A subset of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that contain inverted Alu elements in their 3' untranslated region are inefficiently exported to the cytoplasm and retained in subnuclear bodies called paraspeckles. The arginine methyltransferase CARM1 (coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1) promotes the nuclear export of these mRNAs by methylating the paraspeckle component p54(nrb), which reduces the binding of p54(nrb) to the inverted Alu elements, and down-regulating synthesis of another paraspeckle component, the long noncoding RNA NEAT1, which inhibits paraspeckle formation.
Keywords: CARM1; NEAT1; nuclear retention; p54nrb; paraspeckles.
© 2015 Elbarbary and Maquat; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.