The best of 25 years: mRNA 3′end processing
- Ina Hollerer1,2,3 and
- Andreas E. Kulozik1,2
- 1Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- 2Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit (MMPU), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- 3European Molecular Biology Laboratory Heidelberg (EMBL), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- Corresponding author: andreas.kulozik{at}med.uni-heidelberg.de
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
In the last 25 years, research on mRNA 3′end processing has been an exciting growing field. Studying the polyadenylation complex in its function, biochemistry, and structure enabled an in-depth look at constitutive 3′end processing. More recent data have revealed that regulated mRNA 3′end processing contributes to important physiological pathways, including differentiation or innate immunity, but, if deregulated, potentially causes diseases, such as thrombophilia or even cancer.
A quarter-century ago research in mRNA 3′end processing was just emerging as an attractive field: Publications of James Manley's and Walter Keller's labs addressed the interaction between the poly(A) (polyadenylation) signal and its cognate mRNA binding proteins (RBPs), giving a first idea about the mechanisms regulating the 3′end processing step of mRNA maturation; reports from the Proudfoot and Higgs labs showed that mutations of the poly(A) signal can cause genetic disease, hinting at the medical impact of deregulated 3′ end formation even before the …
