Download MendeleyStructural basis for m(3)G-cap-mediated nuclear import of spliceosomal UsnRNPs by snurportin1
Strasser, A., Dickmanns, A., Luehrmann, R., Ficner, R.(2005) EMBO J 24: 2235-2243
- PubMed: 15920472 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.emboj.7600701
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
1XK5 - PubMed Abstract:
In higher eukaryotes the biogenesis of spliceosomal UsnRNPs involves a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling cycle. After the m7G-cap-dependent export of the snRNAs U1, U2, U4 and U5 to the cytoplasm, each of these snRNAs associates with seven Sm proteins. Subsequently, the m7G-cap is hypermethylated to the 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine (m3G)-cap. The import adaptor snurportin1 recognises the m3G-cap and facilitates the nuclear import of the UsnRNPs by binding to importin-beta. Here we report the crystal structure of the m3G-cap-binding domain of snurportin1 with bound m3GpppG at 2.4 A resolution, revealing a structural similarity to the mRNA-guanyly-transferase. Snurportin1 binds both the hypermethylated cap and the first nucleotide of the RNA in a stacked conformation. This binding mode differs significantly from that of the m7G-cap-binding proteins Cap-binding protein 20 (CBP20), eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and viral protein 39 (VP39). The specificity of the m3G-cap recognition by snurportin1 was evaluated by fluorescence spectroscopy, demonstrating the importance of a highly solvent exposed tryptophan for the discrimination of m7G-capped RNAs. The critical role of this tryptophan and as well of a tryptophan continuing the RNA base stack was confirmed by nuclear import assays and cap-binding activity tests using several snurportin1 mutants.
- Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Institute for Microbiology and Genetics, University Göttingen, Germany.
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