Trimethylguanosine nucleoside inhibits cross-linking between snurportin 1 and m3G-capped U1 snRNA

Macromolecular nuclear import is an energy-and signal-dependent process. The best characterized type of nuclear import consists of proteins carrying the classical NLS that is mediated by the heterodimeric receptor importin α/β. Spliceosomal snRNPs U1, U2, U4, and U5 nuclear import depend both on the 5' terminal m3G (trimethylguanosine) cap structure of the U snRNA and the Sm core domain. Snurportin 1 recognizes the m3G-cap structure of m3G-capped U snRNPs. In this report, we show how a synthesized trimethylguanosine nucleoside affects the binding of Snurportin 1 to m3G-capped U1 snRNA in a UV-cross-linking assay. The data indicated that TMG nucleoside is an essential component required in the recognition by Snurportin 1, thus suggesting that interaction of Snurportin 1 with U1 snRNA is not strictly dependent on the presence of the whole cap structure, but rather on the presence of the TMG nucleoside structure. These results indicate that the free nucleoside TMG could be a candidate to be an inhibitor of the interaction between Snurportin 1 and U snRNAs. We also show the behavior of free TMG nucleoside in in vitro U snRNPs nuclear import. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.This work was supported by Plan Nacional BFU2005-00701 and the Polish Committee for Scientific Research (KBN) # 6 P04A 055 17. D.B. was a recipient of a CNPq Brazilian fellowship and EMBO and FEBS short-term fellowshipsPeer Reviewe

Evolutionary changes in the Leishmania eIF4F complex involve variations in the eIF4E–eIF4G interactions

Translation initiation in eukaryotes is mediated by assembly of the eIF4F complex over the m7GTP cap structure at the 5′-end of mRNAs. This requires an interaction between eIF4E and eIF4G, two eIF4F subunits. The Leishmania orthologs of eIF4E are structurally diverged from their higher eukaryote counterparts, since they have evolved to bind the unique trypanosomatid cap-4 structure. Here, we characterize a key eIF4G candidate from Leishmania parasites (LeishIF4G-3) that contains a conserved MIF4G domain. LeishIF4G-3 was found to coelute with the parasite eIF4F subunits from an m7GTP-Sepharose column and to bind directly to LeishIF4E. In higher eukaryotes the eIF4E-eIF4G interaction is based on a conserved peptide signature [Y(X4)Lϕ], where X is any amino acid and Φ is a hydrophobic residue. A parallel eIF4E-binding peptide was identified in LeishIF4G-3 (20-YPGFSLDE-27). However, the binding motif varies extensively: in addition to Y20 and L25, binding strictly requires the presence of F23, whereas the hydrophobic amino acid (Φ) is dispensable. The LeishIF4E–LeishIF4G-3 interaction was also confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies. In view of these diversities, the characterization of the parasite eIF4E–eIF4G interaction may not only serve as a novel target for inhibiting Leishmaniasis but also provide important insight for future drug discovery

Study of the 2719 mutant of the c-H-ras oncogene in a bi-intronic alternative splicing system

C-H-ras proto-oncogene forms part of the signal transduction pathway of numerous external stimuli. This proto-oncogene is regulated by alternative splicing within its intron D due to the presence of the alternative intron D exon (IDX). The alternative splicing produces mRNA which encodes for the putative p19 protein, that lacks transforming potential. Herein, we demonstrated that SR proteins regulate the intron D splicing. Moreover, we studied the 2719 mutation of H-ras which has higher transforming potential than Ile12 and Val12 H-ras mutants and is also known to affect the 5′ splice site of the IDX. However, here we show that the 2719 mutant can still be spliced when the upstream 5′ splice-site is blocked. During these later studies, additionally, we generated a short 11 nucleotides 5′ terminal exon that was fully defined and spliced in a bi-intronic pre-mRNA. The definition of this mini-exon was also addressed in this work.This work was supported by The Asociación Española contra el Cáncer, La Marató de TV3 and Fundación Ramón Areces and the Polish Committee for Scientific Research (KBN) # 6 P04A 055 17. S Guil was a recipient of a BEFI fellowship.Peer Reviewe

Functional heterogeneity of human CD34(+) cells isolated in subcompartments of the G0 /G1 phase of the cell cycle.

Using simultaneous Hoechst 33342 (Hst) and Pyronin Y (PY) staining for determination of DNA and RNA content, respectively, human CD34(+) cells were isolated in subcompartments of the G0 /G1 phase of the cell cycle by flow cytometric cell sorting. In both bone marrow (BM) and mobilized peripheral blood (MPB) CD34(+) cells, primitive long-term hematopoietic culture-initiating cell (LTHC-IC) activity was higher in CD34(+) cells isolated in G0 (G0CD34(+) cells) than in those residing in G1 (G1CD34(+) cells). However, as MPB CD34(+) cells displayed a more homogeneous cell-cycle status within the G0 /G1 phase and a relative absence of cells in late G1 , DNA/RNA fractionation was less effective in segregating LTHC-IC in MPB than in BM. BM CD34(+) cells belonging to four subcompartments of increasing RNA content within the G0 /G1 phase were evaluated in functional assays. The persistence of CD34 expression in suspension culture was inversely correlated with the initial RNA content of test cells. Multipotential progenitors were present in G0 or early G1 subcompartments, while lineage-restricted granulomonocytic progenitors were more abundant in late G1 . In vitro hematopoiesis was maintained for up to 6 weeks with G0CD34(+) cells, whereas production of clonogenic progenitors was more limited in cultures initiated with G1CD34(+) cells. To test the hypothesis that primitive LTHC-ICs would reenter a state of relative quiescence after in vitro division, BM CD34(+) cells proliferating in ex vivo cultures were identified from their quiescent counterparts by a relative loss of membrane intercalating dye PKH2, and were further fractionated with Hst and PY. The same functional hierarchy was documented within the PKH2(dim) population whereby LTHC-IC frequency was higher for CD34(+) cells reselected in G0 after in vitro division than for CD34(+) cells reisolated in G1 or in S/G2 + M. However, the highest LTHC-IC frequency was found in quiescent PKH2(bright) CD34(+) cells. Together, these results support the concept that cells with distinct hematopoietic capabilities follow different pathways during the G0 /G1 phase of the cell cycle both in vivo and during ex vivo culture

miR-483-5p orchestrates the initiation of protein synthesis by facilitating the decrease in phosphorylated Ser209eIF4E and 4E-BP1 levels

Abstract Eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is a pivotal protein involved in the regulatory mechanism for global protein synthesis in both physiological and pathological conditions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a significant role in regulating gene expression by targeting mRNA. However, the ability of miRNAs to regulate eIF4E and its phosphorylation remains relatively unknown. In this study, we predicted and experimentally verified targets for miR-483-5p, including eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E and its binding proteins, 4E-BPs, that regulate protein synthesis. Using the Web of Science database, we identified 28 experimentally verified miR-483-5p targets, and by the TargetScan database, we found 1818 predicted mRNA targets, including EIF4E, EIF4EBP1, and EIF4EBP2. We verified that miR-483-5p significantly reduced ERK1 and MKNK1 mRNA levels in HEK293 cells. Furthermore, we discovered that miR-483-5p suppressed EIF4EBP1 and EIF4EBP2, but not EIF4E. Finally, we found that miR-483-5p reduced the level of phosphorylated eIF4E (pSer209eIF4E) but not total eIF4E. In conclusion, our study suggests that miR-483-5p's multi-targeting effect on the ERK1/ MKNK1 axis modulates the phosphorylation state of eIF4E. Unlike siRNA, miRNA can have multiple targets in the pathway, and thereby exploring the role of miR-483-5p in various cancer models may uncover therapeutic options