Purification of the cleavage and polyadenylation factor involved in the 3'-processing of messenger RNA precursors

Polyadenylation of messenger RNA precursors requires the nucleotide sequence AAUAAA and two factors: poly(A) polymerase and a specificity factor termed cleavage and polyadenylation factor (CPF). We have purified CPF from calf thymus and from HeLa cells to near homogeneity. Four polypeptides with molecular masses of 160, 100, 73, and 30 kDa cofractionate with CPF activity. Glycerol gradient centrifugation and gel filtration indicate that these four proteins form one large complex with a sedimentation constant of 12 S, a Stokes radius near 100 A, and a native molecular mass near 500 kDa. Purified CPF binds specifically to an RNA that contains the AAUAAA sequence. Mutation of the AAUAAA sequence inhibits CPF binding as well as polyadenylation. Purified CPF contains only trace amounts of RNA and does not react with antibodies against common epitopes of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles. Thus, contrary to previous indications, CPF does not appear to be a small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle.