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The intrinsically disordered TSSC4 protein acts as a helicase inhibitor, placeholder and multi-interaction coordinator during snRNP assembly and recycling

Bergfort A, Hilal T, Kuropka B, Ilik İA, Weber G, Aktaş T, Freund C, Wahl MC – 2022

Biogenesis of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) and their recycling after splicing require numerous assembly/recycling factors whose modes of action are often poorly understood. The intrinsically disordered TSSC4 protein has been identified as a nuclear-localized U5 snRNP and U4/U6-U5 tri-snRNP assembly/recycling factor, but how TSSC4’s intrinsic disorder supports TSSC4 functions remains unknown. Using diverse interaction assays and cryogenic electron microscopy-based structural analysis, we show that TSSC4 employs four conserved, non-contiguous regions to bind the PRPF8 Jab1/MPN domain and the SNRNP200 helicase at functionally important sites. It thereby inhibits SNRNP200 helicase activity, spatially aligns the proteins, coordinates formation of a U5 sub-module and transiently blocks premature interaction of SNRNP200 with at least three other spliceosomal factors. Guided by the structure, we designed a TSSC4 variant that lacks stable binding to the PRPF8 Jab1/MPN domain or SNRNP200 in vitro. Comparative immunoprecipitation/mass spectrometry from HEK293 nuclear extract revealed distinct interaction profiles of wild type TSSC4 and the variant deficient in PRPF8/SNRNP200 binding with snRNP proteins, other spliceosomal proteins as well as snRNP assembly/recycling factors and chaperones. Our findings elucidate molecular strategies employed by an intrinsically disordered protein to promote snRNP assembly, and suggest multiple TSSC4-dependent stages during snRNP assembly/recycling.

Title
The intrinsically disordered TSSC4 protein acts as a helicase inhibitor, placeholder and multi-interaction coordinator during snRNP assembly and recycling
Author
Bergfort A, Hilal T, Kuropka B, Ilik İA, Weber G, Aktaş T, Freund C, Wahl MC
Date
2022-03-21
Identifier
10.1093/nar/gkac087
Source(s)
Appeared in
Nucleic Acids Research - Volume 50, Issue 5, pp. 2938-2958 - 2022
Language
eng
Type
Text