV-1 Glasgow strain 17, ts K, which accumulated only the immediate early RNAs at the non-permissive temperature (NPT)5. Transfer of ts K-infected cells from NPT to the permissive temperature (PT), even in the absence of de novo protein synthesis, resulted in transcription of the DNA sequences expressed early and late post-infection5. This indicated the persistence at NPT of a non-functional immediate early polypeptide which on transfer to PT regained its function, required for progression from the immediate early to early stage of transcription. Here we demonstrate, by analysing the RNAs made in ts K-infected cells after transfer from PT to the NPT, that this polypeptide's function is required continuously for synthesis of HSV-1 early and late RNAs, thus identifying a control function essential for the expression of early and late HSV genetic information in eukaryotic cells.