Spliceosomal RNA infrastructure: The network of splicing components and their regulation by miRNAs

Abstract

The RNA infrastructure model highlights the major roles played by RNA- based networks in cellular biology. One of the principle concepts behind the RNA-infrastructure is that proteins shared between RNP machineries network their processes in a temporal (over the cell cycle) and spatial (across the cell, or intercellular) manner. In order to dig deeper into the RNA-infrastructure we need to examine the networking aspects of RNPs in a more detailed manner. The eukaryotic spliceosome is an excellent example of an RNA machine that contains RNA-Protein and RNA-RNA interactions, as well as temporal and spatial networking to other processes. This chapter will examine some different types of spliceosomal networks that involve RNPs and illustrate how current networking tools can be used to dissect the many faces of the RNA-infrastructure. © 2011 Landes Bioscience and Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.