Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.7.7 (DNA polymerase)
17,007 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mitochondrial RNA was isolated from the morel strain Morchella conica 3 harbouring the linear plasmid pMC3-2 and subjected to gel electrophoresis followed by a Northern analysis using cloned fragments of the plasmid pMC3-2 as probes. Hybridization was obtained only with central parts of pMC3-2 and specific bands of mtRNA. The hybridization bands (2.8 kb and 1.0 kb) correspond in size to the length of the two ORFs of pMC3-2 which were deduced from nucleotide-sequence data. Thus, both ORFs, one encoding a DNA polymerase and the other a yet unknown protein, are transcribed in the mitochondria of the plasmid-bearing Morchella conica strain.
Curr Genet 1992 Dec
PMID:Both open reading frames of the linear plasmid pMC3-2 from the ascomycete Morchella conica are transcribed in vivo. 128 88

The polymer of ethylenesulfonic acid (U-9843) is a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 RT (reverse transcriptase) and the drug possesses excellent antiviral activity at nontoxic doses in HIV-infected lymphocytes grown in tissue culture. The drug also inhibits RTs isolated from other species such as AMV and MLV retroviruses. Enzymatic kinetic studies of the HIV-1 RT catalyzed RNA-directed DNA polymerase function, using synthetic template:primers, indicate that the drug acts generally noncompetitively with respect to the template:primer binding site but the specific inhibition patterns change somewhat depending on the drug concentration. The inhibitor acts noncompetitively with respect to the dNTP binding sites. Hence, the drug inhibits this RT polymerase function by interacting with a site distinct from the template:primer and dNTP binding sites. In addition, the inhibitor also impairs the DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity of HIV-1 RT and the RNase H function. This indicates that the drug interacts with a target site essential for all three HIV RT functions addressed (RNA- and DNA-directed DNA polymerases, RNase H).
Experientia 1992 Dec 01
PMID:Enzymatic kinetic studies with the non-nucleoside HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitor U-9843. 128 6

Reverse transcriptase (RT) was first discovered as an essential catalyst in the biological cycle of retroviruses. However, in the past years evidence has accumulated showing that RTs are involved in a surprisingly large number of RNA-mediated transpositional events that include both viral and nonviral genetic entities. Although it is probable that some RT-bearing genetic elements like the different types of AIDS viruses and the mammalian LINE family have arisen in recent geological times, the possibility that reverse transcription first took place in the early Archean is supported by (1) the hypothesis that RNA preceded DNA as cellular genetic material; (2) the existence of homologous regions of the subunit tau of the E. coli DNA polymerase III with the simian immunodeficiency virus RT, the hepatitis B virus RT, and the beta' subunit of the E. coli RNA polymerase (McHenry et al. 1988); (3) the presence of several conserved motifs, including a 14-amino-acid segment that consists of an Asp-Asp pair flanked by hydrophobic amino acids, which are found in all RTs and in most cellular and viral RNA polymerases. However, whether extant RTs descend from the primitive polymerase involved in the RNA-to-DNA transition remains unproven. Substrate specificity of the AMV and HIV-1 RTs can be modified in the presence of Mn2+, a cation which allows them to add ribonucleotides to an oligo (dG) primer in a template-dependent reaction. This change in specificity is comparable to that observed under similar conditions in other nucleic acid polymerases. This experimentally induced change in RT substrate specificity may explain previous observations on the misincorporation of ribonucleotides by the Maloney murine sarcoma virus RT in the minus and plus DNA of this retrovirus (Chen and Temin 1980). Our results also suggest that HIV-infected macrophages and T-cell cells may contain mixed polynucleotides containing both ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides. The evolutionary significance of these changes in substrate specificities of nucleic acid polymerases is also discussed.
J Mol Evol 1992 Dec
PMID:On the early emergence of reverse transcription: theoretical basis and experimental evidence. 128 61

The responses of Escherichia coli to X rays and hydrogen peroxide were examined in mutants which are deficient in one or more DNA repair genes. Mutant cells deficient in either exonuclease III (xthA) or endonuclease IV (nfo) had normal resistance to X rays, but an xthA-nfo double mutant showed a sensitivity increased over that of either parental strain. A DNA polymerase I mutant (polA) was more sensitive than the xthA-nfo mutant. Cells bearing mutations in all of the polA, xthA, and nfo genes were more sensitive to X rays than polA and xthA-nfo mutants. Similar repair responses were obtained by exposing these mutant cells to hydrogen peroxide, with the exception of the xthA mutant, which was hypersensitive to this agent. The DNA polymerase III mutant (polC(Ts)) was slightly more sensitive to the agents than the wild-type strain at the restrictive temperature. The sensitivity of the polC-xthA-nfo mutant to X rays and hydrogen peroxide was greater than that of polC but almost the same as that of the xthA-nfo mutant. From these results it appears that there are at least four repair pathways, the DNA polymerase I-, exonuclease III/endonuclease IV and DNA polymerase I-, exonuclease III/endonuclease IV and DNA polymerase III-, and exonuclease III/endonuclease IV-dependent pathways, for the repair of oxidative DNA damages in E. coli.
Radiat Res 1992 Dec
PMID:Multiple pathways for repair of oxidative DNA damages caused by X rays and hydrogen peroxide in Escherichia coli. 128 65

Apoptosis is a physiological mode of death where the dying cell plays an active part in its own demise, which contrasts sharply with what is seen in necrosis. In the present paper I have shown that when cells of the immune system are exposed to a range of cytotoxic agents, such as the RNA synthesis inhibitor actinomycin D, the DNA polymerase inhibitor aphidicolin or the topoisomerase I inhibitor campthothecin, they rapidly undergo cell death via apoptosis. This is characterized by DNA fragmentation to yield the now hallmark ladder pattern of death by this mechanism. All of these agents are capable of inducing apoptosis irrespective of what phase of the cell cycle a cell is in. These studies also indicate that apoptosis can occur in immune cells without recourse to macromolecular synthesis.
Semin Immunol 1992 Dec
PMID:Induction of apoptosis in cells of the immune system by cytotoxic stimuli. 128 66

We measured the levels of the DNA polymerases alpha, beta, and gamma in human peripheral lymphocyte cells stimulated with Tora-mame lectin (TM-lectin) and the induction patterns were compared to those with other plant lectins, i.e., phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). The maximum activity of DNA polymerase alpha in lymphocytes was achieved at the concentration of 10 micrograms/ml with TM lectin and the dose response curve of TM lectin showed a sharp peak in contrast to that of PWM. During prolonged stimulation for 10 days, the time course of DNA polymerase alpha induction was different among these three lectins. A peak of alpha-enzyme was correlated with maximal incorporation of [3H]thymidine and was observed on the fourth day with TM lectin, on the third day with PHA, and sixth day with PWM. DNA polymerase beta in lymphocytes was also activated by the addition of these proteins. Two different peaks were observed during a 10-day period with every lectin, and TM lectin was most potent stimulator among them. The activity of DNA polymerase gamma in lymphocytes was at a very low but detectable level which increased slightly in response to TM lectin treatment. Although some variability of gamma-enzyme activity was observed after the seventh day, the pattern in the course of 7 days was similar among the lectins.
Biochem Int 1992 Dec
PMID:DNA polymerase alpha, beta, and gamma activities in human lymphocytes stimulated by Tora-mame (Phaseolus vulgaris) lectin. 129 Apr 61

The adaptive response was examining chromosomal aberrations and micronucleus in cultured fish cells, ULF-23 (mudminnow) and CAF-31 (gold fish). When cultured fish cells were first irradiated with small doses of X-rays, they became less sensitive to subsequent exposures to high doses. The effective adaptive dose was 4.8 cGy-9.5 cGy. Adaptive doses given cells in the G1 phase were more effective than when given in the S phase. The adaptive response was maximal at 5 hours and disappeared at 10 hours after the adaptive dose. The expression of the response was inhibited by treatment with 3-aminobenzamide, as reported for mammalian cells, and with arabinofuranoside cytosine, an inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha. Caffeine, an inhibitor of post-replicational repair, had no effect on the response.
J Radiat Res 1992 Dec
PMID:Cytogenetic adaptive response of cultured fish cells to low doses of X-rays. 129 96

Although the mechanisms of therapeutic efficacy of cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) are multifactorial, the pharmacodynamic basis for its cytotoxicity and therapeutic efficacy lies in its intracellular metabolism and the retention of the active metabolite, Ara-C triphosphate (Ara-CTP), which is a competitive inhibitor of DNA polymerase. Additional determinants of tumor cell sensitivity include Ara-CMP incorporation into cellular DNA, the size of the competing normal metabolite, deoxycytidine/5'-triphosphate pool, and the heterogeneity in growth kinetics of tumor cells, S-phase vs cells in other phases of the cell cycle. With high-dose Ara-C, substantial amounts of Ara-CTP are formed in phases of the cell cycle. The presence of high intracellular concentration with prolonged retention of Ara-CTP could lead to the inhibition of cell growth of the cells entering S-phase as a consequence of inhibition of DNA-polymerase and/or incorporation into cellular DNA, resulting in a chain termination. Pharmacokinetically, Ara-C is rapidly eliminated from plasma. In mice, pharmacokinetic parameters of Ara-C are not sufficient predictors for the observed differences in their in vivo antitumor activity. Although these mice were bearing different tumor types (L1210 Ara-C sensitive or P-388 relatively more resistant), the observed differences in tumor response were achieved under identical plasma Ara-C concentrations and area under the concentration time curve. The observed antitumor activity in L1210 cells is primarily associated with higher Ara-CTP pools and retention (T1/2 > 4 hr) in tumor cells as compared with normal bone marrow cells. In the least responsive tumor (P-388), although Ara-CTP pools were sufficiently high, retention of the drug in tumor cells and in normal cells is poor with a T1/2 < 2 hr. Thus, unlike mice bearing leukemia L1210 cells, alteration of the mode and dose of administration of Ara-C in mice bearing P-388 could only result in increased host toxicity with no therapeutic gain. Similarly in patients with acute nonlymphocyte leukemia (ANLL), there is no significant correlation between plasma Ara-C concentration and the intracellular concentrations or retentions of Ara-CTP. In some patients the highest Ara-CTP pools in leukemic myeloblast cells are achieved at a lower level of plasma Ara-C and decrease further with the increase of plasma Ara-C. Thus, in the in vivo model system and in ANLL patients with no prior chemotherapy, Ara-CTP retention is a critical factor associated with response to this agent, in particular its direct association with duration of complete response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Pharmacol Ther 1992 Dec
PMID:1-Beta-arabinofuranosylcytosine in therapy of leukemia: preclinical and clinical overview. 130 93

Three independently isolated mutants of human cytomegalovirus strain AD169 were found to be resistant to ganciclovir at a 50% effective dose of 200 microM. Phosphorylation of ganciclovir was reduced 10-fold in mutant-infected cells compared with AD169-infected cells. All three mutants were also determined to be resistant to the nucleotide analogs (S)-1-[(3-hydroxy-2- phosphonylmethoxy)propyl]adenine (HPMPA) and (S)-1-[(3-hydroxy-2-phosphonylmethoxy)propyl]cytosine (HPMPC) and hypersensitive to thymine-1-D-arabinofuranoside (AraT). Single base changes resulting in amino acid substitutions were demonstrated in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA polymerase gene of each mutant. The polymerase mutation contained in one of the mutants was transferred to the wild-type AD169 background. Ganciclovir phosphorylation in cells infected with the recombinant virus produced by this transfer was found to be equivalent to that of AD169-infected cells. The ganciclovir resistance of the recombinant was reduced fourfold compared with that of the parental mutant; however, the recombinant remained resistant to HPMPA and HPMPC and hypersensitive to AraT. The ganciclovir resistance of the mutants therefore appears to result from mutations in two genes: (i) a kinase which phosphorylates ganciclovir and (ii) the viral DNA polymerase.
J Virol 1992 Dec
PMID:Point mutations in the DNA polymerase gene of human cytomegalovirus that result in resistance to antiviral agents. 133 15

In Escherichia coli, epsilon, the proofreading subunit of DNA polymerase III, is encoded by dnaQ. A random search for mutants that affect the expression of dnaQ revealed that mutations in the genes encoding the heat shock proteins (HSPs) DnaK, DnaJ, and GrpE result in dramatic decreases in the cellular levels of epsilon. dnaQ is arranged in an overlapping divergent transcriptional unit with rnhA, which encodes RNase H1, and mutations in the same HSPs also reduced the apparent levels of RNase H1. The HSPs had only small effects on transcriptional fusions to these genes; thus, it is likely that they operate primarily at the protein level. Since survival and mutagenesis after DNA damage are affected by epsilon and RNase H1, HSPs may have a broad influence on various aspects of DNA replication and repair.
J Bacteriol 1992 Dec
PMID:Levels of epsilon, an essential replication subunit of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III, are controlled by heat shock proteins. 133 35


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