The eukaryotic nucleolus contains a large number
of small RNA molecules that, in the form of small nucleolar
ribonucleoprotein complexes (snoRNPs), are involved in
the processing and modification of pre-rRNA. One of the
snoRNPs that has been shown to possess enzymatic activity
is the RNase MRP. RNase MRP is an endoribonuclease involved
in the formation of the 5′ end of 5.8S rRNA. In this
study the association of the hPop1 protein with the RNase
MRP complex was investigated. The hPop1 protein seems not
to be directly bound to the RNA component, but requires
nt 1–86 and 116–176 of the MRP RNA to associate
with the RNase MRP complex via protein–protein interactions.
UV crosslinking followed by ribonuclease treatment and
immunoprecipitation with anti-Th/To antibodies revealed
three human proteins of about 20, 25, and 40 kDa that can
associate with the RNase MRP complex. The 20- and 25-kDa
proteins appear to bind to stem-loop I of the MRP RNA whereas
the 40-kDa protein requires the central part of the MRP
RNA (nt 86–176) for association with the RNase MRP
complex. In addition, we show that the human RNase P proteins
Rpp30 and Rpp38 are also associated with the RNase MRP
complex. Expression of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus- (VSV)
tagged versions of these proteins in HeLa cells followed
by anti-VSV immunoprecipitation resulted in coprecipitation
of both RNase P and RNase MRP complexes. Furthermore, UV
crosslinking followed by anti-Th/To and anti-Rpp38 immunoprecipitation
revealed that the 40-kDa protein we detected in UV crosslinking
is probably identical to Rpp38.