Skip to main page content
U.S. flag
See More

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Nov;13(11):1002-9.
doi: 10.1038/nsmb1156. Epub 2006 Oct 15.

Structural and biochemical basis for misfolded RNA recognition by the Ro autoantigen

Gabriele Fuchs  1 , Adam J Stein, Chunmei Fu, Karin M Reinisch, Sandra L Wolin
Affiliations

Structural and biochemical basis for misfolded RNA recognition by the Ro autoantigen

Gabriele Fuchs et al. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2006 Nov.

Abstract

The Ro autoantigen is ring-shaped, binds misfolded noncoding RNAs and is proposed to function in quality control. Here we determine how Ro interacts with misfolded RNAs. Binding of Ro to misfolded precursor (pre)-5S ribosomal RNA requires a single-stranded 3' end and helical elements. As mutating most sequences of the helices and tail results in modest decreases in binding, Ro may be able to associate with a range of RNAs. Ro binds several other RNAs that contain single-stranded tails. A crystal structure of Ro bound to a misfolded pre-5S rRNA fragment reveals that the tail inserts into the cavity, while a helix binds on the surface. Most contacts of Ro with the helix are to the backbone. Mutagenesis reveals that Ro has an extensive RNA-binding surface. We propose that Ro uses this surface to scavenge RNAs that fail to bind their specific RNA-binding proteins.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources