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Jmjd6 catalyses lysyl-hydroxylation of U2AF65, a protein associated with RNA splicing.

Science. 2009 Jul 3;325(5936):90-3

Authors: Webby CJ, Wolf A, Gromak N, Dreger M, Kramer H, Kessler B, Nielsen ML, Schmitz C, Butler DS, Yates JR, Delahunty CM, Hahn P, Lengeling A, Mann M, Proudfoot NJ, Schofield CJ, Böttger A

The finding that the metazoan hypoxic response is regulated by oxygen-dependent posttranslational hydroxylations, which regulate the activity and lifetime of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), has raised the question of whether other hydroxylases are involved in the regulation of gene expression. We reveal that the splicing factor U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein auxiliary factor 65-kilodalton subunit (U2AF65) undergoes posttranslational lysyl-5-hydroxylation catalyzed by the Fe(II) and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase Jumonji domain-6 protein (Jmjd6). Jmjd6 is a nuclear protein that has an important role in vertebrate development and is a human homolog of the HIF asparaginyl-hydroxylase. Jmjd6 is shown to change alternative RNA splicing of some, but not all, of the endogenous and reporter genes, supporting a specific role for Jmjd6 in the regulation of RNA splicing.

PMID: 19574390 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Cayenne Medical, Inc., a privately held sports medicine company based in Scottsdale, announced the commercial launch of its CrossFix™ System for the repair of meniscal tears at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) annual meeting in Keystone, Colorado last week. The CrossFix™ system offers surgeons the benefits of both open suturing and arthroscopic meniscal repair.

An upcoming G&D paper reveals how two specific matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) proteins contribute to bone metastasis in advanced breast cancer - lending important new insight into the design of clinically useful small molecule inhibitors. The study was led by Dr. Yibin Kang in Princeton University in close collaboration with Dr. Joan Massagué at MSKCC and Dr. Michael Reiss at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. It will be published online ahead of print at

According to the latest thinking, eating healthily and taking more exercise are not enough by themselves to combat the nation's rising obesity levels. Instead we need a better understanding of the issues underpinning compulsive eating so that psychological help can be successfully targeted.

An osteoporosis drug proven to save lives after hip fractures may do so by strengthening the body's immune system, according to geriatrics researchers at Duke University Medical Center. In 2007, Duke researchers reported a 28 percent reduction in death among patients who received zoledronic acid (Reclast) within 90 days of surgery for a hip fracture. Zoledronic acid is a yearly intravenous injection of bisphosphonate that inhibits the progression of bone loss.