This dissertation covers two projects linked by their involvement in the modification of tRNA bases. The first project focused on an investigation of a role for the modified base Archaeosine, the ubiquitous modification in tRNA in the archaeal domain. Initial work was performed on a set of in vitro prepared tRNA modified to feature either the canonical guanine base at position 15, preQ0 (TGT product) or Archaeosine (ArcS product). There was very little difference in the thermal stability of tRNAs containing these modifications in the halophilic H. volcanii tRNASer or E. coli tRNAGln. In tRNAGln taken from M. thermautotrophicum however, there was a 2°C increase in melting point in 50 mM MgCl2 upon modification to archaeosoine. Benefitting from the development of genetic tools for the generation of specific deletion mutants of the thermophile Thermococcus kodakarensis, it was possible to start investigation of tRNAs that have been hypomodified in vivo due to the lack of arcTGT (TK0760) and ArcS (TK2156). In vitro modified equivalents of the GlnCUG isoacceptor were also prepared. Thermal stability of these tRNAs show virtually identical melting transitions, with a biphasic denaturation occurring at all magnesium concentrations tested. Isolation of the CUG isoacceptor from the in vivo maturated total tRNA pool allowed melts of specifically hypomodified tRNAs. Those containg Archaeosine (WT) and genetically encoded guanine (∆tgt) showed identical melting profiles with Tm beyond the 98°C limit of the experiment. In the preQ0 containing in vivo RNA the shows a lag in its magnesium response, and a more persistent biphasic melting profile. At 10mM Mg2+ concentration the preQ0 containing tRNA is approaching a Tm of 98°C though the turn over point in the melt is not well defined. The second project was to investigate the product of base treatment of the oxidized cofactor NAD(P)+. This cofactor is involved in the biosynthesis of preQ1 from preQ0 in bacterial systems and at low concentrations it can be difficult to quantify enzyme activity based on direct quantitation. Under these conditions a fluorescence based method where by the production of NAD(P)+ is measured rather than the consumption of NAD(P)H. Base treatment of the oxidized cofactor generates a fluorescent species with an efficiency of 95%. The assay has been used extensively by our group to track activity of various enzymes including QueF, however the identity of the fluorophore had not been established. Purification of the fluorescent product was achieved by isocratic HPLC in water using a reverse phase column. It was found that the assay conditions previously used (7.5M NaOH for 2 hours) were actually counterproductive for maximizing fluorescence yield. Incubation at 2M NaOH gave a 35% increase in product yield. The isolated product was determined to have molecular weight of 123.0318 (3.6 ppm by accurate mass ESI MS). 1H and 13C NMR were used to confirm the structure to be that of 2-hydroxynicotinaldeyde. It was also possible to determine the quantum yield for the molecule to 0.11. Work carried out previously on pyridinium based NADP analogs is consistent with the identity of the fluorophore presented here.

Le complexe de liaison de la coiffe des ARN (CBC) joue un rôle essentiel dans leur maturation et déclenche une variété de réactions biochimiques, via son interaction avec différents partenaires. Deux complexes, CBC-ARS2-PHAX (CBCAP), et CBC-ARS2-ZC3H18-NEXT (CBCN), ont récemment été montré comme important pour cibler les ARN vers l'export (CBCAP) ou la dégradation (CBCN). Cependant, les mécanismes par lesquels la sélection se fait pour l'une voie ou l'autre reste mystérieuse. Ainsi, une question majeure qui reste à résoudre est de savoir quand et comment ces complexes sont recrutés sur les ARN. Dans ce travail, j'ai utilisé la procédure du iCLIP (Cross-Linking and Immuno-Precipitation), afin d'identifier les cibles de ces complexes sur l'ensemble du transcriptome humain. J'ai réalisé un iCLIP sur cinq composants de CBCAP et CBCN, et j'ai comparé les résultats à ceux obtenus avec RBM7, un composant de NEXT précédemment étudié par iCLIP. Mes résultats indiquent que: (i) CBP20, ARS2, PHAX et ZC3H18 se lient près de la coiffe des ARN, tandis que RBM7 et MTR4 se lient partout; (ii) CBP20, ARS2, PHAX et ZC3H18 s'associent à un large ensemble d'ARN transcrits par l'ARN polymérase II et montrent une faible sélectivité; (iii) la liaison de ces protéines varie avec l'état de maturation des ARN, avec le CBC enrichi sur les ARN matures, tout comme ARS2/PHAX/ZC3H18 et MTR4 (bien que dans une moindre mesure), tandis que RBM7 est préférentiellement lié sur les pre-mRNAs non épissés; (iv) une liaison différentielle de RBM7 et MTR4 sur les ARN, avec RBM7 enrichi sur les introns et les PROMPTs, et MTR4 plus présent sur les ARN mature. Bien que des expériences additionnelles soient requises, nous proposons que le CBCAP et le CBCN se lient à un même ensemble d'ARN, ce qui indique à la fois une compétition entre ZC3H18 et PHAX pour la liaison à ces ARN, et l'absence de voies de routage bien déterminées qui ciblerait les ARN vers l'une ou l'autre de ces protéines. Le devenir des ARN pourrait ainsi être déterminé par d'autres caractéristiques des ARN, ou encore par des protéines additionnelles. Ces facteurs pourraient s'allier aux protéines liées à la coiffe afin de favoriser la formation du CBCAP ou du CBCN. Dans le but d’identifier des facteurs additionnels, j'ai réalisé un screen d'interaction par spectrométrie de masse après purification de ARS2 ou CBP80. Ceci a été fait dans des conditions natives ou après un cross-link des complexes à la formaldéhyde, afin de stabiliser les interactions transitoires. Ceci a permis d'identifier de nouveaux partenaires de ARS2 et de CBP80, dont la majorité sont impliqués dans l'épissage des ARN. Des expériences additionnelles seront nécessaires pour valider ces interactions. / The cap-binding complex (CBC) plays a pivotal role in post-transcriptional processing events and orchestrates a variety of metabolic pathways, through association with different interaction partners. Two CBC sub-complexes, the CBC-ARS2-PHAX (CBCAP) and the CBC-nuclear exosome targeting (NEXT) complex (CBCN), were recently shown to target capped RNA either toward export or degradation, but the mechanisms by which they can discriminate between different RNA families and route them toward different metabolic pathways still remain unclear. A major question to be answered is how and when the different CBC subcomplexes are recruited to the RNP. Here, we used an individual nucleotide-resolution UV cross-linking and immunoprecipitation (iCLIP) approach to identify the transcriptome-wide targets for 5 different components of the CBCAP and CBCN complexes, and compared results to the previously analysed NEXT-component RBM7. We report that: (i) CBP20, ARS2, PHAX and ZC3H18 bind close to the cap, while RBM7 and MTR4 bind throughout the mRNA body; (ii) CBP20, ARS2, PHAX and ZC3H18 associate with a broad set of RNA polymerase II (PolII)-derived RNAs and have only mild species preferences; (iii) binding varies with the RNA maturation stage, with the CBC being highly enriched on mature mRNA, ARS2/PHAX/ZC3H18/MTR4 less so, and RMB7 preferentially bound to pre-mRNAs; (iv) MTR4 and RBM7 show different specificities, with RBM7 being highly enriched on introns and promoter upstream transcripts (PROMPTs), while MTR4 is additionally present on mature RNAs. Although more experimental work is needed to fully support our model, we propose that CBCAP and CBCN bind overlapping sets of RNAs, indicating a competition between the proteins ZC3H18 and PHAX, and the lack of a strict RNA sorting mechanism. RNA fate may therefore be determined by additional RNA features and/or by other RNA-binding proteins, which may synergize with the cap and drive the formation of one specific CBC subcomplex instead of another. In an attempt to identify yet unknown factors that may interact with cap-bound CBCAP and CBCN, we performed a protein interaction screen leveraging affinity capture-mass spectrometry (ACMS), using ARS2 and CBP80 as bait proteins. As a complementary approach, we also employed a formaldehyde-based chemical cross-linking strategy, aimed at stabilizing weak/transient interactions. Although we failed to detect any transient interactions involving the CBC, we identified several potential CBC80 and ARS2 interactors, the majority of which are involved in pre-mRNA splicing. Additional quantitative experiments are required to validate our ACMS results and confirm the existence of such protein interactions in vivo.

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No description available.

No description available.

Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) is a clonal haemopoietic stem cell (HSC) disorder characterised by the presence of a disease-specific gene, BCR-ABL, which leads to the production of a bcr-abl mRNA transcript. CML is an ideal candidate for gene therapy using ribozymes (Rz), catalytic RNA molecules that cleave and inactivate target RNA in a sequence specific manner. Limited data is available on the activity of ribozymes in human CML cells. In this study, hammerhead ribozyme sequences directed against the b3a2 bcr-abl mRNA sequence (Rz6-Rz10) were cloned into several retroviral vectors. Initial experiments using MSCVHSA based retroviral constructs failed to express the sequences in cell lines. Rz cDNA fragments were then cloned into an LNL6 based retroviral vector (LGL1) encoding a GFP reporter gene and stable LGLRz constructs produced. Using cell sorting, high-titre PA317 producer cell line clones were isolated. Transcriptional silencing of the LGLRz6 producer cell line occurred with prolonged culture, with partial reversal on treatment with the demethylating agent 5' azacytidine. To assess the activity of these constructs in human cells, CD34+ HSC were isolated from newly diagnosed b3a2 Ph+ CML patients. Cells were transduced with either control LGL vector or the LGLRz6 construct. Transduced human cells were sorted based on GFP expression and placed into long-term HSC culture (LTC-IC assays). Using a common cDNA, RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of both the transgene and bcr-abl in individual colonies derived from the LTCIC assay at various time points, allowing assessment of the effect of transgene expression on bcr-abl expression. LGLRz transgene expression was detectable for up to 6 weeks in culture. Colony RT-PCR results from 3 patients showed that expression of the LGLRz6 construct was associated with decreased bcr-abl expression. It also appeared that the reduced bcr-abl expression decreased the proliferation of Ph+ cells leading to their loss from culture. In summary, these results appear to show an effect of a retroviral vector containing a bcr-abl Rz sequence on human CML HSC. Targeting of bcr-abl remains a valid therapeutic goal in the Imatinib era, particularly if problems related to effective ribozyme delivery and targeting can be overcome.

Bibliography: leaves 133-141.

Treatments for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are currently only partially effective. Research into antivirals directed at HCV viral proteins are commonly based and tested on a single genotype, namely genotype 1. This is despite the high level of variability of the RNA virus and the frequency of infection with genotypes other than 1. The systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) is a novel in vitro approach for the isolation of antiviral agents. SELEX allows rapid screening of vast nucleic acid libraries to isolate sequences (termed aptamers) that bind to target proteins with high affinity. The SELEX approach was used in the present study to isolate DNA aptamers to the RNAdependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) [non-structural protein B (NS5B)] protein of HCV subtype 3a, with the aim of inhibiting polymerase activity. Ten rounds of selection were performed using a Biacore 2000 and resultant aptamers cloned from rounds 2, 4, 8 and 10. Sequences of aptamers were aligned to elucidate common motifs and a proportion of the aptamers from rounds 8 and 10 (29/48) were screened for binding ability using the Biacore. The five ???best binding??? aptamers were investigated for inhibition of 3a polymerase activity in an in vitro polymerase assay. Two aptamers, r10/43 and r10/47, were chosen for further studies based on their ability to inhibit polymerase activity. The inhibition constants (Ki) of r10/43 and r10/47 were estimated to be 1.4 + 2.4 nM and 6.0 + 2.3 nM respectively. The affinity (Kd) of these aptamers for the 3a polymerase was estimated to be 1.3 + 0.3 nM (r10/43) and 23.5 + 6.7 nM (r10/47). The estimated inhibition and dissociation constants of these two aptamers are among the best for inhibitory aptamers of the HCV enzymes (polymerase and protease). Inhibition of HCV 3a polymerase appeared to be specific for r10/47, whilst r10/43 also had some inhibitory effect on norovirus and ??6 polymerase activity. This study is the first description of an inhibitor to the HCV subtype 3a polymerase that investigates genotypic specificity of targeted antivirals.

The human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small hepatotropic virus, which affects approximately 350 million chronic sufferers worldwide. It has a compact 3.2 kbp dsDNA genome encoding four major overlapping genes namely core, polymerase, surface and X required for its replication. The virus synthesises a pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) which functions both as an RNA intermediate for reverse transcription into the DNA genome and as the mRNA for the translation of the core (C) and polymerase (P) proteins. The core overlaps the polymerase gene and is translated at a 10 to 1 ratio. The polymerase gene translated from the P AUG codon is preceded by at least 4 upstream AUG codons (uAUGs), namely C AUG, C1 AUG, J AUG and C2 AUG. Various mechanisms have been implicated in the synthesis of the polymerase protein. This led to the currently accepted model which involves leaky scanning and a reinitiation mechanism in polymerase synthesis. However, multiple sequence alignment of the pgRNA revealed a short upstream open reading frame (uORF) highly conserved at the nucleotide level in all HBV subtypes and mammalian hepadnaviruses. This previously unreported uORF, designated as C0 ORF in this study is also conserved in its position and length. Past studies have either omitted this uORF in their test constructs or ignored its potential role. The C0 ORF has a conserved weak initiation context and is located within the epsilon structure within the 5' leader of the pgRNA, required for viral encapsidation. Importantly, the C0 ORF precedes and overlaps the core ORF, which may suggest an alternative model in which the core and polymerase may be translated and coordinately regulated. Fusion of the C0 ORF to luciferase showed for the first time that this uORF is translated through the detection of reporter activity (~20% of C) and also visualisation of the fusion protein via western analysis using anti-C0 and anti-luciferase antibodies. Subsequent removal of the C0 ORF implicated a role in repressing downstream core fusion protein synthesis in HepG2 cells. A similar repression was observed on J expression. To study the effect of C0 on downstream polymerase translation, a pgRNA-like DNA construct was made and subsequent mutations introduced. Mutation of the C0 AUG led to an increase in initiation at the downstream P AUG. Alteration of the existing weak initiation context to an optimal context which favours stronger initiation consistently showed a potential role for C0 ORF in facilitating reinitiation at certain downstream initiation codons including P AUG. Mutations of other uAUGs preceding the P AUG were also done to better understand their roles in regulating polymerase synthesis. The removal of the C AUG markedly increased expression from the P AUG. This study revealed other internal uAUGs in-frame to the C AUG, namely the C1 and C2 AUGs are also effectively translated, further reducing availability of translating ribosomes to downstream P AUG. Indeed the removal of the C1 and C2 AUGs led to a corresponding increase in initiation from the P AUG. Initiation at the internal J AUG was also reported and its removal showed a significant decrease in expression from the P AUG, consistent with the previous model implicating reinitiation at the P initiation site after translation of the short J ORF. The inhibitory role of the 5 uAUGs prior to the P AUG were confirmed when all were removed, giving rise to translation almost equal to that at C AUG. Taken together, these results suggest a new model in which the HBV C0 ORF plays a key role in controlling core and polymerase synthesis by repressing core translation and making available more ribosomes to downstream AUGs possibly facilitating translation reinitiation. In addition, the translation of the C0 ORF across the [epsilon] region may also preclude encapsidation, potentially acting as a switch discriminating the pgRNA template between encapsidation and translation. Therefore, the highly conserved [epsilon] region and C0 ORF present an excellent target for molecular based antiviral drugs (antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, ribozymes) potentially providing new anti HBV drugs.

The human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small hepatotropic virus, which affects approximately 350 million chronic sufferers worldwide. It has a compact 3.2 kbp dsDNA genome encoding four major overlapping genes namely core, polymerase, surface and X required for its replication. The virus synthesises a pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) which functions both as an RNA intermediate for reverse transcription into the DNA genome and as the mRNA for the translation of the core (C) and polymerase (P) proteins. The core overlaps the polymerase gene and is translated at a 10 to 1 ratio. The polymerase gene translated from the P AUG codon is preceded by at least 4 upstream AUG codons (uAUGs), namely C AUG, C1 AUG, J AUG and C2 AUG. Various mechanisms have been implicated in the synthesis of the polymerase protein. This led to the currently accepted model which involves leaky scanning and a reinitiation mechanism in polymerase synthesis. However, multiple sequence alignment of the pgRNA revealed a short upstream open reading frame (uORF) highly conserved at the nucleotide level in all HBV subtypes and mammalian hepadnaviruses. This previously unreported uORF, designated as C0 ORF in this study is also conserved in its position and length. Past studies have either omitted this uORF in their test constructs or ignored its potential role. The C0 ORF has a conserved weak initiation context and is located within the epsilon structure within the 5� leader of the pgRNA, required for viral encapsidation. Importantly, the C0 ORF precedes and overlaps the core ORF, which may suggest an alternative model in which the core and polymerase may be translated and coordinately regulated. Fusion of the C0 ORF to luciferase showed for the first time that this uORF is translated through the detection of reporter activity (~20% of C) and also visualisation of the fusion protein via western analysis using anti-C0 and anti-luciferase antibodies. Subsequent removal of the C0 ORF implicated a role in repressing downstream core fusion protein synthesis in HepG2 cells. A similar repression was observed on J expression. To study the effect of C0 on downstream polymerase translation, a pgRNA-like DNA construct was made and subsequent mutations introduced. Mutation of the C0 AUG led to an increase in initiation at the downstream P AUG. Alteration of the existing weak initiation context to an optimal context which favours stronger initiation consistently showed a potential role for C0 ORF in facilitating reinitiation at certain downstream initiation codons including P AUG. Mutations of other uAUGs preceding the P AUG were also done to better understand their roles in regulating polymerase synthesis. The removal of the C AUG markedly increased expression from the P AUG. This study revealed other internal uAUGs in-frame to the C AUG, namely the C1 and C2 AUGs are also effectively translated, further reducing availability of translating ribosomes to downstream P AUG. Indeed the removal of the C1 and C2 AUGs led to a corresponding increase in initiation from the P AUG. Initiation at the internal J AUG was also reported and its removal showed a significant decrease in expression from the P AUG, consistent with the previous model implicating reinitiation at the P initiation site after translation of the short J ORF. The inhibitory role of the 5 uAUGs prior to the P AUG were confirmed when all were removed, giving rise to translation almost equal to that at C AUG. Taken together, these results suggest a new model in which the HBV C0 ORF plays a key role in controlling core and polymerase synthesis by repressing core translation and making available more ribosomes to downstream AUGs possibly facilitating translation reinitiation. In addition, the translation of the C0 ORF across the [epsilon] region may also preclude encapsidation, potentially acting as a switch discriminating the pgRNA template between encapsidation and translation. Therefore, the highly conserved [epsilon] region and C0 ORF present an excellent target for molecular based antiviral drugs (antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, ribozymes) potentially providing new anti HBV drugs.