Embryonic lethal abnormal vision-like HuR-dependent mRNA stability regulates post-transcriptional expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1

Abstract

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 plays a critical role in regulating entry into and exit from the cell cycle. Post-transcriptional regulation of p27Kip1 expression is of significant interest. The embryonic lethal abnormal vision (ELAV)-like RNA-binding protein HuR is thought be important for the translation of p27Kip1, however, different reports attributed diametrically opposite roles to HuR. We report here an alternative mechanism wherein HuR regulates stability of the p27Kip1 mRNA. Specifically, human and mouse p27Kip1 mRNAs interact with HuR protein through multiple U-rich elements in both 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTR). These interactions, which occur in vitro and in vivo, stabilize p27Kip1 mRNA and play a critical role in its accumulation. Deleting HuR binding sites or knocking down HuR expression destabilizes p27Kip1 mRNA and reduces its accumulation. We also identified a CT repeat in the 5′ UTR of full-length p27Kip1 mRNA isoforms that interact with a ∼41-kDa protein and represses p27 Kip1 expression. This CT-rich element and diffuse elements in the 3′ UTR regulate posttranscriptional expression of p27Kip1 at the level of translation. This is the first demonstration that HuR-dependent mRNA stability and HuR-independent mRNA translation plays a critical role in the regulation of post-transcriptional p27Kip1 expression. © 2010 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.