Lopez de Quinto, Sonia - Cardiff University

个人简介

I graduated in 1995 with a BA in Science (Chemistry) from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), where I also carried out my PhD. In 2002 I joined the EMBL Heidelberg (Germany) for my post-doctoral studies and moved to the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University in December 2007, with support by a RCUK Fellowship in Translational Research in Experimental Medicine. My long-standing research interests focus on gene expression regulation, with a special emphasis on those mechanisms operating at the mRNA level. Recent findings have highlighted the crucial role that RNA regulation has in tuning the expression of batteries of genes that the cell requires for specific tasks. However, our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms operating at different levels to regulate the expression and fate of mRNAs remains limited. During my Masters and PhD research (Madrid, Spain), I analysed the mechanism employed by a highly specialized viral RNA region called IRES (Internal Ribosome Entry Site) to recruit the translational machinery to an internal start codon. My work led to the identification of conserved RNA motifs involved in the three-dimensional folding of the IRES and in the establishment of RNA-protein interactions that are essential for translation initiation. This work significantly contributed to the understanding of how gene expression regulation is achieved in RNA viruses. During my postdoctoral studies at the EMBL (Heidelberg, Germany), I developed a deep interest in the impact that RNA regulation has on the cellular processes ultimately regulating development and disease progression. Specifically, I studied the mechanisms underlying the asymmetric distribution in the oocyte of cell fate determinants, which define the body axes of the future embryo. Over the last years, I characterized in vivo the role of key regulators of oskar mRNA post-transcriptional regulation, such as the cytoskeletal components cooperating in the asymmetrical enrichment of an mRNA in a polarized cell, and the RNA-binding proteins and cis-acting RNA motifs coordinating the transport of an mRNA to its translational control. These results have been crucial to understand the mechanisms operating on asymmetrically enriched mRNAs to control their sub-cellular targeting and local expression.

研究领域

Our work aims at elucidating the molecular mechanisms regulating mRNA translation in time and space. This post-transcriptional mode of gene regulation allows cells to respond quickly to external stimuli and plays a pivotal role in the establishment and maintenance of cell polarity. mRNA targeting coupled to translational control underlies essential biological processes such as embryonic body axis specification, morphogen secretion, synaptic plasticity, cell migration and thus, tumour invasiveness. Using Drosophila as a model system and a variety of techniques, we seek to identify and functionally characterize in vivo localized mRNAs sharing similar regulatory networks.

近期论文

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Krauss, J.et al. 2009. Myosin-V regulates oskar mRNA localization in the drosophila oocyte. Current Biology 19(12), pp. 1058-1063. (10.1016/j.cub.2009.04.062) Besse, F.et al. 2009. Drosophila PTB promotes formation of high-order RNP particles and represses oskar translation. Genes & Development 23(2), pp. 195-207. (10.1101/gad.505709) Pacheco, A.et al. 2009. A novel role for Gemin5 in mRNA translation. Nucleic Acids Research 37(2), pp. 582-590. (10.1093/nar/gkn979) Fernandez-Miragall, O., Lopez de Quinto, S. and Martinez-Salas, E. 2009. Relevance of RNA structure for the activity of picornavirus IRES elements. Virus Research 139(2), pp. 172-182. (10.1016/j.virusres.2008.07.009) Lopez De Quinto, S.et al. 2005. Specific interference between two unrelated internal ribosome entry site elements impairs translation efficiency. FEBS Letters 579(30), pp. 6803-6808. (10.1016/j.febslet.2005.11.015) Lopez De Quinto, S.et al. 2004. Hrp48, a Drosophila hnRNPA/B Homolog, Binds and Regulates Translation of oskar mRNA. Developmental Cell 6(5), pp. 637-648. (10.1016/S1534-5807(04)00132-7) Lopez De Quinto, S.et al. 2002. IRES-driven translation is stimulated separately by the FMDV 3'-NCR and poly(A) sequences.. Nucleic Acids Research 30(20), pp. 4398-4405. (10.1093/nar/gkf569) Martinez-Salas, E.et al. 2002. IRES elements: features of the RNA structure contributing to their activity. Biochimie 84(8), pp. 755-763. (10.1016/S0300-9084(02)01408-6) Lopez De Quinto, S., Lafuente, E. and Martínez-Salas, E. 2001. IRES interaction with translation initiation factors: Functional characterisation of novel RNA contacts with eIF3, elF4B and eIF4GII. RNA 7(9), pp. 1213-1226. (10.1017/S1355838201010433) Lopez De Quinto, S., Lafuente, E. and Martinez-Salas, E. 2001. IRES interaction with translation initiation factors: Functional characterization of novel RNA contacts with eIF3, eIF4B, and eIF4GII. RNA 7(9), pp. 1213-1226. (10.1017/S1355838201010433) Martinez-Salas, E.et al. 2001. Functional interactions in internal translation initiation directed by viral and cellular IRES elements. Journal of General Virology 82(5), pp. 973-984.