An Investigation of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 1 Substrate Recognition Through Ribonucleoprotein Modifications

Just as humans need to communicate with each other, our cells have a series of processes that allows them to communicate from one to another. Protein Arginine Methyltransferase I is an enzyme that helps mediate cellular communication by selectively binding to target proteins and performing chemistry that has broad-reaching downstream effects. However, the mechanisms that underly PRMT1 selectivity have yet to be elucidated. This study uses alterations to a series of known targets, called ribonucleoproteins, to identify some of the characteristics that govern recognition by the PRMT1 enzyme. I have made significant progress in the creation, expression, and purification of these targets that can be used to investigate binding to PRMT1.