TRANSLATIONAL REGULATION DURING XENOPUS OOCYTE DEVELOPMENT

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。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，这项工作将研究这个非常复杂的生物过程是如何调节的。彻底了解细胞周期的控制机制对于理解癌细胞中细胞分裂控制是如何丢失的是必要的。非洲爪蟾（Xenopus laevis）卵母细胞发育是研究细胞周期的一个重要模型系统。本研究旨在探讨卵母细胞mrna的翻译调控是如何实现的。在卵母细胞中，母体mrna编码对细胞周期调节至关重要的蛋白质。一种调节卵母细胞mRNA翻译的蛋白已被鉴定，但大量证据表明，Wee1 mRNA与一种称为翻译控制序列（TCS）的新蛋白结合，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的早期事件。拟开展的研究包括以下具体目标，将增强我们对蛋白质的认识：RNA相互作用在翻译调控中的作用：(1)通过酵母三杂交筛选方案获得tcs结合蛋白（TCSB）；(2)对TCSB RNA和蛋白的表达进行表征，并对蛋白的详细信息进行分析。我们将收购我们在Wee1翻译方面的参与。(3)其他与TCSB相互作用并有助于实现翻译控制的蛋白将被鉴定和分析。(4)将发现更多受TCSB结合调控的rna。这些目标的成功完成将导致对爪蟾以及包括人类在内的其他生物的细胞周期控制的更深入的认识。

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.