Control of a neuronal morphology program by an RNA-binding zinc finger protein, Unkempt Journal Article
| Authors: | Murn, J.; Zarnack, K.; Yang, Y. J.; Durak, O.; Murphy, E. A.; Cheloufi, S.; Gonzalez, D. M.; Teplova, M.; Curk, T.; Zuber, J.; Patel, D. J.; Ule, J.; Luscombe, N. M.; Tsai, L. H.; Walsh, C. A.; Shi, Y. |
| Article Title: | Control of a neuronal morphology program by an RNA-binding zinc finger protein, Unkempt |
| Abstract: | Cellular morphology is an essential determinant of cellular function in all kingdoms of life, yet little is known about how cell shape is controlled. Here we describe a molecular program that controls the early morphology of neurons through a metazoan-specific zinc finger protein, Unkempt. Depletion of Unkempt in mouse embryos disrupts the shape of migrating neurons, while ectopic expression confers neuronal-like morphology to cells of different nonneuronal lineages. We found that Unkempt is a sequence-specific RNA-binding protein and identified its precise binding sites within coding regions of mRNAs linked to protein metabolism and trafficking. RNA binding is required for Unkempt-induced remodeling of cellular shape and is directly coupled to a reduced production of the encoded proteins. These findings link post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression with cellular shape and have general implications for the development and disease of multicellular organisms. © 2015 Murn et al. |
| Keywords: | controlled study; protein expression; unclassified drug; human cell; nonhuman; translation initiation; protein analysis; animal cell; mouse; cell structure; gene expression; cell maturation; embryo; protein depletion; protein metabolism; neurons; cell lineage; rna binding protein; rna-binding proteins; protein processing; messenger rna; cell migration; rna translation; translation; binding site; cell shape; rna processing; zinc finger protein; nerve cell; rna binding; metazoa; nerve fiber growth; cell morphology; human; female; priority journal; article; gene expression program; unkempt; zinc finger protein unkempt |
| Journal Title: | Genes and Development |
| Volume: | 29 |
| Issue: | 5 |
| ISSN: | 0890-9369 |
| Publisher: | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press |
| Date Published: | 2015-03-01 |
| Start Page: | 501 |
| End Page: | 512 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1101/gad.258483.115 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| PMCID: | PMC4358403 |
| PUBMED: | 25737280 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Export Date: 2 April 2015 -- Source: Scopus |
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