Fig. 3. hADAR1 shuttles between the cytoplasm and the nucleus and localizes to the
nucleolus with no requirement for the N-terminal domain. N-terminal and
C-terminal deletions of hADAR1 were fused to GFP. The most important domains
of hADAR1 are indicated as follow: ZBDs, Z-DNA-binding domains (light gray);
dsRBDs, double-stranded RNA binding domains (black boxes); deaminase domain
(dark gray box). Numbers denote amino-acid positions relative to the
N-terminus of hADAR1. HeLa cells were transfected with the indicated
constructs and, approximately 18 hours after transfection, the cells were
incubated with or without 50 nM LMB for 3 hours, fixed and observed directly
with the fluorescence microscope. Notice that the cytoplasmic chimera
resulting from the C-terminal deletion (C) accumulates in the nucleus with
nucleolar exclusion after LMB treatment (D), whereas the full-length fusion
protein (A) is concentrated in the nucleolus after LMB treatment (B). HeLa
cells transfected with GFP-ADAR1C-Term were fused with murine 3T3 cells to
form heterokaryons. These cells were treated with a protein synthesis
inhibitor (emetine, 20 µg ml-1) for 3 hours before fusion. After
fusion, the cells were kept in culture for 3 hours in the presence of emetine.
Heterokaryons were fixed and labeled with monoclonal antibody 4F4 directed
against hnRNP C protein, which does not shuttle. Like hnRNP C (F), the
N-terminal deletion of hADAR1 remains restricted to the transfected HeLa cell
nucleus (E). The dashed lines in E and F indicate the contour of the murine
nucleus in the heterokaryon. Notice that the N-terminal deletion of ADAR1
localizes exclusively to nucleoli (E). Bar, 10 µm.