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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Analysis of Spliceosomal snRNA Localization in Human Hela Cells Using Microinjection
Published on: August 6, 2019
Human U1 snRNA forms a new chromatin-associated snRNP with TAF15
Laure Jobert1, Natalia Pinzón, Elodie Van Herreweghe
1Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Department of Functional Genomics, CNRS UMR 7104, INSERM U 964, Université de Strasbourg, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, BP 10142, 67404 Illkirch, France.
Abstract:
The U1 small nuclear RNA (snRNA)--in the form of the U1 spliceosomal Sm small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP) that contains seven Sm and three U1-specific RNP proteins-has a crucial function in the recognition and removal of pre-messenger RNA introns. Here, we show that a fraction of human U1 snRNA specifically associates with the nuclear RNA-binding protein TBP-associated factor 15 (TAF15). We show that none of the known protein components of the spliceosomal U1-Sm snRNP interacts with the newly identified U1-TAF15 snRNP. In addition, the U1-TAF15 snRNP tightly associates with chromatin in an RNA-dependent manner and accumulates in nucleolar caps upon transcriptional inhibition. The Sm-binding motif of U1 snRNA is essential for the biogenesis of both U1-Sm and U1-TAF15 snRNPs, suggesting that the U1-TAF15 particle is produced by remodelling of the U1-Sm snRNP. A demonstration that human U1 snRNA forms at least two structurally distinct snRNPs supports the idea that the U1 snRNA has many nuclear functions.
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