| First Author | Murn J | Year | 2015 |
| Journal | Genes Dev | Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 501-12 |
| PubMed ID | 25737280 | Mgi Jnum | J:219939 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5630004 | Doi | 10.1101/gad.258483.115 |
| Citation | Murn J, et al. (2015) Control of a neuronal morphology program by an RNA-binding zinc finger protein, Unkempt. Genes Dev 29(5):501-12 |
| abstractText | Cellular morphology is an essential determinant of cellular function in all kingdoms of life, yet little is known about how cell shape is controlled. Here we describe a molecular program that controls the early morphology of neurons through a metazoan-specific zinc finger protein, Unkempt. Depletion of Unkempt in mouse embryos disrupts the shape of migrating neurons, while ectopic expression confers neuronal-like morphology to cells of different nonneuronal lineages. We found that Unkempt is a sequence-specific RNA-binding protein and identified its precise binding sites within coding regions of mRNAs linked to protein metabolism and trafficking. RNA binding is required for Unkempt-induced remodeling of cellular shape and is directly coupled to a reduced production of the encoded proteins. These findings link post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression with cellular shape and have general implications for the development and disease of multicellular organisms. |
