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Kanduri C. Long noncoding RNAs: Lessons from genomic imprinting. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2015; 1859:102-11. [PMID: 26004516 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2015.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Revised: 05/12/2015] [Accepted: 05/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Genomic imprinting has been a great resource for studying transcriptional and post-transcriptional-based gene regulation by long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). In this article, I overview the functional role of intergenic lncRNAs (H19, IPW, and MEG3), antisense lncRNAs (Kcnq1ot1, Airn, Nespas, Ube3a-ATS), and enhancer lncRNAs (IG-DMR eRNAs) to understand the diverse mechanisms being employed by them in cis and/or trans to regulate the parent-of-origin-specific expression of target genes. Recent evidence suggests that some of the lncRNAs regulate imprinting by promoting intra-chromosomal higher-order chromatin compartmentalization, affecting replication timing and subnuclear positioning. Whereas others act via transcriptional occlusion or transcriptional collision-based mechanisms. By establishing genomic imprinting of target genes, the lncRNAs play a critical role in important biological functions, such as placental and embryonic growth, pluripotency maintenance, cell differentiation, and neural-related functions such as synaptic development and plasticity. An emerging consensus from the recent evidence is that the imprinted lncRNAs fine-tune gene expression of the protein-coding genes to maintain their dosage in cell. Hence, lncRNAs from imprinted clusters offer insights into their mode of action, and these mechanisms have been the basis for uncovering the mode of action of lncRNAs in several other biological contexts. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Clues to long noncoding RNA taxonomy, edited by Dr. Tetsuro Hirose and Dr. Shinichi Nakagawa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandrasekhar Kanduri
- Department of Medical Genetics, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
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102
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Valdez C, Scroggs R, Chassen R, Reiter LT. Variation in Dube3a expression affects neurotransmission at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. Biol Open 2015; 4:776-82. [PMID: 25948754 PMCID: PMC4571101 DOI: 10.1242/bio.20148045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in UBE3A expression levels in neurons can cause neurogenetic disorders ranging from Angelman syndrome (AS) (decreased levels) to autism (increased levels). Here we investigated the effects on neuronal function of varying UBE3A levels using the Drosophila neuromuscular junction as a model for both of these neurogenetic disorders. Stimulations that evoked excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) at 1 Hz intermittently failed to evoke EJPs at 15 Hz in a significantly higher proportion of Dube3a over-expressors using the pan neuronal GAL4 driver C155-GAL4 (C155-GAL4>UAS-Dube3a) relative to controls (C155>+ alone). However, in the Dube3a over-expressing larval neurons with no failures, there was no difference in EJP amplitude at the beginning of the train, or the rate of decrease in EJP amplitude over the course of the train compared to controls. In the absence of tetrodotoxin (TTX), spontaneous EJPs were observed in significantly more C155-GAL4>UAS-Dube3a larva compared to controls. In the presence of TTX, spontaneous and evoked EJPs were completely blocked and mEJP amplitude and frequency did not differ among genotypes. These data suggest that over-expression of wild type Dube3a, but not a ubiquitination defective Dube3a-C/A protein, compromises the ability of motor neuron axons to support closely spaced trains of action potentials, while at the same time increasing excitability. EJPs evoked at 15 Hz in the absence of Dube3a (Dube3a15b homozygous mutant larvae) decayed more rapidly over the course of 30 stimulations compared to w1118 controls, and Dube3a15b larval muscles had significantly more negative resting membrane potentials (RMP). However, these results could not be recapitulated using RNAi knockdown of Dube3a in muscle or neurons alone, suggesting more global developmental defects contribute to this phenotype. These data suggest that reduced UBE3A expression levels may cause global changes that affect RMP and neurotransmitter release from motorneurons at the neuromuscular junction. Similar affects of under- and over-expression of UBE3A on membrane potential and synaptic transmission may underlie the synaptic plasticity defects observed in both AS and autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colleen Valdez
- Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 855 Monroe Ave., Link 415, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Reese Scroggs
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 855 Monroe Ave., Link 515, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Rachel Chassen
- Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 855 Monroe Ave., Link 415, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Lawrence T Reiter
- Department of Neurology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 855 Monroe Ave., Link 415, Memphis, TN 38163, USA Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 855 Monroe Ave., Link 515, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
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103
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Mandel-Brehm C, Salogiannis J, Dhamne SC, Rotenberg A, Greenberg ME. Seizure-like activity in a juvenile Angelman syndrome mouse model is attenuated by reducing Arc expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:5129-34. [PMID: 25848016 PMCID: PMC4413330 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1504809112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder arising from loss-of-function mutations in the maternally inherited copy of the UBE3A gene, and is characterized by an absence of speech, excessive laughter, cognitive delay, motor deficits, and seizures. Despite the fact that the symptoms of AS occur in early childhood, behavioral characterization of AS mouse models has focused primarily on adult phenotypes. In this report we describe juvenile behaviors in AS mice that are strain-independent and clinically relevant. We find that young AS mice, compared with their wild-type littermates, produce an increased number of ultrasonic vocalizations. In addition, young AS mice have defects in motor coordination, as well as abnormal brain activity that results in an enhanced seizure-like response to an audiogenic challenge. The enhanced seizure-like activity, but not the increased ultrasonic vocalizations or motor deficits, is rescued in juvenile AS mice by genetically reducing the expression level of the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, Arc. These findings suggest that therapeutic interventions that reduce the level of Arc expression have the potential to reverse the seizures associated with AS. In addition, the identification of aberrant behaviors in young AS mice may provide clues regarding the neural circuit defects that occur in AS and ultimately allow new approaches for treating this disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sameer C Dhamne
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Alexander Rotenberg
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
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104
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Toward a Broader View of Ube3a in a Mouse Model of Angelman Syndrome: Expression in Brain, Spinal Cord, Sciatic Nerve and Glial Cells. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124649. [PMID: 25894543 PMCID: PMC4403805 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a devastating neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by developmental delay, speech impairment, movement disorder, sleep disorders and refractory epilepsy. AS is caused by loss of the Ube3a protein encoded for by the imprinted Ube3a gene. Ube3a is expressed nearly exclusively from the maternal chromosome in mature neurons. While imprinting in neurons of the brain has been well described, the imprinting and expression of Ube3a in other neural tissues remains relatively unexplored. Moreover, given the overwhelming deficits in brain function in AS patients, the possibility of disrupted Ube3a expression in the infratentorial nervous system and its consequent disability have been largely ignored. We evaluated the imprinting status of Ube3a in the spinal cord and sciatic nerve and show that it is also imprinted in these neural tissues. Furthermore, a growing body of clinical and radiological evidence has suggested that myelin dysfunction may contribute to morbidity in many neurodevelopmental syndromes. However, findings regarding Ube3a expression in non-neuronal cells of the brain have varied. Utilizing enriched primary cultures of oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, we show that Ube3a is expressed, but not imprinted in these cell types. Unlike many other neurodevelopmental disorders, AS symptoms do not become apparent until roughly 6 to 12 months of age. To determine the temporal expression pattern and silencing, we analyzed Ube3a expression in AS mice at several time points. We confirm relaxed imprinting of Ube3a in neurons of the postnatal developing cortex, but not in structures in which neurogenesis and migration are more complete. This furthers the hypothesis that the apparently normal window of development in AS patients is supported by an incompletely silenced paternal allele in developing neurons, resulting in a relative preservation of Ube3a expression during this crucial epoch of early development.
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105
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Silva-Santos S, van Woerden GM, Bruinsma CF, Mientjes E, Jolfaei MA, Distel B, Kushner SA, Elgersma Y. Ube3a reinstatement identifies distinct developmental windows in a murine Angelman syndrome model. J Clin Invest 2015; 125:2069-76. [PMID: 25866966 DOI: 10.1172/jci80554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2014] [Accepted: 03/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that results from loss of function of the maternal ubiquitin protein ligase E3A (UBE3A) allele. Due to neuron-specific imprinting, the paternal UBE3A copy is silenced. Previous studies in murine models have demonstrated that strategies to activate the paternal Ube3a allele are feasible; however, a recent study showed that pharmacological Ube3a gene reactivation in adulthood failed to rescue the majority of neurocognitive phenotypes in a murine AS model. Here, we performed a systematic study to investigate the possibility that neurocognitive rescue can be achieved by reinstating Ube3a during earlier neurodevelopmental windows. We developed an AS model that allows for temporally controlled Cre-dependent induction of the maternal Ube3a allele and determined that there are distinct neurodevelopmental windows during which Ube3a restoration can rescue AS-relevant phenotypes. Motor deficits were rescued by Ube3a reinstatement in adolescent mice, whereas anxiety, repetitive behavior, and epilepsy were only rescued when Ube3a was reinstated during early development. In contrast, hippocampal synaptic plasticity could be restored at any age. Together, these findings suggest that Ube3a reinstatement early in development may be necessary to prevent or rescue most AS-associated phenotypes and should be considered in future clinical trial design.
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106
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Brečević L, Rinčić M, Krsnik Ž, Sedmak G, Hamid AB, Kosyakova N, Galić I, Liehr T, Borovečki F. Association of new deletion/duplication region at chromosome 1p21 with intellectual disability, severe speech deficit and autism spectrum disorder-like behavior: an all-in approach to solving the DPYD enigma. Transl Neurosci 2015; 6:59-86. [PMID: 28123791 PMCID: PMC4936614 DOI: 10.1515/tnsci-2015-0007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2014] [Accepted: 12/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe an as yet unreported neocentric small supernumerary marker chromosome (sSMC) derived from chromosome 1p21.3p21.2. It was present in 80% of the lymphocytes in a male patient with intellectual disability, severe speech deficit, mild dysmorphic features, and hyperactivity with elements of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several important neurodevelopmental genes are affected by the 3.56 Mb copy number gain of 1p21.3p21.2, which may be considered reciprocal in gene content to the recently recognized 1p21.3 microdeletion syndrome. Both 1p21.3 deletions and the presented duplication display overlapping symptoms, fitting the same disorder category. Contribution of coding and non-coding genes to the phenotype is discussed in the light of cellular and intercellular homeostasis disequilibrium. In line with this the presented 1p21.3p21.2 copy number gain correlated to 1p21.3 microdeletion syndrome verifies the hypothesis of a cumulative effect of the number of deregulated genes - homeostasis disequilibrium leading to overlapping phenotypes between microdeletion and microduplication syndromes. Although miR-137 appears to be the major player in the 1p21.3p21.2 region, deregulation of the DPYD (dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase) gene may potentially affect neighboring genes underlying the overlapping symptoms present in both the copy number loss and copy number gain of 1p21. Namely, the all-in approach revealed that DPYD is a complex gene whose expression is epigenetically regulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) within the locus. Furthermore, the long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) L1MC1 transposon inserted in DPYD intronic transcript 1 (DPYD-IT1) lncRNA with its parasites, TcMAR-Tigger5b and pair of Alu repeats appears to be the “weakest link” within the DPYD gene liable to break. Identification of the precise mechanism through which DPYD is epigenetically regulated, and underlying reasons why exactly the break (FRA1E) happens, will consequently pave the way toward preventing severe toxicity to the antineoplastic drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and development of the causative therapy for the dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukrecija Brečević
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department for Functional Genomics, Center for Translational and Clinical Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Šalata 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- E-mail: ;
| | - Martina Rinčić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department for Functional Genomics, Center for Translational and Clinical Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Šalata 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Kollegiengasse 10, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Željka Krsnik
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Goran Sedmak
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ahmed B. Hamid
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Kollegiengasse 10, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Nadezda Kosyakova
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Kollegiengasse 10, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Ivan Galić
- Center for Rehabilitation Stančić, Stančić bb, 10370 Stančić, Croatia
| | - Thomas Liehr
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, Kollegiengasse 10, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department for Functional Genomics, Center for Translational and Clinical Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Šalata 2, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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107
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Shi SQ, Bichell TJ, Ihrie RA, Johnson CH. Ube3a imprinting impairs circadian robustness in Angelman syndrome models. Curr Biol 2015; 25:537-45. [PMID: 25660546 PMCID: PMC4348236 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.12.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2014] [Revised: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 12/15/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The paternal allele of Ube3a is silenced by imprinting in neurons, and Angelman syndrome (AS) is a disorder arising from a deletion or mutation of the maternal Ube3a allele, which thereby eliminates Ube3a neuronal expression. Sleep disorders such as short sleep duration and increased sleep onset latency are very common in AS. RESULTS We found a unique link between neuronal imprinting of Ube3a and circadian rhythms in two mouse models of AS, including enfeebled circadian activity behavior and slowed molecular rhythms in ex vivo brain tissues. As a consequence of compromised circadian behavior, metabolic homeostasis is also disrupted in AS mice. Unsilencing the paternal Ube3a allele restores functional circadian periodicity in neurons deficient in maternal Ube3a but does not affect periodicity in peripheral tissues that are not imprinted for uniparental Ube3a expression. The ubiquitin ligase encoded by Ube3a interacts with the central clock components BMAL1 and BMAL2. Moreover, inactivation of Ube3a expression elevates BMAL1 levels in brain regions that control circadian behavior of AS-model mice, indicating an important role for Ube3a in modulating BMAL1 turnover. CONCLUSIONS Ube3a expression constitutes a direct mechanistic connection between symptoms of a human neurological disorder and the central circadian clock mechanism. The lengthened circadian period leads to delayed phase, which could explain the short sleep duration and increased sleep onset latency of AS subjects. Moreover, we report the pharmacological rescue of an AS phenotype, in this case, altered circadian period. These findings reveal potential treatments for sleep disorders in AS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-qun Shi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Terry Jo Bichell
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Rebecca A Ihrie
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Carl Hirschie Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
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108
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Towards a therapy for Angelman syndrome by targeting a long non-coding RNA. Nature 2014; 518:409-12. [PMID: 25470045 PMCID: PMC4351819 DOI: 10.1038/nature13975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 362] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a single gene disorder characterized by intellectual disability, developmental delay, behavioral uniqueness, speech impairment, seizures, and ataxia1,2. It is caused by maternal deficiency of the imprinted gene UBE3A, encoding an E3 ubiquitin ligase3-5. All patients carry at least one copy of paternal UBE3A, which is intact but silenced by a nuclear-localized long non-coding RNA, UBE3A antisense transcript (UBE3A-ATS)6-8. Murine Ube3a-ATS reduction by either transcription termination or topoisomerase I inhibition increased paternal Ube3a expression9,10. Despite a clear understanding of the disease-causing event in AS and the potential to harness the intact paternal allele to correct disease, no gene-specific treatment exists for patients. Here we developed a potential therapeutic intervention for AS by reducing Ube3a-ATS with antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). ASO treatment achieved specific reduction of Ube3a-ATS and sustained unsilencing of paternal Ube3a in neurons in vitro and in vivo. Partial restoration of UBE3A protein in an AS mouse model ameliorated some cognitive deficits associated with the disease. Although additional studies of phenotypic correction are needed, for the first time we developed a sequence-specific and clinically feasible method to activate expression of the paternal Ube3a allele.
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109
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Li G, Qiu S. Neurodevelopmental Underpinnings of Angelman Syndrome. JOURNAL OF BIOANALYSIS & BIOMEDICINE 2014; 6:052056. [PMID: 26491538 PMCID: PMC4610198 DOI: 10.4172/1948-593x.1000111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Guohui Li
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, School of Life Science, Arizona State University, USA
| | - Shenfeng Qiu
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, School of Life Science, Arizona State University, USA
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
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110
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Angelman syndrome imprinting center encodes a transcriptional promoter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 112:6871-5. [PMID: 25378697 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1411261111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Clusters of imprinted genes are often controlled by an imprinting center that is necessary for allele-specific gene expression and to reprogram parent-of-origin information between generations. An imprinted domain at 15q11-q13 is responsible for both Angelman syndrome (AS) and Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), two clinically distinct neurodevelopmental disorders. Angelman syndrome arises from the lack of maternal contribution from the locus, whereas Prader-Willi syndrome results from the absence of paternally expressed genes. In some rare cases of PWS and AS, small deletions may lead to incorrect parent-of-origin allele identity. DNA sequences common to these deletions define a bipartite imprinting center for the AS-PWS locus. The PWS-smallest region of deletion overlap (SRO) element of the imprinting center activates expression of genes from the paternal allele. The AS-SRO element generates maternal allele identity by epigenetically inactivating the PWS-SRO in oocytes so that paternal genes are silenced on the future maternal allele. Here we have investigated functional activities of the AS-SRO, the element necessary for maternal allele identity. We find that, in humans, the AS-SRO is an oocyte-specific promoter that generates transcripts that transit the PWS-SRO. Similar upstream promoters were detected in bovine oocytes. This result is consistent with a model in which imprinting centers become DNA methylated and acquire maternal allele identity in oocytes in response to transiting transcription.
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111
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Galiveti CR, Raabe CA, Konthur Z, Rozhdestvensky TS. Differential regulation of non-protein coding RNAs from Prader-Willi Syndrome locus. Sci Rep 2014; 4:6445. [PMID: 25246219 PMCID: PMC4171697 DOI: 10.1038/srep06445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2014] [Accepted: 08/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a neurogenetic disorder caused by the deletion of imprinted genes on the paternally inherited human chromosome 15q11-q13. This locus harbours a long non-protein-coding RNA (U-UBE3A-ATS) that contains six intron-encoded snoRNAs, including the SNORD116 and SNORD115 repetitive clusters. The 3′-region of U-UBE3A-ATS is transcribed in the cis-antisense direction to the ubiquitin-protein ligase E3A (UBE3A) gene. Deletion of the SNORD116 region causes key characteristics of PWS. There are few indications that SNORD115 might regulate serotonin receptor (5HT2C) pre-mRNA processing. Here we performed quantitative real-time expression analyses of RNAs from the PWS locus across 20 human tissues and combined it with deep-sequencing data derived from Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE-seq) libraries. We found that the expression profiles of SNORD64, SNORD107, SNORD108 and SNORD116 are similar across analyzed tissues and correlate well with SNORD116 embedded U-UBE3A-ATS exons (IPW116). Notable differences in expressions between the aforementioned RNAs and SNORD115 together with the host IPW115 and UBE3A cis-antisense exons were observed. CAGE-seq analysis revealed the presence of potential transcriptional start sites originated from the U-UBE3A-ATS spanning region. Our findings indicate novel aspects for the expression regulation in the PWS locus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenna R Galiveti
- 1] Institute of Experimental Pathology, ZMBE, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, 48149 Münster, Germany [2] Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Department of Vertebrate Genomics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Carsten A Raabe
- Institute of Experimental Pathology, ZMBE, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Zoltán Konthur
- 1] Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Department of Vertebrate Genomics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany [2] Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Biomolecular Systems, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Timofey S Rozhdestvensky
- Institute of Experimental Pathology, ZMBE, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56, 48149 Münster, Germany
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112
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Bailus BJ, Segal DJ. The prospect of molecular therapy for Angelman syndrome and other monogenic neurologic disorders. BMC Neurosci 2014; 15:76. [PMID: 24946931 PMCID: PMC4069279 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-15-76] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Accepted: 06/06/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Angelman syndrome is a monogenic neurologic disorder that affects 1 in 15,000 children, and is characterized by ataxia, intellectual disability, speech impairment, sleep disorders, and seizures. The disorder is caused by loss of central nervous system expression of UBE3A, a gene encoding a ubiquitin ligase. Current treatments focus on the management of symptoms, as there have not been therapies to treat the underlying molecular cause of the disease. However, this outlook is evolving with advances in molecular therapies, including artificial transcription factors a class of engineered DNA-binding proteins that have the potential to target a specific site in the genome. RESULTS Here we review the recent progress and prospect of targeted gene expression therapies. Three main issues that must be addressed to advance toward human clinical trials are specificity, toxicity, and delivery. CONCLUSIONS Artificial transcription factors have the potential to address these concerns on a level that meets and in some cases exceeds current small molecule therapies. We examine the possibilities of such approaches in the context of Angelman syndrome, as a template for other single-gene, neurologic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J Bailus
- Genome Center, MIND Institute, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - David J Segal
- Genome Center, MIND Institute, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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113
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Guennewig B, Cooper AA. The Central Role of Noncoding RNA in the Brain. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2014; 116:153-94. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-801105-8.00007-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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