Dose-dependent inhibition of ribonuclease P activity by anthralin

The effect of five different anthralin concentrations on tRNA biogenesis wa s investigated employing the ribonuclease P (RNase P) of the slime mold Dic tyostelium discoideum as an in vitro cell-free experimental system. RNase P is an ubiquitous and essential enzyme that endonucleolytically cleaves all tRNA precursors to produce the mature 5' end. Anthralin revealed a dose-de pendent inhibition of RNase P activity indicating that this compound may ha ve a direct effect on tRNA biogenesis. Taking into account that anthralin h as no structural similarities to the substrate (pre-tRNA) of RNase P, it se ems reasonable to suggest that this compound may bind to allosteric inhibit ion sites of the enzyme. Copyright (C) 2000 S.Karger AG. Basel.