Protein sorting signals: simple peptides with complex functions

Quality Control of Orphaned Proteins

The billions of proteins inside a eukaryotic cell are organized among dozens of sub-cellular compartments, within which they are further organized into protein complexes. The maintenance of both levels of organization is crucial for normal cellular function. Newly made proteins that fail to be segregated to the correct compartment or assembled into the appropriate complex are defined as orphans. In this review, we discuss the challenges faced by a cell of minimizing orphaned proteins, the quality control systems that recognize orphans, and the consequences of excess orphans for protein homeostasis and disease.

The two RNA ligases of the Trypanosoma brucei RNA editing complex: cloning the essential band IV gene and identifying the band V gene

Kinetoplastid RNA editing is a posttranscriptional insertion and deletion of U residues in mitochondrial transcripts that involves RNA ligase. A complex of seven different polypeptides purified from Trypanosoma brucei mitochondria that catalyzes accurate RNA editing contains RNA ligases of approximately 57 kDa (band IV) and approximately 50 kDa (band V). From a partial amino acid sequence, cDNA and genomic clones of band IV were isolated, making it the first cloned component of the minimal RNA editing complex. It is indeed an RNA ligase, for when expressed in Escherichia coli, the protein autoadenylylates and catalyzes RNA joining. Overexpression studies revealed that T. brucei can regulate of total band IV protein at the level of translation or protein stability, even upon massively increased mRNA levels. The protein's mitochondrial targeting was confirmed by its location, size when expressed in T. brucei and E. coli, and N-terminal sequence. Importantly, genetic knockout studies demonstrated that the gene for band IV is essential in procyclic trypanosomes. The band IV and band V RNA ligases of the RNA editing complex therefore serve different functions. We also identified the gene for band V RNA ligase, a protein much more homologous to band IV than to other known ligases.