The recruitment of membrane-bound mRNAs for translation in microinjected Xenopus oocytes

Bicarbonate-Independent Sodium Conductance of Na/HCO3 Cotransporter NBCn1 Decreases NMDA Receptor Function

The sodium bicarbonate cotransporter NBCn1 is an electroneutral transporter with a channel activity that conducts Na⁺ in a HCO₃^–-independent manner. This channel activity was suggested to functionally affect other membrane proteins which permeate Na⁺ influx. We previously reported that NBCn1 is associated with the NMDA receptors (NMDARs) at the molecular and physiological levels. In this study, we examined whether NBCn1 channel activity affects NMDAR currents and whether this effect involves the interaction between the two proteins. NBCn1 and the NMDAR subunits GluN1A/GluN2A were expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and glutamate currents produced by the receptors were measured using two-electrode voltage clamp. In the absence of CO₂/HCO₃^–, NBCn1 channel activity decreased glutamate currents mediated by GluN1A/GluN2A. NBCn1 also decreased the slope of the current–voltage relationships for the glutamate current. Similar effects on the glutamate current were observed with and without PSD95, which can cluster NBCn1 and NMDARs. The channel activity was also observed in the presence of CO₂/HCO₃^–. We conclude that NBCn1 channel activity decreases NMDAR function. Given that NBCn1 knockout mice develop a downregulation of NMDARs, our results are unexpected and suggest that NBCn1 has dual effects on NMDARs. It stabilizes NMDAR expression but decreases receptor function by its Na⁺ channel activity. The dual effects may play an important role in fine-tuning the regulation of NMDARs in the brain.

Regulation of epithelial sodium channel activity by SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 proteins

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV) 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease 2019, encodes several proteins whose roles are poorly understood. We tested their ability either to directly form plasma membrane ion channels or to change functions of two mammalian plasma membrane ion channels, the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and the α3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. In mRNA-injected Xenopus oocytes, none of nine SARS-CoV-2 proteins or two SARS-CoV-1 proteins produced conductances, nor did co-injection of several combinations. Immunoblots for ORF8, spike (S), and envelope (E) proteins revealed that the proteins are expressed at appropriate molecular weights. In experiments on coexpression with ENaC, three tested SARS proteins (SARS-CoV-1 E, SARS-CoV-2 E, and SARS-CoV-2 S) markedly decrease ENaC currents. SARS-CoV-1 S protein decreases ENaC currents modestly. Coexpressing the E proteins but not the S proteins with α3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors significantly reduces acetylcholine-induced currents. ENaC inhibition does not occur if the SARS-CoV protein mRNAs are injected 24 h after the ENaC mRNAs, suggesting that SARS-CoV proteins affect early step(s) in functional expression of channel proteins. Consistent with the hypothesis that the SARS-CoV-2 S protein-induced ENaC inhibition involves competition for available protease, mutating the furin cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 S protein partially relieves inhibition of ENaC currents. Extending previous suggestions that SARS proteins affect ENaC currents via protein kinase C (PKC) activation, PKC activation via phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate decreases ENaC and α3β4 activity. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate application reduced membrane capacitance ∼5%, presumably via increased endocytosis, but this decrease is much smaller than the SARS proteins' effects on conductances. Also, incubating oocytes in Gö-6976, a PKCα and PKCβ inhibitor, did not alter E or S protein-induced channel inhibition. We conclude that SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 proteins alter the function of human plasma membrane channels, via incompletely understood mechanisms. These interactions may play a role in the coronavirus 2019 pathophysiology.

Analysis of zeins' ER retention in Xenopus oocytes

Zeins, maize storage proteins, are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during the intracellular protein targeting process. Hydrophobic interaction has been postulated as the driving force of zeins' aggregation and retention in the ER. Recently, a class of zein (the 27K zein) has been proposed to facilitate zeins' ER retention by anchoring to the ER membrane. This study investigated the significance of the two proposed mechanisms toward zeins' ER retention using Xenopus oocyte. Following injection of the total or 27K zein mRNA, zein's movement within the ER was analyzed based upon the extent of diffusion to the non-injected oocyte half. This study indicates that the total zeins freely move within the lumen of the ER, thus, suggesting that the intermolecular aggregation, leading to insolubility and exclusion from the ER lumenal fluid, may not be essential for zeins' ER retention. This study also suggests that the 27K zein may not facilitate zeins' ER retention by virtue of an anchor to the ER membrane based on its free movement in the ER. Free movement of the total and 27K zeins, under conditions where zein aggregates should form, necessitates a reevaluation of the mechanisms responsible for zein polypeptides' ER retention and protein body formation.

Association of 7 SL RNA and an SRP-like particle with polysomes and endoplasmic reticulum in the developing sea urchin embryo

We have identified the sea urchin cognate of the mammalian signal recognition particle (SRP). This particle contains the diagnostic 7 SL small RNA, sediments at a similar velocity to that reported for the mammalian particle, and is found associated with the ER and polysomes. We have examined its subcellular localization during embryogenesis in order to determine whether it could serve in a translational regulatory capacity for a subset of the stored maternal mRNAs. In these studies the 7 SL RNA was used as a marker for the particle, since we determined that the 7 SL RNA exists exclusively within the SRP-like particle at all developmental stages. The relative distribution of the SRP among cytoplasmic structures changes dramatically during development. This represents an actual change in subcellular localization because the 7 SL RNA level remains nearly constant per embryo until the pluteus stage, when it increases slightly. In eggs, the SRP exists almost entirely free in the cytoplasm as an 11 S particle. Very soon after fertilization and throughout development there is an increase in the association of the particle with rapidly sedimenting structures, until by the pluteus stage greater than 90% of the SRP exists in a bound state. The nature of the associations is complex, and the bound structures include, at least in part, ribosomes, polysomes, and microsomes. The SRP is associated with microsomal membranes in gastrula (36 hr) but not in blastula (12 hr) or earlier embryos. Using the criteria of sensitivity to Triton X-100, we determined that 16% of the SRP in a 10,000g cytoplasmic fraction was bound to membranes in a microsomal (endoplasmic reticulum)-containing fraction in the gastrula. In contrast, less than 1% was membrane associated in the blastula. The SRP was also found in a ribosome-polysome fraction in 12-, 36-, and 48-hr embryos, but not in eggs. Finally, a small but significant portion of the SRP was found associated with monosomes in cleavage stage embryos. The possible role the SRP could play in the elongation arrest of stored maternal messages for secreted proteins is discussed.

Eukaryotic initiation factor 4A stimulates translation in microinjected Xenopus oocytes

The injection of heterologous mRNA into fully grown Xenopus oocytes results not only in the synthesis of the heterologous protein but also in a reciprocal decrease in the synthesis of endogenous proteins. This indicates that injected and endogenous mRNAs compete for some component which is rate-limiting for translation in oocytes. We have attempted to identify this rate-limiting translational component. We find that heterologous and homologous polysomes compete with endogenous mRNAs as effectively as naked mRNA, indicating that polysomes do not contain detectable levels of the rate-limiting factor. In addition, we have used micrococcal nuclease digestion and a mRNA-specific oligonucleotide to destroy the mRNA component of polysomes. The remaining polysome factors, when injected into oocytes, failed to stimulate translation. When several eukaryotic translation initiation factors were injected into oocytes, initiation factor 4A consistently increased general oocyte protein synthesis by about twofold. It is possible that the availability of eIF-4A in oocytes is a key factor in limiting the overall rate of protein synthesis.

The use of Xenopus oocytes for the study of ion channels

Recently, in addition to the "traditional" research on meiotic reinitiation and fertilization mechanisms, the oocytes of the African frog Xenopus laevis have been exploited for the study of numerous aspects of ion channel function and regulation, such as the properties of several endogenous voltage-dependent channels and the involvement of second messengers in mediation of neurotransmitter-evoked membrane responses. In addition, injection of these cells with exogenous messenger RNA results in production and functional expression of foreign membranal proteins, including various voltage- and neurotransmitter-operated ion channels originating from brain, heart, and other excitable tissues. This method provides unique opportunities for the study of the structure, function, and regulation of these channels. A multidisciplinary approach is required, involving molecular biology, electrophysiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, and cytology.

Protein translocation across and integration into membranes

This review concentrates mainly on the translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and cytoplasmic membrane in bacteria. It will start with a short historical review and will pinpoint the crucial questions in the field. Special emphasis will be given to the present knowledge on the molecular details of the first steps, i.e., on the function of the signal recognition particle and its receptor. The knowledge on the signal peptidase and the ribosome receptor(s) will also be summarized. The various models for the translocation of proteins across and the integration of proteins into membranes will be critically discussed. In particular, the function of signal, stop-transfer, and insertion sequences will be dealt with and molecular differences discussed. The cotranslational mode of membrane transfer will be compared with the post-translational transport found for mitochondria and chloroplasts. This review will conclude with open questions and an outlook.

The biosynthesis of biologically active proteins in mRNA-microinjected Xenopus oocytes

The basic properties of mRNA-injected Xenopus oocytes as a heterologous system for the production of biologically active proteins will be reviewed. The advantages and limitations involved in the use of this in ovo system will be discussed, as compared with in vitro cell-free translation systems and with in vivo microinjected mammalian cells in culture. The different assay systems that have been utilized for the identification of the biological properties of oocyte-produced proteins will be described. This section will review the determination of properties such as binding of natural ligands, like heme or alpha-bungarotoxin; immunological recognition by antibodies; subcellular compartmentalization and/or secretion; various enzymatic catalytic activities; and induction in ovo of biological activities that affect other living cells in culture, such as those of interferon and of the T-cell receptor. The limitations involved in interpretation of results obtained using mRNA-injected oocytes will be critically reviewed. Special attention will be given to the effect of oocyte proteases and of changes in the endogenous translation rate on quantitative measurements of oocyte-produced proteins. In addition, the validity of the various measurement techniques will be evaluated. The various uses of bioassays of proteins produced in mRNA-injected Xenopus oocytes throughout the last decade will be reviewed. Nuclear and cytoplasmic injections, mRNA and protein turnover measurements and abundance calculations, and the use of in ovo bioassays for molecular cloning experiments will be discussed in this section. Finally, potential future uses of the oocyte system in various fields of research, such as immunology, neurobiology, and cell biology will be suggested.

Interspersed poly(A) RNAs of amphibian oocytes are not translatable

The poly(A) RNA of the Xenopus oocytes has been shown to include both single copy and interspersed transcripts. Interspersed maternal poly(A) RNAs contain repetitive sequence elements distributed within regions transcribed from single copy sequences. When renatured these RNAs form partially double-stranded RNA networks, and as shown earlier this can be utilized for preparative separation of interspersed maternal transcripts from maternal transcripts that remain single-stranded after renaturation (Anderson et al., 1982). The translational activity of these RNA fractions was tested in vitro, in wheat germ and reticulocyte systems. While the single-stranded fractions supported protein synthesis, the interspersed oocyte RNAs displayed little translational activity. Translational activity was measured in vivo by injection into the Xenopus oocyte. Oocytes previously injected with globin mRNA were injected with increasing amounts of single-stranded, double-stranded, or denatured double-stranded RNA fractions, and the amount of globin synthesis was determined. It was found that single-stranded RNA competes with globin mRNA for the limited translational apparatus of the oocyte, as manifested by a quantitative reduction of globin synthesis. However, globin synthesis was not affected when double-stranded RNA, either in renatured or denatured form, was injected. We conclude that the interspersed RNAs are not translated within the oocyte. The amount of single and double-stranded RNAs loaded onto polysomes in the injected oocytes was also determined. Sixty seven per cent of radio-iodinated single-stranded RNA pelleted with polysomes in injected oocytes, whereas less than 20% of similarly labeled double-stranded RNA pelleted with polysomes. This value is similar to that obtained when partially hydrolyzed RNA is injected, suggesting again that essentially none of the interspersed RNA is translated in vivo. The significance of these findings in relation to translational regulation during oogenesis and early development is discussed.