Search results for "RNA modification"
showing 10 items of 40 documents
Gene Amplification-Associated Overexpression of the Selenoprotein tRNA Enzyme TRIT1 Confers Sensitivity to Arsenic Trioxide in Small-Cell Lung Cancer
2021
Simple Summary Small-cell lung cancer accounts for approximately 13% of all new lung cancer diagnoses, but in contrast to non-small-cell lung cancer, the implementation of targeted treatments in small-cell lung cancer has been limited, with little improvement in the clinical outcome in the last several decades. Exploring new pathways for targeted therapy, we have observed that extra-copies of the tRNA modifier TRIT1, involved in the translation of selenoproteins, confers sensitivity to arsenic trioxide in small-cell lung cancer. This finding could open a new therapeutic niche for a tumor type with such a dismal clinical course. The alteration of RNA modification patterns is emerging as a co…
Positioning Europe for the EPITRANSCRIPTOMICS challenge
2018
WOS: 000444092300018 PubMed ID: 29671387 The genetic alphabet consists of the four letters: C, A, G, and T in DNA and C,A,G, and U in RNA. Triplets of these four letters jointly encode 20 different amino acids out of which proteins of all organisms are built. This system is universal and is found in all kingdoms of life. However, bases in DNA and RNA can be chemically modified. In DNA, around 10 different modifications are known, and those have been studied intensively over the past 20years. Scientific studies on DNA modifications and proteins that recognize them gave rise to the large field of epigenetic and epigenomic research. The outcome of this intense research field is the discovery t…
2015
Modified nucleotide 5-methylcytosine (m5C) is frequently present in various eukaryotic RNAs, including tRNAs, rRNAs and in other non-coding RNAs, as well as in mRNAs. RNA:m5C-methyltranferases (MTases) Nop2 from S. cerevisiae and human proliferation-associated nucleolar antigen p120 are both members of a protein family called Nop2/NSUN/NOL1. Protein p120 is well-known as a tumor marker which is over-expressed in various cancer tissues. Using a combination of RNA bisulfite sequencing and HPLC-MS/MS analysis, we demonstrated here that p120 displays an RNA:m5C- MTase activity, which restores m5C formation at position 2870 in domain V of 25S rRNA in a nop2Δ yeast strain. We also confirm that ye…
Translational adaptation to heat stress is mediated by RNA 5‐methylcytosine in Caenorhabditis elegans
2021
Abstract Methylation of carbon‐5 of cytosines (m5C) is a post‐transcriptional nucleotide modification of RNA found in all kingdoms of life. While individual m5C‐methyltransferases have been studied, the impact of the global cytosine‐5 methylome on development, homeostasis and stress remains unknown. Here, using Caenorhabditis elegans, we generated the first organism devoid of m5C in RNA, demonstrating that this modification is non‐essential. Using this genetic tool, we determine the localisation and enzymatic specificity of m5C sites in the RNome in vivo. We find that NSUN‐4 acts as a dual rRNA and tRNA methyltransferase in C. elegans mitochondria. In agreement with leucine and proline bein…
Eukaryotic snoRNAs: a paradigm for gene expression flexibility.
2009
AbstractSmall nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are one of the most ancient and numerous families of non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). The main function of snoRNAs – to guide site-specific rRNA modification – is the same in Archaea and all eukaryotic lineages. In contrast, as revealed by recent genomic and RNomic studies, their genomic organization and expression strategies are the most varied. Seemingly snoRNA coding units have adopted, in the course of evolution, all the possible ways of being transcribed, thus providing a unique paradigm of gene expression flexibility. By focusing on representative fungal, plant and animal genomes, we review here all the documented types of snoRNA gene organizati…
Iron in Translation: From the Beginning to the End
2021
Iron is an essential element for all eukaryotes, since it acts as a cofactor for many enzymes involved in basic cellular functions, including translation. While the mammalian iron-regulatory protein/iron-responsive element (IRP/IRE) system arose as one of the first examples of translational regulation in higher eukaryotes, little is known about the contribution of iron itself to the different stages of eukaryotic translation. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, iron deficiency provokes a global impairment of translation at the initiation step, which is mediated by the Gcn2-eIF2α pathway, while the post-transcriptional regulator Cth2 specifically represses the translation of a subgroup of…
Determination of enrichment factors for modified RNA in MeRIP experiments
2019
In the growing field of RNA modification, precipitation techniques using antibodies play an important role. However, little is known about their specificities and protocols are missing to assess their effectiveness. Here we present a method to assess enrichment factors after MeRIP-type pulldown experiments, here exemplified with a commercial antibody against N6-methyladenosine (m6A). Testing different pulldown and elution conditions, we measure enrichment factors of 4-5 using m6A-containing mRNAs against an unmodified control of identical sequence. Both types of mRNA carry 32P labels at different nucleotides, allowing their relative quantification in a mixture after digestion to nucleotides…
Structural insights into the GTPase domain of Escherichia coli MnmE protein
2007
The Escherichia coli MnmE protein is a 50-kDa multidomain GTPase involved in tRNA modification. Its homologues in eukaryotes are crucial for mitochondrial respiration and, thus, it is thought that the human protein might be involved in mitochondrial diseases. Unlike Ras, MnmE shows a high intrinsic GTPase activity and requires effective GTP hydrolysis, and not simply GTP binding, to be functionally active. The isolated MnmE G-domain (165 residues) conserves the GTPase activity of the entire protein, suggesting that it contains the catalytic residues for GTP hydrolysis. To explore the GTP hydrolysis mechanism of MnmE, we analyzed the effect of low pH on binding and hydrolysis of GTP, as well…
Ythdf is a N6‐methyladenosine reader that modulates Fmr1 target mRNA selection and restricts axonal growth in Drosophila
2021
Abstract N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) regulates a variety of physiological processes through modulation of RNA metabolism. This modification is particularly enriched in the nervous system of several species, and its dysregulation has been associated with neurodevelopmental defects and neural dysfunctions. In Drosophila, loss of m6A alters fly behavior, albeit the underlying molecular mechanism and the role of m6A during nervous system development have remained elusive. Here we find that impairment of the m6A pathway leads to axonal overgrowth and misguidance at larval neuromuscular junctions as well as in the adult mushroom bodies. We identify Ythdf as the main m6A reader in the nervous system,…
Pseudouridine: Still mysterious, but never a fake (uridine)!
2014
International audience; Pseudouridine () is the most abundant of >150 nucleoside modifications in RNA. Although was discovered as the first modified nucleoside more than half a century ago, neither the enzymatic mechanism of its formation, nor the function of this modification are fully elucidated. We present the consistent picture of synthases, their substrates and their substrate positions in model organisms of all domains of life as it has emerged to date and point out the challenges that remain concerning higher eukaryotes and the elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism.