Ali Gul Shad, Prasad K V S K, Hanumappa M, Reddy A S N
Department of Biology and Program in Molecular Plant Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2008 Apr 16;3(4):e1953. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001953.
U1-70K, a U1 snRNP-specific protein, and serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins are components of the spliceosome and play critical roles in both constitutive and alternative pre-mRNA splicing. However, the mobility properties of U1-70K, its in vivo interaction with SR proteins, and the mobility of the U1-70K-SR protein complex have not been studied in any system. Here, we studied the in vivo interaction of U1-70K with an SR protein (SR45) and the mobility of the U1-70K/SR protein complex using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Our results show that U1-70K exchanges between speckles and the nucleoplasmic pool very rapidly and that this exchange is sensitive to ongoing transcription and phosphorylation. BiFC analyses showed that U1-70K and SR45 interacted primarily in speckles and that this interaction is mediated by the RS1 or RS2 domain of SR45. FRAP analyses showed considerably slower recovery of the SR45/U1-70K complex than either protein alone indicating that SR45/U1-70K complexes remain in the speckles for a longer duration. Furthermore, FRAP analyses with SR45/U1-70K complex in the presence of inhibitors of phosphorylation did not reveal any significant change compared to control cells, suggesting that the mobility of the complex is not affected by the status of protein phosphorylation. These results indicate that U1-70K, like SR splicing factors, moves rapidly in the nucleus ensuring its availability at various sites of splicing. Furthermore, although it appears that U1-70K moves by diffusion its mobility is regulated by phosphorylation and transcription.
U1 - 70K是一种U1小核核糖核蛋白(snRNP)特异性蛋白,富含丝氨酸/精氨酸(SR)的蛋白是剪接体的组成成分,在组成型和可变前体mRNA剪接中均发挥关键作用。然而,在任何系统中,U1 - 70K的迁移特性、其在体内与SR蛋白的相互作用以及U1 - 70K - SR蛋白复合物的迁移情况均未得到研究。在此,我们利用双分子荧光互补(BiFC)和光漂白后荧光恢复(FRAP)技术,研究了U1 - 70K与一种SR蛋白(SR45)在体内的相互作用以及U1 - 70K/SR蛋白复合物的迁移情况。我们的结果表明,U1 - 70K在斑点和核质池之间交换非常迅速,且这种交换对正在进行的转录和磷酸化敏感。BiFC分析表明,U1 - 70K和SR45主要在斑点中相互作用,且这种相互作用由SR45的RS1或RS2结构域介导。FRAP分析表明,SR45/U1 - 70K复合物的恢复速度比单独的任何一种蛋白都要慢得多,这表明SR45/U1 - 70K复合物在斑点中停留的时间更长。此外,在存在磷酸化抑制剂的情况下对SR45/U1 - 70K复合物进行FRAP分析,与对照细胞相比未发现任何显著变化,这表明复合物的迁移不受蛋白质磷酸化状态的影响。这些结果表明,U1 - 70K与SR剪接因子一样,在细胞核中快速移动,确保其在剪接的各个位点都可利用。此外,尽管U1 - 70K似乎通过扩散移动,但其迁移受磷酸化和转录的调节。