The restricted spatiotemporal translation of maternal mRNAs, which is crucial for correct cell fate specification in early C. elegans embryos, is regulated primarily through the 3'UTR. Although genetic screens have identified many maternally expressed cell fate-controlling RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), their in vivo targets and the mechanism(s) by which they regulate these targets are less clear...

Despite significant progress, the general functional and evolutionary significance of the untranslated regions (UTRs) of eukaryotic transcripts remain mysterious. Particularly mysterious is the common occurrence of spliceosomal introns in transcript UTRs because UTR splicing is not necessary for restoration of transcript coding sequence. In general, it is not known to what extent such splicing ...

Utrophin, the autosomal homologue of dystrophin can functionally compensate for dystrophin deficiency. Utrophin upregulation could therefore be a therapeutic strategy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) that arises from mutation in dystrophin gene. In contrast to its transcriptional regulation, mechanisms operating at post-transcriptional level of utrophin expression have not been well documen...

Posttranscriptional controls, mediated primarily by RNA-protein complexes, have the potential to alter multiple steps in RNA processing and function. Human alpha-globin mRNA is bound at a C-rich motif in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) by the KH domain protein alpha-globin poly(C)-binding protein (alphaCP). This "alpha-complex" is essential to cytoplasmic stability of alpha-globin mRNA in er...

Prohibitin is a candidate tumor suppressor gene located on human chromosome 17q21, a region of frequent loss of heterozygosity in breast cancers. We showed previously that microinjection of RNA encoded by the prohibitin gene 3'untranslated region (3'UTR) blocks the G(1)-S transition causing cell cycle arrest in several human cancer cell lines, including MCF7. Two allelic forms (C versus T) of t...

Cleavage and polyadenylation of eukaryotic mRNA requires efficiency and positioning elements in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the mRNA. Specific point mutations were introduced into the yeast GCN4 3'-UTR to detect sequence motifs which are involved in the positioning of the poly(A) site. 3'-End proces-sing activities of different GCN4 3'-UTR alleles were measured in an in vivo test sys...

Phytoene synthase (PSY) catalyzes the highly regulated, frequently rate-limiting synthesis of the first biosynthetically formed carotene. While PSY constitutes a small gene family in most plant taxa, the Brassicaceae, including Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), predominantly possess a single PSY gene. This monogenic situation is compensated by the differential expression of two alternative sp...

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is caused by two similar noncoding repeat expansion mutations (DM1 and DM2). It is thought that both mutations produce pathogenic RNA molecules that accumulate in nuclear foci. The DM1 mutation is a CTG expansion in the 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) of dystrophia myotonica protein kinase (DMPK). In a cell culture model, mutant transcripts containing a (CUG)200 DMPK 3'-...

Introduction and Aim: Beta-thalassemia patients develop chronic infections due to the hepatitis G virus (HGV), frequent blood transfusions. This study aimed isolate these viruses from beta-thalassemia Iraqi investigate into 5'UTR genomic region of prevalent genotypes in this region. Materials Methods: The included 154 patients. Blood samples were collected each individual participating study. G...

RNase-L mediates critical cellular functions including antiviral, pro-apoptotic, and tumor suppressive activities; accordingly, its expression must be tightly regulated. Little is known about the control of RNASEL expression; therefore, we examined the potential regulatory role of a conserved 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) in its mRNA. The 3'-UTR mediated a potent decrease in the stability of ...