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Kim AJ, Miller SI, Greiner EC, Kettenbach AN, Griffin EE. PLK-1 regulates MEX-1 polarization in the C. elegans zygote. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.26.605193. [PMID: 39091813 PMCID: PMC11291152 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.26.605193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
The one-cell C. elegans embryo undergoes an asymmetric cell division during which germline factors such as the RNA-binding proteins POS-1 and MEX-1 segregate to the posterior cytoplasm, leading to their asymmetric inheritance to the posterior germline daughter cell. Previous studies found that the RNA-binding protein MEX-5 recruits polo-like kinase PLK-1 to the anterior cytoplasm where PLK-1 inhibits the retention of its substrate POS-1, leading to POS-1 segregation to the posterior. In this study, we tested whether PLK-1 similarly regulates MEX-1 polarization. We find that both the retention of MEX-1 in the anterior and the segregation of MEX-1 to the posterior depend on PLK kinase activity and on the interaction between MEX-5 and PLK-1. Human PLK1 directly phosphorylates recombinant MEX-1 on 9 predicted PLK-1 sites in vitro, four of which were identified in previous phosphoproteomic analysis of C. elegans embryos. The introduction of alanine substitutions at these four PLK-1 phosphorylation sites (MEX-1(4A)) significantly weakened the inhibition of MEX-1 retention in the anterior, thereby weakening MEX-1 segregation to the posterior. In contrast, mutation of a predicted CDK1 phosphorylation site had no effect on MEX-1 retention or on MEX-1 segregation. MEX-1(4A) mutants are viable and fertile but display significant sterility and fecundity defects at elevated temperatures. Taken together with our previous findings, these findings suggest PLK-1 phosphorylation drives both MEX-1 and POS-1 polarization during the asymmetric division of the zygote.
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Domingo-Muelas A, Duart-Abadia P, Morante-Redolat JM, Jordán-Pla A, Belenguer G, Fabra-Beser J, Paniagua-Herranz L, Pérez-Villalba A, Álvarez-Varela A, Barriga FM, Gil-Sanz C, Ortega F, Batlle E, Fariñas I. Post-transcriptional control of a stemness signature by RNA-binding protein MEX3A regulates murine adult neurogenesis. Nat Commun 2023; 14:373. [PMID: 36690670 PMCID: PMC9871011 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36054-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural stem cells (NSCs) in the adult murine subependymal zone balance their self-renewal capacity and glial identity with the potential to generate neurons during the lifetime. Adult NSCs exhibit lineage priming via pro-neurogenic fate determinants. However, the protein levels of the neural fate determinants are not sufficient to drive direct differentiation of adult NSCs, which raises the question of how cells along the neurogenic lineage avoid different conflicting fate choices, such as self-renewal and differentiation. Here, we identify RNA-binding protein MEX3A as a post-transcriptional regulator of a set of stemness associated transcripts at critical transitions in the subependymal neurogenic lineage. MEX3A regulates a quiescence-related RNA signature in activated NSCs that is needed for their return to quiescence, playing a role in the long-term maintenance of the NSC pool. Furthermore, it is required for the repression of the same program at the onset of neuronal differentiation. Our data indicate that MEX3A is a pivotal regulator of adult murine neurogenesis acting as a translational remodeller.
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Grants
- EC | EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 | H2020 Priority Excellent Science | H2020 European Research Council (H2020 Excellent Science - European Research Council)
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN, Spain) - PID2020-119917RB-I00.
- Regional Government of Valencia | Conselleria d'Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport (Conselleria d'Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport de la Generalitat Valenciana)
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN, Spain) - PID2020-117937GB-I00, PID2020-119917RB-I00, PID 2019-109155RB-I00, PID2020-114227RB-I00, RyC-2015-19058, PRE2018-084838. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED, Spain) - MICINN- CB06/05/0086.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Domingo-Muelas
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valencia, Spain
| | - Pere Duart-Abadia
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valencia, Spain
| | - Jose Manuel Morante-Redolat
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valencia, Spain
| | - Antonio Jordán-Pla
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Germán Belenguer
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valencia, Spain
| | - Jaime Fabra-Beser
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Lucía Paniagua-Herranz
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Neuroquímica (IUIN), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Pérez-Villalba
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valencia, Spain
| | - Adrián Álvarez-Varela
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francisco M Barriga
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cristina Gil-Sanz
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valencia, Spain
| | - Felipe Ortega
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Neuroquímica (IUIN), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Eduard Batlle
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Barcelona, Spain.
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Isabel Fariñas
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Biología Funcional y Antropología Física, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
- Instituto de Biotecnología y Biomedicina (BIOTECMED), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Valencia, Spain.
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Albarqi MMY, Ryder SP. The role of RNA-binding proteins in orchestrating germline development in Caenorhabditis elegans. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 10:1094295. [PMID: 36684428 PMCID: PMC9846511 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.1094295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA passed from parents to progeny controls several aspects of early development. The germline of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans contains many families of evolutionarily conserved RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that target the untranslated regions of mRNA transcripts to regulate their translation and stability. In this review, we summarize what is known about the binding specificity of C. elegans germline RNA-binding proteins and the mechanisms of mRNA regulation that contribute to their function. We examine the emerging role of miRNAs in translational regulation of germline and embryo development. We also provide an overview of current technology that can be used to address the gaps in our understanding of RBP regulation of mRNAs. Finally, we present a hypothetical model wherein multiple 3'UTR-mediated regulatory processes contribute to pattern formation in the germline to ensure the proper and timely localization of germline proteins and thus a functional reproductive system.
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Wang SY, Kim K, O'Brown ZK, Levan A, Dodson AE, Kennedy SG, Chernoff C, Greer EL. Hypoxia induces transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of small RNAs. Cell Rep 2022; 41:111800. [PMID: 36516753 PMCID: PMC9847139 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals sense and adapt to decreased oxygen availability, but whether and how hypoxia exposure in ancestors can elicit phenotypic consequences in normoxia-reared descendants are unclear. We show that hypoxia educes an intergenerational reduction in lipids and a transgenerational reduction in fertility in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The transmission of these epigenetic phenotypes is dependent on repressive histone-modifying enzymes and the argonaute HRDE-1. Feeding naive C. elegans small RNAs extracted from hypoxia-treated worms is sufficient to induce a fertility defect. Furthermore, the endogenous small interfering RNA F44E5.4/5 is upregulated intergenerationally in response to hypoxia, and soaking naive normoxia-reared C. elegans with F44E5.4/5 double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is sufficient to induce an intergenerational fertility defect. Finally, we demonstrate that labeled F44E5.4/5 dsRNA is itself transmitted from parents to children. Our results suggest that small RNAs respond to the environment and are sufficient to transmit non-genetic information from parents to their naive children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Yuan Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, HMS Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Kathleen Kim
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Zach Klapholz O'Brown
- Department of Pediatrics, HMS Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Aileen Levan
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Anne Elizabeth Dodson
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Scott G Kennedy
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Chaim Chernoff
- Department of Pediatrics, HMS Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Eric Lieberman Greer
- Department of Pediatrics, HMS Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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Albarqi MMY, Ryder SP. The endogenous mex-3 3´UTR is required for germline repression and contributes to optimal fecundity in C. elegans. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009775. [PMID: 34424904 PMCID: PMC8412283 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA regulation is essential to successful reproduction. Messenger RNAs delivered from parent to progeny govern early embryonic development. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are the key effectors of this process, regulating the translation and stability of parental transcripts to control cell fate specification events prior to zygotic gene activation. The KH-domain RBP MEX-3 is conserved from nematode to human. It was first discovered in Caenorhabditis elegans, where it is essential for anterior cell fate and embryo viability. Here, we show that loss of the endogenous mex-3 3´UTR disrupts its germline expression pattern. An allelic series of 3´UTR deletion variants identify repressing regions of the UTR and demonstrate that repression is not precisely coupled to reproductive success. We also show that several RBPs regulate mex-3 mRNA through its 3´UTR to define its unique germline spatiotemporal expression pattern. Additionally, we find that both poly(A) tail length control and the translation initiation factor IFE-3 contribute to its expression pattern. Together, our results establish the importance of the mex-3 3´UTR to reproductive health and its expression in the germline. Our results suggest that additional mechanisms control MEX-3 function when 3´UTR regulation is compromised. In sexually reproducing organisms, germ cells undergo meiosis and differentiate to form oocytes or sperm. Coordination of this process requires a gene regulatory program that acts while the genome is undergoing chromatin condensation. As such, RNA regulatory pathways are an important contributor. The germline of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a suitable model system to study germ cell differentiation. Several RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) coordinate each transition in the germline such as the transition from mitosis to meiosis. MEX-3 is a conserved RNA-binding protein found in most animals including humans. In C. elegans, MEX-3 displays a highly restricted pattern of expression. Here, we define the importance of the 3´UTR in regulating MEX-3 expression pattern in vivo and characterize the RNA-binding proteins involved in this regulation. Our results show that deleting various mex-3 3´UTR regions alter the pattern of expression in the germline in various ways. These mutations also reduced—but did not eliminate—reproductive capacity. Finally, we demonstrate that multiple post-transcriptional mechanisms control MEX-3 levels in different domains of the germline. Our data suggest that coordination of MEX-3 activity requires multiple layers of regulation to ensure reproductive robustness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mennatallah M. Y. Albarqi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sean P. Ryder
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Lederer M, Müller S, Glaß M, Bley N, Ihling C, Sinz A, Hüttelmaier S. Oncogenic Potential of the Dual-Function Protein MEX3A. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:415. [PMID: 34067172 PMCID: PMC8151450 DOI: 10.3390/biology10050415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
MEX3A belongs to the MEX3 (Muscle EXcess) protein family consisting of four members (MEX3A-D) in humans. Characteristic for MEX3 proteins is their domain structure with 2 HNRNPK homology (KH) domains mediating RNA binding and a C-terminal really interesting new gene (RING) domain that harbors E3 ligase function. In agreement with their domain composition, MEX3 proteins were reported to modulate both RNA fate and protein ubiquitination. MEX3 paralogs exhibit an oncofetal expression pattern, they are severely downregulated postnatally, and re-expression is observed in various malignancies. Enforced expression of MEX3 proteins in various cancers correlates with poor prognosis, emphasizing their oncogenic potential. The latter is supported by MEX3A's impact on proliferation, self-renewal as well as migration of tumor cells in vitro and tumor growth in xenograft studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcell Lederer
- Charles Tanford Protein Center, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Section for Molecular Cell Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3a, 06120 Halle, Germany; (S.M.).; (M.G.).; (N.B.); (S.H.)
| | - Simon Müller
- Charles Tanford Protein Center, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Section for Molecular Cell Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3a, 06120 Halle, Germany; (S.M.).; (M.G.).; (N.B.); (S.H.)
| | - Markus Glaß
- Charles Tanford Protein Center, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Section for Molecular Cell Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3a, 06120 Halle, Germany; (S.M.).; (M.G.).; (N.B.); (S.H.)
| | - Nadine Bley
- Charles Tanford Protein Center, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Section for Molecular Cell Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3a, 06120 Halle, Germany; (S.M.).; (M.G.).; (N.B.); (S.H.)
| | - Christian Ihling
- Center for Structural Mass Spectrometry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Bioanalytics, Institute of Pharmacy, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany; (C.I.); (A.S.)
| | - Andrea Sinz
- Center for Structural Mass Spectrometry, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Bioanalytics, Institute of Pharmacy, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany; (C.I.); (A.S.)
| | - Stefan Hüttelmaier
- Charles Tanford Protein Center, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Section for Molecular Cell Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Str. 3a, 06120 Halle, Germany; (S.M.).; (M.G.).; (N.B.); (S.H.)
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MEX3A promotes triple negative breast cancer proliferation and migration via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Exp Cell Res 2020; 395:112191. [DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2020.112191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Revised: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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