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Showing TRNAU1APSECP43 is a alias.

TRNAU1AP

tRNA selenocysteine 1-associated protein 1 · UniProt Q9NX07

Length
287 aa
Mass
32.5 kDa
Annotated
2026-06-10
18 papers in source corpus 9 papers cited in narrative 9 extracted findings
Cross-family judge vs UniProt: Affinage preferred faithfulness: 7/7 claims corpus-supported (100%)

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

TRNAU1AP (SECp43) is an RNA-binding protein that orchestrates selenocysteine biosynthesis and incorporation by nucleating a supramolecular complex around selenocysteine tRNA (tRNA([Ser]Sec)) (PMID:10606267, PMID:16230358). It binds tRNA([Ser]Sec) directly and assembles with SLA/LP, EFsec/EEFSEC, SBP2, SPS1, and the selenocysteine synthase SEPSECS, promoting pairwise interactions among these factors and redistributing them to a predominantly nuclear localization (PMID:16230358, PMID:16508009, PMID:28414460). Functionally, SECp43 is required for 2'-O-methylation (Um34) of the wobble position of Sec tRNA, and its loss reduces this modification and downstream selenoprotein expression including glutathione peroxidase 1 (PMID:16230358); conversely, overexpression increases selenocysteine incorporation and selenoprotein mRNA levels (PMID:16508009). Structurally it is a globular two-RNA-binding-domain protein that homo-oligomerizes via residues K166 and P167 (PMID:28414460). In glioblastoma stem cells TRNAU1AP forms a phase-separated complex with EEFSEC that enhances EEFSEC binding to sec-tRNA(sec) and boosts selenoprotein translation, supporting proliferation, self-renewal, and tumorigenesis downstream of m6A-dependent stabilization by IGF2BP3 (PMID:42080969). Beyond selenoprotein metabolism, TRNAU1AP directly modulates hundreds of alternative splicing events (PMID:38168984), and its depletion impairs proliferation and migration with attenuated PI3K/Akt signaling across multiple cell types (PMID:28101579, PMID:29758194). In vivo, constitutive deletion of exons 7+8 is embryonic lethal, yet hepatocyte-specific deletion leaves selenoprotein biosynthesis intact while neuron-specific deletion impairs motor performance, revealing a selenoprotein-independent function in neurons (PMID:26043259).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 9 steps
  1. 1999 Medium

    Established that SECp43 is a tRNA(Sec)-specific RNA-binding protein and a candidate component of the selenocysteine insertion machinery, answering what molecule this previously uncharacterized protein engages.

    Evidence Antibody affinity purification of tRNA(Sec) and recombinant protein pulldown from HeLa extracts

    PMID:10606267

    Open questions at the time
    • Identity of the 48-kDa interacting protein not defined
    • No functional consequence of the tRNA association established
    • Single lab, in vitro association only
  2. 2005 High

    Showed SECp43 is functionally required for Um34 methylation of Sec tRNA and for selenoprotein output, and links to SLA, defining its role in tRNA maturation and intracellular trafficking.

    Evidence RNAi knockdown in NIH3T3/TCMK-1 with tRNA methylation assay, Co-IP, and subcellular fractionation

    PMID:16230358

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct catalytic role in methylation versus scaffolding not separated
    • Mechanism of SLA nuclear shuttling unresolved
  3. 2006 High

    Placed SECp43 as an organizer that promotes assembly among EFsec, SBP2, SLA/LP and SPS1 and enhances selenocysteine incorporation, building the multi-component complex model.

    Evidence In vitro binding, in vivo Co-IPs, subcellular localization, and selenocysteine incorporation/mRNA assays

    PMID:16508009

    Open questions at the time
    • Stoichiometry and architecture of the assembled complex unknown
    • NMD-circumvention mechanism inferred, not directly demonstrated
  4. 2017 High

    Defined the protein's oligomeric and domain architecture and added SEPSECS as a partner, providing a structural basis for its scaffolding function.

    Evidence BRET, Co-IP, SAXS, and phage-display mutagenesis identifying dimerization residues K166/P167

    PMID:28414460

    Open questions at the time
    • No high-resolution crystal/cryo-EM structure
    • Functional consequence of dimerization for selenoprotein synthesis not tested
  5. 2015 High

    Revealed tissue-specific and selenoprotein-independent functions in vivo, dissociating SECp43 requirement in hepatocytes from an essential role in neurons and embryonic development.

    Evidence Conditional exon 7+8 knockout mice with 75Se labeling, tRNA methylation, enzyme assays, and motor behavioral tests

    PMID:26043259

    Open questions at the time
    • Molecular basis of the neuronal motor phenotype unidentified
    • Domains beyond exons 7+8 may carry the essential function
    • Mechanism of Secp43 mRNA auto-regulation unknown
  6. 2016 Medium

    Connected TRNAU1AP to cell survival and proliferation, implicating PI3K/Akt signaling in cardiomyocyte-like cells.

    Evidence siRNA knockdown and overexpression in H9c2 with proliferation, apoptosis, and phospho-Western readouts

    PMID:28101579

    Open questions at the time
    • PI3K/Akt placement based on phospho-Western only
    • Whether proliferation effect is downstream of selenoprotein loss not resolved
  7. 2018 Medium

    Generalized the proliferation/migration and PI3K/Akt link across additional cell lines, reinforcing a role in cell growth tied to selenoprotein expression.

    Evidence Lentiviral shRNA knockdown in NIH3T3/JEG-3/Bewo with proliferation, migration, and p-Akt assays

    PMID:29758194

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct mechanism linking TRNAU1AP to Akt phosphorylation undefined
    • Pathway placement by single method
  8. 2024 Medium

    Uncovered a function beyond selenoprotein incorporation by showing TRNAU1AP directly regulates alternative splicing genome-wide.

    Evidence Tethered-function splicing reporters, eCLIP, RNA-seq, and AP-MS in a 718-RBP systematic screen

    PMID:38168984

    Open questions at the time
    • Specific RNA targets and splicing regulatory mechanism not detailed
    • Relationship to selenocysteine function unexplored
  9. 2026 High

    Demonstrated that TRNAU1AP drives selenoprotein translation via phase separation with EEFSEC and is exploited by glioblastoma stem cells, linking the selenoprotein function to tumor biology and m6A regulation.

    Evidence RIP, phase-separation assays, polysome profiling, proteomics, spatial transcriptomics, and gain/loss-of-function in glioblastoma stem cells

    PMID:42080969

    Open questions at the time
    • Determinants and reversibility of phase separation not mapped
    • Generality beyond glioblastoma stem cells untested

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • How the dual roles in selenocysteine incorporation and alternative splicing are integrated, and the molecular identity of its selenoprotein-independent neuronal function, remain open.
  • No unified model connecting tRNA-complex scaffolding to splicing regulation
  • Neuronal essential substrate/pathway unidentified
  • No high-resolution structure of assembled complexes

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification · explore literature graph →
Molecular activity
GO:0003723 RNA binding 3 GO:0060090 molecular adaptor activity 3 GO:0045182 translation regulator activity 2
Localization
GO:0005634 nucleus 2
Pathway
R-HSA-392499 Metabolism of proteins 3 R-HSA-8953854 Metabolism of RNA 1
Complex memberships
selenocysteine insertion/Sec tRNA biosynthesis complex

Evidence

Reading pass · 9 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
1999 SECp43 (TRNAU1AP) was identified as a novel RNA-binding protein that associates specifically with mammalian selenocysteine tRNA (tRNA(Sec)), demonstrated by affinity purification of tRNA(Sec) from HeLa cell extracts using an anti-SECp43 antibody column. Recombinant SECp43 also pulled down a 48-kDa interacting protein, suggesting it participates in a multi-component selenocysteine insertion complex. Antibody affinity purification, recombinant protein pulldown, Northern blot, direct RNA sequencing RNA Medium 10606267
2005 Knockdown of SECp43 in NIH3T3 and TCMK-1 cells by RNAi reduced methylation at the 2'-hydroxylribosyl moiety at the wobble position (Um34) of Sec tRNA([Ser]Sec), consequently reducing glutathione peroxidase 1 expression. SECp43 forms a complex with Sec tRNA([Ser]Sec) and SLA (soluble liver antigen), and loss of one protein affects the other's binding to the tRNA. SECp43 is located primarily in the nucleus; co-transfection with SLA caused nuclear translocation of SLA, suggesting SECp43 promotes shuttling of SLA and Sec tRNA between compartments. RNAi knockdown, methylation analysis of tRNA, co-immunoprecipitation, subcellular fractionation/localization, Western blot The Journal of biological chemistry High 16230358
2006 SECp43 interacts with the selenocysteyl-tRNA([Ser]Sec)-EFsec complex in vitro. SECp43 co-expression promotes interaction between EFsec and SBP2 in vivo. SECp43 cotransfection with SLA/LP and SPS1 increases SLA/LP–SPS1 interaction and redistributes all three proteins to a predominantly nuclear localization. SECp43 overexpression increases selenocysteine incorporation and selenoprotein mRNA levels (the latter presumably via circumvention of nonsense-mediated decay). In vitro binding assay, co-immunoprecipitation, subcellular localization (transfection + imaging), selenocysteine incorporation assay, mRNA level measurement Molecular and cellular biology High 16508009
2017 SECp43 forms oligomers in eukaryotic cells, as demonstrated by BRET assay. Small-angle X-ray scattering of recombinant SECp43 revealed it is a globular protein comprising two RNA-binding domains. Phage display identified two residues (K166 and P167) required for SECp43 dimerization. SECp43 also interacts with selenocysteine synthase (SEPSECS) in mammalian cells (confirmed by BRET and co-immunoprecipitation). Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET), co-immunoprecipitation, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), phage display mutagenesis Biochemistry High 28414460
2015 Constitutive deletion of SECp43 exons 7+8 in mice was embryonic lethal. Hepatocyte-specific deletion of exons 7+8 showed no significant changes in selenoprotein levels, tRNA([Ser]Sec) Um34 methylation, or selenoprotein mRNA abundance in liver, indicating the deleted domains are not essential for selenoprotein biosynthesis in hepatocytes. However, neuron-specific deletion of exons 7+8 impaired motor performance without affecting cerebral selenoprotein expression or cerebellar development, revealing a non-selenoprotein function in neurons. Truncated Secp43 mRNA increased in mutant livers, suggesting auto-regulation of Secp43 mRNA abundance. Conditional knockout mouse models, 75Se labeling, Western blot, enzymatic activity assays, tRNA methylation analysis, behavioral motor tests PloS one High 26043259
2016 Knockdown of Trnau1ap in H9c2 cardiomyocyte-like cells reduced expression of glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, and selenoprotein K; inhibited cell proliferation; and induced apoptosis with increased Bax and decreased Bcl-2 expression. Overexpression promoted cell growth. PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was activated in Trnau1ap-underexpressing cells. siRNA knockdown, overexpression plasmid transfection, MTT/PCNA/Annexin V/caspase-3 assays, Western blot Molecular medicine reports Medium 28101579
2018 Lentiviral shRNA knockdown of Trnau1ap in NIH3T3, JEG-3, and Bewo cells reduced selenoprotein expression, decreased cell proliferation and migration, and attenuated Akt phosphorylation in the PI3K/Akt pathway. Lentiviral shRNA knockdown, CCK-8 proliferation assay, wound scratch migration assay, Western blot for p-Akt Biochemical and biophysical research communications Medium 29758194
2024 Tethered function splicing reporter assays and enhanced cross-linking immunoprecipitation (eCLIP) combined with RNA sequencing and affinity purification-mass spectrometry revealed that TRNAU1AP modulates hundreds of endogenous splicing events, indicating a direct role in alternative splicing in addition to its known function in selenocysteine incorporation. Tethered function luciferase splicing reporters (718 RBPs screened), eCLIP, RNA sequencing, affinity purification-mass spectrometry Nature biotechnology Medium 38168984
2026 TRNAU1AP interacts with EEFSEC (the selenocysteine-specific elongation factor) and forms a phase-separated complex that enhances EEFSEC binding to sec-tRNA(sec), thereby promoting translation of multiple selenoproteins in glioblastoma stem cells. IGF2BP3 upregulates TRNAU1AP expression through m6A-dependent transcript stabilization. Loss of TRNAU1AP impairs glioblastoma stem cell proliferation, self-renewal, and tumorigenesis. RNA immunoprecipitation, phase-separation assays, polysome profiling, proteomics, spatial transcriptomics, gain- and loss-of-function assays, RNA stability analysis Neuro-oncology High 42080969

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 18 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2007 The selenoproteome exhibits widely varying, tissue-specific dependence on selenoprotein P for selenium supply. Nucleic acids research 146 17553827
2006 Supramolecular complexes mediate selenocysteine incorporation in vivo. Molecular and cellular biology 120 16508009
2017 The PRMT5/WDR77 complex regulates alternative splicing through ZNF326 in breast cancer. Nucleic acids research 72 28977470
2005 Evidence for direct roles of two additional factors, SECp43 and soluble liver antigen, in the selenoprotein synthesis machinery. The Journal of biological chemistry 66 16230358
1999 Identification of a protein component of a mammalian tRNA(Sec) complex implicated in the decoding of UGA as selenocysteine. RNA (New York, N.Y.) 34 10606267
2006 Identification of Leishmania selenoproteins and SECIS element. Molecular and biochemical parasitology 32 16766053
2010 Zebrafish (Danio rerio) vary by strain and sex in their behavioral and transcriptional responses to selenium supplementation. Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology 30 20659579
2020 Selenium Deficiency-Induced Damage and Altered Expression of Mitochondrial Biogenesis Markers in the Kidneys of Mice. Biological trace element research 26 32172502
2024 Large-scale evaluation of the ability of RNA-binding proteins to activate exon inclusion. Nature biotechnology 20 38168984
2020 Novel somatic alterations underlie Chinese papillary thyroid carcinoma. Cancer biomarkers : section A of Disease markers 18 32065787
2017 Analysis of Novel Interactions between Components of the Selenocysteine Biosynthesis Pathway, SEPHS1, SEPHS2, SEPSECS, and SECp43. Biochemistry 18 28414460
2014 Adjustments, extinction, and remains of selenocysteine incorporation machinery in the nematode lineage. RNA (New York, N.Y.) 18 24817701
2021 Selenium Deficiency Leads to Changes in Renal Fibrosis Marker Proteins and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway Components. Biological trace element research 14 33895963
2015 Expression of Selenoproteins Is Maintained in Mice Carrying Mutations in SECp43, the tRNA Selenocysteine 1 Associated Protein (Trnau1ap). PloS one 12 26043259
2014 Effects of acclimation salinity on the expression of selenoproteins in the tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS) 11 24854764
2016 Role of tRNA selenocysteine 1 associated protein 1 in the proliferation and apoptosis of cardiomyocyte‑like H9c2 cells. Molecular medicine reports 9 28101579
2018 Knockdown of Trnau1ap inhibits the proliferation and migration of NIH3T3, JEG-3 and Bewo cells via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Biochemical and biophysical research communications 8 29758194
2026 Phase separation of TRNAU1AP protein sustains selenoprotein translation and promotes glioblastoma tumorigenesis. Neuro-oncology 0 42080969

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