scholarly journals Neuron-specific cTag-CLIP reveals cell-specific diversity of functional RNA regulation in the brain

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhki Saito ◽  
Yuan Yuan ◽  
Ilana Zucker-Scharff ◽  
John J. Fak ◽  
Yoko Tajima ◽  
...  

SUMMARYRNA-binding proteins (RBPs) regulate genetic diversity, but the degree to which they do so in individual cell-types in vivo is unknown. We employed NOVA2 cTag-CLIP to generate functional RBP-RNA maps from single neuronal populations in the mouse brain. Combining cell-type specific data from Nova2-cTag and Nova2 conditional knock-out mice revealed differential NOVA2 regulatory actions (e.g. alternative splicing) on the same transcripts in different neurons, including in cerebellar Purkinje cells, where NOVA2 acts as an essential factor for proper motor coordination and synapse formation. This also led to the discovery of a mechanism by which NOVA2 action leads to different outcomes in different cells on the same transcripts: NOVA2 is able to regulate retained introns, which subsequently serve as scaffolds for another trans-acting splicing factor, PTBP2. Our results describe differential roles and mechanisms by which RBPs mediate RNA diversity in different neurons and consequent functional outcomes within the brain.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Rieger ◽  
Dana M. King ◽  
Barak A. Cohen ◽  
Joseph D. Dougherty

AbstractCELF6 is a RNA-binding protein in a family of proteins with roles in human health and disease, however little is known about the mRNA targets or in vivo function of this protein. We utilized CLIP-Seq to identify, for the first time, in vivo targets of CELF6 and identify hundreds of transcripts bound by CELF6 in the brain. We found these are disproportionately mRNAs coding for synaptic proteins. We then conducted functional validation of these targets, testing greater than 400 CELF6 bound sequence elements for their activity, applying a massively parallel reporter assay framework to evaluation of the CLIP data. We also mutated potential binding motifs within these elements and tested their impact. This comprehensive analysis led us to ascribe a previously unknown function to CELF6: we found bound elements were generally repressive of translation, that CELF6 further enhances this repression via decreasing RNA abundance, and this process was dependent on UGU-rich sequence motifs. This greatly extends the known role for CELF6, which had previously been defined only as a splicing factor. We further extend these findings by demonstrating the same function for CELF3, CELF4, and CELF5. Finally, we demonstrate that the CELF6 targets are derepressed in CELF6 mutant mice in vivo, confirming this new role in the brain. Thus, our study demonstrates that CELF6 and other sub-family members are repressive CNS RNA-binding proteins, and CELF6 downregulates specific mRNAs in vivo.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mina N. Anadolu ◽  
Senthilkumar Kailasam ◽  
Konstanze Simbriger ◽  
Jingyu Sun ◽  
Teodora Markova ◽  
...  

AbstractLocal translation in neurons is mediated in part by the reactivation of stalled polysomes. However, the mechanism for stalling of the polysomes is not understood. Stalled polysomes may be enriched within neuronal RNA granules defined by dense collections of compacted ribosomes found in the pellet of sucrose gradients used to separate polysomes from monosomes. We find that this fraction, isolated from P5 rat brains of both sexes, is enriched in proteins implicated in stalled polysome function, such as the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) and Up-frameshift mutation 1 homolog (UPF1). Ribosome profiling of this fraction showed an abundance of footprint reads derived from mRNAs of cytoskeletal proteins implicated in neuronal development and an enrichment of footprint reads on RNA binding proteins. Compared to those usually found in ribosome profiling studies, the footprint reads were more extended on their 3’end and were found in reproducible peaks in the mRNAs. These footprint reads were enriched in motifs previously associated with mRNAs cross-linked to FMRP in vivo, independently linking the ribosomes in the sedimented pellet to the ribosomes associated with FMRP in the cell. The data supports a model in which specific sequences in mRNAs act to stall translation elongation in neurons, attracting FMRP and beginning a process where stalled ribosomes are packaged and transported in RNA granules.Significance StatementThis work finds that neuronal ribosomes in RNA granules are concentrated at consensus sites previously identified through cross-linking FMRP to mRNAs in the brain. This strongly links the compacted ribosomes found in the pellet of sucrose gradients from brain extracts to stalled ribosomes regulated by FMRP and provides important insights into how stalling is accomplished. Many mRNAs important for neurodevelopment are enriched in these ribosomes. These results suggest that many studies on translation in the brain may need to be revised. The larger size of the ribosomal footprints on stalled polysomes and their sedimentation in the pellet of sucrose gradients suggests mRNAs found in these structures have not been assessed in many studies of neuronal translation.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarden Katz ◽  
Feifei Li ◽  
Nicole Lambert ◽  
Ethan M Sokol ◽  
Wai-Leong Tam ◽  
...  

The conserved Musashi (Msi) family of RNA binding proteins are expressed in stem/progenitor and cancer cells, but mostly absent from differentiated cells, consistent with a role in cell state regulation. We found that Msi genes are rarely mutated but frequently overexpressed in human cancers, and associated with an epithelial-luminal cell state. Using ribosome footprint profiling and RNA-seq analysis of genetic mouse models in neuronal and mammary cell types, we found that Msis regulate translation of genes implicated in epithelial cell biology and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promote an epithelial splicing pattern. Overexpression of Msi proteins inhibited translation of genes required for EMT, including Jagged1, and repressed EMT in cell culture and in mammary gland in vivo, while knockdown in epithelial cancer cells led to loss of epithelial identity. Our results show that mammalian Msi proteins contribute to an epithelial gene expression program and promote an epithelial-luminal state in both neural and breast cell types.


2006 ◽  
Vol 281 (43) ◽  
pp. 32619-32629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasanthy Vigneswara ◽  
Jonathan D. Lowenson ◽  
Claire D. Powell ◽  
Matthew Thakur ◽  
Kevin Bailey ◽  
...  

We report the use of a proteomic strategy to identify hitherto unknown substrates for mammalian protein l-isoaspartate O-methyltransferase. This methyltransferase initiates the repair of isoaspartyl residues in aged or stress-damaged proteins in vivo. Tissues from mice lacking the methyltransferase (Pcmt1-/-) accumulate more isoaspartyl residues than their wild-type littermates, with the most “damaged” residues arising in the brain. To identify the proteins containing these residues, brain homogenates from Pcmt1-/- mice were methylated by exogenous repair enzyme and the radiolabeled methyl donor S-adenosyl-[methyl-3H]methionine. Methylated proteins in the homogenates were resolved by both one-dimensional and two-dimensional electrophoresis, and methyltransferase substrates were identified by their increased radiolabeling when isolated from Pcmt1-/- animals compared with Pcmt1+/+ littermates. Mass spectrometric analyses of these isolated brain proteins reveal for the first time that microtubule-associated protein-2, calreticulin, clathrin light chains a and b, ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1, phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein, stathmin, β-synuclein, and α-synuclein, are all substrates for the l-isoaspartate methyltransferase in vivo. Our methodology for methyltransferase substrate identification was further supplemented by demonstrating that one of these methyltransferase targets, microtubule-associated protein-2, could be radiolabeled within Pcmt1-/- brain extracts using radioactive methyl donor and exogenous methyltransferase enzyme and then specifically immunoprecipitated with microtubule-associated protein-2 antibodies to recover co-localized protein with radioactivity. We comment on the functional significance of accumulation of relatively high levels of isoaspartate within these methyltransferase targets in the context of the histological and phenotypical changes associated with the methyltransferase knock-out mice.


Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Cao

Abstract Many circular RNAs (circRNAs) are differentially expressed in different tissues or cell types, suggestive of specific factors that regulate their biogenesis. Here, taking advantage of available mutation strains of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) in Caenorhabditis elegans, I performed a screening of circRNA regulation in 13 conserved RBPs. Among them, loss of FUST-1, the homolog of Fused in Sarcoma (FUS), caused downregulation of multiple circRNAs. By rescue experiments, I confirmed FUST-1 as a circRNA regulator. Through RNA sequencing using circRNA-enriched samples, circRNAs targets regulated by FUST-1 were identified globally, with hundreds of them significantly altered. Furthermore, I showed that FUST-1 regulates circRNA formation with only small to little effect on the cognate linear mRNAs. When recognizing circRNA pre-mRNAs, FUST-1 can affect both exon-skipping and circRNA in the same genes. Moreover, I identified an autoregulation loop in fust-1, where FUST-1, isoform a (FUST-1A) promotes the skipping of exon 5 of its own pre-mRNA, which produces FUST-1, isoform b (FUST-1B) with different N-terminal sequences. FUST-1A is the functional isoform in circRNA regulation. Although FUST-1B has the same functional domains as FUST-1A, it cannot regulate either exon-skipping or circRNA formation. This study provided an in vivo investigation of circRNA regulation, which will be helpful to understand the mechanisms that govern circRNA formation.


Cell Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Sun ◽  
Kui Xu ◽  
Wenze Huang ◽  
Yucheng T. Yang ◽  
Pan Li ◽  
...  

AbstractInteractions with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are integral to RNA function and cellular regulation, and dynamically reflect specific cellular conditions. However, presently available tools for predicting RBP–RNA interactions employ RNA sequence and/or predicted RNA structures, and therefore do not capture their condition-dependent nature. Here, after profiling transcriptome-wide in vivo RNA secondary structures in seven cell types, we developed PrismNet, a deep learning tool that integrates experimental in vivo RNA structure data and RBP binding data for matched cells to accurately predict dynamic RBP binding in various cellular conditions. PrismNet results for 168 RBPs support its utility for both understanding CLIP-seq results and largely extending such interaction data to accurately analyze additional cell types. Further, PrismNet employs an “attention” strategy to computationally identify exact RBP-binding nucleotides, and we discovered enrichment among dynamic RBP-binding sites for structure-changing variants (riboSNitches), which can link genetic diseases with dysregulated RBP bindings. Our rich profiling data and deep learning-based prediction tool provide access to a previously inaccessible layer of cell-type-specific RBP–RNA interactions, with clear utility for understanding and treating human diseases.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L Van Nostrand ◽  
Gabriel A Pratt ◽  
Brian A Yee ◽  
Emily Wheeler ◽  
Steven M Blue ◽  
...  

AbstractA critical step in uncovering rules of RNA processing is to study the in vivo regulatory networks of RNA binding proteins (RBPs). Crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) methods enabled mapping RBP targets transcriptome-wide, but methodological differences present challenges to large-scale integrated analysis across datasets. The development of enhanced CLIP (eCLIP) enabled the large-scale mapping of targets for 150 RBPs in K562 and HepG2, creating a unique resource of RBP interactomes profiled with a standardized methodology in the same cell types. Here we describe our analysis of 223 enhanced (eCLIP) datasets characterizing 150 RBPs in K562 and HepG2 cell lines, revealing a range of binding modalities, including highly resolved positioning around splicing signals and mRNA untranslated regions that associate with distinct RBP functions. Quantification of enrichment for repetitive and abundant multi-copy elements reveals 70% of RBPs have enrichment for non-mRNA element classes, enables identification of novel ribosomal RNA processing factors and sites and suggests that association with retrotransposable elements reflects multiple RBP mechanisms of action. Analysis of spliceosomal RBPs indicates that eCLIP resolves AQR association after intronic lariat formation (enabling identification of branch points with single-nucleotide resolution) and provides genome-wide validation for a branch point-based scanning model for 3’ splice site recognition. Further, we show that eCLIP peak co-occurrences across RBPs enables the discovery of novel co-interacting RBPs. Finally, we present a protocol for visualization of RBP:RNA complexes in the eCLIP workflow using biotin and standard chemiluminescent visualization reagents, enabling simplified confirmation of ribonucleoprotein enrichment without radioactivity. This work illustrates the value of integrated analysis across eCLIP profiling of RBPs with widely distinct functions to reveal novel RNA biology. Further, our quantification of both mRNA and other element association will enable further research to identify novel roles of RBPs in regulating RNA processing.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
You-Liang Cheng ◽  
Hsin-Yu Hsieh ◽  
Shih-Long Tu

Background: RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play crucial roles in various aspects of post-transcriptional gene expression; their functions can vary between tissues, cell types, developmental stages, and environmental conditions. Identifying RBP target RNAs and investigating whether they are differentially bound by RBPs in different cell types, stages, or conditions could shed light on RBP functions. Although several strategies have been designed to identify RBP targets, they involve complicated biochemical steps and require large quantities of material, and only a few studies using these techniques have been performed in plants. The TRIBE (targets of RNA binding proteins identified by editing) method was recently developed to identify RBP targets using a RBP coupled to the catalytic domain of a Drosophila RNA editing enzyme and expressing this fusion protein in vivo. The resulting novel editing events can be identified by sequencing. This technique uses little material and does not require complex biochemical steps, however it is not yet adapted for use in plants. Results: We successfully applied an optimized genome-wide TRIBE method in plants. We selected the splicing regulator polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) as a model protein for testing the TRIBE system in the moss Physcomitrium patens. We demonstrated that 13.81% of protein-coding gene transcripts in P. patens are targets of PTB. Most potential PTB binding sites are located in coding sequences and 3 prime untranslated regions, suggesting that PTB performs multiple functions besides pre-mRNA splicing in this moss. In addition, TRIBE showed reproducible results compared to other methods. Conclusions: We have developed an alternative method based on the TRIBE system to identify RBP targets in plants globally, and we provide guidance here for its application in plants.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne L. Sapiro ◽  
Emily C. Freund ◽  
Lucas Restrepo ◽  
Huan-Huan Qiao ◽  
Amruta Bhate ◽  
...  

AbstractAdenosine-to-inosine RNA editing, catalyzed by ADAR enzymes, alters RNA sequences from those encoded by DNA. These editing events are dynamically regulated, but few trans regulators of ADARs are known in vivo. Here, we screen RNA binding proteins for roles in editing regulation using in vivo knockdown experiments in the Drosophila brain. We identify Zinc-Finger Protein at 72D (Zn72D) as a regulator of editing levels at a majority of editing sites in the brain. Zn72D both regulates ADAR protein levels and interacts with ADAR in an RNA-dependent fashion, and similar to ADAR, Zn72D is necessary to maintain proper neuromuscular junction architecture and motility in the fly. Furthermore, the mammalian homolog of Zn72D, Zfr, regulates editing in mouse primary neurons, demonstrating the conservation of this regulatory role. The broad and conserved regulation of ADAR editing by Zn72D in neurons represents a novel mechanism by which critically important editing events are sustained.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Mrinmoyee Majumder ◽  
Viswanathan Palanisamy

Control of gene expression is critical in shaping the pro-and eukaryotic organisms’ genotype and phenotype. The gene expression regulatory pathways solely rely on protein–protein and protein–nucleic acid interactions, which determine the fate of the nucleic acids. RNA–protein interactions play a significant role in co- and post-transcriptional regulation to control gene expression. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are a diverse group of macromolecules that bind to RNA and play an essential role in RNA biology by regulating pre-mRNA processing, maturation, nuclear transport, stability, and translation. Hence, the studies aimed at investigating RNA–protein interactions are essential to advance our knowledge in gene expression patterns associated with health and disease. Here we discuss the long-established and current technologies that are widely used to study RNA–protein interactions in vivo. We also present the advantages and disadvantages of each method discussed in the review.


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