• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.577-586
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• 2022

Stress granules (SGs) are stress-induced subcellular compartments, which carry out a particular function to cope with stress. These granules protect cells from stress-related damage and cell death through dynamic sequestration of numerous ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) and signaling proteins, thereby promoting cell survival under both physiological and pathological condition. During tumorigenesis, cancer cells are repeatedly exposed to diverse stress stimuli from the tumor microenvironment, and the dynamics of SGs is often modulated due to the alteration of gene expression patterns in cancer cells, leading to tumor progression as well as resistance to anticancer treatment. In this mini review, we provide a brief discussion about our current understanding of the fundamental roles of SGs during physiological stress and the effect of dysregulated SGs on cancer cell fitness and cancer therapy.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 2021

Targeted genome editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system is a ground-breaking technology that is being widely used to produce plants with useful traits. However, for woody plants, only a few successful attempts have been reported. These successes have used Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, which has been reported to be very efficient at producing genetically modified trees. Nonetheless, there are unresolved problems with plasmid sequences that remain in the plant genome. In this study, we demonstrated a DNA-free genome editing technique in which purified CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) are delivered directly to the protoplasts of a hybrid poplar (Populus alba × Populus glandulosa). We designed three single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) to target the stress-associated protein 1 gene (PagSAP1) in the hybrid poplar. Deep sequencing results showed that pre-assembled RNPs had a more efficient target mutagenesis insertion and deletion (indel) frequency than did non-assembled RNPs. Moreover, the RNP of sgRNA3 had a significantly higher editing efficacy than those of sgRNA1 and sgRNA2. Our results suggest that the CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein-mediated transfection approach is useful for the production of transgene-free genome-edited tree plants.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.529-538
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• 1998

In order to analyze the intracellu1ar localization of specific RNA components of ribonucleoproteins (RNP) in Xenopus oocytes, a modified protocol of whole-mount in situ Hybridization is presented in this paper, Mitochondria specific 12S rRNA probe was used to detect the amplification and distribution of mitochondria in various stages of the oocyte life cycle, and the results were found to be consistent with previously known distribution of mitochondria. The results with other specific probes (U1 and U3 small nuclear RNAs, and 5S RNA) also indicate that this procedure is generally effective in localizing RNAs in RNP complexes even inside organelles. In addition, the RNA component of RNase MRP, the RNP with endoribo-nuclease activity, localize to the nucleus in various stages of the oocyte life cycle. Some of MRP RNA, however, were found to be localized to the special population of mitochondria near the nucleus, especially in the active stage of mitochondrial amplification. It suggests dual localization of RNase MRP in the nucleus and mitochondria, which is consistent with the proposed roles of RNase MRP in mitochondrial DNA replication and in rRNA processing in the nucleolus.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.70-75
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• 2011

Nucleolar and coiled-body phosphoprotein 1 (NOLC1) is a phosphoprotein that transiently associates with the mature nucleolar H/ACA and C/D box small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins (snoRNPs). Several lines of evidence indicate that NOLC1 plays an important role in the synthesis of rRNA and the biosynthesis of ribosomes. In the present study, we examined the transcriptional regulation mechanisms that govern the expression of NOLC1. We first performed functional dissection of the NOLC1 promoter. We demonstrated that transcription factors NF-${\kappa}B$ and CREB could bind to the minimal NOLC1 promoter. This was demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Mutagenesis and overexpression assays revealed that NF-${\kappa}B$ and CREB positively regulated the NOLC1 promoter. These findings may provide new insight into the mechanisms that regulate NOLC1 expression.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.854-859
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• 2005

Although action modes of equol and genistein have been extensively studied, their precise roles in tumor cells remain elusive. To address possible effects of these compounds on protein expression in mammary tumor cells, proteins modulated in MCF-7 mammary tumor cells when incubated in absence and presence of 10 uM equol or genistein were identified through 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF MS/MS, and NCBInr database search using Mascot software. Most proteins differentially expressed in MCF-7 cells after treatment with 10 uM genistein or equol were identified as being the same. Exposure to both compounds caused decreased cellular expression of RNA-binding protein regulatory subunit and oncogene DJ1 tubulin beta-1 chain, and increased expression of heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins F and L, KH-type splicing regulatory protein, and translation elongation factor EF-Tu precursor. Genistein and equol at dose used in this study showed common action mechanism.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2004

MicroRNA and siRNA (small interfering RNA), representative members of small RNA, exert their effects on target gene expression through association with protein complexes called miRNP (microRNA associated ribonucleoproteins) and RISC (RNA induced silencing complex), respectively. Although the protein complexes are yet to be fully characterized, human EIF2C2 protein has been identified as a component of both miRNP and RISC. In this report, we raised antiserum against EIF2C2 in order to begin understanding the protein complexes. An immunoblot result indicates that EIF2C2 protein is ubiquitously expressed in a variety of cell lines from human and mouse. EIF2C2 protein exists in both cellular compartments, as indicated by an immunoblot assay with a nuclear extract and a cytosolic fraction (S100 fraction) from HeLa S3 lysate. Depletion of EIF2C1 or EIF2C2 protein resulted in a decrease of microRNA, suggesting a possible role of these proteins in microRNA stability or biogenesis. We also prepared antiserum against dsRNA binding protein PACT, whose homologs in C. elegans and Drosophila are known to have a role in the RNAi (RNA interference) pathway. The expression of PACT protein was also observed in a wide range of cell lines.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1311-1316
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• 2013

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L (hnRNP L) is a major pre-mRNA binding protein and it is an abundant nuclear protein that shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. hnRNP L is known to be related to many cellular processes, including chromatin modification, pre-mRNA splicing, mRNA export of intronless genes, internal ribosomal entry site (IRES)-mediated translation, mRNA stability, and spermatogenesis. In order to identify the cellular proteins interacting with hnRNP L, this study performed a yeast two-hybrid screening, using a human liver cDNA library. The study identified insulin-like growth factor binding protein-4 (IGFBP-4) as a novel interaction partner of hnRNP L in the human liver. It then discovered, for the first time, that hnRNP L interacts specifically with IGFBP-4 in a yeast two-hybrid system. The authenticity of this two-hybrid interaction of hnRNP L and IGFBP-4 was confirmed by an in vitro pull-down assay.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.98-105
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• 2021

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system is a family of DNA sequences originally discovered as a type of acquired immunity in prokaryotes such as bacteria and archaea. In many CRISPR systems, the functional ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) are composed of CRISPR protein and guide RNAs. They selectively bind and cleave specific target DNAs or RNAs, based on sequences complementary to the guide RNA. The specific targeted cleavage of the nucleic acids by CRISPR has been broadly utilized in genome editing methods. In the process of genome editing of eukaryotic cells, CRISPR-mediated DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) at specific genomic loci activate the endogenous DNA repair systems and induce mutations at the target sites with high efficiencies. Two of the major endogenous DNA repair machineries are non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homology-directed repair (HDR). In case of DSB, the two repair pathways operate in competition, resulting in several possible outcomes including deletions, insertions, and substitutions. Due to the inherent stochasticity of DSB-based genome editing methods, it was difficult to achieve defined single-base changes without unanticipated random mutation patterns. In order to overcome the heterogeneity in DSB-mediated genome editing, novel methods have been developed to incorporate precise single-base level changes without inducing DSB. The approaches utilized catalytically compromised CRISPR in conjunction with base-modifying enzymes and DNA polymerases, to accomplish highly efficient and precise genome editing of single and multiple bases. In this review, we introduce some of the advances in single-base level CRISPR genome editing methods and their applications.