Somatic hypermutation (SHM) drives the genetic diversity of Ig genes in activated B cells and supports the generation of Abs with increased affinity for Ag. SHM is targeted to Ig genes by their enhancers (diversification activators [DIVACs]), but how the enhancers mediate this activity is unknown. We show using chicken DT40 B cells that highly active DIVACs increase the phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and Pol II occupancy in the mutating gene with little or no accompanying increase in elongation-competent Pol II or production of full-length transcripts, indicating accumulation of stalled Pol II. DIVAC has similar effect also in human Ramos Burkitt lymphoma cells. The DIVAC-induced stalling is weakly associated with an increase in the detection of ssDNA bubbles in the mutating target gene. We did not find evidence for antisense transcription, or that DIVAC functions by altering levels of H3K27ac or the histone variant H3.3 in the mutating gene. These findings argue for a connection between Pol II stalling and cis-acting targeting elements in the context of SHM and thus define a mechanistic basis for locus-specific targeting of SHM in the genome. Our results suggest that DIVAC elements render the target gene a suitable platform for AID-mediated mutation without a requirement for increasing transcriptional output.

• MeSH
• Lymphocyte Activation MeSH
• Burkitt Lymphoma genetics   immunology   MeSH
• Cytidine Deaminase genetics   MeSH
• Transcription, Genetic MeSH
• Immunoglobulins genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Chickens MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Mutation genetics   MeSH
• Mutagenesis, Site-Directed MeSH
• B-Lymphocyte Subsets immunology   MeSH
• Avian Proteins genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• RNA Polymerase II genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Antibody Diversity MeSH
• Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin MeSH
• Enhancer Elements, Genetic genetics   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) introduces point mutations into immunoglobulin (Ig) genes but also causes mutations in other parts of the genome. We have used lentiviral SHM reporter vectors to identify regions of the genome that are susceptible ("hot") and resistant ("cold") to SHM, revealing that SHM susceptibility and resistance are often properties of entire topologically associated domains (TADs). Comparison of hot and cold TADs reveals that while levels of transcription are equivalent, hot TADs are enriched for the cohesin loader NIPBL, super-enhancers, markers of paused/stalled RNA polymerase 2, and multiple important B cell transcription factors. We demonstrate that at least some hot TADs contain enhancers that possess SHM targeting activity and that insertion of a strong Ig SHM-targeting element into a cold TAD renders it hot. Our findings lead to a model for SHM susceptibility involving the cooperative action of cis-acting SHM targeting elements and the dynamic and architectural properties of TADs.

• MeSH
• Cytidine Deaminase genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• HEK293 Cells MeSH
• Lentivirus MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Mutation genetics   MeSH
• Cell Line, Tumor MeSH
• Plasmids genetics   MeSH
• RNA Polymerase II genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin genetics   MeSH
• Enhancer Elements, Genetic genetics   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH

Ms1 is a sRNA recently found in mycobacteria and several other actinobacterial species. Ms1 interacts with the RNA polymerase (RNAP) core devoid of sigma factors, which differs from 6S RNA that binds to RNAP holoenzymes containing the primary sigma factor. Here we show that Ms1 is the most abundant non-rRNA transcript in stationary phase in Mycobacterium smegmatis. The accumulation of Ms1 stems from its high-level synthesis combined with decreased degradation. We identify the Ms1 promoter, PMs1 , and cis-acting elements important for its activity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that PNPase (an RNase) contributes to the differential accumulation of Ms1 during growth. Then, by comparing the transcriptomes of wt and ΔMs1 strains from stationary phase, we reveal that Ms1 affects the intracellular level of RNAP. The absence of Ms1 results in decreased levels of the mRNAs encoding β and β' subunits of RNAP, which is also reflected at the protein level. Thus, the ΔMs1 strain has a smaller pool of RNAPs available when the transcriptional demand increases. This contributes to the inability of the ΔMs1 strain to rapidly react to environmental changes during outgrowth from stationary phase.

• MeSH
• RNA, Bacterial metabolism   MeSH
• Gene Deletion MeSH
• DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases metabolism   MeSH
• RNA, Small Untranslated genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Mycobacterium smegmatis enzymology   genetics   growth & development   metabolism   MeSH
• Gene Expression Profiling MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

A promoter can be regulated by various cis-acting elements so that delineation of the regulatory modes among them may help understand developmental, environmental and genetic mechanisms in gene activity. Here we report that the human dopamine transporter gene SLC6A3 carries a 5' distal 5-kb super enhancer (5KSE) which upregulated the promoter by 5-fold. Interestingly, 5KSE is able to prevent 3' downstream variable number tandem repeats (3'VNTRs) from silencing the promoter. This new enhancer consists of a 5'VNTR and three repetitive sub-elements that are conserved in primates. Two of 5KSE's sub-elements, E-9.7 and E-8.7, upregulate the promoter, but only the later could continue doing so in the presence of 3'VNTRs. Finally, E-8.7 is activated by novel dopaminergic transcription factors including SRP54 and Nfe2l1. Together, these results reveal a multimodal regulatory mechanism in SLC6A3.

• MeSH
• Models, Biological MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Transcription, Genetic * MeSH
• Haplotypes genetics   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Minisatellite Repeats genetics   MeSH
• Mice, Inbred C57BL MeSH
• Cell Line, Tumor MeSH
• Promoter Regions, Genetic * MeSH
• Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins genetics   MeSH
• Transcription Factors metabolism   MeSH
• Enhancer Elements, Genetic MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Translation reinitiation is a gene-specific translational control mechanism characterized by the ability of some short upstream ORFs to prevent recycling of the post-termination 40S subunit in order to resume scanning for reinitiation downstream. Its efficiency decreases with the increasing uORF length, or by the presence of secondary structures, suggesting that the time taken to translate a uORF is more critical than its length. This led to a hypothesis that some initiation factors needed for reinitiation are preserved on the 80S ribosome during early elongation. Here, using the GCN4 mRNA containing four short uORFs, we developed a novel in vivo RNA-protein Ni2+-pull down assay to demonstrate for the first time that one of these initiation factors is eIF3. eIF3 but not eIF2 preferentially associates with RNA segments encompassing two GCN4 reinitiation-permissive uORFs, uORF1 and uORF2, containing cis-acting 5΄ reinitiation-promoting elements (RPEs). We show that the preferred association of eIF3 with these uORFs is dependent on intact RPEs and the eIF3a/TIF32 subunit and sharply declines with the extended length of uORFs. Our data thus imply that eIF3 travels with early elongating ribosomes and that the RPEs interact with eIF3 in order to stabilize the mRNA-eIF3-40S post-termination complex to stimulate efficient reinitiation downstream.

• MeSH
• 5' Untranslated Regions MeSH
• Peptide Chain Elongation, Translational MeSH
• Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-3 metabolism   MeSH
• Genetic Techniques MeSH
• Peptide Chain Initiation, Translational * MeSH
• Ribosome Subunits, Small, Eukaryotic metabolism   MeSH
• Open Reading Frames * MeSH
• Gene Expression Regulation * MeSH
• Ribosomes metabolism   MeSH
• Peptide Chain Termination, Translational MeSH
• Codon, Terminator MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Reinitiation after translation of short upstream ORFs (uORFs) represents one of the means of regulation of gene expression on the mRNA-specific level in response to changing environmental conditions. Over the years it has been shown-mainly in budding yeast-that its efficiency depends on cis-acting features occurring in sequences flanking reinitiation-permissive uORFs, the nature of their coding sequences, as well as protein factors acting in trans. We earlier demonstrated that the first two uORFs from the reinitiation-regulated yeast GCN4 mRNA leader carry specific structural elements in their 5' sequences that interact with the translation initiation factor eIF3 to prevent full ribosomal recycling post their translation. Actually, this interaction turned out to be instrumental in stabilizing the mRNA·40S post-termination complex, which is thus capable to eventually resume scanning and reinitiate on the next AUG start site downstream. Recently, we also provided important in vivo evidence strongly supporting the long-standing idea that to stimulate reinitiation, eIF3 has to remain bound to ribosomes elongating these uORFs until their stop codon has been reached. Here we examined the importance of eIF3 and sequences flanking uORF1 of the human functional homolog of yeast GCN4, ATF4, in stimulation of efficient reinitiation. We revealed that the molecular basis of the reinitiation mechanism is conserved between yeasts and humans.

• MeSH
• Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-3 chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Peptide Chain Initiation, Translational * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• RNA, Messenger genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Open Reading Frames * MeSH
• Protein Biosynthesis MeSH
• Ribosomes metabolism   MeSH
• Mammals MeSH
• Activating Transcription Factor 4 chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH

Transposable elements (TEs) proliferate within the genome of their host, which responds by silencing them epigenetically. Much is known about the mechanisms of silencing in plants, particularly the role of siRNAs in guiding DNA methylation. In contrast, little is known about siRNA targeting patterns along the length of TEs, yet this information may provide crucial insights into the dynamics between hosts and TEs. By focusing on 6456 carefully annotated, full-length Sirevirus LTR retrotransposons in maize, we show that their silencing associates with underlying characteristics of the TE sequence and also uncover three features of the host-TE interaction. First, siRNA mapping varies among families and among elements, but particularly along the length of elements. Within the cis-regulatory portion of the LTRs, a complex palindrome-rich region acts as a hotspot of both siRNA matching and sequence evolution. These patterns are consistent across leaf, tassel, and immature ear libraries, but particularly emphasized for floral tissues and 21- to 22-nt siRNAs. Second, this region has the ability to form hairpins, making it a potential template for the production of miRNA-like, hairpin-derived small RNAs. Third, Sireviruses are targeted by siRNAs as a decreasing function of their age, but the oldest elements remain highly targeted, partially by siRNAs that cross-map to the youngest elements. We show that the targeting of older Sireviruses reflects their conserved palindromes. Altogether, we hypothesize that the palindromes aid the silencing of active elements and influence transposition potential, siRNA targeting levels, and ultimately the fate of an element within the genome.

• MeSH
• Epigenesis, Genetic MeSH
• Gene Expression MeSH
• Terminal Repeat Sequences MeSH
• Conserved Sequence MeSH
• Zea mays genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• RNA, Small Interfering genetics   MeSH
• DNA Methylation MeSH
• Evolution, Molecular MeSH
• Inverted Repeat Sequences MeSH
• Gene Expression Regulation, Plant MeSH
• Genes, Plant MeSH
• Plant Viruses genetics   MeSH
• Base Sequence MeSH
• DNA Transposable Elements MeSH
• Genes, Viral MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH

Molecular and biochemical studies have shown that gene contains single or combination of different cis-acting regulatory elements are actively controlling the transcriptional regulation of associated genes, downstream effects of these result in the modulation of various biological pathways such as biotic/abiotic stress responses, hormonal responses to growth and development processes and secondary metabolite production. Therefore, the identification of promoters and their cis-regulatory elements is one of intriguing area to study the dynamic complex regulatory network of genes activities by integrating computational, comparative, structural and functional genomics. Several bioinformatics servers or database have been established to predict the cis-acting elements present in the promoter region of target gene and their association with the expression profiles in the TFs. The aim of this study is to predict possible cis-acting regulatory elements that have putative role in the transcriptional regulation of a dynamic network of metabolite gene activities controlling prenylflavonoid and bitter acids biosynthesis in hop (Humulus lupulus). Recent release of hop draft genome enabled us to predict the possible cis-acting regulatory elements by extracting 2kbp of 5' regulatory regions of genes important for lupulin metabolome biosynthesis, using Plant CARE, PLACE and Genomatix Matinspector professional databases. The result reveals the plausible role of cis-acting regulatory elements in the regulation of gene expression primarily involved in lupulin metabolome biosynthesis including under various stress conditions.

• MeSH
• Humulus genetics   MeSH
• Promoter Regions, Genetic * MeSH
• Gene Expression Regulation, Plant genetics   MeSH
• Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional genetics   MeSH
• Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid genetics   MeSH
• Computational Biology MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

• MeSH
• Biochemistry MeSH
• Chemistry MeSH
• Chemistry, Organic MeSH

• Conspectus
• Chemie. Mineralogické vědy
• NML Fields
• chemie, klinická chemie
• NML Publication type
• kolektivní monografie

BACKGROUND: While hundreds of genes have been implicated already in the etiology of schizophrenia, the exact cause is not known or the disease is considered multigenic in origin. Recent discoveries of new types of RNAs and the gradual elimination of the "junk DNA" hypothesis refocused the attention on the noncoding part of the human genome. Here we re-analyzed a recent dataset of differentially methylated genes from schizophrenic patients and cross-tabulated them with cis regulatory and repetitive elements and microRNAs known to be involved in schizophrenia. RESULTS: We found that the number of schizophrenia-related (SZ) microRNA targets follows a scale-free distribution with several microRNA hubs and that schizophrenia-related microRNAs with shared targets form a small-world network. The top ten microRNAs with the highest number of SZ gene targets regulate approximately 80 % of all microRNA-regulated genes whereas the top two microRNAs regulate 40-52 % of all such genes. We also found that genes that are regulated by the same microRNAs tend to have more protein-protein interactions than randomly selected schizophrenia genes. This highlights the role microRNAs possibly play in coordinating the abundance of interacting proteins, an important function that has not been sufficiently explored before. The analysis revealed that GABBR1 is regulated by both of the top two microRNAs and acts as a hub by interacting with many schizophrenia-related genes and sharing several types of transcription-binding sites with its interactors. We also found that differentially methylated repetitive elements are significantly more methylated in schizophrenia, pointing out their potential role in the disease. CONCLUSIONS: We find that GABBR1 has a central importance in schizophrenia, even if no direct cause and effect have been shown for it for the time. In addition to being a hub in microRNA-derived regulatory pathways and protein-protein interactions, its centrality is also supported by the high number of cis regulatory elements and transcription factor-binding sites that regulate its transcription. These findings are in line with several genome-wide association studies that repeatedly find the major histocompatibility region (where GABBR1 is located) to have the highest number of single nucleotide polymorphisms in schizophrenics. Our model also offers an explanation for the downregulation of protein kinase B, another consistent finding in schizophrenic patients. Our observations support the notion that microRNAs fine-tune the amount of proteins acting in the same biological pathways in schizophrenia, giving further support to the emerging theory of competing endogenous RNAs.

• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• DNA Methylation * MeSH
• MicroRNAs genetics   MeSH
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Receptors, GABA-B genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Schizophrenia genetics   MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH