The polypyrimidine tract binding protein is a monomer.

ABSTRACT: The polypyrimidine tract binding (PTB) protein is a potent regulator of alternative mRNA splicing. It also participates in other essential cellular functions, including translation initiation and polyadenylation. Several published reports have suggested that the protein forms a dimer in solution, a feature that has been widely incorporated into mechanistic models of protein function. However, recent studies have provided indications that full-length PTB is a monomer. Here we present new biophysical and biochemical evidence supporting the monomeric status of the protein. By use of blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and size-exclusion chromatography, PTB was observed as a single molecular species under native reducing environments, though in oxidizing conditions, a larger protein

SUBMITTER: Monie TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1370869 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature