The exosome is a large complex with cellular functions including exoribonucleolytic mRNA degradation and processing of a number of RNAs including small nuclear RNAs, small nucleolar RNAs and ribosomal RNAs. The yeast exosome is now shown to possess an unexpected endoribonucleolytic activity, and the essential Csl4 subunit is shown to contain a domain involved in mRNA decay. This suggests that particular domains in the complex have specialized roles. The eukaryotic exosome is a ten-subunit 3′ exoribonucleolytic complex responsible for many RNA-processing and RNA-degradation reactions. How the exosome accomplishes this is unknown. Rrp44 (also known as Dis3), a member of the RNase II family of enzymes, is the catalytic subunit of the exosome. We show that the PIN domain of Rrp44 has endoribonucleolytic activity. The PIN domain is preferentially active toward RNA with a 5′ phosphate, suggesting coordination of 5′ and 3′ processing. We also show that the endonuclease activity is important in vivo. Furthermore, the essential exosome subunit Csl4 does not contain any domains that are required for viability, but its zinc-ribbon domain is required for exosome-mediated mRNA decay. These results suggest that specific exosome domains contribute to specific functions, and that different RNAs probably interact with the exosome differently. The combination of an endoRNase and an exoRNase activity seems to be a widespread feature of RNA-degrading machines.

The carbohydrate antigens Tn and sialyl-Tn (STn) are expressed in most carcinomas and usually absent in healthy tissues. These antigens have been correlated with cancer progression and poor prognosis, and associated with immunosuppressive microenvironment. Presently they are used in clinical trials as therapeutic vaccination, but with limited success due to their low immunogenicity. Alternatively, anti-Tn and/or STn antibodies may be used to harness the immune system against tumor cells. Whilst the development of antibodies against these antigens had a boost two decades ago for diagnostic use, so far no such antibody entered into clinical trials. Possible limitations are the low specificity and efficiency of existing antibodies and that novel antibodies are still necessary. The vast array of methodologies available today will allow rapid antibody development and novel formats. Following the advent of hybridoma technology, the immortalization of human B cells became a methodology to obtain human monoclonal antibodies with better specificity. Advances in molecular biology including phage display technology for high throughput screening, transgenic mice and more recently molecularly engineered antibodies enhanced the field of antibody production. The development of novel antibodies against Tn and STn taking advantage of innovative technologies and engineering techniques may result in innovative therapeutic antibodies for cancer treatment.

The RNase II superfamily is a ubiquitous family of exoribonucleases that are essential for RNA metabolism. RNase II and RNase R degrade RNA in the 3′→5′ direction in a processive and sequence-independent manner. However, although RNase R is capable of degrading highly structured RNAs, the RNase II activity is impaired by the presence of secondary structures. RNase II and RNase R share structural properties and have a similar modular domain organization. The eukaryotic RNase II homologue, Rrp44/Dis3, is the catalytic subunit of the exosome, one of the most important protein complexes involved in the maintenance of the correct levels of cellular RNAs. In the present study, we constructed truncated RNase II and RNase R proteins and point mutants and characterized them regarding their exoribonucleolytic activity and RNA-binding ability. We report that Asp²⁸⁰ is crucial for RNase R activity without affecting RNA binding. When Tyr³²⁴ was changed to alanine, the final product changed from 2 to 5 nt in length, showing that this residue is responsible for setting the end-product. We have shown that the RNB domain of RNase II has catalytic activity. The most striking result is that the RNase R RNB domain itself degrades double-stranded substrates even in the absence of a 3′-overhang. Moreover, we have demonstrated for the first time that the substrate recognition of RNase R depends on the RNA-binding domains that target the degradation of RNAs that are ‘tagged’ by a 3′-tail. These results can have important implications for the study of poly(A)-dependent RNA degradation mechanisms.

Incomplete O-glycosylation is a feature associated with malignancy resulting in the expression of truncated glycans such as the sialyl-Tn (STn) antigen. Despite all the progress in the development of potential anti-cancer antibodies, their application is frequently hindered by low specificities and cross-reactivity. In this study, a novel anti-STn monoclonal antibody named L2A5 was developed by hybridoma technology. Flow cytometry analysis showed that L2A5 specifically binds to sialylated structures on the cell surface of STn-expressing breast and bladder cancer cell lines. Moreover, immunoblotting assays demonstrated reactivity to tumour-associated O-glycosylated proteins, such as MUC1. Tumour recognition was further observed using immunohistochemistry assays, which demonstrated a high sensitivity and specificity of L2A5 mAb towards cancer tissue, using bladder and colorectal cancer tissues. L2A5 staining was exclusively tumoural, with a remarkable reactivity in invasive and metastasis sites, not detectable by other anti-STn mAbs. Additionally, it stained 20% of cases of triple-negative breast cancers, suggesting application in diseases with unmet clinical needs. Finally, the fine specificity was assessed using glycan microarrays, demonstrating a highly specific binding of L2A5 to core STn antigens and additional ability to bind 2–6-linked sialyl core-1 probes. In conclusion, this study describes a novel anti-STn antibody with a unique binding specificity that can be applied for cancer diagnostic and future development of new antibody-based therapeutic applications.