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.
The nuclear import of spliceosomal UsnRNPs is mediated by the transport adaptor snurportin 1 (SPN1), which specifically recognizes the 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine (m(3)G) cap at the 5' end of UsnRNAs. Human SPN1 was overexpressed as a GST-fusion protein in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Since full-length SPN1 did not crystallize, limited proteolysis experiments were performed and stable digestion products were analyzed for functionality with respect to m(3)G cap-binding activity and subsequently used for crystallization trials. Well diffracting single crystals of a truncated SPN1 m(3)G cap-binding domain (residues 79-300) were obtained after two rounds of seeding. The crystals belong to space group P4(1)2(1)2 or P4(3)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 57.47, c = 130.09 A, alpha = beta = gamma = 90 degrees. Crystals contain one molecule in the asymmetric unit and diffract to a resolution limit of 2.9 A.
Methyltransferases play an important role in the post-transcriptional maturation of most ribonucleic acids. The modification of spliceosomal UsnRNAs includes N2-dimethylation of the m(7)G cap catalyzed by trimethylguanosine synthase 1 (TGS1). This 5'-cap hypermethylation occurs during the biogenesis of UsnRNPs as it initiates the m(3)G cap-dependent nuclear import of UsnRNPs. The conserved methyltransferase domain of human TGS1 has been purified, crystallized and the crystal structure of this domain with bound substrate m(7)GpppA was solved by means of multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion. Crystal structure analysis revealed that m(7)GpppA binds via its adenosine moiety to the structurally conserved adenosylmethionine-binding pocket, while the m(7) guanosine remains unbound. This unexpected binding only occurs in the absence of AdoMet and suggests an incomplete binding pocket for the m(7)G cap which is caused by the N-terminal truncation of the protein. These structural data are consistent with the finding that the crystallized fragment of human TGS1 is catalytically inactive, while a fragment that is 17 amino acids longer exhibits activity.
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