Eukaryotic mRNA processing and export is mediated by various heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs). Many of these hnRNPs are methylated on arginine residues. In the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the predominant enzyme responsible for arginine methylation is Hmt1p. Hmt1p methylates both Npl3p and Hrp1p, which are shuttling hnRNPs involved in mRNA processing and export. Here, we employ an in vivo nuclear export assay to show that arginine methylation is important for the nuclear export of these hnRNPs. Both Npl3p and Hrp1p fail to exit the nucleus in cells lacking Hmt1p, and overexpression of Hmt1p enhances Npl3p export. The export of a novel hnRNP-like protein, Hrb1p, which does not bind poly(A) + RNA, however, is not affected by the lack of methylation. Furthermore, we find a genetic relationship between Hmt1p and cap-binding protein 80 (CBP80). Together, these findings establish that one biological role for arginine methylation is in facilitating the export of certain hnRNPs out of the nucleus. While in the nucleus, mRNA precursors, referred to as pre-mRNAs or heterogeneous nuclear RNAs (hnRNAs), undergo a series of processing events before traveling to the cytoplasm. These maturation events include capping at the 5Ј end, splicing, and 3Ј-end cleavage followed by polyadenylation. From the time they leave the transcription complex, hnRNAs are associated with proteins, some of which have been proposed to be mediators of RNA export (for review, see Lee and Silver 1997). The set of proteins that bind hnRNAs, with the exception of small nuclear RNPs, are referred to as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs).Among the most abundant proteins in the nucleus (Kiledjian et al. 1994), there are over 20 mammalian hnRNPs, proposed to function in nearly every step of mRNA maturation including export (Piñ ol-Roma 1997). One of the best-studied hnRNPs, hnRNP A1, travels back and forth between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in a process termed nucleocytoplasmic shuttling (Piñ olRoma and Dreyfuss 1992). In addition, an hnRNP A1-like protein in the insect Chironomus tentans can be seen by immunoelectron microscopy to be associated with pre-mRNA traveling through the nuclear pore to the cytoplasm (Visa et al. 1996a).The discovery of a nuclear export signal (NES) in some hnRNPs has suggested further that these hnRNPs could play an active role in RNA export. A 38-amino-acid sequence within hnRNP A1 termed M9 has been found to be necessary and sufficient for export of the protein to the cytoplasm (Michael et al. 1995). Microinjection experiments have shown that saturating amounts of the M9 domain block mRNA export in Xenopus oocytes . A model for mRNA export has been proposed in which the export signals on the shuttling hnRNPs are directly responsible for the translocation of bound mRNAs into the cytoplasm (Fischer et al. 1996;Nigg 1997). This model is best supported by studies of the HIV Rev protein. Through its leucine-rich NES, Rev facilitates the nuclear export of partially spliced and unspliced viral RNA...

Many eukaryotic RNA-binding proteins are modified by methylation of arginine residues. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains one major arginine methyltransferase, Hmt1p/Rmt1p, which is not essential for normal cell growth. However, cells missing HMT1 and also bearing mutations in the mRNA-binding proteins Npl3p or Cbp80p can no longer survive, providing genetic backgrounds in which to study Hmt1p function. We now demonstrate that the catalytically active form of Hmt1p is required for its activity in vivo. Amino acid changes in the putative Hmt1p S-adenosyl-L-methionine-binding site were generated and shown to be unable to catalyze methylation of Npl3p in vitro and in vivo or to restore growth to strains that require HMT1. In addition these mutations affect nucleocytoplasmic transport of Npl3p. A cold-sensitive mutant of Hmt1p was generated and showed reduced methylation of Npl3p, but not of other substrates, at 14°C. These results define new aspects of Hmt1 and reveal the importance of its activity in vivo.

NM23-H2, a presumed regulator of tumor metastasis in humans, is a hexameric protein with both enzymatic (NDP kinase) hexamers, suggesting that they perform at the level of DNA recognition and that separate functional domains exist for enzyme catalysis and DNA binding. In the context of the known crystal structure of NM23-H2, the DNA-binding residues are located within distinct structural motifs in the monomer, which are exposed to the surface near the 2-fold axis of adjacent subunits in the hexamer. These findings are explained by a model in which NM23-H2 binds DNA with a combinatorial surface consisting ofthe "outer" face ofthe dimer. Chemical crosslinking data support a dimeric DNA-binding mode by

Hrp1p is a heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is involved in the cleavage and polyadenylation of the 39-end of mRNAs and mRNA export. In addition, Hrp1p is one of several RNAbinding proteins that are posttranslationally modified by methylation at arginine residues. By using functional recombinant Hrp1p, we have identified RNA sequences with specific high affinity binding sites. These sites correspond to the efficiency element for mRNA 39-end formation, UAUAUA. To examine the effect of methylation on specific RNA binding, purified recombinant arginine methyltransferase (Hmt1p) was used to methylate Hrp1p. Methylated Hrp1p binds with the same affinity to UAUAUA-containing RNAs as unmethylated Hrp1p indicating that methylation does not affect specific RNA binding. However, RNA itself inhibits the methylation of Hrp1p and this inhibition is enhanced by RNAs that specifically bind Hrp1p. Taken together, these data support a model in which protein methylation occurs prior to protein-RNA binding in the nucleus.

Protein methylation at arginines is ubiquitous in eukaryotes and affects signal transduction, gene expression and protein sorting. Hmt1/Rmt1, the major arginine methyltransferase in yeast, catalyzes methylation of arginine residues in several mRNA-binding proteins and facilitates their export from the nucleus. We now report the crystal structure of Hmt1 at 2.9 A resolution. Hmt1 forms a hexamer with approximate 32 symmetry. The surface of the oligomer is dominated by large acidic cavities at the dimer interfaces. Mutation of dimer contact sites eliminates activity of Hmt1 both in vivo and in vitro. Mutating residues in the acidic cavity significantly reduces binding and methylation of the substrate Npl3.

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