title: An erythroid-enriched endoribonuclease (ErEN) involved in alpha-globin mRNA turnover.
abstract: Messenger RNA (mRNA) decay utilizes both exoribonucleolytic and endoribonucleolytic enzymes where the latter are generally more prone to be transcript-specific. An erythroid-enriched endoribonuclease, ErEN, can destabilize the alpha-globin mRNA through directing a site-specific cleavage within the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) both in vitro and in vivo. ErEN activity is sequence- and/or local structure-specific as the minimal recognition/cleavage sequence can be conferred onto a heterologous RNA and mutations at the cleavage site immunize the mRNA from ErEN hydrolysis. Interestingly, the ErEN cleavage activity is regulated by an mRNA stability complex (alpha-complex). An interaction between the alpha-complex and the poly(A)-binding protein (PABP) accentuates alpha-complex binding to a region overlapping the ErEN cleavage site and further prevents premature ErEN-mediated decay. At present the identity of ErEN remains elusive, yet its identification will provide mechanistic and functional insights into the general processes of endoribonuclease-mediated mRNA turnover and erythropoiesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8082, USA.
authors.forename: Hudan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Megerditch
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiledjian
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004722:Endoribonucleases / Q000378:metabolism*; D041905:Erythroid Cells / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005914:Globins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D005914:Globins; D004722:Endoribonucleases