ABSTRACT
In our previous studies we have identified a 37/39 kDa, pyrazole-inducible, cytochrome P4502A5 (CYP2A5) mRNA binding protein and provided evidence that it may play a role in the stabilization and processing of the RNA [Geneste, Rafalli and Lang (1996) Biochem. J. 313, 1029-1037; Thulke-Gross, Hergenhahn, Tilloy-Ellul, Lang and Bartsch (1998) Biochem. J. 331, 473-481]. Details of the RNA-protein interactions are, however, not known. In this report we have performed an analysis of the interaction between the CYP2A5 mRNA and the 37/39 kDa protein. With UV-cross linking experiments, using RNA probes corresponding to various parts of the CYP2A5 mRNA, and with antisense oligonucleotides complementary to certain areas of the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR), we could map the primary binding site to the tip of a 71 nt hair-pin loop at the 3'-UTR. This analysis also showed that the protein may have more than one site of interaction with the RNA and/or that, within the binding region, there could be more than one protein molecule binding to the RNA. Analysis of the probable conformations of the various probes used in the UV cross-linking experiments, in combination with the estimated binding affinities of the protein to the different probes, suggests that important factors in the high-affinity binding are the UAG triplet flanked by GA-rich sequences at the tip of the hair-pin loop, in addition to the conformation of the loop itself. Within the binding region, similarities with known binding sites of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A1 in other RNA molecules were revealed by sequence alignment analysis. Moreover, competition experiments with an oligoribonucleotide corresponding to a known high-affinity binding site of hnRNP A1, and immunoprecipitation of the UV cross-linked 37/39 kDa complex showed that the protein binding to the CYP2A5 mRNA could be hnRNP A1 or its close analogue. It was also shown that the 37/39 kDa protein binds with less affinity to CYP2A4 mRNA than to CYP2A5 mRNA. This is in accordance with experiments characterizing the binding site, since these two otherwise highly homologous genes are kown to have a three nucleotide difference within the region important for the high binding affinity. Since the response of CYP2A4 to pyrazole is known to be weak, as compared with CYP2A5, this observation provides further evidence for a regulatory role of the 37/39 kDa protein in CYP2A5 mRNA metabolism.
Subject(s)
Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases , Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/genetics , Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B , Liver/metabolism , Mixed Function Oxygenases/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , 3' Untranslated Regions/chemistry , 3' Untranslated Regions/genetics , 3' Untranslated Regions/metabolism , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Base Sequence , Binding, Competitive , Consensus Sequence/genetics , Cytochrome P-450 CYP2A6 , Cytochrome P450 Family 2 , Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1 , Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins , Liver/enzymology , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred DBA , Molecular Weight , Nucleic Acid Conformation , Oligonucleotides, Antisense/genetics , Oligonucleotides, Antisense/metabolism , Precipitin Tests , RNA Probes/chemistry , RNA Probes/genetics , RNA Probes/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/chemistry , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Response Elements/genetics , Ribonucleoproteins/chemistry , Ribonucleoproteins/genetics , Ribonucleoproteins/metabolism , Sequence Deletion , Steroid Hydroxylases/geneticsABSTRACT
An important mechanism in the up-regulation of cytochrome P-450 2A5 (CYP2A5, coumarin hydroxylase, Coh) is the stabilization of the corresponding mRNA; some evidence suggests that proteins binding to CYP2A5 mRNA may be involved in this stabilization. Here we report that pyrazole, a well known inducer of CYP2A5 and stabilizer of its message, enhances the binding of a set of proteins to 32P-labelled 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of CYP2A5 to give 32P-labelled bands of apparent molecular mass 37/39, 45/48 and 70/72 kDa after UV cross-linking/RNase cleavage; in addition, we found different proteins binding to other parts of CYP2A5 mRNA. The 70/72 kDa bands are also formed with the 3'UTR of c-jun. The inducible proteins are found in different cellular subfractions at different concentrations, with a maximum of five-fold induction of binding activity in microsomes. When a gel-mobility-shift assay was combined with UV cross-linking to resolve different pyrazole-inducible RNA-protein complexes into single RNA-binding protein bands, the smallest complex contained a double band of 37/39 kDa, 45/48 kDa bands, 70/72 kDa bands, and additional weaker bands at higher molecular masses (around 120 kDa). This composition was found also for all other complexes detected by gel-mobility-shift assay; occasionally, bands at higher molecular masses were also observed. The proteins of the smallest complex might therefore represent a core with which other proteins interact to build up larger complexes. Binding of proteins 37/39 kDa and 70/72 kDa was located to a 20-base loop and adjacent sequences in a 70 nt AU-rich region of the 3'UTR of the CYP2A5. Based on our previous evidence, this 70-nt sequence may play an important role in the stabilization and processing of the message.
