Histone RNA hairpin-binding protein or stem-loop binding protein (SLBP) is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''SLBP''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

Species distribution

SLBP has been cloned from humans, '' C. elegans'', '' D. melanogaster'', '' X. laevis'', and sea urchins. The full length human protein has 270 amino acids (31 kDa) with a centrally located RNA binding domain (RBD). The 75 amino acid RBD is well conserved across species, however the remainder of SLBP is highly divergent in most organisms and not homologous to any other protein in the eukaryotic genomes.

Function

This gene encodes a

that binds to the histone 3' UTR stem-loop structure in replication-dependent

histone In biology, histones are highly basic proteins abundant in lysine and arginine residues that are found in eukaryotic cell nuclei and in most Archaeal phyla. They act as spools around which DNA winds to create structural units called nucleosomes ...

mRNAs. Histone mRNAs do not contain

introns An intron is any Nucleic acid sequence, nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word ''intron'' is derived from the term ''intragenic region'', i.e., a region inside a gene."The notion of ...

polyadenylation Polyadenylation is the addition of a poly(A) tail to an RNA transcript, typically a messenger RNA (mRNA). The poly(A) tail consists of multiple adenosine monophosphates; in other words, it is a stretch of RNA that has only adenine bases. In euka ...

signals, and are processed by a single endonucleolytic cleavage event downstream of the stem-loop. The stem-loop structure is essential for efficient processing of the histone pre-mRNA but this structure also controls the transport,

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

and stability of histone mRNAs. SLBP expression is regulated during S-phase of the

cell cycle The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the sequential series of events that take place in a cell (biology), cell that causes it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the growth of the cell, duplication of its DNA (DNA re ...

, increasing more than 10-fold during the latter part of G1. All SLBP proteins are capable of forming a highly stable complex with histone stem-loop RNA. Complex formation with the histone mRNA stem-loop is achieved by a novel three-helix bundle fold. SLBP proteins also recognize the tetraloop structure of the histone hairpin, the base of the stem, and the 5' flanking region. The crystal structure of human SLBP in complex with the stem-loop RNA as well as the

exonuclease Exonucleases are enzymes that work by cleaving nucleotides one at a time from the end (exo) of a polynucleotide chain. A hydrolyzing reaction that breaks phosphodiester bonds at either the 3′ or the 5′ end occurs. Its close relative is th ...

Eri1 reveals that the Arg181 residue of SLBP specifically interacts with the second

guanine Guanine () (symbol G or Gua) is one of the four main nucleotide bases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA, the others being adenine, cytosine, and thymine ( uracil in RNA). In DNA, guanine is paired with cytosine. The guanine nucleoside ...

base in the RNA stem. The rest of the protein is intrinsically disordered in fruit-flies as well as in humans. A unique feature of the SLBP RBD is that it is

phosphorylated In biochemistry, phosphorylation is described as the "transfer of a phosphate group" from a donor to an acceptor. A common phosphorylating agent (phosphate donor) is ATP and a common family of acceptor are alcohols: : This equation can be writt ...

in its RNA binding domain at the Thr171 residue. The SLBP RBD also undergoes proline isomerization about this sequence and is a substrate for the prolyl isomerase Pin1. The

N-terminal The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the amin ...

domain of human SLBP is required for translation activation of histone mRNAs via its interaction with SLIP1. SLBP also interacts with the CBP80 associated protein CTIF to facilitate rapid degradation of histone mRNAs. SLBP is a phosphoprotein and besides T171, it is also phosphorylated at Ser7, Ser20, Ser23, Thr60, Thr61 in mammalian cells. The phosphorylation at Thr60 is mediated by CK2 and Thr61 is by

Cyclin A Cyclin A is a member of the cyclin family, a group of proteins that function in regulating progression through the cell cycle. The stages that a cell passes through that culminate in its division and replication are collectively known as the cel ...

Cdk1 Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 also known as CDK1 or cell division cycle protein 2 homolog is a highly conserved protein that functions as a serine/threonine protein kinase, and is a key player in cell cycle regulation. It has been highly studied in ...

Species distribution

Function

References

Further reading