The c-myc proto-oncogene product, Myc, is a transcription factor that binds thousands of genomic loci 1 . Recent work suggested that rather than up-and down-regulating selected groups of genes 1-3 , Myc targets all active promoters and enhancers in the genome (a phenomenon termed "invasion") and acts as a general amplifier of transcription 4,5 . However, the available data did not readily discriminate between direct and indirect effects of Myc on RNA biogenesis. We addressed this issue with genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation and RNA expression profiles during Bcell lymphomagenesis in mice, in cultured B-cells and fibroblasts. Consistent with long-standing observations 6 , we detected general increases in total RNA or mRNA copies per cell (hereby termed "amplification") 4,5 when comparing actively proliferating cells with control quiescent cells: this was true whether cells were stimulated by mitogens (requiring endogenous Myc for a proliferative response) 7,8 or by deregulated, oncogenic Myc activity. RNA amplification and promoter/enhancer invasion by Myc were separable phenomena that could occur without one another. Moreover, whether or not associated with RNA amplification, Myc drove the differential expression of distinct subsets of target genes. Hence, while having the potential to interact with all active/poised regulatory elements in the genome 4,5,9-11 , Myc does not directly act as a global *

Induction of effective antibody responses against HIV-1 infection remains an elusive goal for vaccine development. Progress may require in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms of neutralization by monoclonal antibodies. We have analyzed the molecular actions of two rare, broadly neutralizing, human monoclonal antibodies, 4E10 and 2F5, which target the transiently exposed epitopes in the membrane proximal external region (MPER) of HIV-1 gp41 envelope during viral entry. Both have long CDR H3 loops with a hydrophobic surface facing away from the peptide epitope. We find that the hydrophobic residues of 4E10 mediate a reversible attachment to the viral membrane and that they are essential for neutralization, but not for interaction with gp41. We propose that these antibodies associate with the viral membrane in a required first step and are thereby poised to capture the transient gp41 fusion intermediate. These results bear directly on strategies for rational design of HIV-1 envelope immunogens.gp41 ͉ MPER

Most antibodies induced by HIV-1 are ineffective at preventing initiation or spread of infection because they are either nonneutralizing or narrowly isolate-specific. Rare, ''broadly neutralizing'' antibodies have been detected that recognize relatively conserved regions on the envelope glycoprotein. Using stringently characterized, homogeneous preparations of trimeric HIV-1 envelope protein in relevant conformations, we have analyzed the molecular mechanism of neutralization by two of these antibodies, 2F5 and 4E10. We find that their epitopes, in the membrane-proximal segment of the envelope protein ectodomain, are exposed only on a form designed to mimic an intermediate state during viral entry. These results help explain the rarity of 2F5-and 4E10-like antibody responses and suggest a strategy for eliciting them. envelope glycoprotein ͉ membrane fusion H IV-1 infection generally induces a strong antibody response to the envelope glycoprotein [trimeric (gp160) 3 , cleaved to (gp120/gp41) 3 ], the sole antigen on the virion surface. Most induced antibodies are ineffective in preventing infection, however, because they are either nonneutralizing or narrowly isolate-specific, and the virus replicates so rapidly that ongoing selection of neutralization resistant mutants allows viral evolution to ''keep ahead'' of highaffinity antibody production (1). Moreover, much of the antibody response may be to rearranged or dissociated forms of gp120 and gp41, on which the dominant epitopes may be either in hypervariable loops or in positions occluded on virion-borne envelope trimer. Rare, ''broadly neutralizing'' antibodies have been detected that recognize one of three relatively conserved regions on the envelope protein: the CD4-binding site (mAb b12) (2); carbohydrates on the outer gp120 surface (mAb 2G12) (3); and a segment of the gp41 ectodomain adjacent to the viral membrane (mAbs 2F5 and 4E10) (4, 5), often called the ''membrane-proximal external region'' (MPER). We seek to understand the molecular mechanisms of neutralization by these and other antibodies.Fusion of viral and target-cell membranes initiates HIV-1 infection. Conformational changes in gp120 that accompany its binding to receptor (CD4) and coreceptor (e.g., CCR5 or CXCR4) lead to dissociation of gp120 from gp41 and a cascade of refolding events in the latter (6). In the course of these rearrangements, the N-terminal fusion peptide of gp41 translocates and inserts into the target-cell membrane. A proposed extended conformation of the gp41 ectodomain, with its fusion peptide thus inserted and the transmembrane anchor still in the viral membrane, has been called the ''prehairpin intermediate'' (7). It is the target of various fusion inhibitors, including T-20/enfuvirtide, the first approved fusioninhibiting antiviral drug (8), and the characteristics of the intermediate have been deduced from the properties of these inhibitors or mimicries by short gp41 fragments (9). Subsequent rearrangements from the intermediate to the postfusion state of gp41 involve ...

In cancer, the tumour suppressor gene TP53 undergoes frequent missense mutations that endow mutant p53 proteins with oncogenic properties. Until now, a universal mutant p53 gain-of-function program has not been defined. By means of multi-omics: proteome, DNA interactome (chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing) and transcriptome (RNA sequencing/microarray) analyses, we identified the proteasome machinery as a common target of p53 missense mutants. The mutant p53-proteasome axis globally affects protein homeostasis, inhibiting multiple tumour-suppressive pathways, including the anti-oncogenic KSRP-microRNA pathway. In cancer cells, p53 missense mutants cooperate with Nrf2 (NFE2L2) to activate proteasome gene transcription, resulting in resistance to the proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib. Combining the mutant p53-inactivating agent APR-246 (PRIMA-1MET) with the proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib is effective in overcoming chemoresistance in triple-negative breast cancer cells, creating a therapeutic opportunity for treatment of solid tumours and metastasis with mutant p53.

The accurate identification of the route of transmission taken by an infectious agent through a host population is critical to understanding its epidemiology and informing measures for its control. However, reconstruction of transmission routes during an epidemic is often an underdetermined problem: data about the location and timings of infections can be incomplete, inaccurate, and compatible with a large number of different transmission scenarios. For fast-evolving pathogens like RNA viruses, inference can be strengthened by using genetic data, nowadays easily and affordably generated. However, significant statistical challenges remain to be overcome in the full integration of these different data types if transmission trees are to be reliably estimated. We present here a framework leading to a bayesian inference scheme that combines genetic and epidemiological data, able to reconstruct most likely transmission patterns and infection dates. After testing our approach with simulated data, we apply the method to two UK epidemics of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV): the 2007 outbreak, and a subset of the large 2001 epidemic. In the first case, we are able to confirm the role of a specific premise as the link between the two phases of the epidemics, while transmissions more densely clustered in space and time remain harder to resolve. When we consider data collected from the 2001 epidemic during a time of national emergency, our inference scheme robustly infers transmission chains, and uncovers the presence of undetected premises, thus providing a useful tool for epidemiological studies in real time. The generation of genetic data is becoming routine in epidemiological investigations, but the development of analytical tools maximizing the value of these data remains a priority. Our method, while applied here in the context of FMDV, is general and with slight modification can be used in any situation where both spatiotemporal and genetic data are available.

Nonsegmented negative-sense (NNS) RNA viruses cap their mRNA by an unconventional mechanism. Specifically, 5 monophosphate mRNA is transferred to GDP derived from GTP through a reaction that involves a covalent intermediate between the large polymerase protein L and mRNA. This polyribonucleotidyltransferase activity contrasts with all other capping reactions, which are catalyzed by an RNA triphosphatase and guanylyltransferase. In these reactions, a 5 diphosphate mRNA is capped by transfer of GMP via a covalent enzyme-GMP intermediate. RNA guanylyltransferases typically have a KxDG motif in which the lysine forms this covalent intermediate. Consistent with the distinct mechanism of capping employed by NNS RNA viruses, such a motif is absent from L. To determine the residues of L protein required for capping, we reconstituted the capping reaction of the prototype NNS RNA virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, from highly purified components. Using a panel of L proteins with single-amino-acid substitutions to residues universally conserved among NNS RNA virus L proteins, we define a new motif, GxxT[n]HR, present within conserved region V of L protein that is essential for this unconventional mechanism of mRNA cap formation.The 5Ј terminus of eukaryotic mRNA is modified by the addition of a 7 m GpppN cap structure. The cap structure is essential for mRNA stability, mRNA transportation, splicing of pre-mRNAs, and translation (13, 28). Formation of this structure requires a series of enzymatic reactions. An RNA triphosphatase (RTPase) hydrolyzes the 5Ј triphosphate (pppN) end of mRNA to yield a 5Ј diphosphate (ppN). This is capped by an RNA guanylyltransferase (GTase) which transfers Gp derived from GTP to form the cap structure. The cap is subsequently methylated by guanine-N-7 (G-N-7) methyltransferase (MTase) to yield 7 m GpppN, which can be further methylated by ribose-2Ј-O (2Ј-O) MTase to yield 7 m GpppN m (14, 36). Cap formation in nonsegmented negative-strand (NNS) RNA viruses involves a different reaction mechanism. For vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) (2), spring viremia of carp virus (16), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (5), the underlined phosphates of the 5Ј GpppN triphosphate bridge were shown to be derived from GDP rather than GMP. Recent studies with VSV demonstrated that this reaction does not involve transfer of guanylate onto the mRNA, but rather involves a polyribonucleotidyltransferase activity (29). Here, the mRNA capping reaction proceeds via a covalent intermediate between the 241-kDa viral polymerase protein L and the 5Ј monophosphate mRNA. This monophosphate mRNA is transferred onto GDP derived from GTP to yield the GpppA mRNA cap. Consequently, this mechanism of cap formation is in marked contrast with those catalyzed by conventional GTases. The crystal structures of representative GTases have been solved and their reaction mechanisms studied in biochemical detail (17). GTases typically contain a KxDG motif, in which the lysine forms the covalent intermediate with GMP, and consistent with...

We study by Green's Function Reaction Dynamics the effect of the diffusive motion of repressor molecules on the noise in mRNA and protein levels for a gene that is under the control of a repressor. We find that spatial fluctuations due to diffusion can drastically enhance the noise in gene expression. After dissociation from the operator, a repressor can rapidly rebind to the DNA. Our results show that the rebinding trajectories are so short that, on this timescale, the RNA polymerase (RNAP) cannot effectively compete with the repressor for binding to the promoter. As a result, a dissociated repressor molecule will on average rebind many times, before it eventually diffuses away. These rebindings thus lower the effective dissociation rate, and this increases the noise in gene expression. Another consequence of the timescale separation between repressor rebinding and RNAP association is that the effect of spatial fluctuations can be described by a well-stirred, zero-dimensional, model by renormalizing the reaction rates for repressor-DNA (un) binding. Our results thus support the use of well-stirred, zero-dimensional models for describing noise in gene expression. We also show that for a fixed repressor strength, the noise due to diffusion can be minimized by increasing the number of repressors or by decreasing the rate of the open complex formation. Lastly, our results emphasize that power spectra are a highly useful tool for studying the propagation of noise through the different stages of gene expression.

The diverse sequences of viral populations within individual hosts are the starting material for selection and subsequent evolution of RNA viruses such as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Using next-generation sequencing (NGS) performed on a Genome Analyzer platform (Illumina), this study compared the viral populations within two bovine epithelial samples (foot lesions) from a single animal with the inoculum used to initiate experimental infection. Genomic sequences were determined in duplicate sequencing runs, and the consensus sequence of the inoculum determined by NGS was identical to that previously determined using the Sanger method. However, NGS revealed the fine polymorphic substructure of the viral population, from nucleotide variants present at just below 50% frequency to those present at fractions of 1%. Some of the higher-frequency polymorphisms identified encoded changes within codons associated with heparan sulfate binding and were present in both foot lesions, revealing intermediate stages in the evolution of a tissue culture-adapted virus replicating within a mammalian host. We identified 2,622, 1,434, and 1,703 polymorphisms in the inoculum and in the two foot lesions, respectively: most of the substitutions occurred in only a small fraction of the population and represented the progeny from recent cellular replication prior to onset of any selective pressures. We estimated the upper limit for the genome-wide mutation rate of the virus within a cell to be 7.8 ؋ 10 ؊4 per nucleotide. The greater depth of detection achieved by NGS demonstrates that this method is a powerful and valuable tool for the dissection of FMDV populations within hosts.RNA viruses evolve rapidly due to their large population size, their high replication rate, and the poor proofreading ability of their RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. These viruses exist as heterogeneous and complex populations comprising similar but nonidentical genomes, but the evolutionary importance of this phenomenon remains unclear (15,16,25). Consensus sequencing identifies the predominant or major viral sequence present in a sample but is uninformative about minority variants that are present. Evidence for population heterogeneity, where individual sequences differ from the consensus sequence, has been obtained routinely using cloning approaches (1, 8), providing insights into the evolutionary processes that shape viral populations. Unfortunately, these cloning processes are laborious and usually provide only a limited resolution of the mutant spectrum within a sample.Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques offer an unprecedented "step-change" increase in the amount of sequence data that can be generated from a sample. Albeit used mostly for de novo sequencing of large genomes, NGS can be applied to resequence short viral genomes to obtain ultradeep coverage. Therefore, NGS has the potential to provide information beyond the consensus for a viral sample by revealing nucleotide substitutions present in only a small fraction of the population. Seve...