HnRNA

Small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), a subset of these RNAs, are significantly involved in mRNA processing and gene regulation. Of the several snRNAs, Ul, U2, U4, U5, and U6 are involved in intron removal and the processing of hnRNA into mRNA (Chapter 37). The U7 snRNA may be involved in production of the correct 3 ends of histone mRNA—which lacks a poly(A) tail. The U4 and U6 snRNAs may also be required for poly(A) processing. 

The relationship between hnRNA and the corresponding mature mRNA in eukaryotic cells is now apparent. The hnRNA molecules are the primary transcripts plus their early processed products, which, after the addition of caps and poly(A) tails and removal of the portion corresponding to the introns, are transported to the cytoplasm as mature mRNA molecules. 

The processing of hnRNA molecules is a site for regulation of gene expression. Alternative patterns of RNA splicing result from tissue-specific adaptive and developmental control mechanisms. As mentioned... 

Poly(A) tails are added to the S end of mRNA molecules in a posttranscriptional processing step. The mRNA is first cleaved about 20 nucleotides downstream from an AAUAA recognition sequence. Another enzyme, poly(A) polymerase, adds a poly(A) tail which is subsequently extended to as many as 200 A residues. The poly(A) tail appears to protect the S end of mRNA from S —> S exonuclease attack. The presence or absence of the poly(A) tail does not determine whether a precursor molecule in the nucleus appears in the cytoplasm, because all poly(A)-tailed hnRNA molecules do not contribute to cytoplasmic mRNA, nor do all cytoplasmic mRNA molecules contain poly(A) tails... 

Eukaryotes have a specific signal for termination of transcription however, prokaryotes seem to have lost this mechanism. Once started, RNA polymerase keeps going, making a primary transcript [pre-mRNA or hnRNA (for heterogeneous nuclear)] until far past the end of the final mRNA message. 

Heterogeneous kinetic rate law, 25 286 Heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA), 22 454... 

SAF-A Homo sapiens HeLa, Embryonic kidney cell line 293, K562 Activator Organization of chromosomal DNA packaging of hnRNA p300, DNA PK... 

RNA polymerase II is located in the nucleoplasm and synthesizes hnRNA/mRNA and some snRNA. 

Sin e RNA polymerase (OjPP ) RNAP 1 rRNA (nudeolus), except 5S rRNA RNAP 2 hnRNA/mRNA and some snRNA RNAP 3 tRNA, 5S rRNA... 

Introns are removed from hnRNA by splicing, accomplished by spliceosomes (also known as an snRNP, or snurp), which are complexes of snRNA and protein. The hnRNA molecule is cut at splice sites at the 5 (donor) and 3 (acceptor) ends of the intron. The intron is excised in the form of a lariat structuie and degraded. Neighboring exons are joined together to assemble the coding region of the mature mRNA. 

All of the intermediates in this processing pathway are collectively known as hnRNA. 

Posttranscrip-tional processing of hnRNA (pre-mRNA) None In nucleus 5 cap (7-MeG) 3 tail (poly-A sequence) Removal of introns from hnRNA Alternative splicing yields variants of protein product... 

Mutations in splice sites affect the accuracy of intron removal from hnRNA during posttran-scriptionai processing. As illustrated in Figure 1-4-4, if a splice site is lost through mutation, spliceosomes may ... 

A stretch of DNA that is transcribed as a single continuous RNA strand is called a transcription unit. A unit of transcription may contain one or more sequences encoding different polypeptide chains (translational open reading frames, ORF) or cistrons. The transcription unit is sometimes termed the primary transcript, pre-messenger RNA or heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA). The primary transcript is further processed to produce mRNA in a form that is relatively stable and readily participates in translation. In order to understand the primary need for processing of this RNA, the biochemical definition of a gene must be discussed. 

Transcription. For expression of a gene—i. e., synthesis of the coded protein—the DNA sequence information has to be converted into a protein sequence. As DNA itself is not involved in protein synthesis, the information is transferred from the nucleus to the site of synthesis in the cytoplasm. To achieve this, the template strand in the relevant part of the gene is transcribed into an RNA (hnRNA). The sequence of this RNA is thus complementary to that of the template strand (3), but— with the exception of the exchange of thy-... 

RNA maturation. In eukaryotes, the hnRNA initially formed is modified several times before it can leave the nucleus as messenger RNA (mRNA, 4). During RNA maturation, superfluous ( intervening ) sequences (in-trons) are removed from the molecule, and both ends of the transcript are protected by the addition of further nucleotides (see p. 246). 

Transcription is catalyzed by DNA-dependent RNA polymerases. These act in a similar way to DNA polymerases (see p. 240), except that they incorporate ribonucleotides instead of deoxyribonucleotides into the newly synthesized strand also, they do not require a primer. Eukaryotic cells contain at least three different types of RNA polymerase. RNA polymerase I synthesizes an RNA with a sedimentation coef cient (see p. 200) of 45 S, which serves as precursor for three ribosomal RNAs. The products of RNA polymerase II are hnRNAs, from which mRNAs later develop, as well as precursors for snRNAs. Finally, RNA polymerase III transcribes genes that code for tRNAs, 5S rRNA, and certain snRNAs. These precursors give rise to functional RNA molecules by a process called RNA maturation (see p. 246). Polymerases II and III are inhibited by a-amanitin, a toxin in the Amanita phalloides mushroom. 

The actual signal for starting elongation consists of the multiple phosphorylation of a domain in the C-terminal region of the polymerase. In phosphorylated form, it releases itself from the basal complex along with a few TFs and starts to synthesize hnRNA. 

Before the hnRNA produced by RNA polymerase II (see p. 242) can leave the nucleus in order to serve as a template for protein synthesis in the cytoplasm, it has to undergo several modifications first. Even during transcription, the two ends of the transcript have additional nucleotides added (A). The sections that correspond to the intervening gene sequences in the DNA (introns) are then cut out (splicing see B). Other transcripts—e.g., the 45 S precursor of rRNA formed by polymerase I (see p. 242)—are broken down into smaller fragments by nucleases before export into the cytoplasm. 

Immediately after transcription, the hnRNA introns are removed and the exons are linked to form a continuous coding sequence. This process, known as splicing, is supported by complicated RNA-protein complexes in the nucleus, the so-called spliceosomes. The components of these macromolecular machines... 

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