Progress in 7SK ribonucleoprotein structural biology

Momodou B Camara; Amr M Sobeh; Catherine D Eichhorn

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2023.1154622

Progress in 7SK ribonucleoprotein structural biology

Front Mol Biosci. 2023 Mar 27:10:1154622. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1154622. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Momodou B Camara¹, Amr M Sobeh¹, Catherine D Eichhorn^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, United States.
² Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication, Lincoln, NE, United States.

Abstract

The 7SK ribonucleoprotein (RNP) is a dynamic and multifunctional regulator of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) transcription in metazoa. Comprised of the non-coding 7SK RNA, core proteins, and numerous accessory proteins, the most well-known 7SK RNP function is the sequestration and inactivation of the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb). More recently, 7SK RNP has been shown to regulate RNAPII transcription through P-TEFb-independent pathways. Due to its fundamental role in cellular function, dysregulation has been linked with human diseases including cancers, heart disease, developmental disorders, and viral infection. Significant advances in 7SK RNP structural biology have improved our understanding of 7SK RNP assembly and function. Here, we review progress in understanding the structural basis of 7SK RNA folding, biogenesis, and RNP assembly.

Keywords: RNA structural dynamics; RNA-protein interactions; X-ray crystallography; chemical probing; cryoEM; gene regulation; solution state NMR.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

R35 GM143030/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States