Wenxia He
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Wenxia He has a total of 15 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
Alexandrina Machado de Amorim
Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
1 shared publication- Bernhard Loll
Laboratory of Structural Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
1 shared publication - Cecilia Perez-Borrajero
Molecular Systems Biology unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany
1 shared publication Clemens Krage
Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
1 shared publicationGuangpu Xue
Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
1 shared publication- Henning Urlaub
Department of Clinical Chemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
- 3 January 2026
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Communications
- Vol. 17 (1)
Mechanistic insights into recruitment and regulation of the RNA helicase UPF1 in replication-dependent histone mRNA decay
Metazoan histone mRNAs are a unique class of mRNAs that lack the poly(A) tail present in all other eukaryotic transcripts. Instead, they end in a conserved stem-loop (SL) structure, necessitating a decay mechanism that is distinct from deadenylation-initiated degradation. Here, combining structural and functional approaches, we elucidate molecular mechanisms of initiation of histone mRNA decay. At the end of S-phase, the RNA helicase UPF1, the exoribonuclease 3’hExo and stem-loop binding protein SLBP all contribute to histone mRNA degradation, although how they are mechanistically coupled remained unknown. The cryoEM structure of an UPF1:SL RNA complex, presented here, shows that binding of UPF1 partially melts the RNA stem in the absence of ATP, harnessing the free energy derived from RNA-binding to unwind RNA. This melting event primes the SL-RNA for decay by 3’hExo. Using biochemical and cellular analyses, we demonstrate that SLBP directly engages the UPF1 helicase core to attenuate its unwinding activity and prevent premature degradation. Activation of UPF1 at a later stage promotes SL-RNA decay. We provide direct evidence that UPF1, SLBP and 3’hExo form a degradosome-like assembly that functionally couples SL unwinding and degradation, highlighting a dynamic and intricate network of UPF1-centric interactions that orchestrates timely histone mRNA decay.
- 3 January 2026
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Communications
- Vol. 17 (1)
Open AccessMechanistic insights into recruitment and regulation of the RNA helicase UPF1 in replication-dependent histone mRNA decay
Metazoan histone mRNAs are a unique class of mRNAs that lack the poly(A) tail present in all other eukaryotic transcripts. Instead, they end in a conserved stem-loop (SL) structure, necessitating a decay mechanism that is distinct from deadenylation-initiated degradation. Here, combining structural and functional approaches, we elucidate molecular mechanisms of initiation of histone mRNA decay. At the end of S-phase, the RNA helicase UPF1, the exoribonuclease 3’hExo and stem-loop binding protein SLBP all contribute to histone mRNA degradation, although how they are mechanistically coupled remained unknown. The cryoEM structure of an UPF1:SL RNA complex, presented here, shows that binding of UPF1 partially melts the RNA stem in the absence of ATP, harnessing the free energy derived from RNA-binding to unwind RNA. This melting event primes the SL-RNA for decay by 3’hExo. Using biochemical and cellular analyses, we demonstrate that SLBP directly engages the UPF1 helicase core to attenuate its unwinding activity and prevent premature degradation. Activation of UPF1 at a later stage promotes SL-RNA decay. We provide direct evidence that UPF1, SLBP and 3’hExo form a degradosome-like assembly that functionally couples SL unwinding and degradation, highlighting a dynamic and intricate network of UPF1-centric interactions that orchestrates timely histone mRNA decay.