A M Krecic | PubMed Health

PubMed1999

hnRNP complexes: composition, structure, and function.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) are predominantly nuclear RNA-binding proteins that form complexes with RNA polymerase II transcripts. These proteins function in a staggering array of cellular activities, ranging from transcription and pre-mRNA processing in the nucleus to cytoplasmic mRNA translation and turnover. Recent studies suggest that several fundamental characteristics of hnRNPs account for their involvement in multiple regulatory pathways.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Control of cleavage site selection during mRNA 3' end formation by a yeast hnRNP.

Endonucleolytic cleavage of pre-mRNAs is the first step during eukaryotic mRNA 3' end formation. It has been proposed that cleavage factors CF IA, CF IB and CF II are required for pre-mRNA 3' end cleavage in yeast. CF IB is composed of a single polypeptide, Nab4p/Hrp1p, which is related to the A/B group of metazoan heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) that function as antagonistic regulators of 5' splice site selection. Here, we provide evidence that Nab4p/Hrp1p is not required for pre-mRNA 3' end endonucleolytic cleavage. We show that CF IA and CF II devoid of Nab4p/Hrp1p are sufficient to cleave a variety of RNA substrates but that cleavage occurs at multiple sites. Addition of Nab4p/Hrp1p prevents these alternative cleavages in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting an essential and conserved role for some hnRNPs in pre-mRNA cleavage site selection.

Base Sequence↗