1,721,074 research outputs found
Bringing single-molecule spectroscopy to macromolecular protein complexes
No full textSingle-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy offers realtime,nanometer-resolution information. Over the past two decades, this emerging single-molecule technique has been rapidly adopted to investigate the structural dynamics and biological functions of proteins. Despite this remarkable achievement, single-molecule fluorescence techniques must be extended to macromolecular protein complexes that are physiologically more relevant for functional studies. In this review, we present recent major breakthroughs for investigating protein complexes within cell extracts using single-molecule fluorescence. We outline the challenges, future prospects and potential applications of these new singlemolecule fluorescence techniques in biological and clinical research.121411sciescopu
Emerging Roles of RNA Modification: m(6)A and U-Tail
No full textAlthough more than 100 types of RNA modification have been described thus far, most of them were
thought to be rare in mRNAs and in regulatory noncoding RNAs. Recent developments have unveiled
that at least some of the modifications are considerably abundant and widely conserved.
This Minireview summarizes the molecular machineries and biological functions of methylation
(N6-methyladenosine, m6A) and uridylation (U-tail).171751sciescopu
Role of the small subunit processome in the maintenance of pluripotent stem cells
Full text linkRNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play integral roles in gene regulation, yet only a small fraction of RBPs has been studied in the context of stem cells. Here we applied an RNAi screen for RBPs in mouse embryonic stemcells (ESCs) and identified 16 RBPs involved in pluripotency maintenance. Interestingly, six identified RBPs, including Krr1 and Ddx47, are part of a complex called small subunit processome (SSUP) that mediates 18S rRNA biogenesis. The SSUP components are preferentially expressed in stem cells and enhance the global translational rate, which is critical to sustain the protein levels of labile pluripotency factors such as Nanog and Esrrb. Furthermore, the SSUP proteins are required for efficient reprogramming of induced pluripotent stem cells. Our study uncovers the role of the SSUP and the importance of translational control in stem cell fate decision. © 2015 Dorn et al118181sciescopu
Re-evaluation of the roles of DROSHA, Exportin 5, and DICER in microRNA biogenesis
No full textBiogenesis of canonical microRNAs (miRNAs) involves multiple steps: nuclear processing of primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) by DROSHA, nuclear export of precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA) by Exportin 5 (XPO5), and cytoplasmic processing of pre-miRNA by DICER. To gain a deeper understanding of the contribution of each of these maturation steps, we deleted DROSHA, XPO5, and DICER in the same human cell line, and analyzed their effects on miRNA biogenesis. Canonical miRNA production was completely abolished in DROSHA-deleted cells, whereas we detected a few DROSHA-independent miRNAs including three previously unidentified noncanonical miRNAs (miR-7706, miR-3615, and miR-1254). In contrast to DROSHA knockout, many canonical miRNAs were still detected without DICER albeit at markedly reduced levels. In the absence of DICER, pre-miRNAs are loaded directly onto AGO and trimmed at the 3' end, yielding miRNAs from the 5' strand (5p miRNAs). Interestingly, in XPO5 knockout cells, most miRNAs are affected only modestly, suggesting that XPO5 is necessary but not critical for miRNA maturation. Our study demonstrates an essential role of DROSHA and an important contribution of DICER in the canonical miRNA pathway, and reveals that the function of XPO5 can be complemented by alternative mechanisms. Thus, this study allows us to understand differential contributions of key biogenesis factors, and provides with valuable resources for miRNA research.173791sciescopu
fCLIP-seq for transcriptomic footprinting of dsRNA-binding proteins: Lessons from DROSHA
No full textCLIP-seq (crosslinking immunoprecipitation and sequencing) is widely used to map the binding sites of a protein of interest on the transcriptome, and generally employs UV to induce the covalent bonds between protein and RNA, which allows stringent washing. However, dsRNA is inefficiently crosslinked by UV, making it difficult to study the interactions between dsRNA binding proteins and their substrates. A dsRNA endoribonuclease DROSHA initiates the maturation of microRNA (miRNA) by cleaving primary miRNA (pri-miRNA). Despite the importance of DROSHA in miRNA maturation and sequence determination, accurate mapping of DROSHA cleavage sites has not been feasible due to rapid processing, modification, and degradation of the cleaved products in cells. Here, we present a high-throughput sequencing method that allows the mapping of in vivo DROSHA cleavage sites at single nucleotide resolution, termed formaldehyde crosslinking, immunoprecipitation, and sequencing (fCLIP-seq). The fCLIP-seq protocol has been improved significantly over the standard CLIP-seq methods by (1) using formaldehyde for efficient and reversible crosslinking, (2) employing polyethylene glycol and adaptors with randomized sequences to enhance ligation efficiency and minimize bias, and (3) performing ligation after elution, which exposes the RNA termini for efficient ligation. fCLIP-seq successfully captures the nascent products of DROSHA, which allows precise mapping of the DROSHA processing sites. Moreover, from the analysis of the distinctive cleavage pattern, we discover previously unknown substrates of DROSHA. fCLIP-seq is a useful tool to obtain transcriptome-wide information on DROSHA activity and can be applied further to investigate other dsRNA-protein interactions. © 2018 Elsevier In
Response to Comment on Multiple repressive mechanisms in the hippocampus during memory formation
No full textMathew et al. propose that many candidate genes identified in our study may reflect the events in the choroid plexus (ChP) potentially included in hippocampal samples. We reanalyze our data and find that the ChP inclusion is unlikely to affect our major conclusions regarding the basal suppression of translational machinery or the early translational repression (at 5 to 10 minutes). As Mathew et al. examined for a subset of genes at 4 hours, we agree that the late suppression may partly reflect the events in the ChP. Although the precise contribution of anatomical sources remains to be clarified, our behavioral analyses indicate that the late-phase suppression of these genes may contribute to memory formation101sciescopu
TAIL-seq: Genome-wide determination of poly(A) tail length and 3' end modifications
No full textGlobal investigation of the 30 extremity of mRNA (30-terminome), despite its importance in gene regulation,has not been feasible due to technical challenges associated with homopolymeric sequences
and relative paucity of mRNA. We here develop a method, TAIL-seq, to sequence the very end of
mRNA molecules. TAIL-seq allows us to measure poly(A) tail length at the genomic scale. Median poly(A) length is 50–100 nt in HeLa and NIH 3T3 cells. Poly(A) length correlates with mRNA half-life,
but not with translational efficiency. Surprisingly, we discover widespread uridylation and guanylation at the downstream of poly(A) tail. The U tails are generally attached to short poly(A) tails (40 nt), implicating their generic roles in mRNA stability control. TAIL-seq is a potent tool to dissect dynamic control of mRNA turnover and translational control, and to discover unforeseen features of RNA cleavage and tailing.11011101sciescopu
A tale of non-canonical tails: gene regulation by post-transcriptional RNA tailing
No full text© 2020, Springer Nature Limited. RNA tailing, or the addition of non-templated nucleotides to the 3′ end of RNA, is the most frequent and conserved type of RNA modification. The addition of tails and their composition reflect RNA maturation stages and have important roles in determining the fate of the modified RNAs. Apart from canonical poly(A) polymerases, which add poly(A) tails to mRNAs in a transcription-coupled manner, a family of terminal nucleotidyltransferases (TENTs), including terminal uridylyltransferases (TUTs), modify RNAs post-transcriptionally to control RNA stability and activity. The human genome encodes 11 different TENTs with distinct substrate specificity, intracellular localization and tissue distribution. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of non-canonical RNA tails, with a focus on the functions of human TENTs, which include uridylation, mixed tailing and post-transcriptional polyadenylation of mRNAs, microRNAs and other types of non-coding RNA11sciescopu
A Phosphate-Binding Pocket within the Platform-PAZ-Connector Helix Cassette of Human Dicer
No full textWe have solved two families of crystal structures of the human Dicer ‘‘platform-PAZ-connector helix’’cassette in complex with small interfering RNAs(siRNAs). The structures possess two adjacently
positioned pockets: a 2 nt 30-overhang-binding pocket within the PAZ domain (30 pocket) and a phosphate-binding pocket within the platform domain(phosphate pocket). One family of complexes contains
a knob-like a-helical protrusion, designated ‘‘hDicer-specific helix,’’ that separates the two
pockets and orients the bound siRNA away from the surface of Dicer, which could be indicative of a
product release/transfer state. In the second complex, the helical protrusion is melted/disordered
and the bound siRNA is aligned toward the surface of Dicer, suggestive of a cleavage-competent state. These structures allow us to propose that the transition from the cleavage-competent to the postulated product release/transfer state may involve release of the 50-phosphate from the phosphate pocket while retaining the 30 overhang in the 30 pocket.135401sciescopu
MicroRNA-139-5p regulates proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors and is repressed during BCR-ABL-mediated leukemogenesis
No full textMicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as important regulators of the immune system. However, despite this prominence, our understanding of the function of miRNAs in the early hematopoietic stages is incomplete. In this study, we found that miR-139-5p negatively regulated the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells and that downregulation of miR-139-5p expression was associated with hematopoietic malignancy, such as chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Knockdown of miR-139-5p resulted in myeloid-biased differentiation with expansion of myeloid progenitor cells. In contrast, miR-139-5p expression inhibited the proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors and resulted in the remission of a CML-like disease that is induced by breakpoint cluster region-Abelson (BCR-ABL) transformation. We also found that Brg1 is a functional target of miR-139-5p and that Brg1 is involved in BCR-ABL-induced leukemogenesis. Thus, our results identify miR-139-5p as a key regulator of cellular proliferation during early hematopoiesis and suggest that it is a potent antileukemic molecule. © 2016 by The American Society of Hematology1341sciescopu
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