Structural basis of U12-type intron engagement by the fully assembled human minor spliceosome

Science. 2024 Mar 15;383(6688):1245-1252. doi: 10.1126/science.adn7272. Epub 2024 Mar 14.

Abstract

The minor spliceosome, which is responsible for the splicing of U12-type introns, comprises five small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), of which only one is shared with the major spliceosome. In this work, we report the 3.3-angstrom cryo-electron microscopy structure of the fully assembled human minor spliceosome pre-B complex. The atomic model includes U11 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP), U12 snRNP, and U4atac/U6atac.U5 tri-snRNP. U11 snRNA is recognized by five U11-specific proteins (20K, 25K, 35K, 48K, and 59K) and the heptameric Sm ring. The 3' half of the 5'-splice site forms a duplex with U11 snRNA; the 5' half is recognized by U11-35K, U11-48K, and U11 snRNA. Two proteins, CENATAC and DIM2/TXNL4B, specifically associate with the minor tri-snRNP. A structural analysis uncovered how two conformationally similar tri-snRNPs are differentiated by the minor and major prespliceosomes for assembly.

MeSH terms

  • Cryoelectron Microscopy
  • Humans
  • Introns*
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation
  • RNA Splice Sites
  • RNA Splicing
  • RNA, Small Nuclear* / chemistry
  • Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear / chemistry
  • Spliceosomes* / chemistry

Substances

  • Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear
  • RNA Splice Sites
  • RNA, Small Nuclear
  • U12 small nuclear RNA