Null mutations in the C. elegans heterochronic gene lin-41 cause precocious expression of adult fates at larval stages. Increased lin-41 activity causes the opposite phenotype, reiteration of larval fates. let-7 mutations cause similar reiterated heterochronic phenotypes that are suppressed by lin-41 mutations, showing that lin-41 is negatively regulated by let-7. lin-41 negatively regulates the timing of LIN-29 adult specification transcription factor expression. lin-41 encodes an RBCC protein, and two elements in the lin-41 3'UTR are complementary to the 21 nucleotide let-7 regulatory RNA. A lin-41::GFP fusion gene is downregulated in the tissues affected by lin-41 at the time that the let-7 regulatory RNA is upregulated. It is suggested that late larval activation of let-7 RNA expression downregulates LIN-41 to relieve inhibition of lin-29 (Slack, 2000).
The C. elegans heterochronic gene pathway consists of a cascade of regulatory genes that are temporally controlled to specify the timing of developmental events. Mutations in heterochronic genes cause temporal transformations in cell fates in which stage-specific events are omitted or reiterated. Here it has been shown that let-7 is a heterochronic switch gene. Loss of let-7 gene activity causes reiteration of larval cell fates during the adult stage, whereas increased let-7 gene dosage causes precocious expression of adult fates during larval stages. let-7 encodes a temporally regulated 21-nucleotide RNA that is complementary to elements in the 3' untranslated regions of the heterochronic genes lin-14, lin-28, lin-41, lin-42 and daf-12, indicating that expression of these genes may be directly controlled by let-7. A reporter gene bearing the lin-41 3' untranslated region is temporally regulated in a let-7-dependent manner. A second regulatory RNA, lin-4, negatively regulates lin-14 and lin-28 through RNA-RNA interactions with their 3' untranslated regions. It is proposed that the sequential stage-specific expression of the lin-4 and let-7 regulatory RNAs triggers transitions in the complement of heterochronic regulatory proteins to coordinate developmental timing (Reinhart, 2000).
Regulation of ribosome synthesis is an essential aspect of growth control. Thus far, little is known about the factors that control and coordinate these processes. The C. elegans gene ncl-1 encodes a zinc finger protein and may be a repressor of RNA polymerase I and III transcription and an inhibitor of cell growth. Loss of function mutations in ncl-1, previously shown to result in enlarged nucleoli, result in increased rates of rRNA and 5S RNA transcription and enlarged cells. Furthermore, ncl-1 adult worms are larger, have more protein, and have twice as much rRNA as wild-type worms. Localization studies show that the level of NCL-1 protein is independently regulated in different cells of the embryo. In wild-type embryos, cells with the largest nucleoli have the lowest level of NCL-1 protein. Based on these results it is proposed that ncl-1 is a repressor of ribosome synthesis and cell growth (Frank, 1998).
Transcriptional activation of HIV-1 gene expression by the viral Tat protein requires the interaction of a cellular cofactor with the Tat activation domain. This domain has been shown to consist of the cysteine-rich and core motifs of HIV-1 Tat and is functionally conserved in the distantly related Tat proteins of HIV-2 and EIAV. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, a novel human gene product, termed HT2A, has been identified that specifically and precisely binds to the activation domain of HIV-1 Tat and that can also interact with the HIV-2 and EIAV Tat proteins in vivo. The interaction between the activation domain of HIV-1 Tat and the HT2A protein can be readily detected in the mammalian cell nucleus. Sequence analysis demonstrates that HT2A is a novel member of the C3HC4 or ring finger family of zinc finger proteins that includes several known oncogenes and transcription factors. Overall, these data suggest that HT2A may play a significant role in mediating the biological activity of the HIV-1 Tat protein in vivo (Fridell, 1995).
A novel protein (BERP) has been identified that is a specific partner for the tail domain of myosin V. Class V myosins are a family of molecular motors thought to interact via their unique C-terminal tails with specific proteins for the targeted transport of organelles. BERP is highly expressed in brain and contains an N-terminal RING finger, followed by a B-box zinc finger, a coiled-coil (RBCC domain), and a unique C-terminal beta-propeller domain. A yeast two-hybrid screening indicates that the C-terminal beta-propeller domain mediates binding to the tail of the class V myosin myr6 (myosin Vb). This interaction has been confirmed by immunoprecipitation, which also demonstrates that BERP could associate with myosin Va, the product of the dilute gene. Like myosin Va, BERP is expressed in a punctate pattern in the cytoplasm as well as in the neurites and growth cones of PC12 cells. The RBCC domain of BERP is involved in protein dimerization. Stable expression of a mutant form of BERP lacking the myosin-binding domain but containing the dimerization domain results in defective PC12 cell spreading and prevents neurite outgrowth in response to nerve growth factor. These studies present a novel interaction for the beta-propeller domain and provide evidence for a role for BERP in myosin V-mediated cargo transport (El-Husseini, 1999).
mei-P26, a novel P-element-induced exchange-defective female meiotic mutant in Drosophila, has been cloned and characterized. Meiotic exchange in females homozygous for mei-P26 mutation is reduced in a polar fashion, such that distal chromosomal regions are the most severely affected. Additional alleles generated by duplication of the P element reveal that mei-P26 is also necessary for germline differentiation in both females and males. To further assess the role of mei-P26 in germline differentiation, double mutant combinations of mei-P26 and bag-of-marbles (bam), a gene necessary for the control of germline differentiation and proliferation in both sexes, were tested. A null mutation at the bam locus acts as a dominant enhancer of mei-P26 in both males and females. Interestingly, meiotic exchange in mei-P26;bam/+ females is also severely decreased in comparison to mei-P26 homozygotes, indicating that bam affects the meiotic phenotype as well. These data suggest that the pathways controlling germline differentiation and meiotic exchange are related and that factors involved in the mitotic divisions of the germline may regulate meiotic recombination (Page, 2000).
Altering the number of surface receptors can rapidly modulate cellular responses to extracellular signals. Some receptors, like the transferrin receptor (TfR), are constitutively internalized and recycled to the plasma membrane. Other receptors, like the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), are internalized after ligand binding and then ultimately degraded in the lysosome. Routing internalized receptors to different destinations suggests that distinct molecular mechanisms may direct their movement. This study reports that the endosome-associated protein hrs is a subunit of a protein complex containing actinin-4, BERP, and myosin V that is necessary for efficient TfR recycling but not for EGFR degradation. The hrs/actinin-4/BERP/myosin V (CART [cytoskeleton-associated recycling or transport]) complex assembles in a linear manner and interrupting binding of any member to its neighbor produces an inhibition of transferrin recycling rate. Disrupting the CART complex results in shunting receptors to a slower recycling pathway that involves the recycling endosome. The novel CART complex may provide a molecular mechanism for the actin-dependence of rapid recycling of constitutively recycled plasma membrane receptors (Yan, 2005).
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