Mutagenesis, Site-Directed

Normal human breast epithelial cells were transfected with expression vectors containing the p53 gene mutated at either codon 143, 175, 248 or 273, or by infection with a recombinant retroviral vector containing the p53 gene mutated at codons 143, 175, 248, or 273. The breast epithelial cells were monitored for extension of in vitro lifespan and immortalization. Expression of some, but not all, p53 mutants resulted in an extension of in vitro lifespan.

Platinum nanoparticle (Pt-np) species are superoxide dismutase/catalase mimetics and also have an activity similar to that of mitochondrial electron transport complex I. To examine if this complex I-like activity functions in vivo, we studied the effects of Pt-nps on the lifespan of a mitochondrial complex I-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans mutant, nuo-1 (LB25) compared with wild-type N2. We synthesized a fusion protein of a cell-penetrating peptide, human immunodeficiency virus-1 TAT (48-60), C-terminally linked to a peptide with a high affinity to platinum (GRKKRRQRRRPPQ-DRTSTWR).

SIRT3 is a member of the Sir2 family of NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylases that promotes longevity in many organisms. The processed short form of SIRT3 is a well-established mitochondrial protein whose deacetylase activity regulates various metabolic processes. However, the presence of full-length (FL) SIRT3 in the nucleus and its functional importance remain controversial. Our previous studies demonstrated that nuclear FL SIRT3 functions as a histone deacetylase and is transcriptionally repressive when artificially recruited to a reporter gene.

Forkhead box O (FOXO; DAF-16 in worms) transcription factors, which are of vital importance in cell-cycle control, stress resistance, tumor suppression, and organismal lifespan, are largely regulated through nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. Insulin signaling keeps FOXO/DAF-16 cytoplasmic, and hence transcriptionally inactive. Conversely, as in loss of insulin signaling, reactive oxygen species (ROS) can activate FOXO/DAF-16 through nuclear accumulation. How ROS regulate the nuclear translocation of FOXO/DAF-16 is largely unknown.

The ribonucleoprotein (RNP) enzyme telomerase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae adds telomeric DNA to chromosomal ends in short increments both in vivo and in vitro. Whether or not telomerase functions as a multimer has not been addressed previously. Here we show, first, that following polymerization, the telomerase RNP remains stably bound to its telomeric oligonucleotide reaction product. We then exploit this finding and a previously reported mutant telomerase RNA to demonstrate that, unexpectedly, the S.

Site-directed mutagenesis of the telomerase RNA from Tetrahymena thermophila was used previously to demonstrate the templating function of a sequence within this RNA; this sequence specifies the sequence of telomeric DNA in vivo. The possible functional importance of a phylogenetically conserved nucleotide outside the telomerase RNA template region was investigated by a similar experimental approach.

The reverse transcriptase telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex that adds telomeric repeats to chromosome ends, using a sequence within its endogenous RNA component as a template. Although templating domains of telomerase RNA have been studied in detail, little is known about the roles of the remaining residues, particularly in yeast. We examined the functions of nontemplate telomerase residues in the telomerase RNA of budding yeast Kluyveromyces lactis.

The ribonucleoprotein enzyme telomerase synthesizes telomeric DNA by copying a template sequence in the telomerase RNA. We studied the functional roles of specific residues in the Tetrahymena telomerase RNA template region. Unexpectedly, mutation of certain templating residues caused dramatic effects on specific aspects of the enzyme reaction, including loss of enzymatic fidelity and premature product dissociation. None of these fundamental changes in enzymatic action are explainable by altered base-pairing between the telomerase RNA and DNA substrate.

Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase minimally composed of a reverse transcriptase protein subunit and an internal RNA component that contains the templating region. Point mutations of template RNA bases can cause loss of enzymatic activity, reduced processivity and misincorporation in vitro. Here we report the first complete replacement of the nine base TETRAHYMENA: thermophila telomerase templating region in vivo with non-telomeric sequences. Rather than ablating telomerase activity, three such replaced telomerases (U9, AUN and AU4) were effective in polymerization in vitro.

Glutathione S-transferase of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum (PfGST) represents a novel class of GST isoenzymes. Since the architecture of the PfGST substrate binding site differs significantly from its human counterparts and there is only this one isoenzyme present in the parasite, PfGST is considered a highly attractive target for antimalarial drug development. Here we report the mechanistic, kinetic, and structural characterization of PfGST as well as its interaction with different ligands.