title: PUF Proteins: Cellular Functions and Potential Applications.
abstract: RNA-binding proteins play critical roles in the regulation of gene expression. Among several families of RNA-binding proteins, PUF (Pumilio and FBF) proteins have been the subject of extensive investigations, as they can bind RNA in a sequence-specific manner and they are evolutionarily conserved among a wide range of organisms. The outstanding feature of these proteins is a highly conserved RNA-binding domain, which is known as the Pumilio-homology domain (PUM-HD) that mostly consists of eight tandem repeats. Each repeat recognizes an RNA base with a simple three-letter code that can be programmed in order to change the sequence-specificity of the protein. Using this tailored architecture, researchers have been able to change the specificity of the PUM-HD and target desired transcripts in the cell, even in subcellular compartments. The potential applications of this versatile tool in molecular cell biology seem unbounded and the use of these factors in pharmaceutics might be an interesting field of study in near future.
authors.forename: Seyed Jalal
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kiani
authors.forename: Tahereh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taheri
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rafati
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Katayoun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Samimi-Rad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011487:Protein Conformation; D000072417:Protein Domains; D015347:RNA Probes; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; C471242:PUM1 protein, human; C479948:PUM3 protein, human; D015347:RNA Probes; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins
keywords: PUF proteins; RNA-binding proteins; gene expression; pumilio-binding element; pumilio-homology domain; sequence-
  specificity