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Updated: Dec 10, 2025

A Reporter Assay to Analyze Intronic microRNA Maturation in Mammalian Cells
Published on: June 16, 2022
MAC5, an RNA-binding protein, protects pri-miRNAs from SERRATE-dependent exoribonuclease activities
Shengjun Li1, Mu Li1, Kan Liu1
1School of Biological Sciences and Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0666.
Abstract:
MAC5 is a component of the conserved MOS4-associated complex. It plays critical roles in development and immunity. Here we report that MAC5 is required for microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis. MAC5 interacts with Serrate (SE), which is a core component of the microprocessor that processes primary miRNA transcripts (pri-miRNAs) into miRNAs and binds the stem-loop region of pri-miRNAs. MAC5 is essential for both the efficient processing and the stability of pri-miRNAs. Interestingly, the reduction of pri-miRNA levels in mac5 is partially caused by XRN2/XRN3, the nuclear-localized 5'-to-3' exoribonucleases, and depends on SE. These results reveal that MAC5 plays a dual role in promoting pri-miRNA processing and stability through its interaction with SE and/or pri-miRNAs. This study also uncovers that pri-miRNAs need to be protected from nuclear RNA decay machinery, which is connected to the microprocessor.
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