Position and stability are determining factors for translation repression by an RNA G-quadruplex-forming sequence within the 5' UTR of the NRAS proto-oncogene.

ABSTRACT: Nucleic acid secondary structures in the 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNAs have been shown to play a critical role in translation regulation. We recently demonstrated that a naturally occurring, conserved, and stable RNA G-quadruplex element (5'-GGGAGGGGCGGGUCUGGG-3'), located close to the 5' cap within the 5' UTR of the NRAS proto-oncogene mRNA, modulates gene expression at the translational level. Herein, we show that the translational effect of this G-quadruplex motif in NRAS 5' UTR is not uniform, but rather depends on the location of the G-quadruplex-forming sequence. The RNA G-quadruplex-forming sequence represses translation when situated relatively proximal to the 5' end, within the first 50 nt, in the 5' UTR of the NRAS proto-oncogene, whereas it has no significant effect on

SUBMITTER: Kumari S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2746962 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature