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First published online March 22, 2006
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/jcs.02852

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A role for the ELAV RNA-binding proteins in neural stem cells: stabilization of Msi1 mRNA

¹ Department of Neuroscience, `Dino Ferrari' Centre, University of Milan-IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Via Zucchi 18, 20095 Cusano Milanino, Italy
² Department of Experimental and Applied Pharmacology, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 14, 27100 Pavia, Italy
³ Laboratory of Metabolomics and Systems Biology, Magnetic Resonance Center and FiorGen Foundation, University of Florence, Via Sacconi 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: antonia.ratti{at}unimi.it)

Accepted 21 December 2005

Post-transcriptional regulation exerted by neural-specific RNA-binding proteins plays a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of the nervous system. Neural ELAV proteins are key inducers of neuronal differentiation through the stabilization and/or translational enhancement of target transcripts bearing the AU-rich elements (AREs), whereas Musashi-1 maintains the stem cell proliferation state by acting as a translational repressor. Since the gene encoding Musashi-1 (Msi1) contains a conserved ARE in its 3' untranslated region, we focused on the possibility of a mechanistic relationship between ELAV proteins and Musashi-1 in cell fate commitment. Colocalization of neural ELAV proteins with Musashi-1 clearly shows that ELAV proteins are expressed at early stages of neural commitment, whereas interaction studies demonstrate that neural ELAV proteins exert an ARE-dependent binding activity on the Msi1 mRNA. This binding activity has functional effects, since the ELAV protein family member HuD is able to stabilize the Msi1 ARE-containing mRNA in a sequence-dependent way in a deadenylation/degradation assay. Furthermore activation of the neural ELAV proteins by phorbol esters in human SH-SY5Y cells is associated with an increase of Musashi-1 protein content in the cytoskeleton. We propose that ELAV RNA-binding proteins exert an important post-transcriptional control on Musashi-1 expression in the transition from proliferation to neural differentiation of stem/progenitor cells.

Key words: ELAV, Musashi-1, Neurogenesis, RNA-binding protein, Stem cell

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