Kinetics of protein import into isolated Xenopus oocyte nuclei

An in vitro assay for nucleocytoplasmic transport was established in which signal-dependent protein import is reproduced faithfully by isolated purified nuclei. The assay permits the precise quantification of import kinetics and the discrimination between translocation through the nuclear envelope and intranuclear transport. Nuclei were manually isolated from Xenopus oocytes and after manual purification incubated with a medium containing a green fluorescent transport substrate, karyopherins α2 and β1, a red fluorescent control substrate, an energy mix and, for keeping an osmotic balance, 20% (wt/vol) BSA. Import of transport substrates into the nucleus and exclusion of the control substrate were monitored simultaneously by two-color confocal microscopy. Two widely differing import substrates were used: the recombinant protein P4K [480 kDa, four nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) per P4K tetramer], and NLS-BSA (90 kDa, 15 NLSs). The measurements suggested that import, at the specific conditions used in this study, consisted of two consecutive processes: (i) the rapid equilibration of the concentration difference across the nuclear envelope, a process involving binding and translocation of substrate by the nuclear pore complex , and (ii) the dissipation of the intranuclear concentration difference by diffusion.

Characteristics of glycine receptors expressed by embryonic rat brain mRNAs

A study was made of glycine (Gly) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes injected with rat mRNAs isolated from the encephalon, midbrain, and brainstem of 18-day-old rat embryos. In oocytes injected with encephalon, midbrain, or brainstem mRNAs, the Gly-current amplitudes (membrane current elicited by Gly; 1 mM Gly) were respectively 115 ± 35, 346 ± 28, and 389 ± 22 nA, whereas the GABA-currents (1 mM GABA) were all ≤40 nA. Moreover, the Gly-currents desensitized faster in oocytes injected with encephalon or brainstem mRNAs. The EC50 for Gly was 611 ± 77 μM for encephalon, 661 ± 28 μM for midbrain, and 506 ± 18 μM for brainstem mRNA-injected oocytes, and the corresponding Hill coefficients were all ≈2. Strychnine inhibited all of the Gly-currents, with an IC50 of 56 ± 3 nM for encephalon, 97 ± 4 nM for midbrain, and 72 ± 4 nM for brainstem mRNAs. During repetitive Gly applications, the Gly-currents were potentiated by 1.6-fold for encephalon, 2.1-fold for midbrain, and 1.3-fold for brainstem RNA-injected oocytes. Raising the extracellular Ca2+ concentration significantly increased the Gly-currents in oocytes injected with midbrain and brainstem mRNAs. Reverse transcription–PCR studies showed differences in the Gly receptor (GlyR) α-subunits expressed, whereas the β-subunit was present in all three types of mRNA. These results indicate differential expression of GlyR mRNAs in the brain areas examined, and these mRNAs lead to the expression of GlyRs that have different properties. The modulation of GlyRs by Ca2+ could play important functions during brain development.

Regulation of eye development by frizzled signaling in Xenopus

Eye development in both invertebrates and vertebrates is regulated by a network of highly conserved transcription factors. However, it is not known what controls the expression of these factors to regulate early eye formation and whether transmembrane signaling events are involved. Here we establish a role for signaling via a member of the frizzled family of receptors in regulating early eye development. We show that overexpression of Xenopus frizzled 3 (Xfz3), a receptor expressed during normal eye development, functions cell autonomously to promote ectopic eye formation and can perturb endogenous eye development. Ectopic eyes obtained with Xfz3 overexpression have a laminar organization similar to that of endogenous eyes and contain differentiated retinal cell types. Ectopic eye formation is preceded by ectopic expression of transcription factors involved in early eye development, including Pax6, Rx, and Otx2. Conversely, targeted overexpression of a dominant-negative form of Xfz3 (Nxfz3), consisting of the soluble extracellular domain of the receptor, results in suppression of endogenous Pax6, Rx, and Otx2 expression and suppression of endogenous eye development. This effect can be rescued by coexpression of Xfz3. Finally, overexpression of Kermit, a protein that interacts with the C-terminal intracellular domain of Xfz3, also blocks endogenous eye development, suggesting that signaling through Xfz3 or a related receptor is required for normal eye development. In summary, we show that frizzled signaling is both necessary and sufficient to regulate eye development in Xenopus.

The GATA factor Serpent is required for the onset of the humoral immune response in Drosophila embryos

Innate immunity in Drosophila is characterized by the inducible expression of antimicrobial peptides. We have investigated the development and regulation of immune responsiveness in Drosophila embryos after infection. Immune competence, as monitored by the induction of Cecropin A1-lacZ constructs, was observed first in the embryonic yolk. This observation suggests that the yolk plays an important role in the humoral immune response of the developing embryo by synthesizing antimicrobial peptides. Around midembryogenesis, the response in the yolk was diminished. Simultaneously, Cecropin expression became inducible in a large number of cells in the epidermis, demonstrating that late-stage embryos can synthesize their own antibiotics in the epidermis. This production likely serves to provide the hatching larva with an active antimicrobial barrier and protection against systemic infections. Cecropin expression in the yolk required the presence of a GATA site in the promoter as well as the involvement of the GATA-binding transcription factor Serpent (dGATAb). In contrast, neither the GATA site nor Serpent were necessary for Cecropin expression in the epidermis. Thus, the inducible immune responses in the yolk and in the epidermis can be uncoupled and call for distinct sets of transcription factors. Our data suggest that Serpent is involved in the distinction between a systemic response in the yolk/fat body and a local immune response in epithelial cells. In addition, the present study shows that signal transduction pathways controlling innate and epithelial defense reactions can be dissected genetically in Drosophila embryos.

Embryo-Specific Gene Expression in Microspore-Derived Embryos of Brassica napus. An Interaction between Abscisic Acid and Jasmonic Acid1, 2

The induction of napin and oleosin gene expression in Brassica napus microspore-derived embryos (MDEs) was studied to assess the possible interaction between abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA). Napin and oleosin transcripts were detected sooner following treatment with ABA than JA. Treatment of MDEs with ABA plus JA gave an additive accumulation of both napin and oleosin mRNA, the absolute amount being dependent on the concentration of each hormone. Endogenous ABA levels were reduced by 10-fold after treatment with JA, negating the possibility that the observed additive interaction was due to JA-induced ABA biosynthesis. Also, JA did not significantly increase the uptake of [3H-ABA] from the medium into MDEs. This suggests that the additive interaction was not due to an enhanced carrier-mediated ABA uptake by JA. Finally, when JA was added to MDEs that had been treated with the ABA biosynthesis inhibitor fluridone, napin mRNA did not increase. Based on these results with the MDE system, it is possible that embryos of B. napus use endogenous JA to modulate ABA effects on expression of both napin and oleosin. In addition, JA could play a causal role in the reduction of ABA that occurs during late stages of seed development.

Changes in Organization of the Endoplasmic Reticulum during Xenopus Oocyte Maturation and ActivationV⃞

The organization of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the cortex of Xenopus oocytes was investigated during maturation and activation using a green fluorescent protein chimera, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy. Dense clusters of ER developed on the vegetal side (the side opposite the meiotic spindle) during maturation. Small clusters appeared transiently at the time of nuclear envelope breakdown, disappeared at the time of first polar body formation, and then reappeared as larger clusters in mature eggs. The appearance of the large ER clusters was correlated with an increase in releaseability of Ca2+ by IP3. The clusters dispersed during the Ca2+ wave at activation. Possible relationships of ER structure and Ca2+ regulation are discussed.

DNA polymerase ɛ is required for coordinated and efficient chromosomal DNA replication in Xenopus egg extracts

DNA polymerase ɛ (Polɛ) is thought to be involved in DNA replication, repair, and cell-cycle checkpoint control in eukaryotic cells. Although the requirement of other replicative DNA polymerases, DNA polymerases α and δ (Polα and δ), for chromosomal DNA replication has been well documented by genetic and biochemical studies, the precise role, if any, of Polɛ in chromosomal DNA replication is still obscure. Here we show, with the use of a cell-free replication system with Xenopus egg extracts, that Xenopus Polɛ is indeed required for chromosomal DNA replication. In Polɛ-depleted extracts, the elongation step of chromosomal DNA replication is markedly impaired, resulting in significant reduction of the overall DNA synthesis as well as accumulation of small replication intermediates. Moreover, despite the decreased DNA synthesis, excess amounts of Polα are loaded onto the chromatin template in Polɛ-depleted extracts, indicative of the failure of proper assembly of DNA synthesis machinery at the fork. These findings strongly suggest that Polɛ, along with Polα and Polδ, is necessary for coordinated chromosomal DNA replication in eukaryotic cells.

The Caenorhabditis elegans maternal-effect sterile proteins, MES-2, MES-3, and MES-6, are associated in a complex in embryos

The Caenorhabditis elegans maternal-effect sterile genes, mes-2, mes-3, mes-4, and mes-6, encode nuclear proteins that are essential for germ-line development. They are thought to be involved in a common process because their mutant phenotypes are similar. MES-2 and MES-6 are homologs of Enhancer of zeste and extra sex combs, both members of the Polycomb group of chromatin regulators in insects and vertebrates. MES-3 is a novel protein, and MES-4 is a SET-domain protein. To investigate whether the MES proteins interact and likely function as a complex, we performed biochemical analyses on C. elegans embryo extracts. Results of immunoprecipitation experiments indicate that MES-2, MES-3, and MES-6 are associated in a complex and that MES-4 is not associated with this complex. Based on in vitro binding assays, MES-2 and MES-6 interact directly, via the amino terminal portion of MES-2. Sucrose density gradient fractionation and gel filtration chromatography were performed to determine the Stokes radius and sedimentation coefficient of the MES-2/MES-3/MES-6 complex. Based on those two values, we estimate that the molecular mass of the complex is ≈255 kDa, close to the sum of the three known components. Our results suggest that the two C. elegans Polycomb group homologs (MES-2 and MES-6) associate with a novel partner (MES-3) to regulate germ-line development in C. elegans.

The area code hypothesis revisited: Olfactory receptors and other related transmembrane receptors may function as the last digits in a cell surface code for assembling embryos

Recent evidence emerging from several laboratories, integrated with new data obtained by searching the genome databases, suggests that the area code hypothesis provides a good heuristic model for explaining the remarkable specificity of cell migration and tissue assembly that occurs throughout embryogenesis. The area code hypothesis proposes that cells assemble organisms, including their brains and nervous systems, with the aid of a molecular-addressing code that functions much like the country, area, regional, and local portions of the telephone dialing system. The complexity of the information required to code cells for the construction of entire organisms is so enormous that we assume that the code must make combinatorial use of members of large multigene families. Such a system would reuse the same receptors as molecular digits in various regions of the embryo, thus greatly reducing the total number of genes required. We present the hypothesis that members of the very large families of olfactory receptors and vomeronasal receptors fulfill the criteria proposed for area code molecules and could serve as the last digits in such a code. We discuss our evidence indicating that receptors of these families are expressed in many parts of developing embryos and suggest that they play a key functional role in cell recognition and targeting not only in the olfactory system but also throughout the brain and numerous other organs as they are assembled.

Timing of metamorphosis and the onset of the negative feedback loop between the thyroid gland and the pituitary is controlled by type II iodothyronine deiodinase in Xenopus laevis

Two important features of amphibian metamorphosis are the sequential response of tissues to different concentrations of thyroid hormone (TH) and the development of the negative feedback loop between the pituitary and the thyroid gland that regulates TH synthesis by the thyroid gland. At the climax of metamorphosis in Xenopus laevis (when the TH level is highest), the ratio of the circulating precursor thyroxine (T4) to the active form 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3) in the blood is many times higher than it is in tissues. This difference is because of the conversion of T4 to T3 in target cells of the tadpole catalyzed by the enzyme type II iodothyronine deiodinase (D2) and the local effect (cell autonomy) of this activity. Limb buds and tails express D2 early and late in metamorphosis, respectively, correlating with the time that these organs undergo TH-induced change. T3 is required to complete metamorphosis because the peak concentration of T4 that is reached at metamorphic climax cannot induce the final morphological changes. At the climax of metamorphosis, D2 expression is activated specifically in the anterior pituitary cells that express the genes for thyroid-stimulating hormone but not in the cells that express proopiomelanocortin. Physiological concentrations of T3 but not T4 can suppress thyrotropin subunit β gene expression. The timing and the remarkable specificity of D2 expression in the thyrotrophs of the anterior pituitary coupled with the requirement for locally synthesized T3 strongly support a role for D2 in the onset of the negative feedback loop at the climax of metamorphosis.

The Biosynthesis of Erucic Acid in Developing Embryos of Brassica rapa1

The prevailing hypothesis on the biosynthesis of erucic acid in developing seeds is that oleic acid, produced in the plastid, is activated to oleoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) for malonyl-CoA-dependent elongation to erucic acid in the cytosol. Several in vivo-labeling experiments designed to probe and extend this hypothesis are reported here. To examine whether newly synthesized oleic acid is directly elongated to erucic acid in developing seeds of Brassica rapa L., embryos were labeled with [14C]acetate, and the ratio of radioactivity of carbon atoms C-5 to C-22 (de novo fatty acid synthesis portion) to carbon atoms C-1 to C-4 (elongated portion) of erucic acid was monitored with time. If newly synthesized 18:1 (oleate) immediately becomes a substrate for elongation to erucic acid, this ratio would be expected to remain constant with incubation time. However, if erucic acid is produced from a pool of preexisting oleic acid, the ratio of 14C in the 4 elongation carbons to 14C in the methyl-terminal 18 carbons would be expected to decrease with time. This labeling ratio decreased with time and, therefore, suggests the existence of an intermediate pool of 18:1, which contributes at least part of the oleoyl precursor for the production of erucic acid. The addition of 2-[{3-chloro-5-(trifluromethyl)-2-pyridinyl}oxyphenoxy] propanoic acid, which inhibits the homodimeric acetyl-CoA carboxylase, severely inhibited the synthesis of [14C]erucic acid, indicating that essentially all malonyl-CoA for elongation of 18:1 to erucate was produced by homodimeric acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Both light and 2-[{3-chloro-5-(trifluromethyl)-2-pyridinyl}oxyphenoxy]-propanoic acid increased the accumulation of [14C]18:1 and the parallel accumulation of [14C]phosphatidylcholine. Taken together, these results show an additional level of complexity in the biosynthesis of erucic acid.

Xenopus Bcl-XL selectively protects Rohon-Beard neurons from metamorphic degeneration

Amphibian metamorphosis involves extensive, but selective, neuronal death and turnover, thus sharing many features with mammalian postnatal development. The antiapoptotic protein Bcl-XL plays an important role in postnatal mammalian neuronal survival. It is therefore of interest that accumulation of the mRNA encoding the Xenopus Bcl-XL homologue, termed xR11, increases abruptly in the nervous system, but not in other tissues, during metamorphosis in Xenopus tadpoles. This observation raises the intriguing possibility that xR11 selectively regulates neuronal survival during postembryonic development. To investigate this hypothesis, we overexpressed xR11 in vivo as a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-xR11 fusion protein by using somatic and germinal transgenesis. Somatic gene transfer showed that the fusion protein was effective in counteracting, in a dose-dependent manner, the proapoptotic effects of coexpressed Bax. When GFP-xR11 was expressed from the neuronal β-tubulin promoter by germinal transgenesis we observed neuronal specific expression that was maintained throughout metamorphosis and beyond, into juvenile and adult stages. Confocal microscopy showed GFP-xR11 to be exclusively localized in the mitochondria. Our findings show that GFP-xR11 significantly prolonged Rohon-Beard neuron survival up to the climax of metamorphosis, even in the regressing tadpole tail, whereas in controls these neurons disappeared in early metamorphosis. However, GFP-xR11 expression did not modify the fate of spinal cord motoneurons. The selective protection of Rohon-Beard neurons reveals cell-specific apoptotic pathways and offers approaches to further analyze programmed neuronal turnover during postembryonic development.