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Comment
. 2014 Sep 17;33(18):1981-3.
doi: 10.15252/embj.201489634. Epub 2014 Sep 12.

tRNAs: new tricks from old dogs

Georg Stoecklin  1 , Sven Diederichs  2
Affiliations
Comment

tRNAs: new tricks from old dogs

Georg Stoecklin et al. EMBO J. .

Abstract

tRNA biology has lately seen a revival with the discovery of tRNA cleavage products as mediators of stress responses. In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Blanco et al now report that tRNA methylation, by protecting from cleavage, is relevant for normal brain development. The versatility of tRNA is further emphasized by a recent study in Cell that uncovered differential expression of tRNAs as a means to accustom codon usage bias to the needs in proliferating versus differentiating cells.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Methylation and cleavage of tRNA
The RNA cytosine-5 methyltransferases Dnmt2 and NSun2 methylate tRNAs at different positions and thereby protect tRNAs from cleavage. In the absence of methylation and in response to stress signals, tRNAs are cleaved in the anticodon loop by the endoribonuclease angiogenin (ANG).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Aberrant methylation of tRNAs links cellular stress to neuro-developmental disorders.
    Blanco S, Dietmann S, Flores JV, Hussain S, Kutter C, Humphreys P, Lukk M, Lombard P, Treps L, Popis M, Kellner S, Hölter SM, Garrett L, Wurst W, Becker L, Klopstock T, Fuchs H, Gailus-Durner V, Hrabĕ de Angelis M, Káradóttir RT, Helm M, Ule J, Gleeson JG, Odom DT, Frye M. Blanco S, et al. EMBO J. 2014 Sep 17;33(18):2020-39. doi: 10.15252/embj.201489282. Epub 2014 Jul 25. EMBO J. 2014. PMID: 25063673 Free PMC article.
  • A dual program for translation regulation in cellular proliferation and differentiation.
    Gingold H, Tehler D, Christoffersen NR, Nielsen MM, Asmar F, Kooistra SM, Christophersen NS, Christensen LL, Borre M, Sørensen KD, Andersen LD, Andersen CL, Hulleman E, Wurdinger T, Ralfkiær E, Helin K, Grønbæk K, Ørntoft T, Waszak SM, Dahan O, Pedersen JS, Lund AH, Pilpel Y. Gingold H, et al. Cell. 2014 Sep 11;158(6):1281-1292. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.08.011. Cell. 2014. PMID: 25215487

References

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