English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Muscleblind-like proteins, Muscleblind (Mbl) in  Drosophila  and MBNL1-3 in vertebrates, are regulators of alternative splicing. Human MBNL1 is a key factor in the etiology of myotonic dystrophy (DM), a muscle wasting disease caused by the occurrence of toxic RNA molecules containing CUG/CCUG repeats. MBNL1 binds to these RNAs and is sequestered in nuclear foci preventing it from exerting its normal function, which ultimately leads to mis-spliced mRNAs, a major cause of the disease. Muscleblind-proteins bind to RNAs via N-terminal zinc fingers of the Cys 3 -His type. These zinc fingers are arranged in one (invertebrates) or two (vertebrates) tandem zinc finger (TZF) motifs with both fingers targeting GC steps in the RNA molecule. Here I show that  mbl  genes in  Drosophila  and in other insects also encode proteins with two TZF motifs, highly similar to vertebrate MBNL proteins. In  Drosophila  the different protein isoforms have overlapping but possibly divergent functions  in vivo , evident by their unequal capacities to rescue the splicing defects observed in  mbl  mutant embryos. In addition, using whole transcriptome analysis, I identified several new splicing targets for Mbl in  Drosophila  embryos. Two of these novel targets,  kkv  ( krotzkopf-verkehrt , coding for Chitin Synthase 1) and  cora  ( coracle , coding for the  Drosophila  homolog of Protein 4.1), are not muscle-specific but expressed mainly in epidermal cells, indicating a function for  mbl  not only in muscles and the nervous system.

Drosophila muscleblind Codes for Proteins with One and Two Tandem Zinc Finger Motifs