The nucleus contains a large number of metabolically stable, 60-450-nt-long small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) that exist in the form of ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) (Yu et al., 1999). Each snRNP is composed of an snRNA and a set of associated RNP proteins. Based on their function and intranuclear localization, mammalian snRNPs can be classified into three major classes. The U1, U2, U4, U5 and U6 major...

Box C/D ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) are 2'-O-methylation enzymes required for maturation of ribosomal and small nuclear RNA. Previous biochemical and structural studies of the box C/D RNPs were limited by the unavailability of purified intact RNPs. We developed a bacterial co-expression strategy based on the combined use of a multi-gene expression system and a tRNA-scaffold construct tha...

What are they? Cajal bodies are nuclear suborganelles, typically 0.5 μm in diameter, discovered in 1903 by Santiago Ramón y Cajal. They are dynamic structures involved in the biogenesis of small ribonucleoproteins (RNPs). Cajal bodies contain the highest concentration of small RNPs in the nucleoplasm, as well as a host of other protein factors involved in diverse processes. They are not major s...

Uncoating of influenza virus (strain WSN) in MDCK cells was studied by following the fate of the virus labelled with radioactive precursors. The accumulation of subviral components of input virus was observed in nuclear-associated cytoplasm (NAC) obtained by treatment of the nuclei with citric acid. Two types of subviral components were found there, ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) and larger subviral...

Many ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) are involved in the regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. We previously isolated three nuclear-encoded RNPs from tobacco chloroplasts. Here we report their binding specificities for various nucleic acids. The three RNPs synthesized in vitro were subjected to binding assays using ssDNA, dsDNA and four ribonucleotide homopolymers. The affi...

Xenopus laevis oocytes have been used to determine the intracellular localization of components of Ro ribonucleoprotein particles (Ro RNPs) and to study the assembly of these RNA-protein complexes. Microinjection of the protein components of human Ro RNPs, i.e., La, Ro60, and Ro52, in X. laevis oocytes showed that all three proteins are able to enter the nucleus, albeit with different efficienc...

RNA-binding proteins of the L7Ae family are at the heart of many essential ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), including box C/D and H/ACA small nucleolar RNPs, U4 small nuclear RNP, telomerase, and messenger RNPs coding for selenoproteins. In this study, we show that Nufip and its yeast homologue Rsa1 are key components of the machinery that assembles these RNPs. We observed that Rsa1 and Nufip bind se...

Background: Ribonucleoproteins particles that form the spliceosomes are among the most frequently targeted molecules of the autoimmune response. In the last few years, autoantibodies against all A/B hnRNP proteins have been found in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), and serve as diagnostic markers for...

Many ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), which are comprised of noncoding RNA and associated proteins, are involved in essential cellular processes such as translation and pre-mRNA splicing. One class of RNP is the small Cajal body-specific RNP (scaRNP), which contributes to the biogenesis of small nuclear RNPs (snRNPs) that are central components of the spliceosome. Three scaRNAs are internally process...