title: Posttranscriptional regulation of gene networks by GU-rich elements and CELF proteins.
abstract: GU-rich elements found in pre-mRNA and mRNA transcripts play diverse roles in the control of gene expression by regulating mRNA stability, translation and pre-mRNA processing. Regulatory GU-rich elements are highly conserved throughout evolution, and play major roles in development in diverse species from worms to mammals. The conservation of the GU-rich element allowed it to be identified as a sequence that was enriched in the 3' UTR of human transcripts that exhibited rapid mRNA decay. This element functions, at least in part, as a molecular target for members of the CELF family of RNA-binding proteins, which recruit other components of the cellular posttranscriptional gene regulatory machinery to the transcript. Depending on the context, binding to GU-rich sequences by CELF proteins direct a variety of posttranscriptional regulatory events, including deadenylation, mRNA decay, translation or pre-mRNA processing. Thus, GU-rich elements and CELF proteins serve multiple functions in gene expression regulation and define an important evolutionarily conserved posttranscriptional regulatory network.
authors.affiliation: Center for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Translational Research, University of Minnesota, McGuire Translational Research Facility, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Irina A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Vlasova
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Bohjanen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D051743:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-delta / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D020871:RNA Stability; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D051743:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-delta