Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Evaluation of Exon Inclusion Induced by Splice Switching Antisense Oligonucleotides in SMA Patient Fibroblasts
Published on: May 11, 2018
Smicl is a novel Smad interacting protein and cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor associated protein
Clara Collart1, Jacques E Remacle, Silvia Barabino
1Department of Developmental Biology, Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), University of Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
Ligand-bound receptors of the Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-beta) family promote the formation of complexes between Smad proteins that subsequently accumulate in the nucleus and interact there with other transcriptional regulators, leading to modulation of target gene expression. We identified a novel nuclear protein, Smicl, which binds to Smad proteins. Smicl and Smads cooperate and enhance TGF-beta mediated activation of a Smad-responsive reporter gene. A domain with five CCCH-type zinc fingers in Smicl is structurally and functionally, at least in vitro, similar to a domain in CPSF-30, the 30 kDa subunit of Cleavage and Polyadenylation Specificity Factor (CPSF). Like CPSF-30, Smicl can associate with some other CPSF subunits characterized previously. Its effect on the induction of a reporter gene for TGF-beta requires the cleavage/polyadenylation signal downstream of the coding sequence of that gene. Thus, Smicl is a novel protein that displays CPSF-30-like activities, interacts in the nucleus with activated Smads, and potentiates in TGF-beta stimulated cells Smad-dependent transcriptional responses, possibly in conjunction with the activity of CPSF complexes.
Related Concept Videos
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Assembly of Signaling Complexes
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway
RNA Interference
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
TGF - β Signaling Pathway
MicroRNAs

