Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.6 (RNA polymerase)
34,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In mammalian preovulatory oocytes, rRNA synthesis is down-regulated until egg fertilization and zygotic genome reactivation, but the underlying regulatory mechanisms of this phenomenon are poorly characterized. We examined the molecular organization of the rRNA synthesis and processing machineries in fully grown mouse oocytes in relation to ongoing rDNA transcription and oocyte progression throughout meiosis. We show that, at the germinal vesicle stage, the two RNA polymerase I (RNA pol I) subunits, RPA116 and PAF53/RPA53, and the nucleolar upstream binding factor (UBF) remain present irrespective of ongoing rDNA transcription and colocalize in stoichiometric amounts within discrete foci at the periphery of the nucleolus-like bodies. These foci are spatially associated with the early pre-rRNA processing protein fibrillarin and in part with the pre-ribosome assembly factor B23/nucleophosmin. After germinal vesicle breakdown, the RNA pol I complex disassembles in a step-wise manner from chromosomes, while UBF remains associated with chromosomes until late prometaphase I. Dislodging of UBF, but not of RNA pol I, is impaired by the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid, thus strengthening the idea of a relationship between UBF dynamics and protein phosphorylation. Since neither RNA pol I, UBF, fibrillarin, nor B23 is detected at metaphase II, i.e., the normal stage of fertilization, we conclude that these nucleolar proteins are not transported to fertilized eggs by maternal chromosomes. Together, these data demonstrate an essential difference in the dynamics of the major nucleolar proteins during mitosis and meiosis.
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PMID:Functional and molecular reorganization of the nucleolar apparatus in maturing mouse oocytes. 1088 21

This report examines the distribution of an RNA polymerase I transcription factor (upstream binding factor; UBF), pre-rRNA processing factors (nucleolin and fibrillarin), and pre-rRNAs throughout mitosis and postmitotic nucleologenesis in HeLa cells. The results demonstrate that nucleolin, fibrillarin, and pre-rRNAs synthesized at G2/M phase of the previous cell cycle are directly recruited to UBF-associated nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) early in telophase before chromosome decondensation. Unlike the fusion of prenucleolar bodies to the nucleoli, this early recruitment of processing factors and pre-rRNAs is independent of RNA polymerase I transcription. In the absence of polymerase I transcription, the initial localization of nucleolin, fibrillarin, and pre-rRNAs to UBF-associated NORs generates segregated mininucleoli that are similar to the larger ones observed in interphase cells grown under the same conditions. Pre-rRNAs are juxtaposed to UBF-nucleolin-fibrillarin caps that may represent the segregated nucleoli observed by electron microscopy. These findings lead to a revised model of nucleologenesis. We propose that nucleolar formation at the end of mitosis results from direct recruitment of processing factors and pre-rRNAs to UBF-associated NORs before or at the onset of rDNA transcription. This is followed by fusion of prepackaged prenucleolar bodies into the nucleolus. Pre-ribosomal ribonucleoproteins synthesized in the previous cell cycle may contribute to postmitotic nucleologenesis.
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PMID:Initiation of nucleolar assembly is independent of RNA polymerase I transcription. 1093 Apr 64

Current evidence suggests that the nucleolus is composed of different substructures that are dynamic and form in response to the requirement for new ribosome synthesis. Thus, agents that disrupt nucleolar organization may deregulate basic cellular events and eventually contribute to human disease. Here we report that environmentally relevant concentrations (5 microM) of inorganic mercury induce a redistribution of nucleolar protein fibrillarin from the nucleolus to the nucleoplasm in epithelial cell lines. Since treatment with transcription inhibitors led to a similar relocation of fibrillarin, the effects of mercury on transcription were studied by run-on transcription assays: mercuric ions specifically blocked synthesis of ribosomal RNA, whereas activity of RNA polymerase II remained unchanged and occurred throughout the nucleoplasm. Moreover, we show by double-labeling that inhibition of nucleolar transcription and redistribution of fibrillarin occur simultaneously, underlining that fibrillarin relocation is a consequence of the blockade of ribosomal RNA synthesis by mercury. We also detected redistribution of fibrillarin in vivo, e.g., in splenic cells of mice chronically exposed to HgCl(2). Thus, implications of this alteration of nuclear structure and function for mercury-induced autoimmunity are discussed.
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PMID:Specific inhibition of rRNA transcription and dynamic relocation of fibrillarin induced by mercury. 1094 94

Ribosomal RNA genes are transcribed in the nucleolus. The formation of this organelle after fertilization is essential for embryonic protein synthesis and viability. We have examined nucleolus formation in in vivo-derived porcine embryos by light microscopical autoradiography following 20 min of (3)H-uridine incubation, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and immunocytochemical localization by confocal laser scanning microscopy of key nucleolar proteins involved in rRNA transcription (nucleolin, upstream binding factor, topoisomerase I, and RNA polymerase I) and processing (fibrillarin, nucleophosmin). During the first two postfertilization cell cycles, TEM revealed fibrillar spheres as the most prominent intranuclear entity of the blastomeres. Fibrillogranular nucleoli were established during the third cell cycle. Initially, fibrillar centers, a dense fibrillar component, and a granular component were formed on the surface of the fibrillar spheres. At the same time, autoradiographic labeling over the nucleoplasm and in particular the nucleoli was detected for the first time. The nucleolar proteins were, in general, not immunocytochemically localized to the presumptive nucleolar compartment until late during the third or early during the fourth cell cycle.
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PMID:Nucleolar proteins and ultrastructure in preimplantation porcine embryos developed in vivo. 1109 Apr 57

In eukaryotes, two distinct classes of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), namely the fibrillarin-associated box C/D snoRNAs and the Gar1p-associated box H/ACA snoRNAs, direct the site-specific 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation of ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), respectively. We have identified a novel evolutionarily conserved snoRNA, called U85, which possesses the box elements of both classes of snoRNAs and associates with both fibrillarin and Gar1p. In vitro and in vivo pseudouridylation and 2'-O-methylation experiments provide evidence that the U85 snoRNA directs 2'-O-methylation of the C45 and pseudouridylation of the U46 residues in the invariant loop 1 of the human U5 spliceosomal RNA. The U85 is the first example of a snoRNA that directs modification of an RNA polymerase II-transcribed spliceosomal RNA and that functions both in RNA pseudouridylation and 2'-O-methylation.
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PMID:A small nucleolar guide RNA functions both in 2'-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation of the U5 spliceosomal RNA. 1115 60

We examined the mobilities of nucleolar components that act at various steps of the ribosome biogenesis pathway. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP) analyses demonstrate that factors involved in rRNA transcription (upstream-binding factor [UBF]), processing (nucleolin, fibrillarin, and RNase MRP subunits, Rpp29), and ribosome assembly (B23) exchange rapidly between the nucleoplasm and nucleolus. In contrast, the mobilities of ribosomal subunit proteins (S5, L9) are much slower. Selective inhibition of RNA polymerase I transcription does not prevent the exchanges but influences the rates of exchange differentially for different nucleolar components. These findings suggest that the rapid exchange of nucleolar components between the nucleolus and nucleoplasm may represent a new level of regulation for rRNA synthesis. The different dynamic properties of proteins involved in different steps of ribosome biogenesis imply that the nucleolar association of these proteins is due to their specific functional roles rather than simply their specific nucleolar-targeting events.
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PMID:Nucleolar components involved in ribosome biogenesis cycle between the nucleolus and nucleoplasm in interphase cells. 1128 83

During the growth phase of the bovine oocyte transcripts, polypeptides and ribosomes are accumulated in the oocyte to drive and sustain future meiotic maturation, fertilization, and early embryonic development. The oocyte also furnishes the early embryo with the components required to establish a functional transcriptionally active nucleolus at the time of maternal embryonic transition. The aim of the present study was to describe the behavior of key components of the nucleolus. The temporal localization of nucleolar proteins fibrillarin, nucleophosmin, nucleolin, RNA polymerase I (RNA pol I), topoisomerase I, upstream binding factor (UBF), and coilin 5P10 was investigated in growing and fully grown immature bovine oocytes during in vitro maturation and during the first postfertilization cell cycle using whole-mount immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy. During the oocyte growth phase, fibrillarin, nucleophosmin, nucleolin, RNA pol I, and UBF were localized to the oocyte nucleolus. On completion of the growth phase, nucleolin and nucleophosmin appeared to migrate to the periphery of the nucleolus and into the nucleoplasm, and the proportion of oocytes displaying RNA pol I localization had decreased. Topoisomerase I was not detected at any stage. Fibrillarin appeared to be localized to large foci within the nucleolus and/or nucleoplasm. Nucleophosmin and nucleolin labeling was characterized by a homogeneous signal over the nucleolus. RNA pol I and UBF were characterized by the localization of the antibodies to individual or clustered foci in the nucleolus and/or nucleoplasm. Following oocyte nucleus breakdown (ONBD), the proteins appeared to disperse into the cytoplasm. All proteins were undetectable during meiotic maturation and were not relocalized until 5-10 h postinsemination (hpi). UBF was localized to the fertilizing sperm head of most zygotes at 5 hpi. By 10 hpi, all proteins were detected in most oocytes displaying two pronuclei. Nucleolar protein localization was exclusive to or more abundant in one pronucleus up to 20 hpi; thereafter, the pattern was more evenly distributed. Fibrillarin, nucleophosmin, nucleolin, UBF, and Pol I are present in the nuclei of growing and fully grown bovine oocytes until ONBD. They reappear at the late telophase stage of meiosis II and continue to be present up to the first mitotic division of embryo development.
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PMID:Immunolocalization of nucleolar proteins during bovine oocyte growth, meiotic maturation, and fertilization. 1131 60

Cell death in eukaryotes can occur by either apoptosis or necrosis. Apoptosis is characterized by well-defined nuclear changes which are thought to be the consequence of both proteolysis and DNA fragmentation. On the other hand, the nuclear modifications that occur during necrosis are largely less known. Here, we have investigated whether or not nuclear modifications occur during ethanol-induced necrotic cell death of HL-60 cells. By means of immunofluorescence staining, we demonstrate that the patterns given by antibodies directed against some nuclear proteins (lamin B1, NuMA, topoisomerase IIalpha, SC-35, B23/nucleophosmin) changed in necrotic cells. The changes in the spatial distribution of NuMA strongly resembled those described to occur during apoptosis. On the contrary, the fluorescent pattern characteristic for other nuclear proteins (C23/nucleolin, UBF, fibrillarin, RNA polymerase I) did not change during necrosis. By immunoblotting analysis, we observed that some nuclear proteins (SAF-A, SATB1, NuMA) were cleaved during necrosis, and in the case of SATB1, the apoptotic signature fragment of 70 kDa was also present to the same extent in necrotic samples. Caspase inhibitors did not prevent proteolytic cleavage of the aforementioned polypeptides during necrosis, while they were effective if apoptosis was induced. In contrast, lamin B1 and topoisomerase IIalpha were uncleaved in necrotic cells, whereas they were proteolyzed during apoptosis. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that slight morphological changes were present in the nuclear matrix fraction prepared from necrotic cells. However, these modifications (mainly consisting of a rarefaction of the inner fibrogranular network) were not as striking as those we have previously described in apoptotic HL-60 cells. Taken together, our results indicate that during necrosis marked biochemical and morphological changes do occur at the nuclear level. These alterations are quite distinct from those known to take place during apoptosis. Our results identify additional biochemical and morphological criteria that could be used to discriminate between the two types of cell death. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 36: 19-31, 2001.
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PMID:Nuclear changes in necrotic HL-60 cells. 1145 67

The nuclear functions in erythrocytes are almost completely extinct. There is no RNA polymerase I transcription, although a remnant nucleolar structure is still present. The remnant nucleolus of Xenopus laevis erythrocytes maintains a morphologically organized structure, nearly exclusively fibrillar. In this inactive nucleolar remnant, we revealed the presence of a modified form of transcription factor UBF. Several proteins of the processing machinery such as fibrillarin, nucleolin and B23/NO38, snoRNAs U3 and U8, and partially processed preribosomal RNAs colocalized in these remnant structures. Attempts to reprogram these erythrocyte nuclei in Xenopus egg extract showed that import of several nucleolar proteins was induced while the nucleolar remnant was disorganized. UBF became abundant and showed a necklace-like distribution on the decondensed ribosomal genes. Fibrillarin, nucleolin, and snoRNAs U3 and U8, also largely imported from the extract, were associated in large prenuclear bodies scattered in the nucleoplasm. B23/NO38 was present in different small bodies formed only in the most decondensed nuclei. In these remodeled erythrocyte nuclei, there was no imported preribosomal RNA and the initial presence of a residual nucleolar structure containing several partners of ribosome biogenesis was not sufficient to promote reassembly of newly imported nucleolar machineries. These nuclei, which reproduce the early events of nucleogenesis are also transcriptionally silent and thus compare to the early embryonic nuclei of Xenopus laevis.
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PMID:Maintenance of nucleolar machineries and pre-rRNAs in remnant nucleolus of erythrocyte nuclei and remodeling in Xenopus egg extracts. 1152 36

The pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) involves complex interactions between activated fibroblasts eventually leading to fibrosis, and impaired immune tolerance characterized by a variety of circulating SSc-specific autoantibodies. The expression of autoantigens in fibroblasts, a key target tissue in SSc, may play an important role in this process. To obtain a global view of this process, we examined gene expression profiles of SSc dermal fibroblasts using cDNA microarrays. The results show that dermal fibroblasts from SSc patients obtained from either affected or unaffected skin displayed a characteristic pattern of increased SSc autoantigen gene expression compared with that from normal controls. In particular, fibrillarin (p = 0.028), centromeric protein B (p = 0.01), centromeric autoantigen P27 (p = 0.042), and RNA polymerase II (220 kDa; p = 0.02) were significantly overexpressed in SSc fibroblasts. Quantitative RT-PCR confirmed overexpression of these autoantigens and also revealed increased levels of DNA topoisomerase I transcripts in SSc fibroblasts compared with normal control fibroblasts (p = 0.0318). The polymyositis/scleroderma autoantigen gene was overexpressed in some SSc patients (p = 0.09). To examine the specificity of these overexpressed autoantigen genes for SSc and its tissue specificity for fibroblasts, cDNA microarrays of dermal fibroblasts from patients with eosinophilic fasciitis and scleromyxedema were studied as well as PBMC and muscle biopsies from SSc patients. None of these tissues showed significant alterations in gene expression of SSc-specific autoantigens. Therefore, SSc-associated autoantigen genes are selectively overexpressed in SSc dermal fibroblasts, a major tissue involved in disease pathogenesis.
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PMID:Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma): specific autoantigen genes are selectively overexpressed in scleroderma fibroblasts. 1173 35


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