The spliceosome is a multi-subunit RNA–protein complex involved in the removal of non-coding segments (introns) from between the coding regions (exons) in precursors of messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). Intron removal proceeds via two transesterification reactions, occurring between conserved sequences at intron–exon junctions. A tightly regulated, hierarchical assembly with a multitude of structural and compositional rearrangements posed a great challenge for structural studies of the spliceosome. Over the years, X-ray crystallography dominated the field, providing valuable high-resolution structural information that was mostly limited to individual proteins and smaller sub-complexes. Recent developments in the field of cryo-electron microscopy allowed the visualisation of fully assembled yeast and human spliceosomes, providing unprecedented insights into substrate recognition, catalysis, and active site formation. This has advanced our mechanistic understanding of pre-mRNA splicing enormously.
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December 2018
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Dysfunctional cytoskeleton and neurodegeneration: novel pathways in Parkinson's disease? This image represents the degeneration of the neuronal tree during the aging process. In this issue Civiero et al. discuss the consequence of impaired cytoskeletal dynamics on neurite morphology and neuronal physiology in Parkinson's disease. For further details see pages 1653–1663.
Review Article|
November 12 2018
Structural studies of the spliceosome: past, present and future perspectives
Wojciech P. Galej
1EMBL Grenoble, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38 042 Grenoble, France
Correspondence: Wojciech P. Galej ([email protected])
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
August 23 2018
Revision Received:
September 24 2018
Accepted:
September 25 2018
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2018 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society
2018
Biochem Soc Trans (2018) 46 (6): 1407–1422.
Article history
Received:
August 23 2018
Revision Received:
September 24 2018
Accepted:
September 25 2018
Citation
Wojciech P. Galej; Structural studies of the spliceosome: past, present and future perspectives. Biochem Soc Trans 17 December 2018; 46 (6): 1407–1422. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20170240
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