Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1986 Jul;83(14):4988–4992. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.14.4988

Enhanced expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene in mouse cells cotransfected with synthetic polynucleotides able to form Z-DNA.

R Banerjee, D Grunberger
PMCID: PMC323874  PMID: 3014524

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated that the left-handed, Z-DNA conformation is favored in polymers containing alternating purine/pyrimidine sequences that can exist in vivo and may play a role in gene expression. On the basis of this assumption, we have studied the effect of various cotransfected polynucleotides on the transient expression of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene in thymidine kinase-deficient murine L cells. Cotransfections were performed by calcium phosphate coprecipitation of CAT gene plasmids with various polymers, and the CAT enzymatic activity was measured in cell lysates after 48 hr. About 2- to 10-fold stimulation of CAT gene expression was observed when the cells were cotransfected with 10 micrograms (per 10-cm culture dish) of plasmid pSV2cat, which contains simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter and enhancer sequences, and 2-10 micrograms of polymers that can form Z-DNA, such as poly(dG-m5dC) X poly(dG-m5dC) or poly(dG-dC) X poly(dG-dC), as compared to transfection with pSV2cat alone. Further, enhanced CAT gene expression was also observed when cotransfections were performed with these polymers and two other plasmid vectors, one containing the SV40 promoter but no enhancer and the other lacking any SV40 regulatory sequences. However, poly(dA-dC) X poly(dG-dT), which can form Z-DNA, did not induce any stimulation. Similarly, no or very little stimulation was observed after cotransfection of pSV2cat with either poly(dG) X poly(dC) or poly(dA-dT) X poly(dA-dT), which do not adopt the Z conformation. These results suggest that certain polynucleotides may enhance transcription of the CAT gene.

Full text

PDF
4988

Images in this article

4989Image
on p.4989
4990Image
on p.4990
4991Image
on p.4991
4991Image
on p.4991

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Arndt-Jovin D. J., Robert-Nicoud M., Zarling D. A., Greider C., Weimer E., Jovin T. M. Left-handed Z-DNA in bands of acid-fixed polytene chromosomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Jul;80(14):4344–4348. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.14.4344. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Azorin F., Rich A. Isolation of Z-DNA binding proteins from SV40 minichromosomes: evidence for binding to the viral control region. Cell. 1985 Jun;41(2):365–374. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(85)80009-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Banerjee R., Carothers A. M., Grunberger D. Inhibition of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene transfection in Ltk- cells by potential Z-DNA forming polymers. Nucleic Acids Res. 1985 Jul 25;13(14):5111–5126. doi: 10.1093/nar/13.14.5111. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Banerji J., Rusconi S., Schaffner W. Expression of a beta-globin gene is enhanced by remote SV40 DNA sequences. Cell. 1981 Dec;27(2 Pt 1):299–308. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90413-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Behe M., Felsenfeld G. Effects of methylation on a synthetic polynucleotide: the B--Z transition in poly(dG-m5dC).poly(dG-m5dC). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Mar;78(3):1619–1623. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.3.1619. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Benoist C., Chambon P. In vivo sequence requirements of the SV40 early promotor region. Nature. 1981 Mar 26;290(5804):304–310. doi: 10.1038/290304a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Butzow J. J., Shin Y. A., Eichhorn G. L. Effect of template conversion from the B to the Z conformation on RNA polymerase activity. Biochemistry. 1984 Oct 9;23(21):4837–4843. doi: 10.1021/bi00316a004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dubois M. F., Vignal M., Le Cunff M., Chany C. Interferon inhibits transformation of mouse cells by exogenous cellular or viral genes. Nature. 1983 Jun 2;303(5916):433–435. doi: 10.1038/303433a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Folger K. R., Thomas K., Capecchi M. R. Nonreciprocal exchanges of information between DNA duplexes coinjected into mammalian cell nuclei. Mol Cell Biol. 1985 Jan;5(1):59–69. doi: 10.1128/mcb.5.1.59. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gorman C. M., Moffat L. F., Howard B. H. Recombinant genomes which express chloramphenicol acetyltransferase in mammalian cells. Mol Cell Biol. 1982 Sep;2(9):1044–1051. doi: 10.1128/mcb.2.9.1044. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gruss P., Dhar R., Khoury G. Simian virus 40 tandem repeated sequences as an element of the early promoter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Feb;78(2):943–947. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.2.943. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hamada H., Kakunaga T. Potential Z-DNA forming sequences are highly dispersed in the human genome. Nature. 1982 Jul 22;298(5872):396–398. doi: 10.1038/298396a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hamada H., Seidman M., Howard B. H., Gorman C. M. Enhanced gene expression by the poly(dT-dG).poly(dC-dA) sequence. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Dec;4(12):2622–2630. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.12.2622. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Herr W., Gluzman Y. Duplications of a mutated simian virus 40 enhancer restore its activity. Nature. 1985 Feb 21;313(6004):711–714. doi: 10.1038/313711a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hill R. J., Stollar B. D. Dependence of Z-DNA antibody binding to polytene chromosomes on acid fixation and DNA torsional strain. Nature. 1983 Sep 22;305(5932):338–340. doi: 10.1038/305338a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kilpatrick M. W., Klysik J., Singleton C. K., Zarling D. A., Jovin T. M., Hanau L. H., Erlanger B. F., Wells R. D. Intervening sequences in human fetal globin genes adopt left-handed Z helices. J Biol Chem. 1984 Jun 10;259(11):7268–7274. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kmiec E. B., Angelides K. J., Holloman W. K. Left-handed DNA and the synaptic pairing reaction promoted by Ustilago rec1 protein. Cell. 1985 Jan;40(1):139–145. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90317-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kłysik J., Stirdivant S. M., Larson J. E., Hart P. A., Wells R. D. Left-handed DNA in restriction fragments and a recombinant plasmid. Nature. 1981 Apr 23;290(5808):672–677. doi: 10.1038/290672a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kłysik J., Stirdivant S. M., Wells R. D. Left-handed DNA. Cloning, characterization, and instability of inserts containing different lengths of (dC-dG) in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 1982 Sep 10;257(17):10152–10158. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Laimins L. A., Gruss P., Pozzatti R., Khoury G. Characterization of enhancer elements in the long terminal repeat of Moloney murine sarcoma virus. J Virol. 1984 Jan;49(1):183–189. doi: 10.1128/jvi.49.1.183-189.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Laimins L. A., Khoury G., Gorman C., Howard B., Gruss P. Host-specific activation of transcription by tandem repeats from simian virus 40 and Moloney murine sarcoma virus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Nov;79(21):6453–6457. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.21.6453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Miller C. K., Temin H. M. High-efficiency ligation and recombination of DNA fragments by vertebrate cells. Science. 1983 May 6;220(4597):606–609. doi: 10.1126/science.6301012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Nordheim A., Pardue M. L., Lafer E. M., Möller A., Stollar B. D., Rich A. Antibodies to left-handed Z-DNA bind to interband regions of Drosophila polytene chromosomes. Nature. 1981 Dec 3;294(5840):417–422. doi: 10.1038/294417a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Nordheim A., Rich A. Negatively supercoiled simian virus 40 DNA contains Z-DNA segments within transcriptional enhancer sequences. Nature. 1983 Jun 23;303(5919):674–679. doi: 10.1038/303674a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Nordheim A., Tesser P., Azorin F., Kwon Y. H., Möller A., Rich A. Isolation of Drosophila proteins that bind selectively to left-handed Z-DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Dec;79(24):7729–7733. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.24.7729. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Peck L. J., Wang J. C. Transcriptional block caused by a negative supercoiling induced structural change in an alternating CG sequence. Cell. 1985 Jan;40(1):129–137. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90316-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Rich A., Nordheim A., Wang A. H. The chemistry and biology of left-handed Z-DNA. Annu Rev Biochem. 1984;53:791–846. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.53.070184.004043. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Sage E., Leng M. Conformation of poly(dG-dC) . poly(dG-dC) modified by the carcinogens N-acetoxy-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene and N-hydroxy-N-2-aminofluorene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Aug;77(8):4597–4601. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.8.4597. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Santella R. M., Grunberger D., Weinstein I. B., Rich A. Induction of the Z conformation in poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) by binding of N-2-acetylaminofluorene to guanine residues. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Mar;78(3):1451–1455. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.3.1451. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Shaw W. V. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase from chloramphenicol-resistant bacteria. Methods Enzymol. 1975;43:737–755. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(75)43141-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Shenk T. Transcriptional control regions: nucleotide sequence requirements for initiation by RNA polymerase II and III. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1981;93:25–46. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-68123-3_3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Sussman D. J., Milman G. Short-term, high-efficiency expression of transfected DNA. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Aug;4(8):1641–1643. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.8.1641. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Vasicek T. J., McDevitt B. E., Freeman M. W., Fennick B. J., Hendy G. N., Potts J. T., Jr, Rich A., Kronenberg H. M. Nucleotide sequence of the human parathyroid hormone gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Apr;80(8):2127–2131. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.8.2127. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Viegas-Péquignot E., Derbin C., Malfoy B., Taillandier E., Leng M., Dutrillaux B. Z-DNA immunoreactivity in fixed metaphase chromosomes of primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Oct;80(19):5890–5894. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.19.5890. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Vorlíckovă M., Kypr J., Stokrová S., Sponar J. A Z-like form of poly(dA-dC).poly(dG-dT) in solution? Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Feb 11;10(3):1071–1080. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.3.1071. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Wang A. H., Quigley G. J., Kolpak F. J., Crawford J. L., van Boom J. H., van der Marel G., Rich A. Molecular structure of a left-handed double helical DNA fragment at atomic resolution. Nature. 1979 Dec 13;282(5740):680–686. doi: 10.1038/282680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Wigler M., Silverstein S., Lee L. S., Pellicer A., Cheng Y. c., Axel R. Transfer of purified herpes virus thymidine kinase gene to cultured mouse cells. Cell. 1977 May;11(1):223–232. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(77)90333-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Zimmer C., Tymen S., Marck C., Guschlbauer W. Conformational transitions of poly(dA-dC).poly(dG-dT) induced by high salt or in ethanolic solution. Nucleic Acids Res. 1982 Feb 11;10(3):1081–1091. doi: 10.1093/nar/10.3.1081. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES