Direct and specific chemical control of eukaryotic translation with a synthetic RNA-protein interaction

作者：Goldfless Stephen J; Belmont Brian J; de Paz Alexandra M; Liu Jessica F; Niles Jacquin C^*

来源：Nucleic Acids Research, 2012, 40(9): e64.

DOI：10.1093/nar/gks028

Sequence-specific RNA-protein interactions, though commonly used in biological systems to regulate translation, are challenging to selectively modulate. Here, we demonstrate the use of a chemically-inducible RNA-protein interaction to regulate eukaryotic translation. By genetically encoding Tet Repressor protein (TetR)-binding RNA elements into the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of an mRNA, translation of a downstream coding sequence is directly controlled by TetR and tetracycline analogs. In endogenous and synthetic 5'-UTR contexts, this system efficiently regulates the expression of multiple target genes, and is sufficiently stringent to distinguish functional from non-functional RNA-TetR interactions. Using a reverse TetR variant, we illustrate the potential for expanding the regulatory properties of the system through protein engineering strategies.

• 出版日期2012-5