Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 13, 2026

Measuring the Kinetics of mRNA Transcription in Single Living Cells
11:22

Measuring the Kinetics of mRNA Transcription in Single Living Cells

Published on: August 25, 2011

Requirements for c-fos mRNA down regulation in growth stimulated murine cells

A Bonnieu1, J Rech, P Jeanteur

  • 1UA CNRS 1191, Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire, Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier, France.

Oncogene
|July 1, 1989
PubMed

Insights

The fos proto-oncogene

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Gene Regulation
  • Oncogenes

Background:

  • The fos proto-oncogene is rapidly and transiently expressed upon growth stimulation.
  • Gene expression is regulated by both transcriptional repression and mRNA degradation.
  • Understanding mRNA instability mechanisms is crucial for gene regulation studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify sequences and structures responsible for c-fos mRNA instability.
  • To analyze the role of the 3' untranslated region in mRNA degradation.
  • To investigate the determinants of rapid mRNA breakdown.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of fos/beta-globin constructs in mouse Ltk- cells.
  • Measurement of transcriptional activity and RNA half-lives.
  • Investigation of decay kinetics and poly(A) tail length.

Main Results:

  • A 100-base region from the c-fos 3' untranslated region confers instability to beta-globin RNA.
  • The complete untranslated region leads to more rapid mRNA degradation.
  • mRNA breakdown requires more than two AUUUA motifs and involves poly(A) shortening.
  • c-fos destabilizing sequences function even within the coding region.

Conclusions:

  • The 3' untranslated region of c-fos contains critical instability elements.
  • mRNA degradation is a complex process involving multiple determinants.
  • Destabilizing sequences can influence gene expression by affecting mRNA stability.

More Related Videos

A Murine Cell Line Based Model of Chronic CDK9 Inhibition to Study Widespread Non-Genetic Transcriptional Elongation Defects (TEdeff) in Cancers10:49

A Murine Cell Line Based Model of Chronic CDK9 Inhibition to Study Widespread Non-Genetic Transcriptional Elongation Defects (TEdeff) in Cancers

Published on: September 26, 2019

A Reporter Assay to Analyze Intronic microRNA Maturation in Mammalian Cells06:48

A Reporter Assay to Analyze Intronic microRNA Maturation in Mammalian Cells

Published on: June 16, 2022

Related Concept Videos

Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps02:24

Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps

Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
Master Transcription Regulators02:23

Master Transcription Regulators

Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a  complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
Regulated mRNA Transport02:22

Regulated mRNA Transport

In eukaryotes, transcription and translation are compartmentalized; an mRNA is first synthesized in the nucleus and then selectively transported to the cytoplasm for protein synthesis. Before transport, a pre-mRNA undergoes several steps of post-transcriptional modifications including splicing, 5' capping, and the addition of a poly-adenine tail. Various proteins bind to the pre-mRNA during these modifications. The mRNA transport takes place with the help of multiple proteins playing specific...
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps01:23

Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

The gene expression in cells is regulated at different stages: (i) transcription, (ii) RNA processing, (iii) RNA localization, and (iv) translation. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by regulatory proteins such as transcription factors, activators, or repressors—these control gene expression by initiating or inhibiting the transcription of genes. Once a precursor or pre-mRNA is produced, it undergoes post-transcriptional modification, including 5' capping, splicing, and the addition of a...