title: [Methods to study the RNA-protein interactions].
abstract: RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play an important role in regulating gene expression at the posttranscriptional level, including the steps of pre-mRNA splicing, polyadenylation, mRNA stabilization, mRNA export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, mRNA localization, and translation. RBPs regulate these processes primarily by binding to specific sequence elements in newly synthesized or mature transcripts. While many RPBs are known to recognize certain nucleotide sequences in RNA, information is insufficient for others. In particular, RBPs often compete for RNA binding or interact with RNA cooperatively. Hence, it is of importance to study the RNA-protein interactions in vivo. Numerous methods have been developed to identify the target nucleotide sequences of RBPs. The methods include the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), RNA pull-down assay, RNA footprinting, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), UV-induced crosslinking immunoprecipitation (CLIP) and its variants, and measurement of the level for newly synthesized transcripts. Each of the methods has its limitation, and several methods supplementing each other should be employed in order to detect the RNA sequence to which a protein binds.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334 Russia.
authors.forename: V V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Popova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334 Russia.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kurshakova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119334 Russia.|d_dmitrieva@mail.ru.
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Kopytova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D024202:Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation / Q000379:methods; D011485:Protein Binding; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D052156:SELEX Aptamer Technique; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D012322:RNA Precursors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins
keywords: CLIP; EMSA; RBP; RIP-chip; RNA footprinting; RNP particle; SELEX; transcription run-on assay