Current Protein and Peptide Science - Volume 13, Issue 4, 2012

At all steps from transcription to translation, RNA-binding proteins play important roles in determining mRNA function. Initially it was believed that for the vast majority of transcripts the role of RNA-binding proteins is limited to general functions such as splicing and translation. However, work from recent years showed that members of this class of proteins also recognize several mRNAs via cis-acting elements for their incorpo Read More

A growing body of work demonstrates the importance of post-transcriptional control, in particular translation initiation, in the overall regulation of gene expression. Here we focus on the contribution of regulatory elements within the 5' and 3' untranslated regions of mRNA to gene expression in eukaryotic cells including terminal oligopyrimidine tracts, internal ribosome entry segments, upstream open reading frames and cytopla Read More

Protein synthesis is a fundamental biological mechanism bringing the DNA-encoded genetic information into life by its translation into molecular effectors - proteins. The initiation phase of translation is one of the key points of gene regulation in eukaryotes, playing a role in processes from neuronal function to development. Indeed, the importance of the study of protein synthesis is increasing with the growing list of genetic Read More

Post-transcriptional processes critically affect eukaryotic gene expression. Cells respond to environmental and intrinsic stresses by arresting global translation and inducing the accumulation of mRNAs into cytoplasmic RNA granules such as stress granules (SGs) and processing bodies (PBs), which are thought to participate in the regulation of translation and degradation of mRNAs. Stresses trigger the formation of SGs and in Read More

Selenoproteins are defined as proteins containing the 21st proteinogenic amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec). Sec is encoded by UGA (STOP) codons which are re-coded to Sec by the presence of a selenocysteine insertion sequence (SECIS) element in the 3'-untranslated region of selenoprotein mRNAs. The SECIS element is bound by several proteins, including SECIS-binding protein 2 (SBP2). Translation of selenoproteins critically Read More

The mechanisms that drive the expression of a gene into its final protein product can be sub-divided into three levels: transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post-translational events. To facilitate the development and maintenance of a multi-cellular organism precise regulatory circuits are needed to ensure the survival of the organism and its ability to respond to changes in its environment. The key element of post-tran Read More

We begin by reviewing the first characterization of fragile X syndrome, which ultimately led to cloning of the FMR1 gene. Discovery of the molecular basis of this disorder, including expansion of a trinucleotide repeat, gave insight not only into fragile X syndrome but also into the premutation syndromes. Features of fragile X syndrome are discussed including the patient phenotype down to the neuronal phenotype. The domain Read More

The mammalian RNA-binding protein (RBP) HuR associates with numerous mRNAs encoding proteins with roles in cell division, cell survival, immune response, and differentiation. HuR was known to stabilize many of these mRNAs and/or modulated their translation, but the molecular processes by which HuR affected the fate of target mRNAs was largely unknown. Evidence accumulated over the past five years has revealed that th Read More

The ubiquitous mRNA-binding protein human antigen R (HuR) and its neuronal relatives (HuB, HuC, HuD) participate in the post-transcriptional regulation of many AU-rich element-bearing mRNAs. In addition to its originally described role in controlling mRNA decay, the binding of HuR to target mRNAs can affect many aspects of mRNA processing including splicing, polyadenylation, intracellular trafficking, translation and Read More

Studies on the post-transcriptional control of gene expression in hematopoietic cells have uncovered that a subfamily of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) is involved in cytoplasmic gene regulation. Among them hnRNP K and hnRNPs E1/E2 share common structural motifs, the hnRNP K homology (KH) domains that provide a functional basis for RNA binding. Specific sub-cellular localization and differentiation Read More

Increasing evidence points to the participation of the multifunctional protein Annexin A2 (AnxA2) in mRNA localisation as well as the translation of certain mRNAs on cytoskeleton-bound polysomes, and thereby in the regulation of the biosynthesis of specific proteins, such as c-Myc and AnxA2 itself, which are linked to cellular transformation. AnxA2 is most likely activated by signalling pathways, which result in its post-translatio Read More