Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Nucleic Acids Research logoLink to Nucleic Acids Research
. 1994 Jan 25;22(2):238–246. doi: 10.1093/nar/22.2.238

AU-A, an RNA-binding activity distinct from hnRNP A1, is selective for AUUUA repeats and shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm.

D A Katz 1, N G Theodorakis 1, D W Cleveland 1, T Lindsten 1, C B Thompson 1
PMCID: PMC307777  PMID: 8121809

Abstract

The 3'-untranslated regions of many labile transcripts contain AU-rich sequences that serve as cis determinants of mRNA stability and translational efficiency. Using a photocrosslinking technique, our laboratory has previously defined three cytoplasmic RNA-binding activities specific for the AUUUA multimers found in the 3'-untranslated regions of lymphokine mRNAs. One of these activities, AU-A, has an apparent molecular mass of 34 kDa, is constitutively expressed in both primary T cells and the Jurkat T cell leukemia line, and binds to a variety of U-rich RNA sequences. Previous studies had shown that AU-A is more prevalent in the nucleus than the cytoplasm, raising the possibility that AU-A is really a nuclear RNA-binding activity that is found in cytoplasmic extracts because of nuclear leakage during cell fractionation. We now show that AU-A shuttles between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Our results indicate that AU-A is a candidate protein component of ribonucleoprotein complexes that participate in nucleocytoplasmic transport of mRNA and cytoplasmic mRNA metabolism. The properties of AU-A activity are similar to those of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNP A1). However, using monoclonal antibodies to hnRNP A1 and protease digestion patterns, we show that AU-A activity and hnRNP A1 protein are distinct. These studies have also allowed us to define a fourth RNA-binding activity of apparent molecular mass 41 kDa with specificity for AUUUA multimers. This activity is restricted to the nucleus and contains the hnRNP C protein.

Full text

PDF
238

Images in this article

239Image
on p.239
241Image
on p.241
242Image
on p.242
243Image
on p.243
243Image
on p.243
244Image
on p.244
244Image
on p.244

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bernstein P. L., Herrick D. J., Prokipcak R. D., Ross J. Control of c-myc mRNA half-life in vitro by a protein capable of binding to a coding region stability determinant. Genes Dev. 1992 Apr;6(4):642–654. doi: 10.1101/gad.6.4.642. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bickel M., Iwai Y., Pluznik D. H., Cohen R. B. Binding of sequence-specific proteins to the adenosine- plus uridine-rich sequences of the murine granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor mRNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Nov 1;89(21):10001–10005. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.21.10001. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Billings P. B., Hoch S. O. Characterization of U small nuclear RNA-associated proteins. J Biol Chem. 1984 Oct 25;259(20):12850–12856. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bohjanen P. R., Petryniak B., June C. H., Thompson C. B., Lindsten T. AU RNA-binding factors differ in their binding specificities and affinities. J Biol Chem. 1992 Mar 25;267(9):6302–6309. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bohjanen P. R., Petryniak B., June C. H., Thompson C. B., Lindsten T. An inducible cytoplasmic factor (AU-B) binds selectively to AUUUA multimers in the 3' untranslated region of lymphokine mRNA. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Jun;11(6):3288–3295. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.6.3288. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Brewer G. An A + U-rich element RNA-binding factor regulates c-myc mRNA stability in vitro. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 May;11(5):2460–2466. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.5.2460. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Brewer G., Ross J. Messenger RNA turnover in cell-free extracts. Methods Enzymol. 1990;181:202–209. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(90)81122-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Brewer G., Ross J. Poly(A) shortening and degradation of the 3' A+U-rich sequences of human c-myc mRNA in a cell-free system. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Apr;8(4):1697–1708. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.4.1697. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Caput D., Beutler B., Hartog K., Thayer R., Brown-Shimer S., Cerami A. Identification of a common nucleotide sequence in the 3'-untranslated region of mRNA molecules specifying inflammatory mediators. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Mar;83(6):1670–1674. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.6.1670. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Choi Y. D., Dreyfuss G. Isolation of the heterogeneous nuclear RNA-ribonucleoprotein complex (hnRNP): a unique supramolecular assembly. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Dec;81(23):7471–7475. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.23.7471. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Choi Y. D., Dreyfuss G. Monoclonal antibody characterization of the C proteins of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes in vertebrate cells. J Cell Biol. 1984 Dec;99(6):1997–1204. doi: 10.1083/jcb.99.6.1997. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Dreyfuss G., Choi Y. D., Adam S. A. Characterization of heterogeneous nuclear RNA-protein complexes in vivo with monoclonal antibodies. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Jun;4(6):1104–1114. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.6.1104. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hamilton B. J., Nagy E., Malter J. S., Arrick B. A., Rigby W. F. Association of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 and C proteins with reiterated AUUUA sequences. J Biol Chem. 1993 Apr 25;268(12):8881–8887. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Han J., Beutler B. The essential role of the UA-rich sequence in endotoxin-induced cachectin/TNF synthesis. Eur Cytokine Netw. 1990 May-Jun;1(2):71–75. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Han J., Brown T., Beutler B. Endotoxin-responsive sequences control cachectin/tumor necrosis factor biosynthesis at the translational level. J Exp Med. 1990 Feb 1;171(2):465–475. doi: 10.1084/jem.171.2.465. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kruys V. I., Wathelet M. G., Huez G. A. Identification of a translation inhibitory element (TIE) in the 3' untranslated region of the human interferon-beta mRNA. Gene. 1988 Dec 10;72(1-2):191–200. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(88)90144-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kruys V., Marinx O., Shaw G., Deschamps J., Huez G. Translational blockade imposed by cytokine-derived UA-rich sequences. Science. 1989 Aug 25;245(4920):852–855. doi: 10.1126/science.2672333. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kruys V., Wathelet M., Poupart P., Contreras R., Fiers W., Content J., Huez G. The 3' untranslated region of the human interferon-beta mRNA has an inhibitory effect on translation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Sep;84(17):6030–6034. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.17.6030. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Leser G. P., Escara-Wilke J., Martin T. E. Monoclonal antibodies to heterogeneous nuclear RNA-protein complexes. The core proteins comprise a conserved group of related polypeptides. J Biol Chem. 1984 Feb 10;259(3):1827–1833. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Malter J. S. Identification of an AUUUA-specific messenger RNA binding protein. Science. 1989 Nov 3;246(4930):664–666. doi: 10.1126/science.2814487. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Mehlin H., Daneholt B., Skoglund U. Translocation of a specific premessenger ribonucleoprotein particle through the nuclear pore studied with electron microscope tomography. Cell. 1992 May 15;69(4):605–613. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90224-z. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Mirfakhrai M., Weiner A. M. Chemical Cleveland mapping: a rapid technique for characterization of crosslinked nucleic acid-protein complexes. Nucleic Acids Res. 1993 Jul 25;21(15):3591–3592. doi: 10.1093/nar/21.15.3591. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Moore M. S., Blobel G. The two steps of nuclear import, targeting to the nuclear envelope and translocation through the nuclear pore, require different cytosolic factors. Cell. 1992 Jun 12;69(6):939–950. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90613-h. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Myer V. E., Lee S. I., Steitz J. A. Viral small nuclear ribonucleoproteins bind a protein implicated in messenger RNA destabilization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Feb 15;89(4):1296–1300. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.4.1296. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Newmeyer D. D., Forbes D. J. Nuclear import can be separated into distinct steps in vitro: nuclear pore binding and translocation. Cell. 1988 Mar 11;52(5):641–653. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90402-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Pandey N. B., Sun J. H., Marzluff W. F. Different complexes are formed on the 3' end of histone mRNA with nuclear and polyribosomal proteins. Nucleic Acids Res. 1991 Oct 25;19(20):5653–5659. doi: 10.1093/nar/19.20.5653. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Peltz S. W., Brewer G., Kobs G., Ross J. Substrate specificity of the exonuclease activity that degrades H4 histone mRNA. J Biol Chem. 1987 Jul 5;262(19):9382–9388. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Peppel K., Vinci J. M., Baglioni C. The AU-rich sequences in the 3' untranslated region mediate the increased turnover of interferon mRNA induced by glucocorticoids. J Exp Med. 1991 Feb 1;173(2):349–355. doi: 10.1084/jem.173.2.349. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Piñol-Roma S., Dreyfuss G. Shuttling of pre-mRNA binding proteins between nucleus and cytoplasm. Nature. 1992 Feb 20;355(6362):730–732. doi: 10.1038/355730a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Piñol-Roma S., Dreyfuss G. Transcription-dependent and transcription-independent nuclear transport of hnRNP proteins. Science. 1991 Jul 19;253(5017):312–314. doi: 10.1126/science.1857966. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Port J. D., Huang L. Y., Malbon C. C. Beta-adrenergic agonists that down-regulate receptor mRNA up-regulate a M(r) 35,000 protein(s) that selectively binds to beta-adrenergic receptor mRNAs. J Biol Chem. 1992 Nov 25;267(33):24103–24108. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Preugschat F., Wold B. Isolation and characterization of a Xenopus laevis C protein cDNA: structure and expression of a heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein core protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Dec;85(24):9669–9673. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.24.9669. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Raymond V., Atwater J. A., Verma I. M. Removal of an mRNA destabilizing element correlates with the increased oncogenicity of proto-oncogene fos. Oncogene Res. 1989;5(1):1–12. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Richardson W. D., Mills A. D., Dilworth S. M., Laskey R. A., Dingwall C. Nuclear protein migration involves two steps: rapid binding at the nuclear envelope followed by slower translocation through nuclear pores. Cell. 1988 Mar 11;52(5):655–664. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90403-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Ross J., Kobs G., Brewer G., Peltz S. W. Properties of the exonuclease activity that degrades H4 histone mRNA. J Biol Chem. 1987 Jul 5;262(19):9374–9381. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Savant-Bhonsale S., Cleveland D. W. Evidence for instability of mRNAs containing AUUUA motifs mediated through translation-dependent assembly of a > 20S degradation complex. Genes Dev. 1992 Oct;6(10):1927–1939. doi: 10.1101/gad.6.10.1927. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Schreier M. H., Staehelin T. Initiation of mammalian protein synthesis: the importance of ribosome and initiation factor quality for the efficiency of in vitro systems. J Mol Biol. 1973 Feb 19;73(3):329–349. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(73)90346-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Shaw G., Kamen R. A conserved AU sequence from the 3' untranslated region of GM-CSF mRNA mediates selective mRNA degradation. Cell. 1986 Aug 29;46(5):659–667. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90341-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Shyu A. B., Greenberg M. E., Belasco J. G. The c-fos transcript is targeted for rapid decay by two distinct mRNA degradation pathways. Genes Dev. 1989 Jan;3(1):60–72. doi: 10.1101/gad.3.1.60. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Swanson M. S., Dreyfuss G. RNA binding specificity of hnRNP proteins: a subset bind to the 3' end of introns. EMBO J. 1988 Nov;7(11):3519–3529. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1988.tb03228.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Vakalopoulou E., Schaack J., Shenk T. A 32-kilodalton protein binds to AU-rich domains in the 3' untranslated regions of rapidly degraded mRNAs. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Jun;11(6):3355–3364. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.6.3355. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Wilson T., Treisman R. Removal of poly(A) and consequent degradation of c-fos mRNA facilitated by 3' AU-rich sequences. Nature. 1988 Nov 24;336(6197):396–399. doi: 10.1038/336396a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Zhang W., Wagner B. J., Ehrenman K., Schaefer A. W., DeMaria C. T., Crater D., DeHaven K., Long L., Brewer G. Purification, characterization, and cDNA cloning of an AU-rich element RNA-binding protein, AUF1. Mol Cell Biol. 1993 Dec;13(12):7652–7665. doi: 10.1128/mcb.13.12.7652. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Nucleic Acids Research are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES