Exosome Component 8 (EXOSC8)

Neisseria gonorrhoeae opacity-associated (Opa) proteins are a family of outer membrane proteins involved in gonococcal adhesion to and invasion of human cells. Opa expression appears to be necessary for gonococcal disease. Sequence analysis predicted that the partial OIP2 cDNA encodes a 265-amino acid peptide that is likely to be the C terminus of a longer protein. OIP2 contains a cluster of basic residues, but unlike OIP1, OIP4, and OIP5, it has no cysteine motif. The mammalian exosome is required for rapid degradation of ARE-containing RNAs but not for poly(A) shortening. The mammalian exosome does not recognize ARE-containing RNAs on its own. ARE recognition required certain ARE-binding proteins that could interact with the exosome and recruit it to unstable RNAs, thereby promoting their rapid degradation.