Selective inactivation of a human neuronal silencing phosphatase by a small molecule inhibitor.

ABSTRACT: The unstructured C-terminal domain (CTD) of eukaryotic RNA polymerase II dynamically regulates the process of transcription by recruiting different factors to nascent mRNA through its multiple phosphorylation patterns. A newly discovered class of phosphatases, the human small C-terminal domain phosphatases (Scp's), specifically dephosphorylates phosphorylated Ser(5) (phospho.Ser5) of the tandem heptad repeats of the CTD of RNA polymerase II. Scp's also function as transcription regulators that epigenetically silence the expression of specific neuronal genes, whose inactivation leads to neuronal stem cell differentiation. Small molecule inhibitors of Scp's will be valuable for elucidating their mechanism in nervous system development and can possibly offer new strategies to treat diseases r

SUBMITTER: Zhang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4814157 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature