{"title":"Unwinding and rewinding: double faces of helicase?","authors":"Yuliang Wu","doi":"10.1155/2012/140601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/140601","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Helicases are enzymes that use ATP-driven motor force to unwind double-stranded DNA or RNA. Recently, increasing evidence demonstrates that some helicases also possess rewinding activity-in other words, they can anneal two complementary single-stranded nucleic acids. All five members of the human RecQ helicase family, helicase PIF1, mitochondrial helicase TWINKLE, and helicase/nuclease Dna2 have been shown to possess strand-annealing activity. Moreover, two recently identified helicases-HARP and AH2 have only ATP-dependent rewinding activity. These findings not only enhance our understanding of helicase enzymes but also establish the presence of a new type of protein: annealing helicases. This paper discusses what is known about these helicases, focusing on their biochemical activity to zip and unzip double-stranded DNA and/or RNA, their possible regulation mechanisms, and biological functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"140601"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/140601","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30830619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using chemical approaches to understand RNA structure and function in biology.","authors":"Dmitry A Stetsenko, Arthur van Aerschot","doi":"10.1155/2012/972575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/972575","url":null,"abstract":"Interest of the research community in the aspects of chemical biology of RNA has increased vastly over the last twenty years, primarily due to the discovery of RNAi, our deepened understanding of the role of miRNA in the subtle regulation of vital cellular processes, and the realization of the fact that the RNA world—the realm where RNA plays the key parties as a self-replicating molecule and a universal catalyst—is still pretty much with us today as the ribosomal RNA performs its catalytic solo in the formation of the peptide bond in the ribosome. To answer the needs of Biology, Chemistry had, in turn, multiplied and perfected its approaches to study the molecular mechanisms underlying RNA functions in living systems. So, the idea behind this special issue is to show our readership a screenshot of what could be, and has been, achieved recently by applying chemical methods to solve the problems of RNA biology. Ten articles have been carefully selected out of the bunch of those submitted to provide, we believe, a balanced view of different facets of RNA structure and function and, also, of the array of chemical tools to enable us to peek into them.","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"972575"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/972575","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30551706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Concept for Selection of Codon-Suppressor tRNAs Based on Read-Through Ribosome Display in an In Vitro Compartmentalized Cell-Free Translation System.","authors":"Atsushi Ogawa, Masayoshi Hayami, Shinsuke Sando, Yasuhiro Aoyama","doi":"10.1155/2012/538129","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/538129","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Here is presented a concept for in vitro selection of suppressor tRNAs. It uses a pool of dsDNA templates in compartmentalized water-in-oil micelles. The template contains a transcription/translation trigger, an amber stop codon, and another transcription trigger for the anticodon- or anticodon loop-randomized gene for tRNA(Ser). Upon transcription are generated two types of RNAs, a tRNA and a translatable mRNA (mRNA-tRNA). When the tRNA suppresses the stop codon (UAG) of the mRNA, the full-length protein obtained upon translation remains attached to the mRNA (read-through ribosome display) that contains the sequence of the tRNA. In this way, the active suppressor tRNAs can be selected (amplified) and their sequences read out. The enriched anticodon (CUA) was complementary to the UAG stop codon and the enriched anticodon-loop was the same as that in the natural tRNA(Ser).</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"538129"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/538129","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30863394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A two-piece derivative of a group I intron RNA as a platform for designing self-assembling RNA templates to promote Peptide ligation.","authors":"Takahiro Tanaka, Hiroyuki Furuta, Yoshiya Ikawa","doi":"10.1155/2012/305867","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/305867","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multicomponent RNA-peptide complexes are attractive from the viewpoint of artificial design of functional biomacromolecular systems. We have developed self-folding and self-assembling RNAs that serve as templates to assist chemical ligation between two reactive peptides with RNA-binding capabilities. The design principle of previous templates, however, can be applied only to limited classes of RNA-binding peptides. In this study, we employed a two-piece derivative of a group I intron RNA from the Tetrahymena large subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU rRNA) as a platform for new template RNAs. In this group I intron-based self-assembling platform, modules for the recognition of substrate peptides can be installed independently from modules holding the platform structure. The new self-assembling platform allows us to expand the repertoire of substrate peptides in template RNA design.</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"305867"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/305867","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30895269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent advances in chemical modification of Peptide nucleic acids.","authors":"Eriks Rozners","doi":"10.1155/2012/518162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/518162","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) has become an extremely powerful tool in chemistry and biology. Although PNA recognizes single-stranded nucleic acids with exceptionally high affinity and sequence selectivity, there is considerable ongoing effort to further improve properties of PNA for both fundamental science and practical applications. The present paper discusses selected recent studies that improve on cellular uptake and binding of PNA to double-stranded DNA and RNA. The focus is on chemical modifications of PNA's backbone and heterocyclic nucleobases. The paper selects representative recent studies and does not attempt to provide comprehensive coverage of the broad and vibrant field of PNA modification.</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"518162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/518162","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30917110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Alternative splicing in oncogenic kinases: from physiological functions to cancer.","authors":"Sabine Druillennec, Coralie Dorard, Alain Eychène","doi":"10.1155/2012/639062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/639062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Among the 518 protein kinases encoded by the human kinome, several of them act as oncoproteins in human cancers. Like other eukaryotic genes, oncogenes encoding protein kinases are frequently subjected to alternative splicing in coding as well as noncoding sequences. In the present paper, we will illustrate how alternative splicing can significantly impact on the physiological functions of oncogenic protein kinases, as demonstrated by mouse genetic model studies. This includes examples of membrane-bound tyrosine kinases receptors (FGFR2, Ret, TrkB, ErbB4, and VEGFR) as well as cytosolic protein kinases (B-Raf). We will further discuss how regular alternative splicing events of these kinases are in some instances implicated in oncogenic processes during tumor progression (FGFR, TrkB, ErbB2, Abl, and AuroraA). Finally, we will present typical examples of aberrant splicing responsible for the deregulation of oncogenic kinases activity in cancers (AuroraB, Jak2, Kit, Met, and Ron).</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"639062"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/639062","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30216556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In vitro selection of fab fragments by mRNA display and gene-linking emulsion PCR.","authors":"Takeshi Sumida, Hiroshi Yanagawa, Nobuhide Doi","doi":"10.1155/2012/371379","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/371379","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In vitro selection by display methods has been an effective tool for engineering recombinant antibodies. mRNA display based on a cell-free translation system has the advantages of larger library sizes and quicker selection procedures compared with cell-based display methods such as phage display. However, mRNA display has been limited to select single-chain polypeptides such as scFvs due to its characteristic of linking a nascent polypeptide with its encoding mRNA on the ribosome. Here we demonstrated a new way of selecting heterodimeric Fab fragments by using mRNA display combined with emulsion PCR. We designed a pair of complementary 5' UTR sequences that can link the Fab heavy and light chain genes together by overlap-extension PCR in water-in-oil emulsions. We confirmed that two mRNA-displayed polypeptides for heavy and light chain of a model Fab fragment were associated into the active form and that a specific Fab fragment gene was enriched over 100-fold per round of a model affinity selection followed by the gene-linking emulsion PCR. We further performed directed evolution of Fab fragments with higher binding activity from a randomized Fab fragment library.</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"371379"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/371379","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30965408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Priti Sharma, Vipin Bihari, Sudhir K Agarwal, Sudhir K Goel
{"title":"Genetic predisposition for dermal problems in hexavalent chromium exposed population.","authors":"Priti Sharma, Vipin Bihari, Sudhir K Agarwal, Sudhir K Goel","doi":"10.1155/2012/968641","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/968641","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We studied the effect of genetic susceptibility on hexavalent chromium induced dermal adversities. The health status of population was examined from the areas of Kanpur (India) having the elevated hexavalent chromium levels in groundwater. Blood samples were collected for DNA isolation to conduct polymorphic determination of genes, namely: NQO1 (C609T), hOGG1 (C1245G), GSTT1, and GSTM1 (deletion). Symptomatic exposed subjects (n = 38) were compared with asymptomatic exposed subjects (n = 108) along with asymptomatic controls (n = 148) from a non contaminated reference community. Exposed symptomatic group consisted of 36.8% subjects who were GSTM1 null genotyped as compared to asymptomatic where only 19.4% subjects were null. The exposed subjects with GSTM1 null genotype were more susceptible to dermal adversities in comparison with wild genotyped subjects (OR = 2.42; 95% CI = 1.071-5.451). Age, smoking, gender or duration of residence were not found to have any confounding effect towards this association. Association with other genes was not statistically significant, nonetheless, possible contribution by these genes cannot be ruled out. In conclusion, variation in the polymorphic status of GSTM1 gene may influence dermal outcomes among residents from Cr(VI) contaminated areas. Further studies are therefore, needed to examine these observations among different population groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"968641"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/968641","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30856615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sophie Germann, Lise Gratadou, Martin Dutertre, Didier Auboeuf
{"title":"Splicing programs and cancer.","authors":"Sophie Germann, Lise Gratadou, Martin Dutertre, Didier Auboeuf","doi":"10.1155/2012/269570","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/269570","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Numerous studies report splicing alterations in a multitude of cancers by using gene-by-gene analysis. However, understanding of the role of alternative splicing in cancer is now reaching a new level, thanks to the use of novel technologies allowing the analysis of splicing at a large-scale level. Genome-wide analyses of alternative splicing indicate that splicing alterations can affect the products of gene networks involved in key cellular programs. In addition, many splicing variants identified as being misregulated in cancer are expressed in normal tissues. These observations suggest that splicing programs contribute to specific cellular programs that are altered during cancer initiation and progression. Supporting this model, recent studies have identified splicing factors controlling cancer-associated splicing programs. The characterization of splicing programs and their regulation by splicing factors will allow a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms involved in cancer initiation and progression and the development of new therapeutic targets.</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"269570"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/269570","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30295493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Specific Roles of MicroRNAs in Their Interactions with Environmental Factors.","authors":"Juan Wang, Qinghua Cui","doi":"10.1155/2012/978384","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2012/978384","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of gene expression by modulating numerous target mRNAs expression at posttranscriptional level. Extensive studies have shown that miRNAs are critical in various important biological processes, including cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, development, and apoptosis. In terms of their importance, miRNA dysfunction has been associated with a broad range of diseases. Increased number of studies have shown that miRNAs can functionally interact with a wide spectrum of environmental factors (EFs) including drugs, industrial materials, virus and bacterial pathogens, cigarette smoking, alcohol, nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress, and radiation. More importantly, the interactions between miRNAs and EFs have been shown to play critical roles in determining abnormal phenotypes and diseases. In this paper, we propose an outline of the current knowledge about specific roles of miRNAs in their interactions with various EFs and analyze the literatures detailing miRNAs-EFs interactions in the context of various of diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":16575,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nucleic Acids","volume":"2012 ","pages":"978384"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2012/978384","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"31097707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}