Biopolym. Cell. 1995; 11(1):20-29.
Properties of ribozyme from Tetrahymena thermophila
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, NAS of Ukraine
Kiev, Ukraine
Abstract
Ribozymes are RNA molecules that contain a catalytic core and promote cleavage and ligation substrat RNA. Ribozymes can attain levels of rate enhancement and specificity similar to those of protein enzymes. Some protein enzymes use cofactors including metal ions to facilitate chemical reactions. Ribozymes generally require divalent cations for their activity.
The discovery of catalytic RNA has created interest in using RNA enzymes, or «ribozymes», to target the degradation of specific RNA molecules in vivo. Targeted destruction of viral or cellular mRNA, to eliminate the formation of a protein that is deleterious in a disease state, has potential therapeutic utility. Targeting also has potential utility for identification of gene fanction, analogous to experiments using anlisense oligonucleotides. The first ribozyme identified was tile self-splising intron of the large subunit ribosomal RNA of the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena termophila. This RNA is a member of a phylogenetically diverse family of introns called group I, which now consists of more than 100 sequenced examples.
The purpose of this review is to integrate a great number data available now about Tetrahymena ribozyme.
The discovery of catalytic RNA has created interest in using RNA enzymes, or «ribozymes», to target the degradation of specific RNA molecules in vivo. Targeted destruction of viral or cellular mRNA, to eliminate the formation of a protein that is deleterious in a disease state, has potential therapeutic utility. Targeting also has potential utility for identification of gene fanction, analogous to experiments using anlisense oligonucleotides. The first ribozyme identified was tile self-splising intron of the large subunit ribosomal RNA of the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena termophila. This RNA is a member of a phylogenetically diverse family of introns called group I, which now consists of more than 100 sequenced examples.
The purpose of this review is to integrate a great number data available now about Tetrahymena ribozyme.
Full text: (PDF, in Russian)
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