scholarly journals Circular RNA, the Key for Translation

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8591
Author(s):  
Anne-Catherine Prats ◽  
Florian David ◽  
Leila H. Diallo ◽  
Emilie Roussel ◽  
Florence Tatin ◽  
...  

It was thought until the 1990s that the eukaryotic translation machinery was unable to translate a circular RNA. However internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs) and m6A-induced ribosome engagement sites (MIRESs) were discovered, promoting 5′ end-independent translation initiation. Today a new family of so-called “noncoding” circular RNAs (circRNAs) has emerged, revealing the pivotal role of 5′ end-independent translation. CircRNAs have a strong impact on translational control via their sponge function, and form a new mRNA family as they are translated into proteins with pathophysiological roles. While there is no more doubt about translation of covalently closed circRNA, the linearity of canonical mRNA is only theoretical: it has been shown for more than thirty years that polysomes exhibit a circular form and mRNA functional circularization has been demonstrated in the 1990s by the interaction of initiation factor eIF4G with poly(A) binding protein. More recently, additional mechanisms of 3′–5′ interaction have been reported, including m6A modification. Functional circularization enhances translation via ribosome recycling and acceleration of the translation initiation rate. This update of covalently and noncovalently closed circular mRNA translation landscape shows that RNA with circular shape might be the rule for translation with an important impact on disease development and biotechnological applications.

Author(s):  
Anne-Catherine Prats ◽  
Florian David ◽  
Leila Diallo ◽  
Emilie Roussel ◽  
Florence Tatin ◽  
...  

It was thought until the 1990s that the eukaryotic translation machinery was unable to translate a circular RNA. However internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs) and m6A-induced ribosome engagement sites (MIRESs) were discovered, promoting 5’end-independent translation initiation. Today a new family of so-called “non-coding” circular RNAs (circRNAs) has emerged, revealing the pivotal role of 5’end-independent translation. CircRNAs have a strong impact on translational control via their sponge function, and form a new mRNA family as they are translated into proteins with pathophysiological roles. While there is no more doubt about translation of covalently closed circRNA, the linearity of canonical mRNA is only theoretical: it has been shown for more than thirty years that polysomes exhibit a circular form and mRNA functional circularization has been demonstrated in the 1990s by the interaction of initiation factor eIF4G with poly(A) binding protein. More recently, additional mechanisms of 3’-5’ interaction have been reported, including m6A modification. Functional circularization enhances translation via ribosome recycling and acceleration of the translation initiation rate. This update of covalently and non-covalently circular mRNA translation landscape shows that RNA circular shape might be the rule for translation with an important impact on disease development and biotechnological applications.


Author(s):  
Anne-Catherine Prats ◽  
Florian David ◽  
Leila Diallo ◽  
Emilie Roussel ◽  
Florence Tatin ◽  
...  

It was thought until the 1990s that the eukaryotic translation machinery was unable to translate a circular RNA. However internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs) and m6A-induced ribosome engagement sites (MIRESs) were discovered, promoting 5’end-independent translation initiation. Today a new family of non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs (circRNAs), has emerged, revealing the pivotal role of 5’end-independent translation. CircRNAs have a strong impact on translational control via their sponge function, and form a new mRNA family as they are translated into proteins with pathophysiological roles. While there is no more doubt about translation of covalently closed circRNA, the linearity of canonical mRNA is only theoretical: it has been shown for more than thirty years that polysomes exhibit a circular form and mRNA functional circularization has been demonstrated in the 1990s by the interaction of initiation factor eIF4G with poly(A) binding protein. More recently, additional mechanisms of 3’-5’ interaction have been reported, including m6A modification. Functional circularization enhances translation via ribosome recycling and acceleration of the translation initiation rate. This update of covalently and non-covalently circular mRNA translation landscape shows that RNA circular shape is the rule for translation with an important impact on disease development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (33) ◽  
pp. 11693-11706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon A. Haizel ◽  
Usha Bhardwaj ◽  
Ruben L. Gonzalez ◽  
Somdeb Mitra ◽  
Dixie J. Goss

During unfavorable conditions (e.g. tumor hypoxia or viral infection), canonical, cap-dependent mRNA translation is suppressed in human cells. Nonetheless, a subset of physiologically important mRNAs (e.g. hypoxia-inducible factor 1α [HIF-1α], fibroblast growth factor 9 [FGF-9], and p53) is still translated by an unknown, cap-independent mechanism. Additionally, expression levels of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4GI (eIF4GI) and of its homolog, death-associated protein 5 (DAP5), are elevated. By examining the 5′ UTRs of HIF-1α, FGF-9, and p53 mRNAs and using fluorescence anisotropy binding studies, luciferase reporter-based in vitro translation assays, and mutational analyses, we demonstrate here that eIF4GI and DAP5 specifically bind to the 5′ UTRs of these cap-independently translated mRNAs. Surprisingly, we found that the eIF4E-binding domain of eIF4GI increases not only the binding affinity but also the selectivity among these mRNAs. We further demonstrate that the affinities of eIF4GI and DAP5 binding to these 5′ UTRs correlate with the efficiency with which these factors drive cap-independent translation of these mRNAs. Integrating the results of our binding and translation assays, we conclude that eIF4GI or DAP5 is critical for recruitment of a specific subset of mRNAs to the ribosome, providing mechanistic insight into their cap-independent translation.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 2432-2432
Author(s):  
Nirmalee Abayasekara ◽  
Michelle Levine ◽  
Niccolo Bolli ◽  
Hong Sun ◽  
Matthew Silver ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 2432 NPM1, is a highly conserved, ubiquitous nucleolar phosphoprotein that belongs to the nucleoplasmin family of nuclear chaperones. NPM1−/− mice die at mid-gestation (E11.5) from anemia, underscoring the gene's role in embryonic development. NPM1 is one of the most frequently mutated genes in AML. Mutations in NPM1 are found in 50% of normal karyotype AML patients, and mutant NPM1 (NPMc+) is aberrantly located in the cytoplasm of leukemic blasts in about 35% of all AML patients. Furthermore, NPM1 maps to a region on chromosome 5q that is the target of deletions in both de novo and therapy-associated human MDS. NPM1 thus acts as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor in the hematological compartment, although the mechanism of its contribution to dysmyelopoiesis remains unknown. NPM-1+/− mice develop a hematological syndrome similar to that observed in human MDS, and develop AML over time. The NPM1 deficient model therefore provides a platform to interrogate the molecular basis of MDS. We identified nucleophosmin (NPM1) in a screen for protein binding partners of C/EBPα. C/EBPα is a single exon gene, but is expressed as two isoforms that arise by alternate translation start sites to yield a full length C/EBPα p42 and a truncated dominant negative C/EBPα p30 isoform. Translational control of isoform expression is orchestrated by a conserved upstream open reading frame (uORF) in the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) and modulated by the translation initiation factors eIF4E and eIF2. We generated factor-dependent myeloid cell lines from the bone marrow of Npm1+/+ and Npm1+/− mice. These lines are IL-3-dependent and inducible toward neutrophil maturation with GM-CSF and/ or all- trans retinoic acid (ATRA). Neutrophils derived from MNPM1+/− cells display defective neutrophil-specific gene expression, including a cassette of C/EBPα-dependent genes. These observations led us to postulate that myeloid abnormalities in NPM1 deficiency reflect an aberrant NPM1-C/EBPα axis. We show that NPM1 haploinsufficiency upregulates eIF4E (eukaryotic initiation factor 4E) (but not eIF2), which binds the mRNA-Cap (m7-GTP) as part of the mRNA translation initiation complex, eIF4F. Increased eIF4E is observed in about 30% of all malignancies. Initial increased eIF4E levels in MNPM+/− cells likely reflect transcriptional activation by the oncoprotein c-Myc, protein levels of which are also elevated in MNPM1+/− cells. We propose that increased eIF4E then induces increased C/EBPαp30 translation. C/EBPαp30 is a dominant negative inhibitor of full length C/EBPαp42 activity and disrupts normal neutrophil development. Furthermore, we demonstrate that C/EBPαp30 but not C/EBPαp42, activates the eIF4E promoter. We propose a positive feedback loop, wherein increased C/EBPαp30 induced by eIF4E further increases the expression of eIF4E. Our data suggest that NPM1 deficiency modulates neutrophil-specific gene expression by altering C/EBPα. We propose an aberrant feed-forward mechanism that increases levels of both eIF4E and C/EBPαp30 and likely contributes to MDS associated with NPM1 deficiency. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 148 (3) ◽  
pp. 1007-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Cuesta ◽  
Alan G Hinnebusch ◽  
Mercedes Tamame

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, expression of the transcriptional activator GCN4 increases at the translational level in response to starvation for an amino acid. The products of multiple GCD genes are required for efficient repression of GCN4 mRNA translation under nonstarvation conditions. The majority of the known GCD genes encode subunits of the general translation initiation factor eIF-2 or eIF-2B. To identify additional initiation factors in yeast, we characterized 65 spontaneously arising Gcd− mutants. In addition to the mutations that were complemented by known GCD genes or by GCN3, we isolated mutant alleles of two new genes named GCD14 and GCD15. Recessive mutations in these two genes led to highly unregulated GCN4 expression and to derepressed transcription of genes in the histidine biosynthetic pathway under GCN4 control. The derepression of GCN4 expression in gcd14 and gcd15 mutants occurred with little or no increase in GCN4 mRNA levels, and it was dependent on upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in GCN4 mRNA that regulate its translation. We conclude that GCD14 and GCD15 are required for repression of GCN4 mRNA translation by the uORFs under conditions of amino acid sufficiency. The gcd14 and gcd15 mutations confer a slow-growth phenotype on nutrient-rich medium, and gcd15 mutations are lethal when combined with a mutation in gcd13. Like other known GCD genes, GCD14 and GCD15 are therefore probably required for general translation initiation in addition to their roles in GCN4-specific translational control.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (19) ◽  
pp. 6440-6449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barsanjit Mazumder ◽  
Vasudevan Seshadri ◽  
Hiroaki Imataka ◽  
Nahum Sonenberg ◽  
Paul L. Fox

ABSTRACT Ceruloplasmin (Cp) is a glycoprotein secreted by the liver and monocytic cells and probably plays roles in inflammation and iron metabolism. We showed previously that gamma interferon (IFN-γ) induced Cp synthesis by human U937 monocytic cells but that the synthesis was subsequently halted by a transcript-specific translational silencing mechanism involving the binding of a cytosolic factor(s) to the Cp mRNA 3′ untranslated region (UTR). To investigate how protein interactions at the Cp 3′-UTR inhibit translation initiation at the distant 5′ end, we considered the “closed-loop” model of mRNA translation. In this model, the transcript termini are brought together by interactions of poly(A)-binding protein (PABP) with both the poly(A) tail and initiation factor eIF4G. The effect of these elements on Cp translational control was tested using chimeric reporter transcripts in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. The requirement for poly(A) was shown since the cytosolic inhibitor from IFN-γ-treated cells minimally inhibited the translation of a luciferase reporter upstream of the Cp 3′-UTR but almost completely blocked the translation of a transcript containing a poly(A) tail. Likewise, a requirement for poly(A) was shown for silencing of endogenous Cp mRNA. We considered the possibility that the cytosolic inhibitor blocked the interaction of PABP with the poly(A) tail or with eIF4G. We found that neither of these interactions were inhibited, as shown by immunoprecipitation of PABP followed by quantitation of the poly(A) tail by reverse transcription-PCR and of eIF4G by immunoblot analysis. We considered the alternate possibility that these interactions were required for translational silencing. When PABP was depleted from the reticulocyte lysate with anti-human PABP antibody, the cytosolic factor did not inhibit translation of the chimeric reporter, thus showing the requirement for PABP. Similarly, in lysates treated with anti-human eIF4G antibody, the cytosolic extract did not inhibit the translation of the chimeric reporter, thereby showing a requirement for eIF4G. These data show that translational silencing of Cp requires interactions of three essential elements of mRNA circularization, poly(A), PABP, and eIF4G. We suggest that Cp mRNA circularization brings the cytosolic Cp 3′-UTR-binding factor into the proximity of the translation initiation site, where it silences translation by an undetermined mechanism. These results suggest that in addition to its important function in increasing the efficiency of translation, transcript circularization may serve as an essential structural determinant for transcript-specific translational control.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett D. Keiper

Cellular mRNAs in plants and animals have a 5′-cap structure that is accepted as the recognition point to initiate translation by ribosomes. Consequently, it was long assumed that the translation initiation apparatus was built solely for a cap-dependent (CD) mechanism. Exceptions that emerged invoke structural damage (proteolytic cleavage) to eukaryotic initiation factor 4 (eIF4) factors that disable cap recognition. The residual eIF4 complex is thought to be crippled, but capable of cap-independent (CI) translation to recruit viral or death-associated mRNAs begrudgingly when cells are in great distress. However, situations where CI translation coexists with CD translation are now known. In such cases, CI translation is still a minor mechanism in the major background of CD synthesis. In this review, I propose that germ cells do not fit this mold. Using observations from various animal models of oogenesis and spermatogenesis, I suggest that CI translation is a robust partner to CD translation to carry out the translational control that is so prevalent in germ cell development. Evidence suggests that CI translation provides surveillance of germ cell homeostasis, while CD translation governs the regulated protein synthesis that ushers these meiotic cells through the remarkable steps in sperm/oocyte differentiation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (13) ◽  
pp. 5480-5491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chingakham Ranjit Singh ◽  
Cynthia Curtis ◽  
Yasufumi Yamamoto ◽  
Nathan S. Hall ◽  
Dustin S. Kruse ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The integrity of eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF) interactions in ribosomal preinitiation complexes is critical for the proper regulation of GCN4 mRNA translation in response to amino acid availability. Increased phosphorylation of eIF2 under amino acid starvation conditions leads to a corresponding increase in GCN4 mRNA translation. The carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of eIF5 (eIF5-CTD) has been identified as a potential nucleation site for preinitiation complex assembly. To further characterize eIF5 and delineate its role in GCN4 translational control, we isolated mutations leading to temperature sensitivity (Ts− phenotype) targeted at TIF5, the structural gene encoding eIF5 in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Nine single point mutations were isolated, in addition to an allele in which the last 15 amino acids were deleted. The nine point mutations clustered in the eIF5-CTD, which contains two conserved aromatic/acidic boxes. Six of the point mutations derepressed GCN4 translation independent of eIF2 phosphorylation (Gcd− phenotype) at a permissive temperature, directly implicating eIF5-CTD in the eIF2/GTP/Met-tRNAi Met ternary complex binding process required for GCN4 translational control. In addition, stronger restriction of eIF5-CTD function at an elevated temperature led to failure to derepress GCN4 translation (Gcn− phenotype) in all of the mutants, most likely due to leaky scanning of the first upstream open reading frame of GCN4 mRNA. This latter result directly implicates eIF5-CTD in the process of accurate scanning for, or recognition of, AUG codons. Taken together, our results indicate that eIF5-CTD plays a critical role in both the assembly of the 43S complex and the postassembly process in the 48S complex, likely during the scanning process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (668) ◽  
pp. eabc5429
Author(s):  
Mauricio M. Oliveira ◽  
Mychael V. Lourenco ◽  
Francesco Longo ◽  
Nicole P. Kasica ◽  
Wenzhong Yang ◽  
...  

Neuronal protein synthesis is essential for long-term memory consolidation, and its dysregulation is implicated in various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Cellular stress triggers the activation of protein kinases that converge on the phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), which attenuates mRNA translation. This translational inhibition is one aspect of the integrated stress response (ISR). We found that postmortem brain tissue from AD patients showed increased phosphorylation of eIF2α and reduced abundance of eIF2B, another key component of the translation initiation complex. Systemic administration of the small-molecule compound ISRIB (which blocks the ISR downstream of phosphorylated eIF2α) rescued protein synthesis in the hippocampus, measures of synaptic plasticity, and performance on memory-associated behavior tests in wild-type mice cotreated with salubrinal (which inhibits translation by inducing eIF2α phosphorylation) and in both β-amyloid-treated and transgenic AD model mice. Thus, attenuating the ISR downstream of phosphorylated eIF2α may restore hippocampal protein synthesis and delay cognitive decline in AD patients.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfrey Grech ◽  
Marieke von Lindern

Organisation of RNAs into functional subgroups that are translated in response to extrinsic and intrinsic factors underlines a relatively unexplored gene expression modulation that drives cell fate in the same manner as regulation of the transcriptome by transcription factors. Recent studies on the molecular mechanisms of inflammatory responses and haematological disorders indicate clearly that the regulation of mRNA translation at the level of translation initiation, mRNA stability, and protein isoform synthesis is implicated in the tight regulation of gene expression. This paper outlines how these posttranscriptional control mechanisms, including control at the level of translation initiation factors and the role of RNA binding proteins, affect hematopoiesis. The clinical relevance of these mechanisms in haematological disorders indicates clearly the potential therapeutic implications and the need of molecular tools that allow measurement at the level of translational control. Although the importance of miRNAs in translation control is well recognised and studied extensively, this paper will exclude detailed account of this level of control.


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