7SK RNA | |
---|---|
Identifiers | |
Symbol | 7SK |
Rfam | RF00100 |
Other data | |
RNA type | Gene |
Domain(s) | Eukaryota |
SO | SO:0000274 |
PDB structures | PDBe |
RN7SK | |
---|---|
Identifiers | |
Symbol | RN7SK |
NCBI gene | 125050 |
Other data | |
Locus | Chr. 6 p12.2 |
In molecular biology 7SK is an abundant small nuclear RNA found in metazoans. [1] It plays a role in regulating transcription by controlling the positive transcription elongation factor P-TEFb. [2] 7SK is found in a small nuclear ribonucleoprotein complex (snRNP) with a number of other proteins that regulate the stability and function of the complex.
An early study indicated that 7SK in cells is associated with a number of proteins and probing of the secondary structure suggested a model for base pairing between different regions of the RNA. [3] A breakthrough in the function of the 7SK snRNP came with the finding that the positive transcription elongation factor P-TEFb was a component of the complex. [4] [5] 7SK associates with and inhibits the cyclin dependent kinase activity of P-TEFb through the action of the RNA binding proteins HEXIM1 [6] [7] or HEXIM2. [8] [9] The gamma phosphate at the 5' end of 7SK is methylated by the methylphosphate capping enzyme MEPCE which is a constitutive component of the 7SK snRNP. [10] A La related protein LARP7 is also found associated with 7SK, presumably in part through its interaction with the 3' end of the RNA. [11] [12] [13] Reduction of either MEPCE or LARP7 by siRNA mediated knockdown leads to destabilization of 7SK in vivo. A subset of 7SK snRNPs lack P-TEFb and HEXIM, but contains hnRNPs instead. [14]
The major function of the 7SK snRNP is control of the P-TEFb, a factor that regulates the elongation phase of transcription. [2] The kinase activity of P-TEFb is inhibited when the factor is in the 7SK snRNP. P-TEFb can be released from the 7SK snRNP by either the HIV transactivator Tat or the bromodomain containing protein BRD4. This release leads to a conformational change in 7SK RNA and the ejection of HEXIM. [15] hnRNPs stabilize the complex lacking P-TEFb and HEXIM. After P-TEFb functions on specific genes it is re-sequestered in the 7SK snRNP by an unknown mechanism. The 7SK snRNP has been characterized in both human and Drosophila. [16] Detailed review. [14]
The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in a cell that cause it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the duplication of its DNA and some of its organelles, and subsequently the partitioning of its cytoplasm and other components into two daughter cells in a process called cell division.
SR proteins are a conserved family of proteins involved in RNA splicing. SR proteins are named because they contain a protein domain with long repeats of serine and arginine amino acid residues, whose standard abbreviations are "S" and "R" respectively. SR proteins are ~200-600 amino acids in length and composed of two domains, the RNA recognition motif (RRM) region and the RS domain. SR proteins are more commonly found in the nucleus than the cytoplasm, but several SR proteins are known to shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm.
Cyclin D is a member of the cyclin protein family that is involved in regulating cell cycle progression. The synthesis of cyclin D is initiated during G1 and drives the G1/S phase transition. Cyclin D protein is anywhere from 155 to 477 amino acids in length.
Cyclin-dependent kinase 2, also known as cell division protein kinase 2, or Cdk2, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CDK2 gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the cyclin-dependent kinase family of Ser/Thr protein kinases. This protein kinase is highly similar to the gene products of S. cerevisiae cdc28, and S. pombe cdc2, also known as Cdk1 in humans. It is a catalytic subunit of the cyclin-dependent kinase complex, whose activity is restricted to the G1-S phase of the cell cycle, where cells make proteins necessary for mitosis and replicate their DNA. This protein associates with and is regulated by the regulatory subunits of the complex including cyclin E or A. Cyclin E binds G1 phase Cdk2, which is required for the transition from G1 to S phase while binding with Cyclin A is required to progress through the S phase. Its activity is also regulated by phosphorylation. Multiple alternatively spliced variants and multiple transcription initiation sites of this gene have been reported. The role of this protein in G1-S transition has been recently questioned as cells lacking Cdk2 are reported to have no problem during this transition.
The positive transcription elongation factor, P-TEFb, is a multiprotein complex that plays an essential role in the regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II in eukaryotes. Immediately following initiation Pol II becomes trapped in promoter proximal paused positions on the majority of human genes. P-TEFb is a cyclin dependent kinase that can phosphorylate the DRB sensitivity inducing factor (DSIF) and negative elongation factor (NELF), as well as the carboxyl terminal domain of the large subunit of Pol II and this causes the transition into productive elongation leading to the synthesis of mRNAs. P-TEFb is regulated in part by a reversible association with the 7SK snRNP. Treatment of cells with the P-TEFb inhibitors DRB or flavopidirol leads to loss of mRNA production and ultimately cell death.
U1 spliceosomal RNA is the small nuclear RNA (snRNA) component of U1 snRNP, an RNA-protein complex that combines with other snRNPs, unmodified pre-mRNA, and various other proteins to assemble a spliceosome, a large RNA-protein molecular complex upon which splicing of pre-mRNA occurs. Splicing, or the removal of introns, is a major aspect of post-transcriptional modification, and takes place only in the nucleus of eukaryotes.
Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 or CDK9 is a cyclin-dependent kinase associated with P-TEFb.
Cyclin-T1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCNT1 gene.
Cyclin-dependent kinase 7, or cell division protein kinase 7, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CDK7 gene.
Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HNRNPK gene. It is found in the cell nucleus that binds to pre-messenger RNA (mRNA) as a component of heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein particles. The simian homolog is known as protein H16. Both proteins bind to single-stranded DNA as well as to RNA and can stimulate the activity of RNA polymerase II, the protein responsible for most gene transcription. The relative affinities of the proteins for DNA and RNA vary with solution conditions and are inversely correlated, so that conditions promoting strong DNA binding result in weak RNA binding.
CDK-activating kinase assembly factor MAT1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MNAT1 gene.
snRNP70 also known as U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein 70 kDa is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SNRNP70 gene. snRNP70 is a small nuclear ribonucleoprotein that associates with U1 spliceosomal RNA, forming the U1snRNP a core component of the spliceosome. The U1-70K protein and other components of the spliceosome complex form detergent-insoluble aggregates in both sporadic and familial human cases of Alzheimer's disease. U1-70K co-localizes with Tau in neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease.
Transcription elongation factor SPT5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SUPT5H gene.
Cyclin-H is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCNH gene.
Cell division protein kinase 8 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CDK8 gene.
Protein HEXIM1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HEXIM1 gene.
Cyclin-T2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCNT2 gene.
Cyclin-K is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCNK gene.
Protein HEXIM2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HEXIM2 gene.
RNA polymerase II holoenzyme is a form of eukaryotic RNA polymerase II that is recruited to the promoters of protein-coding genes in living cells. It consists of RNA polymerase II, a subset of general transcription factors, and regulatory proteins known as SRB proteins.