title: Phenylalanines that are conserved among several RNA-binding proteins form part of a nucleic acid-binding pocket in the A1 heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein.
abstract: We have studied the domain structure of the A1 heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein using both partial proteolysis and photochemical cross-linking to oligodeoxynucleotides. Both the intact A1 protein and its proteolytic fragment, the UP1 protein, can be cleaved by Staphylococcus aureus V-8 protease to produce two polypeptides of 92 amino acids. These two polypeptides correspond to the internal repeat sequence previously noted by us to occur in UP1. The two polypeptides can be purified via single-stranded DNA cellulose chromatography and independently cross-linked to [32P]p(dT)8, indicating that each domain can bind to single-stranded nucleic acids. Purification and sequencing of A1 tryptic peptides that had been cross-linked to oligothymidylic acid revealed that 4 phenylalanine residues, phenylalanines 16, 58, 107, and 149 are the sites of covalent adduct formation, with phenylalanine 16 being the major site of cross-linking. These phenylalanine residues are internally homologous when the repeat sequences in A1 are aligned, that is, phenylalanines 16 and 107 occupy analogous positions in the 91-residue repeat, as do phenylalanines 58 and 149. An examination of the primary structures of a variety of eucaryotic RNA-binding proteins with sequence homology to A1 reveals that the cross-linked phenylalanines in A1 are highly conserved among all of these proteins. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that conserved residues in the 90-amino acid repeating domains shared by A1 and other single-stranded nucleic acid binding-proteins form part of an RNA-binding pocket.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Merrill
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cobianchi
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000378:metabolism; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D000076245:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1; D034481:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B; D034441:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009696:Nucleic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000378:metabolism*; D010669:Phenylthiohydantoin / Q000378:metabolism; D010777:Photochemistry; D011071:Poly T / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D051381:Rats; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D013951:Thymus Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D014357:Trypsin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D000076245:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1; D034481:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B; D034441:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins; D009696:Nucleic Acids; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins; D013951:Thymus Hormones; D010669:Phenylthiohydantoin; D011071:Poly T; D010649:Phenylalanine; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C028344:glutamyl endopeptidase; D014357:Trypsin; D004265:DNA Helicases