PABPII, or polyadenine binding protein II, is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

involved in the assembly of the polyadenine tail added to newly synthesized pre-

messenger RNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the p ...

(mRNA) molecules during the process of

gene transcription Transcription is the process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA. The segments of DNA transcribed into RNA molecules that can encode proteins are said to produce messenger RNA (mRNA). Other segments of DNA are copied into RNA molecules calle ...

. It is a regulatory protein that controls the rate at which

polyadenine polymerase In enzymology, a polynucleotide adenylyltransferase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction :ATP + RNA-3'OH \rightleftharpoons pyrophosphate + RNApA-3'OH Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are ATP and RNA, whereas its two ...

(PAP) adds

adenine Adenine () ( symbol A or Ade) is a nucleobase (a purine derivative). It is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of DNA that are represented by the letters G–C–A–T. The three others are guanine, cytosine and thymine. Its derivati ...

nucleotide Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecules wi ...

s to the 3' end of the growing tail within the nucleus of the cell. In the absence of PABPII, PAP adds adenines slowly, typically about 12. PABPII then binds to the short polyadenine tail and induces an acceleration in the rate of addition by PAP until the tail has grown to about 200 adenines long. The mechanism by which PABPII signals the termination of the polymerization reaction once the tail has reached its required length is not clearly understood. PABPII is distinct from the related protein

PABPI Polyadenylate-binding protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''PABPC1'' gene. The protein PABP1 binds mRNA and facilitates a variety of functions such as transport into and out of the nucleus, degradation, translation, and stabili ...

in being localized to the

cell nucleus The cell nucleus (pl. nuclei; from Latin or , meaning ''kernel'' or ''seed'') is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, h ...

rather than the

cytoplasm In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. The ...

References

* Lodish H, Berk A, Matsudaira P, Kaiser CA, Krieger M, Scott MP, Zipursky SL, Darnell J. (2004). ''Molecular Cell Biology.'' WH Freeman: New York, NY. 5th ed. Gene expression {{protein-stub

See also

References