Nuclear Localization of a Cap-binding Protein Complex (original) (raw)
- E. Izaurralde,
- C. McGuigan1, and
- I.W. Mattaj
- Gene Expression Programme, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69711 Heidelberg, Germany
Excerpt
Transcripts made by eukaryotic RNA polymerase II are cotranscriptionally modified at their 5′ ends by the addition of a cap structure. This consists of a 7-methyl guanosine residue attached to the first coded nucleotide of the RNA by a 5′-5′ triphosphate linkage (Salditt-Georgieff et al. 1980). The cap has been shown to have a function in several different aspects of RNA metabolism. Early work demonstrated a role in the protection of mRNA from degradation by exo-nucleolytic digestion (Furuichi et al. 1977; Shimotohno et al. 1977). Next it was found that the cap was the binding site for eIF-4F, a heterotrimeric complex of proteins required for the initiation of mRNA translation in the cytoplasm (for review, see Rhoads 1988; Sonenberg 1988). In the nucleus, two functions have been ascribed to the cap structure. It is required for efficient pre-mRNA splicing (Konarska et al. 1984; Krainer et al. 1984; Edery and Sonenberg...
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↵1 Elisa Izaurralde and Caroline McGuigan contributed equally to this works.