Abstract
Numerous recent studies have reported the identification of regulatory sequences located within either the 5′ or 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) in individual mRNAs which are known to be controlled at the translational level (for review, see ref. 1). It is generally presumed in these cases that the observed mRNA-specific translational regulation is mediated by protein(s) interacting with these sequences. The techniques of gel retardation (also known as band shift or gel mobility shift) and UV crosslinking have been particularly instrumental in the mitial studies to detect the putative regulatory factors.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Standart, N. and Jackson, R. J. (1994) Regulation of translation by specific protein/mRNA interactions. Biochimie. 76, 867–879.
Leibold, E. A. and Munro, H. N. (1988) Cytoplasmic protein binds in vitro to a highly conserved sequence in the 5′ untranslated region of ferritin heavy-and light-subunit mRNAs. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85, 2171–2175.
Jaffrey, S. R., Hatle, D. J., Klausner, R. D., and Harford, J. B. (1993) The interaction between the iron-responsive element binding protein and its cognate RNA is highly dependent upon both RNA sequence and structure. Nucleic Acids Res. 21, 4627–4631.
Melefors, O. and Hentze, M. W. (1993) Translational regulation by mRNA/protein interactions in eukaryotic cells: ferritin and beyond. BioEssays 15, 85–90.
Berger, L. C., Bag, J., and Sells, B. H. (1992) Identification of proteins associating with poly(A)-binding-protein mRNA. Eur. J. Biochem. 204, 733–743.
Melo Neto, O. P., Standart, N., and de Sa, C. M. (1995) Autoregulation of poly(A)-binding protein synthesis in vitro. Nucleic Acids Res., 23, 2198–2205.
Chu, E., Voeller, D., Koeller, D. M., Drake, J. C., Takimoto, C. H., Maley, G. F., Maley, F., and Allegra, C. J. (1993) Identification of an RNA binding site for human thymidylate synthase. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 517–521.
Ostareck-Lederer, A., Ostareck, D. H., Standart, N., and Thiele, B. J. (1994) Translation of 15-lipoxygenase mRNA is controlled by a protein that binds to a repeated sequence in the 3′ untranslated region. EMBO J. 13, 1476–1481.
Kwon, Y. K. and Hecht, N. B. (1991) Cytoplasmic protein binding to highly conserved sequences in the 3′ untranslated region of mouse protamine 2 mRNA, a translationally regulated transcript of male germ cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 3584–3588.
Kwon, Y. K. and Hecht, N. B. (1993) Binding of a phosphoprotein to the 3′ untranslated region of the mouse protamine 2 mRNA temporally represses its translation. Mol. Cell Biol. 13, 6547–6557.
Zhang, W., Wagner, B., Ehrenman, K., Schaefer, A, DeMaria, C., Crater, D., DeHaven, K., Long, L., and Brewer, G. (1993) Purification, characterization, and cDNA cloning of an AU-rich element RNA-binding protein, AUF1. Mol. Cell Biol. 13, 7652–7665.
Paris, J., Swenson, K., Piwnica-Worms, H., and Richter, J. D. (1991) Maturation-specific polyadenylation: in vitro activation by p34cdc2 and phosphorylation of a 58-kD CPE-binding protein. Genes. Dev. 5, 1697–1708.
Hake, L. and Richter, J. (1994) CPEB is a specificity factor that mediates cytoplasmic polyadenylation during Xenopus oocyte maturation. Cell 79, 617–627.
Garner, M. M. and Revzin, A. (1986) The use of gel electrophoresis to detect and study nucleic-acid protein interactions. Trends Biochem. Sci. 11, 395–396.
Carey, J. (1991) Gel Retardation Meth. Enzymol. 208, 103–117.
Konarska, M. M. and Sharp, P., A. (1986) Electrophoretic separation of complexes involved in the splicing of precursors to mRNAs. Cell 46, 845–855.
Yisraeli, J. K. and Melton, D. A. (1989) Synthesis of long, capped transcripts in vitro by SP6 and T7 RNA polymerases. Meth. in Enzymol. 180, 42–50.
Chabot, B. (1994) Synthesis and purification of RNA substrates RNA processing: a practical approach. 1, 1–29.
Miligan, J. F. and Uhlenbeck, O. C. (1989) Synthesis of small RNAs using T7 RNA polymerase. Meth. Enzymol. 180, 51–62.
Anderson, C. W., Baum, P. R., and Gesteland, R. F. (1973) Processing of adenovirus 2-induced proteins. J. Virol. 12, 241–252.
Dasso, M. C. and Jackson, R. J. (1989) On the fidelity of mRNA translation in the nuclease-treated rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. Nucleic Acids Res. 17, 3129–3144.
Wormington, M. (1991) Preparation of synthetic mRNAs and analyses of translational efficiency in microinjected Xenopus oocytes. Meth. Cell Biol. 36, 167–183.
Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F., and Maniatis, T. (1989) Molecular Cloning Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY.
Standart, N. (1992) Masking and unmasking of maternal mRNA. Semin. Dev. Biol. 3, 367–379.
Bass, B.L., Hurst, S. R., and Singer, J. D. (1994) Binding properties of newly identified Xenopus proteins containing dsRNA-binding motifs. Curr. Biol. 4, 301–314.
Gunderson, S. I., Beyer, K., Martin, G., Keller, W., Boelens, W. C., and Mattaj, I. W. (1994) The human U1A snRNP protein regulates polyadenylation via a direct interaction with poly(A) polymerase. Cell 76, 531–541.
Hentze, M. W., Roualt, T., Harford, J. B., and Klausner, R. D. (1989) Oxidation-reduction and the molecular mechanism of a regulatory RNA-protein interaction. Science 244, 357–359.
Simon, R. and Richter, J. (1994) Further analysis of cytoplasmic polyadenylation in Xenopus embryos and identification of embryonic cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding proteins. Mol. Cell Biol. 14, 7867–7875.
Walker, T., Dale, M., and Standart, N. (1996) Unmasking mRNA in clam oocytes: role of phosphorylation of a 3′ UTR masking element-binding protein at fertilization. Dev. Biol. 173, 292–305.
Borman, A., Howell, M. T., Patton, J. G., and Jackson, R. J. (1993) The involvement of a spliceosome component in internal initiation of human rhinovirus RNA translation. J. Gen. Virol. 74, 1775–1788.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1998 Humana Press Inc.
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Walker, J., de Melo Neto, O., Standart, N. (1998). Gel Retardation and UV-Crosslinking Assays to Detect Specific RNA-Protein Interactions in the 5′ or 3′ UTRs of Translationally Regulated mRNAs. In: Martin, R. (eds) Protein Synthesis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 77. Springer, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-397-X:365
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-397-X:365
Publisher Name: Springer, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-397-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-563-1
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols