Department of Biochemistry, Theodor-Boveri Institute, University of Wurzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Wurzburg, Germany.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2010 Dec;35(12):676-83. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2010.07.006. Epub 2010 Aug 19.
Molecular machines are supramolecular assemblies of biomolecules (proteins, RNA and/or DNA) that facilitate a diversity of biological tasks in the cells of all organisms. How these complex structures are built within the crowded cellular environment is, therefore, a central question in the biological sciences. Recent studies on spliceosomal uridine-rich small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) have unveiled cellular assembly strategies for RNA-protein complexes. snRNPs form in vivo by the coordinated action of an elaborate assembly line consisting of assembly chaperones, scaffolding proteins and catalysts. These newly discovered strategies exhibit similarities to those employed by protein complexes such as ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate-carboxylase (Rubisco) and allow the elucidation of general rules for how molecular machines are formed in vivo.
分子机器是生物分子（蛋白质、RNA 和/或 DNA）的超分子组装体，有助于所有生物体细胞中多种生物任务的完成。因此，这些复杂结构如何在拥挤的细胞环境中构建是生命科学的一个核心问题。最近关于剪接体富含尿嘧啶的小核核糖核蛋白（snRNP）的研究揭示了 RNA-蛋白质复合物的细胞组装策略。snRNP 通过由组装伴侣、支架蛋白和催化剂组成的复杂组装流水线的协调作用在体内形成。这些新发现的策略与核酮糖-1,5-二磷酸羧化酶（Rubisco）等蛋白质复合物所采用的策略相似，并允许阐明分子机器在体内形成的一般规则。
