The transcription factor myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) is expressed throughout the central nervous system, where four MEF2 isoforms play important roles in neuronal survival and differentiation and in synapse formation and maintenance. It is therefore somewhat surprising that there is a lack of detailed information on the localization of MEF2 isoforms in the mammalian brain. We have analyzed the regional, cellular, and subcellular expression of MEF2A and MEF2D in the rodent brain. These two MEF2 isoforms were co-expressed in virtually all neurons in the cortex and the striatum, but were not detected in astrocytes. MEF2A and MEF2D were localized to the nuclei of neurons in many forebrain areas, consistent with their roles as transcriptional regulators. However, in several subcortical sites we observed extensive cytoplasmic expression of MEF2A but not MEF2D. MEF2A was particularly enriched in processes of neurons in the lateral septum and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, as well as in several other limbic sites, including the central amygdala and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus and thalamus. Ultrastructural examination similarly revealed MEF2A-ir in axons and dendrites as well as MEF2A-ir nuclei in the lateral septum and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis neurons. This study demonstrates for the first time extensive cytoplasmic localization of a MEF2 transcription factor in the mammalian brain in vivo. The extranuclear localization of MEF2A suggests novel roles for MEF2A in specific neuronal populations.

The cause of neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease (HD) is unknown. Patients with HD have an expanded NH2-terminal polyglutamine region in huntingtin. An NH2-terminal fragment of mutant huntingtin was localized to neuronal intranuclear inclusions (NIIs) and dystrophic neurites (DNs) in the HD cortex and striatum, which are affected in HD, and polyglutamine length influenced the extent of huntingtin accumulation in these structures. Ubiquitin was also found in NIIs and DNs, which suggests that abnormal huntingtin is targeted for proteolysis but is resistant to removal. The aggregation of mutant huntingtin may be part of the pathogenic mechanism in HD.

The INK4a (MTS1, CDKN2) gene encodes an inhibitor (p16INK4a) of the cyclin D-dependent kinases CDK4 and CDK6 that blocks them from phosphorylating the retinoblastoma protein (pRB) and prevents exit from the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Deletions and mutations involving INK4a occur frequently in cancers, implying that p16INK4a, like pRB, suppresses tumor formation. An unrelated protein (p19ARF) arises in major part from an alternative reading frame of the mouse INK4a gene, and its ectopic expression in the nucleus of rodent fibroblasts induces G1 and G2 phase arrest. Economical reutilization of coding sequences in this manner is practically without precedent in mammalian genomes, and the unitary inheritance of p16INK4a and p19ARF may underlie their dual requirement in cell cycle control.

Nuclear protein export is mediated by nuclear export signals (NESs), but the mechanisms governing this transport process are not well understood. Using a novel protein export assay in S. cerevisiae, we identify CRM1 as an essential mediator of nuclear protein export in yeast. Crm1p shows homology to importin beta-like transport factors and is able to specifically interact with both the NES motif and the Ran GTPase. A mutation in the shuttling protein Crm1p affects not only protein export, but also mRNA export, indicating that these pathways are tightly coupled in S. cerevisiae. The presented data are consistent with the conclusion that Crm1p is a carrier for the NES-mediated protein export pathway. We propose CRM1 be renamed exportin 1 (XPO1).

Methylation at the DNA sequence 5'-CpG is required for mouse development. MeCP2 and MBD1 (formerly PCM1) are two known proteins that bind specifically to methylated DNA via a related amino acid motif and that can repress transcription. We describe here three novel human and mouse proteins (MBD2, MBD3, and MBD4) that contain the methyl-CpG binding domain. MBD2 and MBD4 bind specifically to methylated DNA in vitro. Expression of MBD2 and MBD4 tagged with green fluorescent protein in mouse cells shows that both proteins colocalize with foci of heavily methylated satellite DNA. Localization is disrupted in cells that have greatly reduced levels of CpG methylation. MBD3 does not bind methylated DNA in vivo or in vitro. MBD1, MBD2, MBD3, and MBD4 are expressed in somatic tissues, but MBD1 and MBD2 expression is reduced or absent in embryonic stem cells which are known to be deficient in MeCP1 activity. The data demonstrate that MBD2 and MBD4 bind specifically to methyl-CpG in vitro and in vivo and are therefore likely to be mediators of the biological consequences of the methylation signal.

The existence of multiple heat shock factor (HSF) genes in higher eukaryotes has promoted questions regarding the functions of these HSF family members, especially with respect to the stress response. To address these questions, we have used polyclonal antisera raised against mouse HSF1 and HSF2 to examine the biochemical, physical, and functional properties of these two factors in unstressed and heat-shocked mouse and human cells. We have identified HSF1 as the mediator of stress-induced heat shock gene transcription. HSF1 displays stress-induced DNA-binding activity, oligomerization, and nuclear localization, while HSF2 does not. Also, HSF1 undergoes phosphorylation in cells exposed to heat or cadmium sulfate but not in cells treated with the amino acid analog L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, indicating that phosphorylation of HSF1 is not essential for its activation. Interestingly, HSF1 and HSF2 overexpressed in transfected 3T3 cells both display constitutive DNA-binding activity, oligomerization, and transcriptional activity. These results demonstrate that HSF1 can be activated in the absence of physiological stress and also provide support for a model of regulation of HSF1 and HSF2 activity by a titratable negative regulatory factor.

Mice that are deficient in either the Pms2 or Msh2 DNA mismatch repair genes have microsatellite instability and a predisposition to tumours. Interestingly, Pms2-deficient males display sterility associated with abnormal chromosome pairing in meiosis. Here mice deficient in another mismatch repair gene, Mlh1, possess not only microsatellite instability but are also infertile (both males and females). Mlh1-deficient spermatocytes exhibit high levels of prematurely separated chromosomes and arrest in first division meiosis. We also show that Mlh1 appears to localize to sites of crossing over on meiotic chromosomes. Together these findings suggest that Mlh1 is involved in DNA mismatch repair and meiotic crossing over.

The S. cerevisiae MCD1 (mitotic chromosome determinant) gene was identified in genetic screens for genes important for chromosome structure. MCD1 is essential for viability and homologs are found from yeast to humans. Analysis of the mcd1 mutant and cell cycle-dependent expression pattern of Mcd1p suggest that this protein functions in chromosome morphogenesis from S phase through mitosis. The mcd1 mutant is defective in sister chromatid cohesion and chromosome condensation. The physical association between Mcd1p and Smc1p, one of the SMC family of chromosomal proteins, further suggests that Mcd1p functions directly on chromosomes. These data implicate Mcd1p as a nexus between cohesion and condensation. We present a model for mitotic chromosome structure that incorporates this previously unsuspected link.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a heterodimeric basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that regulates hypoxia-inducible genes including the human erythropoietin (EPO) gene. In this study, we report structural features of the HIF-1alpha subunit that are required for heterodimerization, DNA binding, and transactivation. The HIF-1alpha and HIF-1beta (ARNT; aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator) subunits were coimmunoprecipitated from nuclear extracts, indicating that these proteins heterodimerize in the absence of DNA. In vitro-translated HIF-1alpha and HIF-1beta generated a HIF-1/DNA complex with similar electrophoretic mobility and sequence specificity as HIF-1 present in nuclear extracts from hypoxic cells. Compared to 826-amino acid, full-length HIF-1alpha, amino acids 1-166 mediated heterodimerization with HIF-1beta (ARNT), but amino acids 1-390 were required for optimal DNA binding. A deletion involving the basic domain of HIF-1alpha eliminated DNA binding without affecting heterodimerization. In cotransfection assays, forced expression of recombinant HIF-1alpha and HIF-1beta (ARNT) activated transcription of reporter genes containing EPO enhancer sequences with intact, but not mutant, HIF-1 binding sites. Deletion of the carboxy terminus of HIF-1alpha (amino acids 391-826) markedly decreased the ability of recombinant HIF-1 to activate transcription. Overexpression of a HIF-1alpha construct with deletions of the basic domain and carboxy terminus blocked reporter gene activation by endogenous HIF-1 in hypoxic cells.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an often fatal neuromuscular disease that has been directly linked to the protein product of the Survival of Motor Neurons (SMN) gene. The SMN protein is tightly associated with a novel protein, SIP1, and together they form a complex with several spliceosomal snRNP proteins. Here we show that the SMN-SIP1 complex is associated with spliceosomal snRNAs U1 and U5 in the cytoplasm of Xenopus oocytes. Antibodies directed against the SMN-SIP1 complex strongly interfere with the cytoplasmic assembly of the common (Sm) snRNP proteins with spliceosomal snRNAs and with the import of the snRNP complex into the nucleus. Thus, the SMN-SIP1 complex is directly involved in the biogenesis of spliceosomal snRNPs. Defects in spliceosomal snRNP biogenesis may, therefore, be the cause of SMA.

We have identified a virus-activated factor (VAF) that binds to a regulatory element shared by different virus-inducible genes. We provide evidence that VAF contains two members of the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family of transcriptional activator proteins (IRF-3 and IRF-7), as well as the transcriptional coactivator proteins p300 and CBP. Remarkably, VAF, as well as recombinant IRF-3 and IRF-7 proteins, binds very weakly to the interferon-beta (IFN-beta) gene promoter in vitro. However, in virus-infected cells, both proteins are recruited to the endogenous IFN-beta promoter as part of a protein complex that includes ATF-2/c-Jun and NF-kappa B. These observations provide a unique example of the coordinate activation of multiple transcriptional activator proteins and their highly cooperative assembly into a transcriptional enhancer complex in vivo.