Woodson S A
Department of Biophysics, Jenkins Hall, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2002 Nov;30(Pt 6):1166-9. doi: 10.1042/bst0301166.
The mechanism by which RNA molecules assemble into unique three-dimensional conformations is important for understanding their function, regulation and interactions with substrates. The Tetrahymena group I ribozyme is an excellent model system for understanding RNA folding mechanisms, because the catalytic activity of the native RNA is easily measured. Folding of the Tetrahymena ribozyme is dominated by intermediates in which the stable P4-P6 domain is correctly formed, but the P3-P9 domain is partially misfolded. The propensity of the RNA to misfold depends on the relative stability of native and non-native interactions. Circular permutation of the Tetrahymena ribozyme shows that the distance in the primary sequence between native interactions also influences the folding pathway.
RNA分子组装成独特三维构象的机制对于理解其功能、调控以及与底物的相互作用至关重要。嗜热四膜虫I组核酶是理解RNA折叠机制的一个出色模型系统，因为天然RNA的催化活性易于测定。嗜热四膜虫核酶的折叠主要由中间体主导，其中稳定的P4-P6结构域正确形成，但P3-P9结构域部分错误折叠。RNA错误折叠的倾向取决于天然和非天然相互作用的相对稳定性。嗜热四膜虫核酶的环形排列表明，天然相互作用在一级序列中的距离也会影响折叠途径。
