GENERATION OF A TROPOELASTIN MESSENGER-RNA VARIANT BY ALTERNATIVE POLYADENYLATION SITE SELECTION IN SUN-DAMAGED HUMAN SKIN AND ULTRAVIOLET B-IRRADIATED FIBROBLASTS
E. Schwartz et al., GENERATION OF A TROPOELASTIN MESSENGER-RNA VARIANT BY ALTERNATIVE POLYADENYLATION SITE SELECTION IN SUN-DAMAGED HUMAN SKIN AND ULTRAVIOLET B-IRRADIATED FIBROBLASTS, Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 246(1), 1998, pp. 217-221
The goal of this research was to delineate the post-transcriptional me
chanisms responsible for the increased elastin synthesis characteristi
c of sundamaged skin. In this study, a unique molecular variant of the
tropoelastin mRNA transcript was identified in human sundamaged skin
that was derived from the usage of an alternate polyadenylation site.
Nonsolar exposed human skin expressed one tropoelastin mRNA species wh
ereas sundamaged human skin expressed the primary tropoelastin mRNA an
d a larger, alternate tropoelastin mRNA formed from the utilization of
a second polyadenylation site. Cultured human skin fibroblasts expres
sed both tropoelastin transcripts and in vitro UV treatment increased
the amount of the unique tropoelastin mRNA. Hairless mouse skin (norma
l and UV treated) expressed the primary tropoelastin transcript althou
gh UV irradiation increased the length of its poly (A) tail two-fold.
Therefore, UV radiation may stimulate elastin production by affecting
polyadenylation site selection and the poly (A) tail length of tropoel
astin mRNA. (C) 1998 Academic Press.