Affinage

SNRPA1

U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein A' · UniProt P09661

Length
255 aa
Mass
28.4 kDa
Annotated
2026-06-10
22 papers in source corpus 13 papers cited in narrative 13 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

SNRPA1 (U2A') is a leucine-rich-repeat protein that defines the U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) by forming a stable heterodimer with U2B" and conferring on it the specificity required for pre-spliceosome assembly (PMID:9716128, PMID:9799242). Crystallographic analysis of the ternary U2B"/U2A'/U2 snRNA hairpin-loop IV complex shows that the concave LRR beta-sheet of U2A' clamps the RRM of U2B" on the face opposite its RNA-binding surface, while the basic C-terminal region of U2A' contacts the RNA stem; this protein-protein interface is what allows U2B" to discriminate U2 hairpin IV from U1 hairpin II (PMID:9716128, PMID:9814759). Thermodynamically, U2A' binds U2B" with nanomolar affinity and exhibits RNA-dependent cooperativity, ensuring the U2A'/U2B" module partitions exclusively into the U2 snRNP (PMID:24866816). In yeast and Drosophila the orthologs are U2 snRNP-specific and essential, with reciprocal dependence between U2A' and U2B" for U2 snRNA association and a spliceosome assembly block prior to U2 snRNP addition; notably, the Drosophila protein retains an essential function independent of heterodimerization (PMID:9799242, PMID:11557816). Beyond this canonical role, SNRPA1 acts as a noncanonical splicing enhancer that binds structured RNA elements near cassette exons to promote exon inclusion, and through regulation of PLEC alternative splicing drives cancer cell invasion and metastatic lung colonization (PMID:33986153). Its expression is controlled post-transcriptionally by METTL3/IGF2BP2-mediated m6A stabilization of SNRPA1 mRNA, and in tumor contexts SNRPA1 engages TWIST1 and modulates c-MYC-dependent transcription and proliferation (PMID:41841152). SNRPA1 is also required for pluripotency-specific spliceosome assembly, physically associating with SNRPD1 and PNN (PMID:28595116).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 11 steps
  1. 1991 High

    Established that U2A' is not a stand-alone RNA-binding protein but functions by forming a stable heterodimer with U2B" that is required for efficient and specific U2 RNA recognition.

    Evidence In vitro RNA-protein and protein-protein binding assays with deletion/point mutants of U2A' and U2 RNA

    PMID:1826350

    Open questions at the time
    • Structural basis of specificity not resolved
    • Affinity values not quantified
  2. 1998 High

    Defined the structural and thermodynamic logic of U2 snRNP assembly: the LRR concave surface of U2A' binds the U2B" RRM and dictates loop discrimination between U2hpIV and U1hpII.

    Evidence 2.4 Å crystal structure of the ternary complex plus quantitative in vitro binding with point mutants

    PMID:9716128 PMID:9814759

    Open questions at the time
    • Does not address in vivo dynamics of complex assembly
    • Cooperativity not yet quantified thermodynamically
  3. 1998 High

    Demonstrated in vivo that the U2A' ortholog (Lea1p) is a U2 snRNP-specific component with reciprocal dependence on the U2B" ortholog for snRNA association and is needed for spliceosome assembly prior to U2 addition.

    Evidence Yeast gene deletion, co-purification with U2 snRNA, and in vitro spliceosome assembly rescue with recombinant proteins

    PMID:9799242

    Open questions at the time
    • Genetic redundancy with other factors unresolved
    • Mechanism of pre-U2 assembly block not detailed
  4. 2001 High

    Revealed that U2A' has an essential function that does not require heterodimerization with U2B", separating its vital role from canonical complex formation.

    Evidence Drosophila null alleles, in vivo co-IP, and domain interaction mapping

    PMID:11557816

    Open questions at the time
    • The identity of the heterodimer-independent function is not defined
    • Not validated in mammalian cells
  5. 2014 High

    Quantified the thermodynamic linkage explaining specificity: nanomolar U2A'/U2B" binding plus RNA-dependent cooperativity partitions the module exclusively to U2 snRNP rather than U1.

    Evidence ITC and fluorescence binding measurements of protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions

    PMID:24866816

    Open questions at the time
    • Cellular concentrations driving partitioning not measured
    • Does not address regulation in vivo
  6. 2015 Medium

    Placed U2A'/Lea1 in a genetic network with Sm proteins at the U1/U2 snRNP interface through synthetic lethal and suppression interactions.

    Evidence Yeast double-mutant epistasis analysis with SmD3 alleles

    PMID:25897024

    Open questions at the time
    • Physical basis of the genetic interactions not shown
    • Yeast-specific; not tested in human cells
  7. 2017 Medium

    Extended SNRPA1 function to a cell-state-specific role, showing it is required for pluripotency-specific spliceosome assembly via physical association with SNRPD1 and PNN.

    Evidence Co-IP, co-localization imaging, and shRNA knockdown in human pluripotent stem cells

    PMID:28595116

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether spliceosome role differs mechanistically from canonical U2 function unclear
    • Direct vs indirect interaction with PNN not resolved
  8. 2020 Medium

    Connected SNRPA1 to growth signaling and tumorigenesis by showing mTOR-driven expression and a proliferative/anti-apoptotic requirement in hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Evidence shRNA knockdown, mTOR modulation, xenograft model, and gene expression profiling

    PMID:32420585

    Open questions at the time
    • Whether tumor phenotype reflects splicing activity not established
    • Direct targets among altered genes not defined
  9. 2021 High

    Defined a noncanonical, splicing-enhancer activity in which SNRPA1 binds structured RNA elements near cassette exons to promote inclusion, driving metastasis through PLEC.

    Evidence RNA structural mapping, loss-of-function, splicing assays, morpholino rescue, and in vivo metastasis assays

    PMID:33986153

    Open questions at the time
    • Relationship between noncanonical and canonical U2 snRNP roles unclear
    • Full target repertoire beyond PLEC not mapped
  10. 2025 Medium

    Identified SNRPA1 as an effector of lncRNA signaling, mediating MYC transactivation downstream of lnc458 to drive DDIT4 expression and podocyte apoptosis.

    Evidence Biotin-RNA pulldown with mass spectrometry, RNA-seq, and gain/loss-of-function

    PMID:40680608

    Open questions at the time
    • Mechanism by which SNRPA1 mediates MYC transactivation not resolved
    • Direct vs indirect lnc458 binding effect on MYC unclear
  11. 2026 Medium

    Mapped upstream control and downstream effectors of SNRPA1 in cancer: m6A stabilization of its mRNA by METTL3/IGF2BP2 and physical interaction with TWIST1, plus regulation of c-MYC protein stability.

    Evidence RIP, dual-luciferase, mRNA stability assay, Co-IP, and xenograft/metastasis rescue models

    PMID:41841152 PMID:42135982

    Open questions at the time
    • Direct biochemical mechanism of c-MYC stability regulation not reconstituted
    • TWIST1 interaction interface undefined

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • The molecular basis of SNRPA1's heterodimer-independent and noncanonical activities — and how these relate to its canonical U2 snRNP role — remains unresolved.
  • No structural model for SNRPA1 binding to noncanonical structured RNA elements
  • No defined molecular link between spliceosomal and transcriptional/oncogenic functions
  • Heterodimer-independent essential function still uncharacterized at the molecular level

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification · explore literature graph →
Molecular activity
GO:0003723 RNA binding 4 GO:0060090 molecular adaptor activity 3 GO:0140098 catalytic activity, acting on RNA 1
Localization
GO:0005634 nucleus 2
Pathway
R-HSA-8953854 Metabolism of RNA 3
Complex memberships
U2 snRNPspliceosome

Evidence

Reading pass · 13 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
1998 Crystal structure at 2.4 Å of the ternary U2B"/U2A'/U2 snRNA hairpin-loop IV complex revealed that the concave surface of the leucine-rich-repeat (LRR) parallel beta-sheet of U2A' interacts with the RRM domain of U2B" on the surface opposite its RNA-binding surface, while the basic C-terminal region of U2A' contacts the RNA stem. This protein-protein interaction is required for RNA-binding specificity of U2B", explaining how U2B" discriminates U2 hairpin IV from U1 hairpin II. X-ray crystallography (2.4 Å resolution) of recombinant ternary complex Nature High 9716128
1991 U2A' forms a weak but detectable direct interaction with U2 RNA and a stable protein-protein complex with U2B"; the combined U2A'-U2B" complex binds U2 RNA efficiently and specifically. Mutational analysis mapped the U2B"-binding region of U2A' to amino acids 1-164, and mutation of residues 3-5 of U2A' reduced RNA binding, indicating U2A' contacts the stem of hairpin IV to stabilize the trimeric complex. RNA-protein and protein-protein binding assays with deletion/point mutants of U2A' and U2 RNA Nucleic acids research High 1826350
1998 U2A' enables U2B" to discriminate the loop sequence of U2hpIV from U1hpII but plays no role in stem sequence discrimination. U2A' binds U2B" with ~500-fold higher affinity than U1A, and a single leucine residue (Leu-44) in U1A is critical for its intrinsic specificity for U1hpII over U2hpIV. In vitro RNA-binding and protein-protein interaction assays with point mutants; quantitative affinity measurements RNA (New York, N.Y.) High 9814759
1998 Yeast ortholog Lea1p (U2A') is a specific component of the yeast U2 snRNP. Lea1p directly interacts with Yib9p (U2B" ortholog); in vivo association of Lea1p with U2 snRNA requires Yib9p, and reciprocally Yib9p requires Lea1p for U2 snRNA association in vivo. Strains lacking LEA1 and/or YIB9 have impaired pre-mRNA splicing, and in vitro spliceosome assembly is blocked prior to U2 snRNP addition; this defect is rescued by addition of recombinant protein(s). Genetic deletion (lea1Δ, yib9Δ), in vitro spliceosome assembly rescue with recombinant proteins, co-immunoprecipitation/co-purification with U2 snRNA The EMBO journal High 9799242
2001 Drosophila U2A' protein interacts with SNF (U2B" ortholog) in vivo and is U2 snRNP-specific. Loss-of-function of U2A' causes lethality, demonstrating it is essential for U2 snRNP function. Importantly, U2A' does not require heterodimer formation with SNF for either its vital function or U2 snRNP assembly, indicating U2A' has an essential SNF/U2B"-independent function. Genetic loss-of-function (null alleles), in vivo co-immunoprecipitation, domain interaction mapping Nucleic acids research High 11557816
2014 U2A' binds U2B" with nanomolar affinity but binds U1A with only micromolar affinity. There is RNA-dependent cooperativity (thermodynamic linkage) between protein-protein and protein-RNA binding in the U2A'/U2B"/U2 snRNA complex formation. This combination of tight binding and cooperativity ensures that the U2A'/U2B" complex is partitioned exclusively to the U2 snRNP. Fluorescence binding assays and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measuring protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions Biochemistry High 24866816
2015 All three RNA-binding site mutations of SmD3 were lethal in cells lacking the U2 snRNP subunit Lea1 (yeast U2A'), and benign C-terminal truncations of SmD3 were also lethal in the absence of Lea1. Conversely, SMD3-E35A specifically suppressed the temperature-sensitivity of lea1Δ. These genetic interactions place Lea1/U2A' in an epistatic network with Sm proteins at the U1/U2 snRNP interface. Genetic epistasis analysis via double-mutant combinations (synthetic lethality and suppression) in yeast RNA (New York, N.Y.) Medium 25897024
2021 SNRPA1 interacts with a structural splicing enhancer (RNA structural element) enriched near cassette exons to promote cassette exon inclusion in a non-canonical, context-dependent manner. SNRPA1-mediated regulation of PLEC alternative splicing promotes cancer cell invasion and metastatic lung colonization. This noncanonical splicing enhancer role was established by loss-of-function experiments and splicing modulating morpholinos. SNRPA1 loss-of-function, RNA structural analysis, splicing assays, invasion/metastasis functional assays, morpholino rescue Science (New York, N.Y.) High 33986153
2017 SNRPA1 physically interacts with SNRPD1 and PNN in human pluripotent stem cells, co-localizing with hPS spliceosomes. SNRPA1 depletion causes loss of pluripotency and blocks hiPS generation, and reduces hPS spliceosome assembly, defining a role for SNRPA1 in pluripotency-specific spliceosome assembly. Co-immunoprecipitation, co-localization imaging, shRNA knockdown with pluripotency and spliceosome assembly readouts Stem cell research Medium 28595116
2020 SNRPA1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells is stimulated by mTOR activation. Knockdown of SNRPA1 inhibited HCC cell proliferation and xenograft tumorigenesis, induced apoptosis, and altered expression of FGF2, AFP, β-catenin, Ki-67, cyclin B1, caspase 3, p53, and p21. shRNA knockdown, mTOR activation/inhibition, xenograft mouse model, microarray gene profiling, qPCR Bioscience reports Medium 32420585
2026 METTL3 and IGF2BP2 stabilize SNRPA1 mRNA through m6A methylation modification. SNRPA1 protein interacts with TWIST1 in NSCLC cells (Co-IP), and TWIST1 overexpression attenuates SNRPA1 knockdown-induced suppression of proliferation/migration/invasion. In vivo, SNRPA1 overexpression rescued the anti-tumor effects of METTL3 depletion. RIP assay, dual-luciferase reporter assay, actinomycin D mRNA stability assay, Co-IP, xenograft and lung metastasis models Cytotechnology Medium 41841152
2025 lncRNA ENST00000458139 (lnc458) physically interacts with SNRPA1 protein (identified by biotin-labeled RNA pulldown + mass spectrometry). SNRPA1 mediates MYC transactivation downstream of lnc458, leading to upregulation of DDIT4 and mitochondrial dysfunction/apoptosis in podocytes. Biotin-labeled RNA pulldown followed by mass spectrometry, RNA-seq, gain/loss-of-function International immunopharmacology Medium 40680608
2026 SNRPA1 and DHM (dihydromethysticin) regulate c-MYC expression through affecting c-MYC protein stability. Downregulation of SNRPA1 by DHM increases c-MYC protein degradation, inhibiting Cr(VI)-induced cell transformation and cancer stemness properties. Western blot for c-MYC stability (CHX chase implied), knockdown/overexpression, soft agar colony formation, xenograft tumorigenesis Chemical research in toxicology Low 42135982

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 22 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
1998 Crystal structure of the spliceosomal U2B"-U2A' protein complex bound to a fragment of U2 small nuclear RNA. Nature 313 9716128
2021 A prometastatic splicing program regulated by SNRPA1 interactions with structured RNA elements. Science (New York, N.Y.) 59 33986153
1998 The yeast U2A'/U2B complex is required for pre-spliceosome formation. The EMBO journal 48 9799242
1991 A weak interaction between the U2A' protein and U2 snRNA helps to stabilize their complex with the U2B" protein. Nucleic acids research 42 1826350
2019 An oncogenic gene, SNRPA1, regulates PIK3R1, VEGFC, MKI67, CDK1 and other genes in colorectal cancer. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie 28 31203132
2017 The unique spliceosome signature of human pluripotent stem cells is mediated by SNRPA1, SNRPD1, and PNN. Stem cell research 26 28595116
2022 Elevated SNRPA1, as a Promising Predictor Reflecting Severe Clinical Outcome via Effecting Tumor Immunity for ccRCC, Is Related to Cell Invasion, Metastasis, and Sunitinib Sensitivity. Frontiers in immunology 25 35281041
1998 Target discrimination by RNA-binding proteins: role of the ancillary protein U2A' and a critical leucine residue in differentiating the RNA-binding specificity of spliceosomal proteins U1A and U2B". RNA (New York, N.Y.) 25 9814759
2015 Structure-function analysis and genetic interactions of the Yhc1, SmD3, SmB, and Snp1 subunits of yeast U1 snRNP and genetic interactions of SmD3 with U2 snRNP subunit Lea1. RNA (New York, N.Y.) 17 25897024
2001 The Drosophila U2 snRNP protein U2A' has an essential function that is SNF/U2B" independent. Nucleic acids research 15 11557816
2014 Binding affinity and cooperativity control U2B″/snRNA/U2A' RNP formation. Biochemistry 13 24866816
1996 Clinical significance of LEA-1 expression in adult acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia research 10 8642844
2020 mTOR up-regulation of SNRPA1 contributes to hepatocellular carcinoma development. Bioscience reports 7 32420585
2011 Polyproline II structure is critical for the enzyme protective function of soybean Em (LEA1) conserved domains. Biotechnology letters 6 21455835
2022 Accumulation of Glycogen and Upregulation of LEA-1 in C. elegans daf-2(e1370) Support Stress Resistance, Not Longevity. Cells 5 35053361
2021 Phylogeny and conservation of plant U2A/U2A', a core splicing component in U2 spliceosomal complex. Planta 5 34940917
2010 Conformational variation revealed by the crystal structure of RNase U2A complexed with Ca ion and 2'-adenylic acid at 1.03 Å resolution. Protein and peptide letters 5 20858208
2023 A U2 snRNP-specific protein, U2A', is involved in stress response and drug resistance in Cryptococcus deneoformans. Biochimie 2 37806618
2026 METTL3/IGF2BP2 mediates m6A methylation modification of SNRPA1 to promote tumor property of non-small cell lung cancer cells. Cytotechnology 1 41841152
2025 TIGIT and SNRPA1 as novel diagnostic and predictive biomarkers in obstructive ventilatory dysfunction combined with pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection patients. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 1 41104127
2026 AB-Free Kava and Dihydromethysticin Inhibit Chronic Hexavalent Chromium Exposure-Induced Cell Malignant Transformation through Down-Regulating RNA Splicing Factor SNRPA1 Expression. Chemical research in toxicology 0 42135982
2025 Long noncoding RNA ENST00000458139 promotes mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis of podocytes in diabetic kidney disease through binding with SNRPA1. International immunopharmacology 0 40680608

Missed literature

Know a paper Affinage missed for SNRPA1? Flag it for the maintainers and the community.

No submissions yet.