Multiple types of mRNA-cytoskeleton interactions.

Nearly all actively translated mRNAs are associated with the cytoskeleton in HeLa cells and the nature of this association is poorly understood. To gain insight into this association, we have examined and compared the cytoskeleton-mRNA interactions of a signal peptide-histone fusion mRNA (membrane-bound polysomal mRNA) to those of endogenous histone mRNA (nonmembrane-bound polysomal mRNA). We report here the detection of a cytoskeleton attachment site within the signal peptide-histone fusion mRNP/mRNA nucleotide sequence that is not present in wild-type histone mRNA or in HLA-B7 and chorionic gonadotropin-alpha membrane-bound polysomal mRNAs. These results support the possibility that there are multiple mechanisms for the attachment of specific classes of mRNAs to the cytoskeleton.