Báo cáo khoa học: Deadenylation of interferon-b mRNA is mediated by both the AU-rich element in the 3¢-untranslated region and an instability sequence in the coding region pot
Deadenylationofinterferon-bmRNAismediatedby both
the AU-richelementinthe3¢-untranslatedregionandan instability
sequence inthecoding region
Muriel Paste
´
, Georges Huez and Ve
´
ronique Kruys
Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, Institut de Biologie et de Me
´
decine Mole
´
culaires, Universite
´
Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Viral infection of fibroblastic and endothelial cells leads to
the transient synthesis ofinterferon-b (IFN-b). The down-
regulation of IFN-b synthesis after infection results both
from transcriptional repression ofthe IFN-b gene and rapid
degradation of mRNA. As with many cytokine mRNAs,
IFN-b mRNA contains anAU-richelement (ARE) in its
3¢-untranslated region (UTR). AREs are known to mediate
mRNA deadenylationand destabilization. Depending on
the class of ARE, deadenylation was shown to occur
through synchronous or asynchronous mechanisms. In this
study, we analysed IFN-b mRNAdeadenylationin natural
conditions of IFN-b synthesis, e.g., after viral infection. We
show that human IFN-b mRNA follows an asynchronous
deadenylation pathway typical of a mRNA containing a
class II ARE. A deletion analysis ofthe IFN-b natural
transcript demonstrates that poly(A) shortening can be
mediated bythe ARE but also by a 32 nucleotide-sequence
located inthecoding region, that was identified previously as
an instability determinant. In fact, these elements are able to
act independently as bothof them have to be removed to
abrogate mRNA deadenylation. Our data also indicate that
deadenylation occurs independently ofmRNA translation.
Moreover, we show that deadenylationof IFN-b mRNA is
not under the control of viral infection as IFN-b mRNA
derived from a constitutively expressed gene cassette is
deadenylated in absence of viral infection. Finally, an
unidentified nuclear event appears to be a prerequisite for
IFN-b mRNAdeadenylation as IFN-b mRNA introduced
directly into the cytoplasm does not undergo deadenylation.
In conclusion, our study demonstrates that IFN-b mRNA
poly(A) shortening is under the control of two cis-acting
elements recruiting a deadenylating machinery whose
activity is independent of translation and viral infection but
might require a nuclear event.
Keywords: mRNA stability; polyadenylation; translation.
The transient expression of human interferon-b (IFN-b)in
response to double stranded RNA or viral infection is a
direct consequence of transcriptional activation [1] and leads
to the accumulation of mRNA. In contrast, the shutoff of
IFN-b gene expression involves the induction of a tran-
scriptional repressor as well as a rapid decay of IFN-b
mRNA [2,3]. The human IFN-b mRNA contains an AU-
rich element (ARE) in its 3¢-untranslatedregion (3¢UTR).
AREs were first discovered as highly conserved elements
present inthe 3¢UTR of mRNAs encoding cytokines and
oncoproteins [4]. These motifs composed ofthe AUUUA
pentamer, were shown to confer mRNAinstabilityand to
regulate mRNA translation [5]. Indeed, Shaw and Kamen
first reported that the ARE located inthe 3¢UTR of the
granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-
CSF) mRNA was responsible for mRNA rapid degradation
[6]. Later on, the destabilizing activity of several other AREs
was documented (for review, ref [7]). AREs have been
classified into three distinct categories based on the number
and distribution of AUUUA pentamers. Class I AREs are
characterized bythe presence of one to three pentamers
distributed into a large part ofthe 3¢UTR coupled with a
nearby U-rich region. Class II AREs have at least two
overlapping copies ofthe nonamer UUAUUU(U/A)
(U/A)U in a U-rich environment and class III do not
contain any pentamers but present U-rich stretches. AREs
from all three classes confer mRNAinstabilityin cultured
cells through different mechanisms that all imply mRNA
deadenylation (for review, see [7]). Class II AREs (e.g.,
GM-CSF, TNF-a, and IL-3) induce asynchronous dead-
enylation resulting inthe accumulation of poly(A)
–
inter-
mediates. In contrast, class I and class III AREs (e.g., c-fos
and c-jun) direct a synchronous poly(A) shortening. Several
ARE-binding proteins have been identified, among which
AUF1 andthe tristetraprolin (TTP) were shown to
participate inthe destabilization of ARE-containing
mRNAs. Recently, Chen et al. showed that ARE-binding
proteins such as AUF1 and TTP were able to interact with a
multiprotein complex, called the exosome [8]. This complex
first discovered in yeast [9], is composed of proteins with
ribonuclease activity andis able to direct 3¢)5¢ mRNA
degradation. Therefore, the recruitment ofthe exosome by
ARE-binding proteins might account for the degradation of
ARE-containing mRNAs.
Correspondence to V. Kruys, Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique,
Institut de Biologie et de Me
´
decine Mole
´
culaires, Universite
´
Libre
de Bruxelles, 12 rue des Profs. Jeener et Brachet, 6041 Gosselies,
Belgium. Fax: +32 2 6509800, Tel.: +32 2 6509804,
E-mail: vkruys@ulb.ac.be
Abbreviations: ARE, AU-rich element; IFN-b, interferon-b;UTR,
untranslated region; CRID, codingregion instability.
(Received 30 December 2002, revised 18 February 2003,
accepted 20 February 2003)
Eur. J. Biochem. 270, 1590–1597 (2003) Ó FEBS 2003 doi:10.1046/j.1432-1033.2003.03530.x
Based on its sequence, IFN-b ARE belongs to class II.
Moreover, several reports described IFN-b mRNA insta-
bility andthe involvement ofthe ARE in this process
[10,11]. In addition, another destabilizing sequence was
identified within thecodingregionof IFN-b mRNA [12,13].
Whereas the independent removal ofthe ARE or the coding
region instability determinant (CRID) result in a moderate
stabilization ofthe mRNA, replacement ofboth elements
by control sequences greatly enhances mRNA half-life [13].
It should be mentioned however, that these observations
were made in heterologous cell systems using reporter DNA
constructs under the control of heterologous or IFN-b
modified promoters. Moreover, the role ofthe instability
determinants inthe control of IFN-b mRNA deadenylation
was not addressed.
In the present study, we analysed the expression of
endogenous IFN-b in human cells upon viral infection. We
also investigated the influence ofthe ARE andthe CRID on
the poly(A) status ofthe human IFN-b mRNAin natural
conditions of IFN-b synthesis.
Materials and methods
Reagents
All the reagents and enzymes used in this study were
purchased from Roche Molecular Biochemicals and Life
Technologies Inc., unless specified. The Sendaı
¨
virus (Can-
tell strain, ATCC VR-907 Parainfluenza 1) was obtained
from Charles River Laboratories. [a-
32
P]UTP, [a-
35
S]UTP
and [
35
S]-Met were purchased from Amersham-Pharmacia
Biotech. The anti-IFN-b ELISA kit was purchased from
Biosource. Rat monoclonal anti-HA Ig (clone 3F10) was
purchased from Roche Molecular Biochemicals.
Plasmid Construction
The complete sequenceofthe human IFN-b gene including
the IFN-b promoter (EcoRI/EcoRI fragment described in
reference [14]) was inserted inthe pcDNA3 plasmid
(Invitrogen) from which the cytomegalovirus (CMV) pro-
moter was deleted previously. Inthe pIFNHA construct,
the IFN-b gene was tagged by PCR using an oligonucleotide
containing three repetitions ofthesequence corresponding
to the human influenza A virus hemaglutinin (HA) epitope.
The pIFNHAAU
–
construct was generated by deleting the
75-nucleotide region corresponding to the ARE (from
nucleotides 740–815 ofthe mRNA). The pIFNCRIDHA
and pIFNCRIDHAAU
–
constructs were obtained by
deletion of a 32-nucleotide region (from 513–545) in the
PIFNHA and PIFNHAAU
–
constructs, respectively.
A stable hairpin (hp) structure obtained by oligomeriza-
tion of a SalI linker was inserted inthe HincII site of the
pIFNHA construct located at the beginning of IFN-b
mRNA 5¢UTR. To place the IFN-b gene under the
transcriptional control of a constitutive promoter, the
HA-tagged IFN-b cDNA was inserted between the EcoRI
and BamHI sites ofthe pSG5 plasmid (Stratagene)
(pSG5IFNHA) downstream ofthe simian virus 40 (SV40)
promoter.
For in vitro transcription, the pBSIFNpA vector was
generated as follows. The poly(A) tail was obtained by
hybridization of a 15-A and a 15-T oligonucleotide. The
single stranded extremities were filled with the Klenow
polymerase before oligomerization. The DNA fragments
were cloned inthe T4 DNA polymerase blunted PstIsiteof
the pSP65 vector. The length ofthe inserted fragments was
estimated on agarose gel andthe vector containing a 100–
150 nucleotides insert was selected. The poly(A)
100)150
tail
was then cloned inthe HindIII/SalI sites ofthe pBluescript
SK (Stratagene). The restriction sites between SacIandPstI
were deleted in this pBluescript SK poly(A) andthe IFN-b
gene without its promoter (EcoRI/BamHI fragment from
the pSP65IFNc plasmid described elsewhere [5]) was then
cloned between the EcoRI and HindIII sites. The deletion of
the ARE was performed by inserting a EcoRI/NdeI
fragment ofthe IFN-b gene [5].
Cell culture and treatments
The human endometrial adenocarcinoma cells (Hec-1B,
ATCC number, HTB-113) were maintained in DMEM
containing 10% of fetal bovine serum (FBS; Myoclone
Super Plus, Life Technologies) and 1% of penicillin/
streptomycin. The cells were infected by addition of
80 UÆmL
)1
of Sendaı
¨
virus during 2 h. Actinomycin D
and cycloheximide were used at final concentrations of
5 lgÆmL
)1
and 10 lgÆmL
)1
, respectively.
Isolation of total RNA and RNase H treatment
Total RNA was prepared bythe Trizol method (Life
technologies, Inc.). RNase H treatment was performed
according to the method described by McGrew et al. [15].
Northern blot analysis
Northern blot analysis was performed as described by
Kruys et al. [16]. Total RNA (10 lg per lane) was separated
by electrophoresis in a 2.2% agarose gel, electrotransferred
to nylon membrane and cross-linked by UV-irradiation.
Blots were hybridized with antisense [a-
32
P]UTP or
[a-
35
S]UTP labelled riboprobes.
In vitro
Transcription and translation
DNAs were linearized at unique restriction sites and capped
mRNA were generated byin vitro transcription with T3 or
Sp6 polymerases. RNA was quantified by absorbance at
260 nm and its integrity was verified by agarose gel
electrophoresis followed by ethidium bromide staining.
Translation was carried out in rabbit reticulocyte lysate
(Promega) inthe presence of
35
S-labelled Met (Amersham
Pharmacia Biotech).
DNA and RNA transfection
Hec-1B cells were transfected with DNA using the Fugene
reagent (Life technologies) following the procedure provided
by the supplier. RNA transfections were carried out using
the lipofectine reagent (Life technologies) as described by the
supplier. In brief, cells were grown to 50% confluency in six-
well plates before transfection. The culture medium was then
replaced by serum-free medium andthe transfection mix was
Ó FEBS 2003 Sequences governing IFN-b mRNAdeadenylation (Eur. J. Biochem. 270) 1591
added. The transfection mix contained 10 lgofRNA
(between 10–100 ng ofthein vitro transcribed mRNA
supplemented by a carrier tRNA) and 10 lL of lipofectine in
a total volume of 200 lL of serum free-medium.
In both cases, the culture media were harvested to
measure IFN-b concentration by ELISA andthe cells were
harvested for total RNA extraction.
Metabolic protein labeling and immunoprecipitation
Hec-1B cells were plated in six-well plates at 200 000 cells
per well and were incubated for 6 h before transfection.
After transfection, the cells were incubated for another 24 h
and then infected by Sendaı
¨
virus for 2 h. Cells were washed
and preincubated in a Met and Cys-depleted medium for
1 h. Metabolic labeling was performed by adding
500 lCiÆmL
)1
of
35
S-labelled Met and Cys inthe cell
culture for 5 h. The cell culture medium was harvested for
immunoprecipitation. Immunoprecipitation was performed
in RIPA buffer (25 m
M
Tris pH 8.2, 50 m
M
NaCl, 0.5%
Nonidet P40, 0.5% deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS) using an anti-
HA Ig and protein A-Sepharose. Proteins were analysed by
SDS/PAGE followed by autoradiography.
Results
Deadenylation ofthe human IFN-b mRNA
in virus-infected cells
So far, all the studies aimed at understanding the post-
transcriptional regulation of human IFN-b mRNA have
been performed in heterologous cell systems. Therefore, we
chose to analyse the regulation of human IFN-b mRNA in
human cells (Hec-1B) that naturally produce IFN-b upon
viral infection [17]. We first performed a kinetic analysis of
IFN-b production by Hec-1B cells after infection by the
Sendaı
¨
virus for 2 h. IFN-b appeared inthe cell culture
2–5 h after the infection, reaching a maximum between
8–11 h and subsequently levels droped at later times
(Fig. 1A). We then analysed, by Northern blot, the induc-
tion and decay of IFN-b transcript inthe same conditions.
AsshowninFig.1B,IFN-b mRNA was detectable 4 h
after the beginning ofthe infection, reached a maximum
after 6–7 h and then rapidly disappeared thereafter. Inter-
estingly, two IFN-b mRNA species were observed, the
shorter form appearing later inthe infection process. As
class II AREs are known to mediate mRNA degradation by
Fig. 1. Interferon-b production by Hec-1B cells infected by Sendaı
¨
virus. Hec-1B cells were infected for 2 h bythe Sendaı
¨
virus, the cells were then
washed with NaCl/P
i
and fresh medium was added. (A) Every 3 h, the supernatant was sampled and replaced by fresh culture medium. The IFN-b
was quantified inthe supernatants by ELISA. (B) Cells were harvested for total RNA extraction 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 h after infection.
The amount andthe length of IFN-b mRNA was analysed by Northern blot, using a
32
P-labelled antisense IFN-b riboprobe. As a control, the
membrane was hybridized with a GAPDH antisense riboprobe. (C) Total RNA of cells infected with the Sendaı
¨
for various lengths of time was
digested (or not) by RNase H inthe presence of oligo(dT). Treated and untreated RNAs were analysed by Northern blotting. (D) Hec-1B cells were
infected bythe Sendaı
¨
virus and further cultured with cycloheximide (10 lgÆmL
)1
). At the indicated times after infection, total RNA was extracted
and analysed by Northern blot. (E) Hec-1B cells were infected bythe Sendaı
¨
virus and further cultured with cycloheximide (10 lgÆmL
)1
)and
actinomycin D (5 lgÆmL
)1
). At the indicated times after induction, total RNA was extracted and analysed by Northern blot with a
32
P-labelled
antisense IFN-b riboprobe. The results presented in A, B and C are representative of more than five independent experiments. Data in D and E are
representative of two independent experiments.
1592 M. Paste
´
et al. (Eur. J. Biochem. 270) Ó FEBS 2003
promoting deadenylation, we investigated whether the two
transcripts differed bythe length of their poly(A) tail.
Therefore, total RNA of Hec-1B cells infected bythe Sendaı
¨
virus was treated (or not) by RNAse H inthe presence of
oligo(dT) before the Northern blot analysis with an IFN-b
probe. This treatment led to the detection of a single band
comigrating with the short IFN-b transcript in untreated
samples (Fig. 1C), indicating that the large and short
transcripts observed in untreated samples corresponded to
polyadenylated and deadenylated mRNAs, respectively.
The poly(A) tail of IFN-b mRNA was estimated to be about
200 nucleotides long based on the difference of electropho-
retic migration between the adenylated and deadenylated
IFN-b mRNA (Fig. 1B). We then analysed the effect of
cycloheximide on the accumulation ofthe two IFN-b
transcripts to determine whether IFN-b mRNA deadenyla-
tion process required ongoing translation. As shown in
Fig. 1D, the addition ofthe translation inhibitor after the
infection ofthe Hec-1B cells did not prevent the appearance
of the IFN-b short transcript. Moreover, as reported
previously, cycloheximide led to a marked increase of
IFN-b mRNA accumulation at later times of infection
resulting from mRNA stabilization and/or absence of
transcriptional repression [10,12]. Treatment byboth actino-
mycin D and cycloheximide did not prevent IFN-b mRNA
deadenylation either as the polyadenylated IFN-b transcript
accumulated in response to the viral infection was also
shortened before being degraded. Moreover, the transcrip-
tional blockade by actinomycin D abrogated the increase of
mRNA accumulation due to the cycloheximide (Fig. 1E).
This latter observation indicates that increased accumulation
of IFN-b mRNAin cycloheximide-treated cells is due to the
absence of transcriptional repression ofthe IFN-b promoter.
Altogether, these results indicate that viral infection
triggers the synthesis of a polyadenylated IFN-b mRNA
that is deadenylated rapidly before degradation. Moreover,
this deadenylation process does not require IFN-b mRNA
translation and/or protein synthesis as it is effective in the
presence of a translational inhibitor.
Deadenylation of IFN-b mRNA occurs when IFN-b
synthesis is induced by other agents such as synthetic
double-stranded polyriboinosinic polyribocitydylic acid
(poly rI.rC) and was observed in other cell types such as
Namalwa B cells (data not shown). These observations
indicate that deadenylationis a general mechanism con-
trolling the length of IFN-b mRNA poly(A) tail.
IFN-b mRNAdeadenylationismediatedby both
the ARE andthe CRID
The IFN-b mRNA contains in its 3¢UTR an AU-rich
element (ARE) which is very similar to AREs present in
other unstable mRNAs [4]. As AREs present in other
cytokine mRNAs were demonstrated to induce mRNA
degradation by triggering poly(A) shortening, we first
analyzed the role of such anelementinthe deadenylation
process of IFN-b mRNA. To this end, two DNA
constructs were generated in which the IFN-b gene
contained or not the ARE (pIFNHA and pIFNHAAU
–
).
In addition, thesequence encoding the HA epitope was
inserted at the end ofthe IFN-b codingsequence to
distinguish the products resulting from the expression of the
DNA constructs andthe endogenous gene (Fig. 2). These
constructs were transfected in Hec-1B cells andthe cells
were subsequently infected with the Sendaı
¨
virus for 2 h.
Cells were lyzed 3 or 8 h after infection to extract the RNA
which was treated (or not) by RNAse H inthe presence of
oligo(dT) before the Northern blot analysis with a HA
antisense riboprobe. As shown in Fig. 3A (lanes 3 and 7),
the HA-tagged IFN-b transcript underwent significant
deadenylation 8 h after infection independently of the
presence or the absence ofthe ARE. Another RNA
instability determinant was identified inthe 3¢-end of the
IFN-b codingregion [13]. This element named CRID
(coding regioninstability determinant), has been mapped
between nucleotides 513–545, the first nucleotide corres-
ponding to the adenosine ofthe initiation codon. Deletion
of this elementby itself from the IFN-b gene (pIFNCRI-
DHA) did not abolish mRNAdeadenylation (Fig. 3B,
compare lanes 2 and 3). However, deletion ofboth the
ARE andthe CRID (pIFNCRIDHAAU-) led to a
blockade ofthedeadenylation process (Fig. 3B, compare
lanes 6 and 7). These results demonstrate that deadenyla-
tion is controlled byboththe ARE andthe CRID.
Fig. 2. Schematic representation ofthe DNA
constructs.
Ó FEBS 2003 Sequences governing IFN-b mRNAdeadenylation (Eur. J. Biochem. 270) 1593
Deadenylation of IFN-b mRNAis uncoupled
from its translation
The role of translation in ARE-mediated mRNA deadeny-
lation and subsequent decay is still a subject of controversy.
Indeed, whileseveralreports supportatranslation-dependent
mechanism [18–20], other observations deny any coupling
between the recruitment ofthemRNA into polysomes and
its deadenylation/degradation [7].
Here, we analysed whether ongoing translation is a
prerequisite for IFN-b mRNA deadenylation. Therefore,
we generated a IFN-b gene construct containing a stable
hairpininthe5¢UTR (pIFNHAhp, Fig. 2) andthe deadeny-
lation ofthe derived mRNA was compared to that of the
mRNA lacking such a secondary structure (pIFNHA). As
shown in Fig. 4A, the presence ofthe hairpin inthe 5¢UTR
does not influence thedeadenylation process. To verify that
the hairpin effectively prevented the translation of the
mRNA, the secretion of HA-tagged IFN-b was monitored
in the culture medium of cells transfected with these con-
structs. Whereas cells transfected with the construct lacking
the hairpin produced detectable amounts of HA-tagged
IFN-b, no translation product was detectable with the
construct containing the hairpin inthe 5¢UTR (Fig. 4B).
Deadenylation of IFN-b mRNA occurs independently
of viral infection
We then analysed whether IFN-b mRNA deadenylation
resulted from the infection ofthe cells bythe Sendaı
¨
virus.
In order to ensure the production of IFN-b transcripts in
absence of infection, the HA-tagged IFN-b gene was placed
downstream ofthe SV40 early promoter (pSG5IFNHA,
Fig. 2). Hec-1B cells were transfected with the pSG5IF-
NHA construct and were subsequently infected (or not)
with the Sendaı
¨
virus. Deadenylationofthe HA-tagged
IFN-b mRNA was monitored inthe presence of actino-
mycin D to block further accumulation of HA-tagged
IFN-b mRNA. As shown in Fig. 5, deadenylationof the
HA-IFN-b transcript occurs even in absence of viral
infection.
Deadenylation of IFN-b mRNA requires a nuclear event
We next determined whether IFN-b mRNA deadenylation
requires a nuclear event. To approach this question, a
synthetic IFN-b transcript containing a poly(A) tail of
100–150 residues was generated byin vitro transcription
in the presence of
32
P-labelled UTP (see Materials and
Fig. 4. Deadenylationof IFN-b mRNAis independent of translation. (A) Deadenylation analysis ofthe PIFNHA and PIFNHA hp transcripts.
Hec-1B cells were transfected with the PIFNHA and PIFNHA hp DNA constructs. Cells were harvested for RNA extraction 3 h (lanes 1, 2, 5, 6)
and 8 h (lanes 3, 4, 7, 8) after infection with the Sendaı
¨
virus. Half of each RNA sample was treated with RNAse H (lanes 1, 4, 5, 8) before Northern
blot analysis with a
35
S-labelled HA antisense riboprobe. (B) Cells transfected with the PIFNHA construct (lane 1), and PIFNHAhp construct (lane
2) were cultured in methionine and cysteine-depleted medium inthe presence of 500 lCiÆmL
)1
of
35
S-labelled Met and Cys. The supernatants were
immunoprecipitated witn the anti-HA Ig andthe radiolabelled proteins were analysed by SDS/PAGE. The results presented in this figure are
representative of three independent experiments.
Fig. 3. Deadenylationof IFN-b mRNAis abolished upon deletion of
both the ARE andthe CRID. (A) Hec-1B cells were transfected with
the PIFNHA and PIFNHAAU
–
DNA constructs for 24 h and were
subsequently infected during 2 h bythe Sendaı
¨
virus. Cells were har-
vested for RNA extraction 3 h (lanes 1, 2, 5, 6) and 8 h (lanes 3, 4, 7, 8)
after infection with the Sendaı
¨
virus. Half of each RNA sample was
treated with RNAse H (lanes 1, 4, 5, 8) before Northern blot analysis
with a
35
S-labelled HA antisense riboprobe. (B) The PIFNCRIDHA
and PIFNCRIDHAAU
–
constructs described in Fig. 2, were trans-
fected in Hec-1B cells. The cells were infected with the Sendaı
¨
virus for
2 h and were harvested 3 (lanes 1, 2, 5 and 6) and 8 h (lanes 3, 4, 7 and
8) after infection for RNA analysis by Northern blot using a
35
S-
labelled HA riboprobe. Lanes 1, 4, 5 and 8 correspond to deadenylated
RNAs obtained after RNase H treatment. The results presented in this
figure are representative of three independent experiments.
1594 M. Paste
´
et al. (Eur. J. Biochem. 270) Ó FEBS 2003
methods) (Fig. 6A). Hec-1B cells were transfected with this
synthetic transcript for 2 h, and total RNA was extracted at
various times after transfection to be analysed by agarose
electrophoresis and autoradiography. As shown in Fig. 6B,
the IFN-b transcript is rapidly degraded without prior
deadenylation, suggesting that IFN-b mRNA must origin-
ate from the nucleus to be a substrate ofthe deadenylation
process. To verify the poly(A) status ofthe IFN-b
transcript, we compared its migration in agarose gel to
poly(A)
–
IFN-b transcripts, containing (or not) the ARE
after transfection into Hec-1B cells. The migration of the
different transcripts confirmed that the poly(A)
+
IFN-b
mRNA bore a 100–150 nucleotides long poly(A) tail
(Fig. 6C). Moreover, in order to verify the effective
introduction ofthe synthetic mRNA into cells, IFN-b
production was assayed inthe culture medium after
transfection. As shown in Fig. 6D (lane 1), transfection of
polyadenylated mRNA led to IFN-b synthesis (Fig. 6D,
lane 1) in contrast to the poly(A)
–
transcripts which were
poorly translated (Fig. 6D lanes 2 and 3). Similar results
were obtained when cells were infected bythe Sendaı
¨
virus
before RNA transfection (data not shown).
Discussion
In the present study, we analysed the expression and the
poly(A) status of human IFN-b mRNAin human endo-
thelial Hec-1B cells in response to infection bythe Sendaı
¨
virus. As observed in other cell types, IFN-b synthesis is
transiently induced and results from a strong accumulation
of IFN-b mRNA that rapidly disappears at later times of
infection [12,21]. We showed that the disappearance of
IFN-b mRNAis accompanied bythe shortening of its
poly(A) tail. As described for certain class II ARE-
containing mRNAs (e.g., GM-CSF, IL-3) [22,23], IFN-b
mRNA is deadenylated asynchronously with the formation
of poly(A)
–
intermediates. However, IFN-b mRNA dead-
enylation is not solely under the control ofthe ARE. Indeed,
poly(A) shortening is abolished only upon deletion of both
the ARE andthe CRID (Fig. 3). The CRID was identified
previously as aninstability determinant that, in combina-
tion with the 3¢UTR, mediates the rapid decay of human
IFN-b mRNAin NDV-infected NIH/3T3 cells [13]. Both
sequences were shown by UV-crosslinking experiments to
recruit a cytosolic 65-kDa protein of unknown identity.
Fig. 6. Deadenylationof IFN-b mRNAis independent of viral infection.
(A) Schematic representation ofthe DNA constructs used to generate
in vitro transcribed IFN-b mRNA. (B)
32
P-labelled IFN-b mRNA
containing a 100 nucleotide poly(A) tail was generated byin vitro
transcription. The RNA was transfected for 2 h into Hec-1B cells and
total RNA was extracted at the indicated times after the end of
transfection.
32
P-labelled IFN-b mRNA was analysed by agarose gel
electrophoresis and autoradiography. (C) Polyadenylated IFN-b
mRNA AU
+
was transcribed from the pBSIFNpA. The poly(A)
–
IFN-b mRNAs, AU
+
pA
–
and AU
–
pA
–
, were transcribed from the
pSP65IFN construct linearized by BamHI and NdeI, respectively. The
[
32
P]–labelled transcripts were transfected into Hec-1B cells for 8 h
before total RNA extraction, agarose gel electrophoresis and auto-
radiography. (D) The IFN-b was assayed in cell culture medium by
ELISA. The results presented in this figure are representative of four
independent experiments.
Fig. 5. In vitro transcribed IFN-b mRNAis not deadenylated upon
transfection into Hec-1B cells. The pSG5IFNHA construct was
transfected into Hec-1B cells. The cells were infected (or not) with the
Sendaı
¨
virus for 2 h and actinomycin D (5 lgÆmL
)1
)wasaddedinthe
culture medium. Total RNA was extracted at the indicated times and
analysed by Northern blot using a
35
S-labelled HA riboprobe. The
RNase H-treated samples position the fully deadenylated mRNA. The
same blot was rehybridized with a
35
S-labelled GAPDH riboprobe.
The results presented in this figure are representative of two inde-
pendent experiments.
Ó FEBS 2003 Sequences governing IFN-b mRNAdeadenylation (Eur. J. Biochem. 270) 1595
These and our observations suggest that the binding of this
65-kDa protein to one of these elements might be required
to induce IFN-b mRNAdeadenylationand subsequent
degradation ofthe RNA body.
c-fos, c-myc and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-2)
messenger RNAs are other ARE-containing mRNAs
bearing instability determinants in their coding region
[24–27]. Moreover, inthe case of c-fos, it was shown that
ARE mediates mRNAdeadenylationby a translation-
independent mechanism, while thecodingregion instabi-
lity determinant facilitates mRNAdeadenylationby a
mechanism coupled to translation [25,28]. Here, we show
that IFN-b mRNAdeadenylation occurs independently of
the translational status ofthe mRNA. This observation
correlates with the fact that IFN-b mRNA destabilization
at later times of infection occurs even when mRNA
translation is abrogated bythe insertion of a stop codon
immediately after the initiation codon [13]. It remains to
be established, however, whether any ofthe two elements
taken separately is translation-dependent in promoting
mRNA deadenylation.
IFN-b mRNAdeadenylationis a constitutive mecha-
nism. Indeed, the IFN-b transcript derived from a consti-
tutively transcribed gene cassette undergoes deadenylation
in absence of viral infection. However, poly(A) shortening is
detectable only after addition of actinomycin D that blocks
the accumulation of newly synthesized polyadenylated
IFN-b mRNA (Fig. 5). This observation suggests that the
deadenylation machinery is pre-existing inthe cells and
deadenylates IFN-b mRNA as soon as its synthesis is
induced by stimulating agents. The fact that the 65-kDa
protein binds ARE and CRID in UV-crosslinking experi-
ments, performed with cytosolic extracts from both non-
infected and infected cells [13], further supports the
involvement of this protein inthedeadenylation process
of IFN-b mRNA. Interestingly, IFN-b ARE does not
recruit other ARE-binding factors (data not shown),
thereby emphasizing the role of this 65-kDa RNA-binding
protein [13] whose identity and function remain to be
investigated.
IFN-b mRNAdeadenylation seems to be conditioned by
a nuclear event. Indeed, a synthetic IFN-b mRNA bearing a
100 nucleotide poly(A) tail escapes the deadenylation
process when transfected in Hec-1B cells (Fig. 6). The
nondeadenylation of this synthetic transcript does not
however, protect it from rapid decay, thereby suggesting
that it becomes a target ofan alternative poly(A)-independ-
ent degradative pathway. Although the nuclear event
conditioning IFN-b mRNAdeadenylation remains to be
established, we provide the first evidence indicating such
requirement for this mRNA degradative process. It seems
however, possible that such a nuclear event might also be
required for other mRNAs undergoing specific deadenyla-
tion. Indeed, most RNA-binding proteins mediating
mRNA deadenylation/degradation shuttle between the
nucleus andthe cytoplasm [29]. The association of specific
transcripts with such factors inthe nuclear compartment
might thus condition their cytoplasmic fate.
Altogether, our results and previous observations
[12,13,30] demonstrate clearly that IFN-b mRNA behaves
similarly to class II ARE-containing mRNA prototypes
(e.g., GM-CSF, IL-3). However, thedeadenylation and
degradation of IFN-b mRNAis under the control of two
independent elements, one of which is located inthe mRNA
coding region.
The coexistence of two independent but apparently
redundant instability determinants might reflect the need
for stringent control of IFN-b gene, whose prolonged
expression might be detrimental to the organism.
Acknowledgements
This work was funded bythe EC contract (QLK3-2000-00721), the
Fund for Medical Scientific Research (Belgium, grant 3.4618.01), and
the ÔActions de Recherches Concerte
´
esÕ (grant 00-05/250).
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to