The RNA Transport Element of the Murine musD Retrotransposon Requires Long-range Intramolecular Interactions for Function

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 285; no. 53; pp. 42097 - 42104
• Main Authors: Legiewicz, Michal, Zolotukhin, Andrei S., Pilkington, Guy R., Purzycka, Katarzyna J., Mitchell, Michelle, Uranishi, Hiroaki, Bear, Jenifer, Pavlakis, George N., Le Grice, Stuart F.J., Felber, Barbara K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 31.12.2010; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: 3' Untranslated Regions; Animals; Biological Transport; HeLa Cells; Humans; LTR Retrotransposon; Mice; Models, Genetic; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Oligonucleotides, Antisense - genetics; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Retroelements - genetics; Retroviridae - genetics; Retrovirus; RNA; RNA - metabolism; RNA Folding; RNA Structure; RNA Transport; RNA Transport Element; SHAPE; Terminal Repeat Sequences; Tertiary Interactions; RNA Folding; Retrovirus; SHAPE; RNA Transport; LTR Retrotransposon; RNA; Tertiary Interactions; RNA Transport Element; RNA Structure
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M110.182840

Retrovirus replication requires specialized transport mechanisms to export genomic mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of the infected cell. This regulation is mediated by a combination of viral and/or cellular factors that interact with cis-acting RNA export elements linking the viral RNA to the cellular CRM1 or NXF1 nuclear export pathways. Endogenous type D murine LTR retrotransposons (musD) were reported to contain an RNA export element located upstream of the 3′-LTR. Although functionally equivalent, the musD export element, termed the musD transport element, is distinct from the other retroviral RNA export elements, such as the constitutive transport element of simian/Mason-Pfizer monkey retroviruses and the RNA transport element found in rodent intracisternal A-particle LTR retrotransposons. We demonstrate here that the minimal RNA transport element (musD transport element) of musD comprises multiple secondary structure elements that presumably serve as recognition signals for the cellular export machinery. We identified two classes of tertiary interactions, namely kissing loops and a pseudoknot. This work constitutes the first example of an RNA transport element requiring such structural motifs to mediate nuclear export.