Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein C (hnRNP C) is a member of the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) family, which are RNA-binding proteins that play crucial roles in the processing and metabolism of RNA within the cell nucleus . These proteins are involved in various aspects of nucleic acid metabolism, including alternative splicing, mRNA stabilization, and transcriptional and translational regulation .
hnRNP C is known to bind pre-mRNA and nucleate the assembly of 40S hnRNP particles . It interacts with poly-U tracts in the 3’-UTR or 5’-UTR of mRNA, modulating the stability and translation levels of bound mRNA molecules . hnRNP C acts as a tetramer and is involved in the assembly of 40S hnRNP particles . It also functions as a ‘molecular ruler’ in the mRNA processing pathway, committing nascent transcripts from the chromatin template to the mRNA export pathway once the nascent transcript becomes longer than 200-300 nucleotides .
hnRNP C has multiple biological functions, including transcriptional regulation, DNA repair, and RNA processing . It associates with SWI/SNF and NurD family members to form the locus control region (LCR)-associated remodeling complex (LARC), which binds to the β-globin gene promoter to prevent transcriptional silencing . Additionally, hnRNP C is a key regulator of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, and its depletion can impair S-phase progression of the cell .
Diseases associated with hnRNP C include Intellectual Developmental Disorder, Autosomal Dominant 74, and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease . The protein’s involvement in various cellular processes makes it a potential target for RNA-based therapies, especially in the context of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer .