Project description:Early eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis involves large multi-protein complexes, which co-transcriptionally associate with pre-ribosomal RNA to form the small subunit processome. The precise mechanisms by which two of the largest multi-protein complexes – UtpA and UtpB – interact with nascent pre-ribosomal RNA have so far been poorly understood. We have combined biochemical and structural biology approaches with ensembles of RNA-protein cross-linking to elucidate the essential function of both complexes. Here we show that UtpA contains a large composite RNA binding site and captures the 5´ end of pre-ribosomal RNA. UtpB forms an extended structure that binds early pre-ribosomal intermediates in close proximity to key architectural sites such as an RNA duplex formed by the 5´ ETS and U3 snoRNA as well as the 3´ boundary of 18S rRNA. Both complexes therefore act as vital RNA chaperones to initiate eukaryotic ribosome assembly.
Project description:The role of ribosome biogenesis in erythroid development is supported by the recognition of erythroid defects in ribosomopathies in both Diamond-Blackfan anemia and 5q- syndrome. Whether ribosome biogenesis exerts a regulatory function on normal erythroid development is still unknown. In the present study, a detailed characterization of ribosome biogenesis dynamics during human and murine erythropoiesis shows that ribosome biogenesis is abruptly interrupted by the drop of rDNA transcription and the collapse of ribosomal protein neo-synthesis. Its premature arrest by RNA polI inhibitor, CX-5461 targets the proliferation of immature erythroblasts. We also show that p53 is activated spontaneously or in response to CX-5461 concomitantly to ribosome biogenesis arrest, and drives a transcriptional program in which genes involved in cell cycle arrest, negative regulation of apoptosis and DNA damage response were upregulated. RNA polI transcriptional stress results in nucleolar disruption and activation of ATR-CHK1-p53 pathway. Our results imply that the timing of ribosome biogenesis extinction and p53 activation are crucial for erythroid development. In ribosomopathies in which ribosome availability is altered by unbalanced production of ribosomal proteins, the threshold of ribosome biogenesis down-regulation could be prematurely reached and together with pathological p53 activation prevents a normal expansion of erythroid progenitors.
Project description:The role of ribosome biogenesis in erythroid development is supported by the recognition of erythroid defects in ribosomopathies in both Diamond-Blackfan anemia and 5q- syndrome. Whether ribosome biogenesis exerts a regulatory function on normal erythroid development is still unknown. In the present study, a detailed characterization of ribosome biogenesis dynamics during human and murine erythropoiesis shows that ribosome biogenesis is abruptly interrupted by the drop of rDNA transcription and the collapse of ribosomal protein neo-synthesis. Its premature arrest by RNA polI inhibitor, CX-5461 targets the proliferation of immature erythroblasts. We also show that p53 is activated spontaneously or in response to CX-5461 concomitantly to ribosome biogenesis arrest, and drives a transcriptional program in which genes involved in cell cycle arrest, negative regulation of apoptosis and DNA damage response were upregulated. RNA polI transcriptional stress results in nucleolar disruption and activation of ATR-CHK1-p53 pathway. Our results imply that the timing of ribosome biogenesis extinction and p53 activation are crucial for erythroid development. In ribosomopathies in which ribosome availability is altered by unbalanced production of ribosomal proteins, the threshold of ribosome biogenesis down-regulation could be prematurely reached and together with pathological p53 activation prevents a normal expansion of erythroid progenitors.
Project description:Eukaryotic ribosome assembly is an intricate process that involves four ribosomal RNAs, 80 ribosomal proteins, and over 200 biogenesis factors that take part in numerous interdependent steps. The complexity and essentiality of this process creates opportunities for deleterious mutations to occur, accumulate, and impact downstream cellular processes. “Dead-end” ribosome intermediates that result from biogenesis errors are rapidly degraded, affirming the existence of quality control pathway(s) that monitor ribosome assembly. However, the factors that differentiate between on-path and dead-end intermediates are unknown. We engineered a system to perturb ribosome assembly in human cells and discovered that faulty ribosomes are degraded via the ubiquitin proteasome system. We identified ZNF574 as a key component of a novel quality control pathway, which we term the Ribosome Assembly Surveillance Pathway (RASP). In an animal model, loss of ZNF574 leads to developmental defects, further emphasizing the importance of RASP in organismal health.
Project description:Eukaryotic ribosome assembly is an intricate process that involves four ribosomal RNAs, 80 ribosomal proteins, and over 200 biogenesis factors that take part in numerous interdependent steps. The complexity and essentiality of this process creates opportunities for deleterious mutations to occur, accumulate, and impact downstream cellular processes. “Dead-end” ribosome intermediates that result from biogenesis errors are rapidly degraded, affirming the existence of quality control pathway(s) that monitor ribosome assembly. However, the factors that differentiate between on-path and dead-end intermediates are unknown. We engineered a system to perturb ribosome assembly in human cells and discovered that faulty ribosomes are degraded via the ubiquitin proteasome system. We identified ZNF574 as a key component of a novel quality control pathway, which we term the Ribosome Assembly Surveillance Pathway (RASP). In an animal model, loss of ZNF574 leads to developmental defects, further emphasizing the importance of RASP in organismal health.
Project description:Eukaryotic ribosome assembly is an intricate process that involves four ribosomal RNAs, 80 ribosomal proteins, and over 200 biogenesis factors that take part in numerous interdependent steps. The complexity and essentiality of this process creates opportunities for deleterious mutations to occur, accumulate, and impact downstream cellular processes. “Dead-end” ribosome intermediates that result from biogenesis errors are rapidly degraded, affirming the existence of quality control pathway(s) that monitor ribosome assembly. However, the factors that differentiate between on-path and dead-end intermediates are unknown. We engineered a system to perturb ribosome assembly in human cells and discovered that faulty ribosomes are degraded via the ubiquitin proteasome system. We identified ZNF574 as a key component of a novel quality control pathway, which we term the Ribosome Assembly Surveillance Pathway (RASP). In an animal model, loss of ZNF574 leads to developmental defects, further emphasizing the importance of RASP in organismal health.
Project description:The budding yeast E3 SUMO ligase Mms21, a component of the Smc5-6 complex, regulates sister chromatid cohesion, DNA replication, and DNA repair. We identify a role for Mms21 in ribosome biogenesis. The mms21RINGD mutant exhibits reduced rRNA production, nuclear accumulation of 60S and 40S ribosomal proteins, and elevated Gcn4 translation. Genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and translation are down-regulated in the mms21RINGD mutant. Examining gene expression profile of mms21RINGD mutant compared to wild-type by RNA Seq using Ilumina sequencing
Project description:The budding yeast E3 SUMO ligase Mms21, a component of the Smc5-6 complex, regulates sister chromatid cohesion, DNA replication, and DNA repair. We identify a role for Mms21 in ribosome biogenesis. The mms21RINGD mutant exhibits reduced rRNA production, nuclear accumulation of 60S and 40S ribosomal proteins, and elevated Gcn4 translation. Genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and translation are down-regulated in the mms21RINGD mutant.
Project description:In all domains of life, the rate of protein synthesis is directly linked to the rates of cell growth and proliferation. Consequently, highly proliferative cancer cells are especially sensitive to perturbations in ribosome biogenesis. While ribosome synthesis and cancer have a well-established relationship, only recently has ribosome biogenesis drawn interest as a cancer therapeutic target. Here, we have exploited the relationship between ribosome biogenesis and cancer cell proliferation by using a potent ribosome biogenesis inhibitor: RBI2 (Ribosome Biogenesis Inhibitor 2) to perturb cancer cell growth and viability. We demonstrate that RBI2 significantly decreases cell viability in malignant melanoma cells and breast cancer cell lines. Treatment with RBI2 dramatically and rapidly decreases ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis, without affecting the occupancy of RNA polymerase I (Pol I) on the ribosomal DNA template. Next-generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) reveals that RBI2 and previously described ribosome biogenesis inhibitor CX-5461 induce distinct changes in the transcriptome. Investigation of the content of the pre-rRNAs through RT-qPCR reveals an increase in polyadenylation of cellular rRNA after treatment with RBI2, a known pathway by which rRNA degradation occurs. Northern blotting revealed that RBI2 does not appear to impair or alter rRNA processing. Collectively, these data suggest that RBI2 inhibits rRNA synthesis distinctly from other previously described ribosome biogenesis inhibitors, potentially through a novel pathway that upregulates turnover of premature rRNAs.