The translational regulator CPEB1 provides a link between dcp1 bodies and stress granules

Abstract

The cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein (CPEB) has been characterized in Xenopus laevis as a translational regulator. During the early development, it behaves first as an inhibitor and later as an activator of translation. In mammals, its closest homologue is CPEB1 for which two isoforms, short and long, have been described. Here we describe an additional isoform with a different RNA recognition motif, which is differentially expressed in the brain and ovary. We show that all CPEB1 isoforms are found associated with two previously described cytoplasmic structures, stress granules and dcp1 bodies. This association requires the RNA binding ability of the protein, whereas the Aurora A phosphorylation site is dispensable. Interestingly, the rck/p54 DEAD box protein, which is known as a CPEB partner in Xenopus and clam, and as a component of dcp1 bodies in mammals, is also present in stress granules. Both stress granules and dcp1 bodies are involved in mRNA storage and/or degradation, although so far no link has been made between the two, in terms of neither morphology nor protein content. Here we show that transient CPEB1 expression induces the assembly of stress granules, which in turn recruit dcp1 bodies. This dynamic connection between the two structures sheds new light on the compartmentalization of mRNA metabolism in the cytoplasm.