Publications by authors named "Elahe Masoumzadeh"

The RNA recognition motif (RRM) is a conserved and ubiquitous RNA-binding domain that plays essential roles in mRNA splicing, polyadenylation, transport, and stability. RRM domains exhibit remarkable diversity in binding partners, interacting with various sequences of single- and double-stranded RNA, despite their small size and compact fold. During pre-mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation, the RRM domain from CSTF2 recognizes U- or G/U-rich RNA sequences downstream from the cleavage and polyadenylation site to regulate the process.

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Proline isomerization is widely recognized as a kinetic bottleneck in protein folding, amplified for proteins rich in Pro residues. We introduced repeated hydrostatic pressure jumps between native and pressure-denaturing conditions inside an NMR sample cell to study proline isomerization in the pressure-sensitized L50A ubiquitin mutant. Whereas in two unfolded heptapeptides, X-Pro peptide bonds isomerized ca 1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Charged residues on proteins are essential for stability and binding, but high net-charge regions can destabilize proteins while helping them interact with oppositely charged targets.
  • Researchers studied the folding of a specific yeast protein domain (SH3) and found that increased salt concentrations surprisingly stabilize its structure by mimicking interactions that occur during target binding.
  • The study revealed that while the protein experiences both hydrophobic collapse and electrostatic repulsion during folding, the formation of favorable interactions like salt-bridges and hydrogen bonds allows it to maintain a functional, folded state after overcoming initial challenges.
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Article Synopsis
  • Charged residues on proteins are crucial for stability and interactions, often creating regions that might destabilize proteins but are necessary for binding to oppositely charged targets.
  • The study found that increasing salt concentrations stabilizes the folding of the yeast SH3 domain by reducing electrostatic repulsion, thanks to effects like Debye-Huckel screening.
  • Experiments revealed that while the addition of urea or salt affects folding rates, the key folding events happen in the transition state, allowing the protein domain to efficiently fold and prepare for binding despite its high charge.
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Autoimmunity develops when extracellular DNA released from dying cells is not cleared from serum. While serum DNA is primarily digested by Dnase1 and Dnase1L3, Dnase1 cannot rescue autoimmunity arising from Dnase1L3 deficiencies. Dnase1L3 uniquely degrades antigenic forms of cell-free DNA, including DNA complexed with lipids and proteins.

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Nascent pre-mRNA 3'-end cleavage and polyadenylation (C/P) involves numerous proteins that recognize multiple RNA elements. Human CSTF2 binds to a downstream U- or G/U-rich sequence through its RNA recognition motif (RRM) regulating C/P. We previously reported the only known disease-related CSTF2 RRM mutant (CSTF2) and showed that it changed the on-rate of RNA binding, leading to alternative polyadenylation in brains of mice carrying the same mutation.

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CSTF2 encodes an RNA-binding protein that is essential for mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation (C/P). No disease-associated mutations have been described for this gene. Here, we report a mutation in the RNA recognition motif (RRM) of CSTF2 that changes an aspartic acid at position 50 to alanine (p.

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Cleavage and polyadenylation (C/P) of mRNA is an important cellular process that promotes increased diversity of mRNA isoforms and could change their stability in different cell types. The cleavage stimulation factor (CstF) complex, part of the C/P machinery, binds to U- and GU-rich sequences located downstream from the cleavage site through its RNA-binding subunit, CstF-64. Less is known about the function of the other two subunits of CstF, CstF-77 and CstF-50.

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