The spliceosome is a dynamic assembly of five small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) that removes introns from eukaryotic pre-mRNA. U6 is the most conserved of the spliceosomal snRNAs and participates directly in catalysis. Here, we report the crystal structure of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae U6 snRNP core, containing most of U6 snRNA and all four RRM domains of the Prp24 protein. It reveals a unique interlocked RNP architecture that sequesters the 5′ splice site-binding bases of U6 snRNA. RRMs 1, 2 and 4 of Prp24 form an electropositive groove that binds double-stranded RNA and may nucleate annealing of U4 and U6 snRNAs. Substitutions in Prp24 that suppress a mutation in U6 localize to direct RNA-protein contacts. Our results provide the most complete view to date of a multi-RRM protein bound to RNA, and reveal striking co-evolution of protein and RNA structure.
The general transcription factor IID (TFIID) initiates RNA polymerase II-mediated eukaryotic transcription by nucleating pre-initiation complex formation at the core promoter of protein-encoding genes. TAF1, the largest integral subunit of TFIID, contains an evolutionarily conserved yet poorly characterized central core domain, whose specific mutation disrupts cell proliferation in the temperature-sensitive mutant hamster cell line ts13. Although the impaired TAF1 function in the ts13 mutant has been associated with defective transcriptional regulation of cell cycle genes, the mechanism by which TAF1 mediates transcription as part of TFIID remains unclear. Here, we present the crystal structure of the human TAF1 central core domain in complex with another conserved TFIID subunit, TAF7, which biochemically solubilizes TAF1. The TAF1-TAF7 complex displays an inter-digitated compact architecture, featuring an unexpected TAF1 winged helix (WH) domain mounted on top of a heterodimeric triple barrel. The single TAF1 residue altered in the ts13 mutant is buried at the junction of these two structural domains. We show that the TAF1 WH domain has intrinsic DNA-binding activity, which depends on characteristic residues that are commonly used by WH fold proteins for interacting with DNA. Importantly, mutations of these residues not only compromise DNA binding by TAF1, but also abrogate its ability to rescue the ts13 mutant phenotype. Together, our results resolve the structural organization of the TAF1-TAF7 module in TFIID and unveil a critical promoter-binding function of TAF1 in transcription regulation.
The ␣ 1D -adrenergic receptor (ADRA1D) is a key regulator of cardiovascular, prostate, and central nervous system functions. This clinically relevant G protein-coupled receptor has proven difficult to study, as it must form an obligate modular homodimer containing the PDZ proteins scribble and syntrophin or become retained in the endoplasmic reticulum as nonfunctional protein. We previously determined that targeted removal of the N-terminal (NT) 79 amino acids facilitates ADRA1D plasma membrane expression and agonist-stimulated functional responses. However, whether such an event occurs in physiological contexts was unknown. Herein, we report the ADRA1D is subjected to innate NT processing in cultured human cells. SNAP near-infrared imaging and tandem-affinity purification revealed the ADRA1D is expressed as both fulllength and NT truncated forms in multiple human cell lines. Serial truncation mapping identified the cleavage site as Leu 90 / Val 91 in the 95-amino acid ADRA1D NT domain, suggesting human cells express a ⌬1-91 ADRA1D species. Tandem-affinity purification MS/MS and co-immunoprecipitation analysis indicate NT processing of ADRA1D is not required to form scribble-syntrophin macromolecular complexes. Yet, label-free dynamic mass redistribution signaling assays demonstrate that ⌬1-91 ADRA1D agonist responses were greater than WT ADRA1D. Mutagenesis of the cleavage site nullified the processing event, resulting in ADRA1D agonist responses less than the WT receptor. Thus, we propose that processing of the ADRA1D NT domain is a physiological mechanism employed by cells to generate a functional ADRA1D isoform with optimal pharmacodynamic properties.␣ 1 -Adrenergic receptors (ARs) 6 belong to the superfamily of class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Stimulated by the endogenous catecholamines norepinephrine and epinephrine, ␣ 1 -ARs help coordinate sympathetic nervous function along with the ␣ 2 -and -AR subtypes. This mode of GPCR signaling is particularly relevant during stress, exercise, or lifethreatening situations, as it permits an organism to respond to environmental stimuli supra-maximally and thereby enhance survival probability.Significant gaps remain in our understanding of ␣ 1 -AR biology. Of particular note is the ␣ 1D -AR subtype (ADRA1D). Unlike the closely related ␣ 1A (ADRA1A) and ␣ 1B (ADRA1B) subtypes, which achieve significant plasma membrane expression and robustly respond to agonists in cultured cells, the ADRA1D is cumbersome to study in vitro (1). Following its initial cloning and pharmacological characterization (2-4), numerous studies revealed the ADRA1D is sequestered intracellularly in myriad cell lines (5-11), where it has limited access to agonists and displays minimal functional activity. In a key study, Fan et al. (12) demonstrated ADRA1D functional expression is lost in cultured aortic vascular muscle cells ϳ48 h postdissection. They concluded that factors required for ADRA1D functional expression in vivo are absent in cell culture conditions (12), which may explain ...
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