The DEAD-box protein Dbp6 is an ATPase and RNA annealase interacting with the peptidyl transferase center (PTC) of the ribosome.

Ribosomes are ribozymes, hence correct folding of the rRNAs during ribosome biogenesis is crucial to ensure catalytic activity. RNA helicases, which can modulate RNA-RNA and RNA/protein interactions, are proposed to participate in rRNA tridimensional folding. Here, we analyze the biochemical properties of Dbp6, a DEAD-box RNA helicase required for the conversion of the initial 90S pre-ribosomal particle into the first pre-60S particle. We demonstrate that in vitro, Dbp6 shows ATPase as well as annealing and clamping activities negatively regulated by ATP. Mutations in Dbp6 core motifs involved in ATP binding and ATP hydrolysis are lethal and impair Dbp6 ATPase activity but increase its RNA binding and RNA annealing activities. These data suggest that correct regulation of these activities is important for Dbp6 function in vivo. Using in vivo cross-linking (CRAC) experiments, we show that Dbp6 interacts with 25S rRNA sequences located in the 5' domain I and in the peptidyl transferase center (PTC), and also crosslinks to snoRNAs hybridizing to the immature PTC. We propose that the ATPase and RNA clamping/annealing activities of Dbp6 modulate interactions of snoRNAs with the immature PTC and/or contribute directly to the folding of this region.

Rbp95 binds to 25S rRNA helix H95 and cooperates with the Npa1 complex during early pre-60S particle maturation.

Eukaryotic ribosome synthesis involves more than 200 assembly factors, which promote ribosomal RNA (rRNA) processing, modification and folding, and assembly of ribosomal proteins. The formation and maturation of the earliest pre-60S particles requires structural remodeling by the Npa1 complex, but is otherwise still poorly understood. Here, we introduce Rbp95 (Ycr016w), a constituent of early pre-60S particles, as a novel ribosome assembly factor. We show that Rbp95 is both genetically and physically linked to most Npa1 complex members and to ribosomal protein Rpl3. We demonstrate that Rbp95 is an RNA-binding protein containing two independent RNA-interacting domains. In vivo, Rbp95 associates with helix H95 in the 3' region of the 25S rRNA, in close proximity to the binding sites of Npa1 and Rpl3. Additionally, Rbp95 interacts with several snoRNAs. The absence of Rbp95 results in alterations in the protein composition of early pre-60S particles. Moreover, combined mutation of Rbp95 and Npa1 complex members leads to a delay in the maturation of early pre-60S particles. We propose that Rbp95 acts together with the Npa1 complex during early pre-60S maturation, potentially by promoting pre-rRNA folding events within pre-60S particles.

Functionally impaired RPL8 variants associated with Diamond-Blackfan anemia and a Diamond-Blackfan anemia-like phenotype.

Diamond-Blackfan anemia is a rare genetic disease characterized by erythroblastopenia and a large spectrum of developmental anomalies. The vast majority of the cases genetically described are linked to heterozygous pathogenic variants in more than 20 ribosomal protein genes. Here we report an atypical clinical case of DBA associated with a missense variant in RPL8, which encodes RPL8/uL2, a protein of the 60S large ribosomal subunit. RPL8 has been previously implicated as a candidate disease gene in one patient with DBA bearing another type of missense variant; however, evidence for pathogenicity was limited to computational tools. Using functional studies in lymphoblastoid cells as well as yeast models, we show that the RPL8 variants detected in these two patients encode functionally deficient proteins that affect ribosome production and are therefore likely pathogenic. We propose to include RPL8 in the list of DBA-associated genes.

The final step of 40S ribosomal subunit maturation is controlled by a dual key lock.

Preventing premature interaction of pre-ribosomes with the translation apparatus is essential for translational accuracy. Hence, the final maturation step releasing functional 40S ribosomal subunits, namely processing of the 18S ribosomal RNA 3' end, is safeguarded by the protein DIM2, which both interacts with the endoribonuclease NOB1 and masks the rRNA cleavage site. To elucidate the control mechanism that unlocks NOB1 activity, we performed cryo-electron microscopy analysis of late human pre-40S particles purified using a catalytically inactive form of the ATPase RIO1. These structures, together with in vivo and in vitro functional analyses, support a model in which ATP-loaded RIO1 cooperates with ribosomal protein RPS26/eS26 to displace DIM2 from the 18S rRNA 3' end, thereby triggering final cleavage by NOB1; release of ADP then leads to RIO1 dissociation from the 40S subunit. This dual key lock mechanism requiring RIO1 and RPS26 guarantees the precise timing of pre-40S particle conversion into translation-competent ribosomal subunits.

Good Vibrations: Structural Remodeling of Maturing Yeast Pre-40S Ribosomal Particles Followed by Cryo-Electron Microscopy.

Assembly of eukaryotic ribosomal subunits is a very complex and sequential process that starts in the nucleolus and finishes in the cytoplasm with the formation of functional ribosomes. Over the past few years, characterization of the many molecular events underlying eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis has been drastically improved by the "resolution revolution" of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). However, if very early maturation events have been well characterized for both yeast ribosomal subunits, little is known regarding the final maturation steps occurring to the small (40S) ribosomal subunit. To try to bridge this gap, we have used proteomics together with cryo-EM and single particle analysis to characterize yeast pre-40S particles containing the ribosome biogenesis factor Tsr1. Our analyses lead us to refine the timing of the early pre-40S particle maturation steps. Furthermore, we suggest that after an early and structurally stable stage, the beak and platform domains of pre-40S particles enter a "vibrating" or "wriggling" stage, that might be involved in the final maturation of 18S rRNA as well as the fitting of late ribosomal proteins into their mature position.

Maturation of pre-40S particles in yeast and humans.

The synthesis of ribosomal subunits in eukaryotes requires the interplay of numerous maturation and assembly factors (AFs) that intervene in the insertion of ribosomal proteins within pre-ribosomal particles, the ribosomal subunit precursors, as well as in pre-ribosomal RNA (rRNA) processing and folding. Here, we review the intricate nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation steps of pre-40S particles, the precursors to the small ribosomal subunits, in both yeast and human cells, with particular emphasis on the timing and mechanisms of AF association with and dissociation from pre-40S particles and the roles of these AFs in the maturation process. We highlight the particularly complex pre-rRNA processing pathway in human cells, compared to yeast, to generate the mature 18S rRNA. We discuss the information gained from the recently published cryo-electron microscopy atomic models of yeast and human pre-40S particles, as well as the checkpoint/quality control systems that seem to operate to probe functional sites within yeast cytoplasmic pre-40S particles. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing > rRNA Processing Translation > Ribosome Biogenesis.

Pre-Ribosomal RNA Processing in Human Cells: From Mechanisms to Congenital Diseases.

Ribosomal RNAs, the most abundant cellular RNA species, have evolved as the structural scaffold and the catalytic center of protein synthesis in every living organism. In eukaryotes, they are produced from a long primary transcript through an intricate sequence of processing steps that include RNA cleavage and folding and nucleotide modification. The mechanisms underlying this process in human cells have long been investigated, but technological advances have accelerated their study in the past decade. In addition, the association of congenital diseases to defects in ribosome synthesis has highlighted the central place of ribosomal RNA maturation in cell physiology regulation and broadened the interest in these mechanisms. Here, we give an overview of the current knowledge of pre-ribosomal RNA processing in human cells in light of recent progress and discuss how dysfunction of this pathway may contribute to the physiopathology of congenital diseases.

The Npa1p complex chaperones the assembly of the earliest eukaryotic large ribosomal subunit precursor.

The early steps of the production of the large ribosomal subunit are probably the least understood stages of eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis. The first specific precursor to the yeast large ribosomal subunit, the first pre-60S particle, contains 30 assembly factors (AFs), including 8 RNA helicases. These helicases, presumed to drive conformational rearrangements, usually lack substrate specificity in vitro. The mechanisms by which they are targeted to their correct substrate within pre-ribosomal particles and their precise molecular roles remain largely unknown. We demonstrate that the Dbp6p helicase, essential for the normal accumulation of the first pre-60S pre-ribosomal particle in S. cerevisiae, associates with a complex of four AFs, namely Npa1p, Npa2p, Nop8p and Rsa3p, prior to their incorporation into the 90S pre-ribosomal particles. By tandem affinity purifications using yeast extracts depleted of one component of the complex, we show that Npa1p forms the backbone of the complex. We provide evidence that Npa1p and Npa2p directly bind Dbp6p and we demonstrate that Npa1p is essential for the insertion of the Dbp6p helicase within 90S pre-ribosomal particles. In addition, by an in vivo cross-linking analysis (CRAC), we map Npa1p rRNA binding sites on 25S rRNA adjacent to the root helices of the first and last secondary structure domains of 25S rRNA. This finding supports the notion that Npa1p and Dbp6p function in the formation and/or clustering of root helices of large subunit rRNAs which creates the core of the large ribosomal subunit RNA structure. Npa1p also crosslinks to snoRNAs involved in decoding center and peptidyl transferase center modifications and in the immediate vicinity of the binding sites of these snoRNAs on 25S rRNA. Our data suggest that the Dbp6p helicase and the Npa1p complex play key roles in the compaction of the central core of 25S rRNA and the control of snoRNA-pre-rRNA interactions.

[Ribosomes synthesis at the heart of cell proliferation]. / La synthèse des ribosomes, au cœur du contrôle de la prolifération cellulaire.

Ribosomes are central to gene expression. Their assembly is a complex and an energy consuming process. Many controls exist to make it possible a fine-tuning of ribosome production adapted to cell needs. In this review, we describe recent advances in the characterisation of the links occurring between ribosome synthesis and cell proliferation control. Defects in ribosome biogenesis directly impede cellular cycle and slow-down proliferation. Among the different factors involved, we could define the 5S particle, a ribosome sub-complex, as a key-regulator of p53 and other tumour suppressors such as pRB. This cross-talk between ribosome neogenesis defects and proliferation and cellular cycle also involves other cell cycle controls such as p14ARF, SRSF1 or PRAS40 pathways. These data place ribosome synthesis at the heart of cell proliferation and offer new therapeutic strategies against cancer.

Functional link between DEAH/RHA helicase Prp43 activation and ATP base binding.

The DEAH box helicase Prp43 is a bifunctional enzyme from the DEAH/RHA helicase family required both for the maturation of ribosomes and for lariat intron release during splicing. It interacts with G-patch domain containing proteins which activate the enzymatic activity of Prp43 in vitro by an unknown mechanism. In this work, we show that the activation by G-patch domains is linked to the unique nucleotide binding mode of this helicase family. The base of the ATP molecule is stacked between two residues, R159 of the RecA1 domain (R-motif) and F357 of the RecA2 domain (F-motif). Using Prp43 F357A mutants or pyrimidine nucleotides, we show that the lack of stacking of the nucleotide base to the F-motif decouples the NTPase and helicase activities of Prp43. In contrast the R159A mutant (R-motif) showed reduced ATPase and helicase activities. We show that the Prp43 R-motif mutant induces the same phenotype as the absence of the G-patch protein Gno1, strongly suggesting that the processing defects observed in the absence of Gno1 result from a failure to activate the Prp43 helicase. Overall we propose that the stacking between the R- and F-motifs and the nucleotide base is important for the activity and regulation of this helicase family.

Chaperoning 5S RNA assembly.

In eukaryotes, three of the four ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs)­the 5.8S, 18S, and 25S/28S rRNAs­are processed from a single pre-rRNA transcript and assembled into ribosomes. The fourth rRNA, the 5S rRNA, is transcribed by RNA polymerase III and is assembled into the 5S ribonucleoprotein particle (RNP), containing ribosomal proteins Rpl5/uL18 and Rpl11/uL5, prior to its incorporation into preribosomes. In mammals, the 5S RNP is also a central regulator of the homeostasis of the tumor suppressor p53. The nucleolar localization of the 5S RNP and its assembly into preribosomes are performed by a specialized complex composed of Rpf2 and Rrs1 in yeast or Bxdc1 and hRrs1 in humans. Here we report the structural and functional characterization of the Rpf2-Rrs1 complex alone, in complex with the 5S RNA, and within pre-60S ribosomes. We show that the Rpf2-Rrs1 complex contains a specialized 5S RNA E-loop-binding module, contacts the Rpl5 protein, and also contacts the ribosome assembly factor Rsa4 and the 25S RNA. We propose that the Rpf2-Rrs1 complex establishes a network of interactions that guide the incorporation of the 5S RNP in preribosomes in the initial conformation prior to its rotation to form the central protuberance found in the mature large ribosomal subunit.

Dynamics of the Spb4 interactome monitored by affinity purification.

RNA helicases constitute the largest class of NTPases involved in ribosome biogenesis, a fundamental process that has been best characterized in the eukaryotic model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In yeast, genetic and biochemical analyses indicate that these RNA helicases are energy-consuming modulators of local structures inside pre-ribosomal particles that actively promote the establishment or dissociation of snoRNA:pre-rRNA base pairings, the activity of certain pre-rRNA nucleases, and/or the acquisition of pre-rRNA folds required for the recruitment or release of ribosome assembly factors and the stable assembly of ribosomal proteins. Despite significant recent advances, the precise molecular functions of RNA helicases involved in ribosome biogenesis remain largely elusive. In recent years, the purification and compositional analysis of distinct pre-ribosomal particles via affinity purification methods has been established as one of the most useful techniques to explore the yeast ribosome biogenesis pathway. In this chapter, we describe the use of different affinity purification methods to study the physical environment of RNA helicases involved in ribosome biogenesis, using as an example the putative RNA helicase Spb4 required for 60S ribosomal subunit biogenesis.

Rio1 mediates ATP-dependent final maturation of 40S ribosomal subunits.

During the last step in 40S ribosome subunit biogenesis, the PIN-domain endonuclease Nob1 cleaves the 20S pre-rRNA at site D, to form the mature 18S rRNAs. Here we report that cleavage occurs in particles that have largely been stripped of previously characterized pre-40S components, but retain the endonuclease Nob1, its binding partner Pno1 (Dim2) and the atypical ATPase Rio1. Within the Rio1-associated pre-40S particles, in vitro pre-rRNA cleavage was strongly stimulated by ATP and required nucleotide binding by Rio1. In vivo binding sites for Rio1, Pno1 and Nob1 were mapped by UV cross-linking in actively growing cells. Nob1 and Pno1 bind overlapping regions within the internal transcribed spacer 1, and both bind directly over cleavage site D. Binding sites for Rio1 were within the core of the 18S rRNA, overlapping tRNA interaction sites and distinct from the related kinase Rio2. Site D cleavage occurs within pre-40S-60S complexes and Rio1-associated particles efficiently assemble into these complexes, whereas Pno1 appeared to be depleted relative to Nob1. We speculate that Rio1-mediated dissociation of Pno1 from cleavage site D is the trigger for final 18S rRNA maturation.

RNA mimicry by the fap7 adenylate kinase in ribosome biogenesis.

During biogenesis of the 40S and 60S ribosomal subunits, the pre-40S particles are exported to the cytoplasm prior to final cleavage of the 20S pre-rRNA to mature 18S rRNA. Amongst the factors involved in this maturation step, Fap7 is unusual, as it both interacts with ribosomal protein Rps14 and harbors adenylate kinase activity, a function not usually associated with ribonucleoprotein assembly. Human hFap7 also regulates Cajal body assembly and cell cycle progression via the p53-MDM2 pathway. This work presents the functional and structural characterization of the Fap7-Rps14 complex. We report that Fap7 association blocks the RNA binding surface of Rps14 and, conversely, Rps14 binding inhibits adenylate kinase activity of Fap7. In addition, the affinity of Fap7 for Rps14 is higher with bound ADP, whereas ATP hydrolysis dissociates the complex. These results suggest that Fap7 chaperones Rps14 assembly into pre-40S particles via RNA mimicry in an ATP-dependent manner. Incorporation of Rps14 by Fap7 leads to a structural rearrangement of the platform domain necessary for the pre-rRNA to acquire a cleavage competent conformation.

The telomerase inhibitor Gno1p/PINX1 activates the helicase Prp43p during ribosome biogenesis.

We provide evidence that a central player in ribosome synthesis, the ribonucleic acid helicase Prp43p, can be activated by yeast Gno1p and its human ortholog, the telomerase inhibitor PINX1. Gno1p and PINX1 expressed in yeast interact with Prp43p and the integrity of their G-patch domain is required for this interaction. Moreover, PINX1 interacts with human PRP43 (DHX15) in HeLa cells. PINX1 directly binds to yeast Prp43p and stimulates its adenosine triphosphatase activity, while alterations of the G patch abolish formation of the PINX1/Prp43p complex and the stimulation of Prp43p. In yeast, lack of Gno1p leads to a decrease in the levels of pre-40S and intermediate pre-60S pre-ribosomal particles, defects that can be corrected by PINX1 expression. We show that Gno1p associates with 90S and early pre-60S pre-ribosomal particles and is released from intermediate pre-60S particles. G-patch alterations in Gno1p or PINX1 that inhibit their interactions with Prp43p completely abolish their function in yeast ribosome biogenesis. Altogether, our results suggest that activation of Prp43p by Gno1p/PINX1 within early pre-ribosomal particles is crucial for their subsequent maturation.

Final pre-40S maturation depends on the functional integrity of the 60S subunit ribosomal protein L3.

Ribosomal protein L3 is an evolutionarily conserved protein that participates in the assembly of early pre-60S particles. We report that the rpl3[W255C] allele, which affects the affinity and function of translation elongation factors, impairs cytoplasmic maturation of 20S pre-rRNA. This was not seen for other mutations in or depletion of L3 or other 60S ribosomal proteins. Surprisingly, pre-40S particles containing 20S pre-rRNA form translation-competent 80S ribosomes, and translation inhibition partially suppresses 20S pre-rRNA accumulation. The GTP-dependent translation initiation factor Fun12 (yeast eIF5B) shows similar in vivo binding to ribosomal particles from wild-type and rpl3[W255C] cells. However, the GTPase activity of eIF5B failed to stimulate processing of 20S pre-rRNA when assayed with ribosomal particles purified from rpl3[W255C] cells. We conclude that L3 plays an important role in the function of eIF5B in stimulating 3' end processing of 18S rRNA in the context of 80S ribosomes that have not yet engaged in translation. These findings indicate that the correct conformation of the GTPase activation region is assessed in a quality control step during maturation of cytoplasmic pre-ribosomal particles.

Rrp5 binding at multiple sites coordinates pre-rRNA processing and assembly.

In vivo UV crosslinking identified numerous preribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) binding sites for the large, highly conserved ribosome synthesis factor Rrp5. Intramolecular complementation has shown that the C-terminal domain (CTD) of Rrp5 is required for pre-rRNA cleavage at sites A0-A2 on the pathway of 18S rRNA synthesis, whereas the N-terminal domain (NTD) is required for A3 cleavage on the pathway of 5.8S/25S rRNA synthesis. The CTD was crosslinked to sequences flanking A2 and to the snoRNAs U3, U14, snR30, and snR10, which are required for cleavage at A0-A2. The NTD was crosslinked to sequences flanking A3 and to the RNA component of ribonuclease MRP, which cleaves site A3. Rrp5 could also be directly crosslinked to several large structural proteins and nucleoside triphosphatases. A key role in coordinating preribosomal assembly and processing was confirmed by chromatin spreads. Following depletion of Rrp5, cotranscriptional cleavage was lost and preribosome compaction greatly reduced.

Both endonucleolytic and exonucleolytic cleavage mediate ITS1 removal during human ribosomal RNA processing.

Human ribosome production is up-regulated during tumorogenesis and is defective in many genetic diseases (ribosomopathies). We have undertaken a detailed analysis of human precursor ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) processing because surprisingly little is known about this important pathway. Processing in internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) is a key step that separates the rRNA components of the large and small ribosomal subunits. We report that this was initiated by endonuclease cleavage, which required large subunit biogenesis factors. This was followed by 3' to 5' exonucleolytic processing by RRP6 and the exosome, an enzyme complex not previously linked to ITS1 removal. In contrast, RNA interference-mediated knockdown of the endoribonuclease MRP did not result in a clear defect in ITS1 processing. Despite the apparently high evolutionary conservation of the pre-rRNA processing pathway and ribosome synthesis factors, each of these features of human ITS1 processing is distinct from those in budding yeast. These results also provide significant insight into the links between ribosomopathies and ribosome production in human cells.

Proofreading of pre-40S ribosome maturation by a translation initiation factor and 60S subunits.

In the final steps of yeast ribosome synthesis, immature translation-incompetent pre-40S particles that contain 20S pre-rRNA are converted to the mature translation-competent subunits containing the 18S rRNA. An assay for 20S pre-rRNA cleavage in purified pre-40S particles showed that cleavage by the PIN domain endonuclease Nob1 was strongly stimulated by the GTPase activity of Fun12, the yeast homolog of cytoplasmic translation initiation factor eIF5b. Cleavage of the 20S pre-rRNA was also inhibited in vivo and in vitro by blocking binding of Fun12 to the 25S rRNA through specific methylation of its binding site. Cleavage competent pre-40S particles stably associated with Fun12 and formed 80S complexes with 60S ribosomal subunits. We propose that recruitment of 60S subunits promotes GTP hydrolysis by Fun12, leading to structural rearrangements within the pre-40S particle that bring Nob1 and the pre-rRNA cleavage site together.

Dynamics of the putative RNA helicase Spb4 during ribosome assembly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Spb4 is a putative ATP-dependent RNA helicase that is required for proper processing of 27SB pre-rRNAs and therefore for 60S ribosomal subunit biogenesis. To define the timing of association of this protein with preribosomal particles, we have studied the composition of complexes that copurify with Spb4 tagged by tandem affinity purification (TAP-tagged Spb4). These complexes contain mainly the 27SB pre-rRNAs and about 50 ribosome biogenesis proteins, primarily components of early pre-60S ribosomal particles. To a lesser extent, some protein factors of 90S preribosomal particles and the 35S and 27SA pre-rRNAs also copurify with TAP-tagged Spb4. Moreover, we have obtained by site-directed mutagenesis an allele that results in the R360A substitution in the conserved motif VI of the Spb4 helicase domain. This allele causes a dominant-negative phenotype when overexpressed in the wild-type strain. Cells expressing Spb4(R360A) display an accumulation of 35S and 27SB pre-rRNAs and a net 40S ribosomal subunit defect. TAP-tagged Spb4(R360A) displays a greater steady-state association with 90S preribosomal particles than TAP-tagged wild-type Spb4. Together, our data indicate that Spb4 is a component of early nucle(ol)ar pre-60S ribosomal particles containing 27SB pre-rRNA. Apparently, Spb4 binds 90S preribosomal particles and dissociates from pre-60S ribosomal particles after processing of 27SB pre-rRNA.