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Regulation of messenger RNA translation is central to eukaryotic gene expression control (1). Regulatory inputs are specified by the mRNA untranslated regions (UTRs) and often target translation initiation. Initiation involves binding of the 40S ribosomal small subunit (SSU) and associated eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) near the mRNA 5' cap; the SSU then scans in the 3' direction until it detects the start codon and is joined by the 60S ribosomal large subunit (LSU) (2-5) to form the 80S ribosome. Scanning and other dynamic aspects of the initiation model have remained as conjectures because methods to trap early intermediates were lacking. Here we uncover the dynamics of the complete translation cycle in live yeast cells using translation complex profile sequencing (TCP-seq), a method developed from the ribosome profiling (6) approach. We document scanning by observing SSU footprints along 5' UTRs. Scanning SSU have 5'-extended footprints (up to ~75 nucleotides), indicative of additional interactions with mRNA emerging from the exit channel, promoting forward movement. We visualized changes in initiation complex conformation as SSU footprints coalesced into three major sizes at start codons (19, 29 and 37 nucleotides). These share the same 5' start site but differ at the 3' end, reflecting successive changes at the entry channel from an open to a closed state following start codon recognition. We also observe SSU 'lingering' at stop codons after LSU departure. Our results underpin mechanistic models of translation initiation and termination, built on decades of biochemical and structural investigation, with direct genome-wide in vivo evidence. Our approach captures ribosomal complexes at all phases of translation and will aid in studying translation dynamics in diverse cellular contexts. Dysregulation of translation is common in disease and, for example, SSU scanning is a target of anti-cancer drug development (7). TCP-seq will prove useful in discerning differences in mRNA-specific initiation in pathologies and their response to treatment., Protein synthesis in eukaryotes is more complex than in prokaryotes, particularly at the highly regulated initiation step, in which eukaryote-specific mechanisms of ribosome attachment to mRNA and start codon recognition [...]

Somatic cell reprogramming to a pluripotent state continues to challenge many of our assumptions about cellular specification, and despite major efforts, we lack a complete molecular characterization of the reprograming process. To address this gap in knowledge, we generated extensive transcriptomic, epigenomic and proteomic data sets describing the reprogramming routes leading from mouse embryonic fibroblasts to induced pluripotency. Through integrative analysis, we reveal that cells transition through distinct gene expression and epigenetic signatures and bifurcate towards reprogramming transgene-dependent and -independent stable pluripotent states. Early transcriptional events, driven by high levels of reprogramming transcription factor expression, are associated with widespread loss of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) trimethylation, representing a general opening of the chromatin state. Maintenance of high transgene levels leads to re-acquisition of H3K27me3 and a stable pluripotent state that is alternative to the embryonic stem cell (ESC)-like fate. Lowering transgene levels at an intermediate phase, however, guides the process to the acquisition of ESC-like chromatin and DNA methylation signature. Our data provide a comprehensive molecular description of the reprogramming routes and is accessible through the Project Grandiose portal at http://www.stemformatics.org., Forced expression of four transcription factors--Oct4 (also called Pou5f1), Sox2, Klf4 and Myc (OSKM) (1)--induces molecular changes in somatic cells, which lead to pluripotency. The exogenous expression of these transcription [...]

Pluripotency is defined by the ability of a cell to differentiate to the derivatives of all the three embryonic germ layers: ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. Pluripotent cells can be captured via the archetypal derivation of embryonic stem cells or via somatic cell reprogramming. Somatic cells are induced to acquire a pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) state through the forced expression of key transcription factors, and in the mouse these cells can fulfil the strictest of all developmental assays for pluripotent cells by generating completely iPSC-derived embryos and mice. However, it is not known whether there are additional classes of pluripotent cells, or what the spectrum of reprogrammed phenotypes encompasses. Here we explore alternative outcomes of somatic reprogramming by fully characterizing reprogrammed cells independent of preconceived definitions of iPSC states. We demonstrate that by maintaining elevated reprogramming factor expression levels, mouse embryonic fibroblasts go through unique epigenetic modifications to arrive at a stable, Nanog-positive, alternative pluripotent state. In doing so, we prove that the pluripotent spectrum can encompass multiple, unique cell states., Somatic cells that have lost their pluripotent properties through the acquisition of differentiation-associated epigenetic marks can be driven to acquire an induced pluripotent cell (iPSC) state by the forced expression [...]

Inactivation of the p53 tumor suppressor pathway allows cell survival in times of stress and occurs in many human cancers; however, normal embryonic stem cells and some cancers such as neuroblastoma maintain wild-type human TP53 and mouse Trp53 (referred to collectively as p53 herein). Here we describe a miRNA, miR-380-5p, that represses p53 expression via a conserved sequence in the p53 3' untranslated region (UTR). miR-380-5p is highly expressed in mouse embryonic stem cells and neuroblastomas, and high expression correlates with poor outcome in neuroblastomas with neuroblastoma derived v-myc myelocytomatosis viral-related oncogene (MYCN) amplification. miR-380 overexpression cooperates with activated HRAS oncoprotein to transform primary cells, block oncogene-induced senescence and form tumors in mice. Conversely, inhibition of endogenous miR-380-5p in embryonic stem or neuroblastoma cells results in induction of p53, and extensive apoptotic cell death. In vivo delivery of a miR-380-5p antagonist decreases tumor size in an orthotopic mouse model of neuroblastoma. We demonstrate a new mechanism of p53 regulation in cancer and stem cells and uncover a potential therapeutic target for neuroblastoma., The p53 tumor suppressor is activated after a wide variety of genotoxic stresses, resulting in cell cycle arrest, apoptosis or senescence (1,2). Inactivation of p53 is a common event in [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tibs.2010.05.009 Byline: Matthias W. Hentze (1), Thomas Preiss (2)(3) Abstract: 'Classic' enzymes carry out the housekeeping functions of intermediary metabolism. The past decades have seen a steady trickle of reports of several of these enzymes 'moonlighting' as RNA-binding proteins. Although evidence for a physiological role for RNA binding is strong in a few individual examples, no systematic concept has been proposed for the overall phenomenon. We suggest that these diverse observations might herald the existence of currently hidden post-transcriptional regulatory networks between intermediary metabolism and gene expression based on RNA, enzyme and metabolite interactions. We briefly summarize the evidence in support of such networks and discuss how current approaches can be employed for systematic analyses and integration into our understanding of cellular biology, given the technical and conceptual advances of the 'omics' age. Author Affiliation: (1) European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany (2) Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Molecular Genetics Division, 405 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia (3) School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences and St. Vincent's Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) repress translation of target mRNAs by interaction with partially mismatched sequences in their 3' UTR. The mechanism by which they act on translation has remained largely obscure. We examined the translation of mRNAs containing four partially mismatched miRNA-binding sites in the 3' UTR in HeLa cells cotransfected with a cognate miRNA. The mRNAs were prepared by in vitro transcription and were engineered to employ different modes of translation initiation. We find that the 5' cap structure and the 3' poly(A) tail are each necessary but not sufficient for full miRNA-mediated repression of mRNA translation. Replacing the cap structure with an internal ribosome entry site from either the cricket paralysis virus or the encephalomyocarditis virus impairs miRNA-mediated repression. Collectively, these results demonstrate that miRNAs interfere with the initiation step of translation and implicate the cap-binding protein eukaryotic initiation factor 4E as a molecular target. mRNA translation | cap structure | processing bodies | mRNA decay | short interfering RNA

Research findings suggest that translation initiation is a dynamic process in which the 3'end of the mRNA plays a critical in the process. The initiation process lies between the transcriptome and the proteome in the gene expression pathway and involves several sequential protein-RNA and protein-protein interactions.