CLEAVAGE OF FULL-LENGTH BETA-APP MESSENGER-RNA BY HAMMERHEAD RIBOZYMES

The sequences surrounding the first 5'GUC3' in the mRNA encoding the Alzheimer amyloid peptide precursor (betaAPP) were used to construct a pair of transacting hammerhead ribozymes. Each ribozyme contained the conserved core bases of the hammerhead motif found in the positive strand of satellite RNA of tobacco ringspot virus [(+)sTRSV] and two stems, 7 and 8 bases long, complementary to the target, betaAPP mRNA. However, one of the ribozyme cleaving strands was lengthened at its 3' end to include the early splicing and polyadenylation signal sequences of SV40 viral RNA. This RNA, therefore, more closely mimics transcripts produced by RNA polymerase II from eucaryotic expression vectors in vivo. RNA, prepared by run-off transcription of cDNA oligonucleotide or plasmid constructs containing a T7 RNA polymerase promoter was used to characterize several properties of the cleavage reaction. In the presence of both ribozyme cleaving strands magnesium-ion dependent cleavage of a model 26 base betaAPP substrate RNA or full-length betaAPP-751 mRNA was observed at the hammerhead consensus cleavage site. Neither ribozyme was active against non-message homologs of betaAPP mRNA, nor was cleavage detected when point mutations were made in the conserved core sequences. However, the k(cat)/K(m) at 37-degrees-C in 10 mM Mg+2 of the longer ribozyme was reduced twenty-fold when model and full-length substrates were compared. The use of short deoxyoligonucleotides (13-17 mers) that bind upstream of the ribozyme was found to enhance the rate of cleavage of the full-length but not betaAPP model substrate RNAs. The rate of enhancement depended on both the length of the deoxyoligonucleotide used as well as its site of binding with respect to the ribozyme. These data demonstrate the utility of ribozymes to cleave target RNAs in a catalytic, site-specific fashion in vitro. Direct comparison of the efficiency of different ribozyme constructs and different modulating activities provide an experimental strategy for designing more effective ribozymes for therapeutic purposes.