Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14(11), 22906-22932; doi:10.3390/ijms141122906
New Insights into Functional Roles of the Polypyrimidine Tract-Binding Protein
Department of Life and Reproduction Sciences, Section of Biology and Genetics, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134 Verona, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 22 September 2013 / Revised: 13 November 2013 / Accepted: 13 November 2013 / Published: 20 November 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation by Ribonucleoprotein Complexes)
Abstract
Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein (PTB) is an intensely studied RNA binding protein involved in several post-transcriptional regulatory events of gene expression. Initially described as a pre-mRNA splicing regulator, PTB is now widely accepted as a multifunctional protein shuttling between nucleus and cytoplasm. Accordingly, PTB can interact with selected RNA targets, structural elements and proteins. There is increasing evidence that PTB and its paralog PTBP2 play a major role as repressors of alternatively spliced exons, whose transcription is tissue-regulated. In addition to alternative splicing, PTB is involved in almost all steps of mRNA metabolism, including polyadenylation, mRNA stability and initiation of protein translation. Furthermore, it is well established that PTB recruitment in internal ribosome entry site (IRES) activates the translation of picornaviral and cellular proteins. Detailed studies of the structural properties of PTB have contributed to our understanding of the mechanism of RNA binding by RNA Recognition Motif (RRM) domains. In the present review, we will describe the structural properties of PTB, its paralogs and co-factors, the role in post-transcriptional regulation and actions in cell differentiation and pathogenesis. Defining the multifunctional roles of PTB will contribute to the understanding of key regulatory events in gene expression. View Full-TextKeywords:
PTB; raver1; alternative splicing; IRES; RRM; RNA binding proteins; ribonucleoproteins; hnRNP; mRNA stability; cell differentiation
▼
Figures
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Romanelli, M.G.; Diani, E.; Lievens, P.M.-J. New Insights into Functional Roles of the Polypyrimidine Tract-Binding Protein. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14, 22906-22932.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Int. J. Mol. Sci.
EISSN 1422-0067
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert