Sequence-specific binding of a hormonally regulated mRNA binding protein to cytidine-rich sequences in the lutropin receptor open reading frame.

In previous studies, a lutropin receptor mRNA binding protein implicated in the hormonal regulation of lutropin receptor mRNA stability was identified. This protein, termed LRBP-1, was shown by RNA gel electrophoretic mobility shift assay to specifically interact with lutropin receptor RNA sequences. The present studies have examined the specificity of lutropin receptor mRNA recognition by LRBP-1 and mapped the contact site by RNA footprinting and by site-directed mutagenesis. LRBP-1 was partially purified by cation-exchange chromatography, and the mRNA binding properties of the partially purified LRBP-1 were examined by RNA gel electrophoretic mobility shift assay and hydroxyl-radical RNA footprinting. These data showed that the LRBP-1 binding site is located between nucleotides 203 and 220 of the receptor open reading frame, and consists of the bipartite polypyrimidine sequence 5'-UCUC-X(7)-UCUCCCU-3'. Competition RNA gel electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that homoribopolymers of poly(rC) were effective RNA binding competitors, while poly(rA), poly(rG), and poly(rU) showed no effect. Mutagenesis of the cytidine residues contained within the LRBP-1 binding site demonstrated that all the cytidines in the bipartite sequence contribute to LRBP-1 binding specificity. Additionally, RNA gel electrophoretic mobility supershift analysis showed that LRBP-1 was not recognized by antibodies against two well-characterized poly(rC) RNA binding proteins, alphaCP-1 and alphaCP-2, implicated in the regulation of RNA stability of alpha-globin and tyrosine hydroxylase mRNAs. In summary, we show that partially purified LRBP-1 binds to a polypyrimidine sequence within nucleotides 203 and 220 of lutropin receptor mRNA with a high degree of specificity which is indicative of its role in posttranscriptional control of lutropin receptor expression.