| First Author | Ji X | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Cell | Volume | 153 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 855-68 |
| PubMed ID | 23663783 | Mgi Jnum | J:206891 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5553217 | Doi | 10.1016/j.cell.2013.04.028 |
| Citation | Ji X, et al. (2013) SR proteins collaborate with 7SK and promoter-associated nascent RNA to release paused polymerase. Cell 153(4):855-68 |
| abstractText | RNAP II is frequently paused near gene promoters in mammals, and its transition to productive elongation requires active recruitment of P-TEFb, a cyclin-dependent kinase for RNAP II and other key transcription elongation factors. A fraction of P-TEFb is sequestered in an inhibitory complex containing the 7SK noncoding RNA, but it has been unclear how P-TEFb is switched from the 7SK complex to RNAP II during transcription activation. We report that SRSF2 (also known as SC35, an SR-splicing factor) is part of the 7SK complex assembled at gene promoters and plays a direct role in transcription pause release. We demonstrate RNA-dependent, coordinated release of SRSF2 and P-TEFb from the 7SK complex and transcription activation via SRSF2 binding to promoter-associated nascent RNA. These findings reveal an unanticipated SR protein function, a role for promoter-proximal nascent RNA in gene activation, and an analogous mechanism to HIV Tat/TAR for activating cellular genes. |
