Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Studying TGF-β Signaling and TGF-β-induced Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer and Normal Cells
Published on: October 27, 2020
Combinatorial role of two G-quadruplexes in 5' UTR of transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2)
Prachi Agarwala1, Satyaprakash Pandey1, Mary Krishna Ekka1
1Proteomics and Structural Biology Unit, CSIR, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Mall Road, Delhi 110007, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Anusandhan Bhawan, 2 Rafi Marg, New Delhi 110001, India.
Abstract:
Albeit most studies demonstrate the inhibitory role of G-quadruplex in the 5' Untranslated Region (5' UTR), our previous report depicted its completely contrasting activating role in the 5' UTR of transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) mRNA. Therefore, we screened the 5' UTR of TGFβ2 manually and identified a second putative G-quadruplex sequence. Our in vitro experiments encompassing CD and UV spectroscopy confirmed the ability of this sequence to form a G-quadruplex and in cellulo studies further indicated its activating role in modulation of TGFβ2 gene expression. Our study suggests that these two 5' UTR G-quadruplexes most probably operate additively to substantially increase gene expression of TGFβ2. Neither of the two G-quadruplex alone is sufficient enough to drastically augment protein production. Both G-quadruplexes are essential for increasing protein output. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first report showcasing the combinatorial role of two G-quadruplexes in the 5' UTR of an mRNA.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators
Combinatorial Gene Control
The expression of more than 30,000 genes is controlled by approximately 2000-3000 transcription factors. This is possible because a single transcription factor can recognize more than one regulatory sequence. The specificity in gene...
General Transcription Factors
Small GTPases - Ras and Rho
Three regulatory proteins control their activity:
TGF - β Signaling Pathway
Activation and Inactivation of G Proteins

