Controlling ribozyme activity by metal ions

The observed rates of ribozyme cleavage reactions are strongly dependent on the nature of the metal ion present. Metal ions can thereby exhibit a stronger inhibiting or accelerating effect compared to Mg 2+, which is usually considered the natural cofactor. Alkaline, alkaline earth, transition, d 10...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in chemical biology 2010-04, Vol.14 (2), p.269-275
Main Authors: Schnabl, Joachim, Sigel, Roland KO
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catalysis
Hepatitis Delta Virus - enzymology
Metals - chemistry
Metals - metabolism
Models, Molecular
RNA, Catalytic - chemistry
RNA, Catalytic - metabolism
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The observed rates of ribozyme cleavage reactions are strongly dependent on the nature of the metal ion present. Metal ions can thereby exhibit a stronger inhibiting or accelerating effect compared to Mg 2+, which is usually considered the natural cofactor. Alkaline, alkaline earth, transition, d 10, and other metal ions are applied either to gain a spectroscopic handle on the metal center, and/or to elucidate the catalytic mechanism. Here we shortly review some of the most recent publications on the influence of different metal ions on catalysis of the hammerhead, hepatitis delta virus, and group II intron ribozymes. Comparison of the observed cleavage rates of hammerhead ribozymes with the metal ion affinities of different ligands reveals that these rates correlate perfectly with the intrinsic phosphate affinities of the metal ions involved.
ISSN:1367-5931
1879-0402
DOI:10.1016/j.cbpa.2009.11.024