title: Preferential nuclear compartmentalization of endogenous mink cell focus-forming-related retroviral transcripts.
abstract: Endogenous mink cell focus-forming (MCF)-like retroviral sequences in the murine genome are stable, inherited sequences analogous to other chromosomal genes. As such, it is thought that they are transcribed and translated in a manner analogous to other genes. However, when the SL12.4 CD4-, CD8- thymoma cell line was studied for nuclear/cytoplasmic distribution of endogenous MCF-related transcripts, there was a nuclear predominance. The great majority of full-length 8.4-kb endogenous MCF-related transcripts were nuclear. Even the smaller, spliced 3.0-kb transcripts were at least as prominent in the nucleus as the cytoplasm, whereas cellular RNA was 80% cytoplasmic and other cellular transcripts were represented in the cytoplasm to a much greater extent than the nucleus. Size cannot fully account for the nuclear presence of MCF-related endogenous transcripts, because the 3.0-kb MCF transcripts occurred in the nucleus to a much greater relative extent than 3.8-kb c-myb transcripts. These studies point to retroviral-like structures of these transcripts as influencing their intracellular compartmentalization.
authors.affiliation: Cellular Immunology Section, National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Gourley
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Krieg
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Steinberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002460:Cell Line; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D009052:Leukemia Virus, Murine / Q000235:genetics*; D008908:Mink Cell Focus-Inducing Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D012367:RNA, Viral