TRANSLATIONAL REGULATION DURING XENOPUS OOCYTE DEVELOPMENT

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 这项研究的目的是增加我们对真核细胞周期的理解。 特别是，这项工作将研究如何调节这个非常复杂的生物过程。 彻底了解控制细胞周期的机制对于了解癌细胞中细胞分裂控制如何丧失是必要的。 研究细胞周期的一个重要模型系统是蛙卵母细胞发育。 拟议的研究调查了卵母细胞mRNA的翻译调控是如何实现的。 在卵母细胞中，母体mRNA编码对细胞周期调控至关重要的蛋白质。 一种调节卵母细胞mRNA翻译的蛋白质已被鉴定，但大量证据表明Wee1 mRNA在称为翻译控制序列（TCS）的位点被一种新蛋白质结合，这种结合对翻译控制很重要。 Wee1 mRNA编码一种蛋白质，该蛋白质是细胞周期控制的关键调控元件之一，特别是细胞分裂过程早期的事件。 本论文的主要研究内容包括以下几个方面：（1）利用酵母三杂交技术筛选出TCS结合蛋白（TCSB）;（2）对TCSB的RNA和蛋白的表达进行表征，并对该蛋白的结构和功能进行研究。Wee1翻译的参与将被收购。 (3)将鉴定和分析与TCSB相互作用并有助于翻译控制的其他蛋白质。 (4)将发现由TCSB结合调节的其他RNA。 这些目标的成功完成将导致对非洲爪蟾以及包括人类在内的其他生物体的细胞周期控制有更深入的了解。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The goal of this research is to add to our understanding of the eukaryotic cell cycle. In particular, this work will investigate how this very complicated biological process is regulated. Thorough knowledge of the mechanisms controlling the cell cycle is necessary for building an understanding of how cell division control is lost in cancer cells. An important model system for studying the cell cycle is oocyte development in the frog, Xenopus laevis. The proposed research investigates how translational regulation of oocyte mRNAs is achieved. In oocytes, maternal mRNAs code for proteins critical to cell cycle regulation. One protein that regulates oocyte mRNA translation has been characterized, but substantial evidence indicates that the Wee1 mRNA is bound by a novel protein at a site termed the translational control sequence (TCS), and that this binding is important for translational control. The Wee1 mRNA encodes a protein that is one of the key regulatory elements of cell cycle control, in particular of events early in the process of cell division. The proposed research includes the following specific aims that will enhance our knowledge of protein:RNA interactions in translational regulation: (1) The TCS-binding protein (TCSB) will be obtained through the yeast three-hybrid screening protocol (2) The expression of TCSB RNA and protein will be characterized, and details about the protein?s involvement in Wee1 translation will be acquired. (3) Other proteins that interact with TCSB and help make translational control possible will be identified and analyzed. (4) Additional RNAs that are regulated by TCSB binding will be discovered. Successful completion of these goals will lead to a more in-depth perception of cell cycle control in Xenopus, and also in other organisms including humans.