Isolation of Cognate RNA-protein Complexes from Cells Using Oligonucleotide-directed Elution

Ribonucleoprotein particles direct the biogenesis and post-transcriptional regulation of all mRNAs through distinct combinations of RNA binding proteins. They are composed of position-dependent, cis-acting RNA elements and unique combinations of RNA binding proteins. Defining the composition of a specific RNP is essential to achieving a fundamental understanding of gene regulation. The isolation of a select RNP is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Here, we demonstrate an approach to isolate RNPs associated at the 5' untranslated region of a select mRNA in asynchronous, transfected cells. This cognate RNP has been demonstrated to be necessary for the translation of select viruses and cellular stress-response genes.

The demonstrated RNA-protein co-precipitation protocol is suitable for the downstream analysis of protein components through proteomic analyses, immunoblots, or suitable biochemical identification assays. This experimental protocol demonstrates that DHX9/RNA helicase A is enriched at the 5' terminus of cognate retroviral RNA and provides preliminary information for the identification of its association with cell stress-associated huR and junD cognate mRNAs.