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Janeen H Trembley

Publications and source records attributed to Janeen H Trembley.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Role of CDK/cyclin complexes in transcription and RNA splicing.

The production of mRNAs in all living organisms is an extremely complex process that includes multiple catalytic activities such as transcription, capping, splicing, polyadenylation, cleavage and export. All of these processes are controlled by a large group of proteins which form very dynamic complexes interacting with DNA and pre-mRNAs to coordinate these activities. Phosphorylations play a central role in regulating formation, activation and inactivation of these complexes. A growing number of protein kinases have been identified that are capable of phosphorylating proteins involved in mRNA production. Among them, Cyclin-dependent Kinases (CDKs) represent a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that become active upon binding to a cyclin regulatory partner. CDK/cyclin complexes were first identified as crucial regulators of cell cycle progression. More recently, CDK/cyclin complexes have also been implicated in transcription and mRNA processing leading to the concept of an intricate network of CDK/cyclin complexes regulating cell cycle, transcription and mRNA processing via cross-talk between multiple CDKs. In this review, we discuss the role of CDK/cyclin-dependent phosphorylation in the regulation of transcription and RNA splicing and highlight recent findings that indicate the involvement of CDK/cyclin complexes in connecting transcription and RNA splicing.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Activation of pre-mRNA splicing by human RNPS1 is regulated by CK2 phosphorylation.

Human RNPS1 was originally characterized as a pre-mRNA splicing activator in vitro and was shown to regulate alternative splicing in vivo. RNPS1 was also identified as a protein component of the splicing-dependent mRNP complex, or exon-exon junction complex (EJC), and a role for RNPS1 in postsplicing processes has been proposed. Here we demonstrate that RNPS1 incorporates into active spliceosomes, enhances the formation of the ATP-dependent A complex, and promotes the generation of both intermediate and final spliced products. RNPS1 is phosphorylated in vivo and interacts with the CK2 (casein kinase II) protein kinase. Serine 53 (Ser-53) of RNPS1 was identified as the major phosphorylation site for CK2 in vitro, and the same site is also phosphorylated in vivo. The phosphorylation status of Ser-53 significantly affects splicing activation in vitro, but it does not perturb the nuclear localization of RNPS1. In vivo experiments indicated that the phosphorylation of RNPS1 at Ser-53 influences the efficiencies of both splicing and translation. We propose that RNPS1 is a splicing regulator whose activator function is controlled in part by CK2 phosphorylation.

Casein Kinase II↗

CDK11 complexes promote pre-mRNA splicing.

The PITSLRE protein kinases, hereafter referred to as CDK11 because of their association with the cyclin L regulatory partner, belong to large molecular weight protein complexes that contain RNA polymerase II. These CDK11(p110) complexes have been reported to influence transcription as well as interact with the general pre-mRNA-splicing factor RNPS1. Some of these complexes may also play a role in pre-mRNA splicing. Using a two-hybrid interactive screen, the splicing protein 9G8 was identified as an in vivo partner for CDK11(p110). The identification of several splicing-related factors as CDK11(p110) interactors along with the close relationship between transcription and splicing indicated that CDK11(p110) might influence splicing activity directly. Immunodepletion of CDK11(p110) from splicing extracts greatly reduced the appearance of spliced products using an in vitro assay system. Moreover, the re-addition of these CDK11(p110) immune complexes to the CDK11(p110)-immunodepleted splicing reactions completely restored splicing activity. Similarly, the addition of purified CDK11(p110) amino-terminal domain protein was sufficient to inhibit the splicing reaction. Finally, 9G8 is a phosphoprotein in vivo and is a substrate for CDK11(p110) phosphorylation in vitro. These data are among the first demonstrations showing that a CDK activity is functionally coupled to the regulation of pre-mRNA-splicing events and further support the hypothesis that CDK11(p110) is in a signaling pathway that may help to coordinate transcription and RNA-processing events.

Base Sequence↗

Casein kinase 2 interacts with cyclin-dependent kinase 11 (CDK11) in vivo and phosphorylates both the RNA polymerase II carboxyl-terminal domain and CDK11 in vitro.

The PITSLRE protein kinases, hereafter referred to as cyclin-dependent kinase 11 (CDK11) due to their association with cyclin L, are part of large molecular weight protein complexes that contain RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) as well as numerous transcription and RNA processing factors. Data presented here demonstrate that the influence of CDK11(p110) on transcription and splicing does not involve phosphorylation of the RNAP II carboxyl-terminal domain by CDK11(p110). We have isolated a DRB- and heparin-sensitive protein kinase activity that co-purifies with CDK11(p110) after ion exchange and affinity purification chromatography. This protein kinase was identified as casein kinase 2 (CK2) by immunoblot and mass spectrometry analyses. In addition to the RNAP II carboxyl-terminal domain, CK2 phosphorylates the CDK11(p110) amino-terminal domain. These data suggest that CDK11(p110) isoforms participate in signaling pathways that include CK2 and that its function may help to coordinate the regulation of RNA transcription and processing events. Future experiments will determine how phosphorylation of CDK11(p110) by CK2 specifically affects RNA transcription and/or processing events.

Casein Kinase II↗

PITSLRE p110 protein kinases associate with transcription complexes and affect their activity.

Although the PITSLRE protein kinases are members of the cyclin-dependent kinase superfamily, their cellular function is unclear. Previously we demonstrated that the general RNA splicing factor RNPS1 is a specific PITSLRE p110 kinase interactor in vivo. This suggests that the PITSLRE family of protein kinases is involved in some aspect of RNA processing or transcription. Here we identify multiple transcriptional elongation factors, including ELL2, TFIIF(1), TFIIS, and FACT, as PITSLRE kinase-associated proteins. We demonstrate that PITSLRE p110 protein kinases co-immunoprecipitate and/or co-purify with these elongation factors as well as with RNA polymerase II. Antibody-mediated inhibition of PITSLRE kinase specifically suppressed RNA polymerase II-dependent in vitro transcription initiated at a GC-rich (adenosine deaminase) or TATA box-dependent (Ad2ML) promoter, and this suppression was rescued by readdition of purified PITSLRE p110 kinase. Together, these data strongly suggest that PITSLRE protein kinases participate in a signaling pathway that potentially regulates or links transcription and RNA processing events.

Animals↗