Marzi Stefano, Fechter Pierre, Chevalier Clément, Romby Pascale, Geissmann Thomas
Université Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, CNRS, IBMC, 15 Rue René Descartes, F-67084 Strasbourg, France.
Biol Chem. 2008 May;389(5):585-98. doi: 10.1515/bc.2008.055.
A large variety of RNA-based mechanisms have been uncovered in all living organisms to regulate gene expression in response to internal and external changes, and to rapidly adapt cell growth in response to these signals. In bacteria, structural elements in the 5' leader regions of mRNAs have direct effects on translation initiation of the downstream coding sequences. The docking and unfolding of these mRNAs on the 30S subunit are critical steps in the initiation process directly modulating and timing translation. Structural elements can also undergo conformational changes in response to environmental cues (i.e., temperature sensors) or upon binding of a variety of trans-acting factors, such as metabolites, non-coding RNAs or regulatory proteins. These RNA switches can temporally regulate translation, leading either to repression or to activation of protein synthesis.
在所有生物体中，人们发现了多种基于RNA的机制，以响应内部和外部变化来调节基因表达，并快速适应这些信号以促进细胞生长。在细菌中，mRNA 5' 前导区域中的结构元件对下游编码序列的翻译起始具有直接影响。这些mRNA在30S亚基上的对接和解折叠是起始过程中的关键步骤，直接调节并控制翻译的时机。结构元件也可响应环境线索（即温度传感器）或在结合各种反式作用因子（如代谢物、非编码RNA或调节蛋白）后发生构象变化。这些RNA开关可暂时调节翻译，导致蛋白质合成的抑制或激活。
