1
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Li F, Karimi N, Wang S, Pan T, Dong J, Wang X, Ma S, Shan Q, Liu C, Zhang Y, Li W, Feng G. mRNA isoform switches during mouse zygotic genome activation. Cell Prolif 2024; 57:e13655. [PMID: 38764347 PMCID: PMC11216927 DOI: 10.1111/cpr.13655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Najmeh Karimi
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Siqi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineBeijingChina
| | - Tianshi Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- College of Life SciencesNortheast Agricultural UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Jingxi Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Medical SchoolUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Sinan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- College of Life SciencesNortheast Agricultural UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Qingtong Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- College of Life SciencesNortheast Agricultural UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineBeijingChina
| | - Ying Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineBeijingChina
| | - Wei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineBeijingChina
| | - Guihai Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive BiologyInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and ReconstructionChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineBeijingChina
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2
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Zhuravskaya A, Yap K, Hamid F, Makeyev EV. Alternative splicing coupled to nonsense-mediated decay coordinates downregulation of non-neuronal genes in developing mouse neurons. Genome Biol 2024; 25:162. [PMID: 38902825 PMCID: PMC11188260 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-024-03305-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The functional coupling between alternative pre-mRNA splicing (AS) and the mRNA quality control mechanism called nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) can modulate transcript abundance. Previous studies have identified several examples of such a regulation in developing neurons. However, the systems-level effects of AS-NMD in this context are poorly understood. RESULTS We developed an R package, factR2, which offers a comprehensive suite of AS-NMD analysis functions. Using this tool, we conducted a longitudinal analysis of gene expression in pluripotent stem cells undergoing induced neuronal differentiation. Our analysis uncovers hundreds of AS-NMD events with significant potential to regulate gene expression. Notably, this regulation is significantly overrepresented in specific functional groups of developmentally downregulated genes. Particularly strong association with gene downregulation is detected for alternative cassette exons stimulating NMD upon their inclusion into mature mRNA. By combining bioinformatic analyses with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and other experimental approaches we show that NMD-stimulating cassette exons regulated by the RNA-binding protein PTBP1 dampen the expression of their genes in developing neurons. We also provided evidence that the inclusion of NMD-stimulating cassette exons into mature mRNAs is temporally coordinated with NMD-independent gene repression mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides an accessible workflow for the discovery and prioritization of AS-NMD targets. It further argues that the AS-NMD pathway plays a widespread role in developing neurons by facilitating the downregulation of functionally related non-neuronal genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Zhuravskaya
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK
| | - Karen Yap
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK
| | - Fursham Hamid
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK.
| | - Eugene V Makeyev
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK.
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3
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Recinos Y, Bao S, Wang X, Phillips BL, Yeh YT, Weyn-Vanhentenryck SM, Swanson MS, Zhang C. Lineage-specific splicing regulation of MAPT gene in the primate brain. CELL GENOMICS 2024; 4:100563. [PMID: 38772368 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Divergence of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) alternative splicing (AS) is widespread in mammals, including primates, but the underlying mechanisms and functional impact are poorly understood. Here, we modeled cassette exon inclusion in primate brains as a quantitative trait and identified 1,170 (∼3%) exons with lineage-specific splicing shifts under stabilizing selection. Among them, microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) exons 2 and 10 underwent anticorrelated, two-step evolutionary shifts in the catarrhine and hominoid lineages, leading to their present inclusion levels in humans. The developmental-stage-specific divergence of exon 10 splicing, whose dysregulation can cause frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), is mediated by divergent distal intronic MBNL-binding sites. Competitive binding of these sites by CRISPR-dCas13d/gRNAs effectively reduces exon 10 inclusion, potentially providing a therapeutically compatible approach to modulate tau isoform expression. Our data suggest adaptation of MAPT function and, more generally, a role for AS in the evolutionary expansion of the primate brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yocelyn Recinos
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Suying Bao
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Xiaojian Wang
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Brittany L Phillips
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Yow-Tyng Yeh
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Sebastien M Weyn-Vanhentenryck
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Maurice S Swanson
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Center for NeuroGenetics and the Genetics Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Chaolin Zhang
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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4
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Joglekar A, Hu W, Zhang B, Narykov O, Diekhans M, Marrocco J, Balacco J, Ndhlovu LC, Milner TA, Fedrigo O, Jarvis ED, Sheynkman G, Korkin D, Ross ME, Tilgner HU. Single-cell long-read sequencing-based mapping reveals specialized splicing patterns in developing and adult mouse and human brain. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:1051-1063. [PMID: 38594596 PMCID: PMC11156538 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01616-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
RNA isoforms influence cell identity and function. However, a comprehensive brain isoform map was lacking. We analyze single-cell RNA isoforms across brain regions, cell subtypes, developmental time points and species. For 72% of genes, full-length isoform expression varies along one or more axes. Splicing, transcription start and polyadenylation sites vary strongly between cell types, influence protein architecture and associate with disease-linked variation. Additionally, neurotransmitter transport and synapse turnover genes harbor cell-type variability across anatomical regions. Regulation of cell-type-specific splicing is pronounced in the postnatal day 21-to-postnatal day 28 adolescent transition. Developmental isoform regulation is stronger than regional regulation for the same cell type. Cell-type-specific isoform regulation in mice is mostly maintained in the human hippocampus, allowing extrapolation to the human brain. Conversely, the human brain harbors additional cell-type specificity, suggesting gain-of-function isoforms. Together, this detailed single-cell atlas of full-length isoform regulation across development, anatomical regions and species reveals an unappreciated degree of isoform variability across multiple axes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anoushka Joglekar
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wen Hu
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Bei Zhang
- Spatial Genomics, Inc., Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Oleksandr Narykov
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Computer Science Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Data Science Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Mark Diekhans
- UC Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Jordan Marrocco
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Biology, Touro University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jennifer Balacco
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lishomwa C Ndhlovu
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Teresa A Milner
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Olivier Fedrigo
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Gloria Sheynkman
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Dmitry Korkin
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Computer Science Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Data Science Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - M Elizabeth Ross
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hagen U Tilgner
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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5
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Moreno-Aguilera M, Neher AM, Mendoza MB, Dodel M, Mardakheh FK, Ortiz R, Gallego C. KIS counteracts PTBP2 and regulates alternative exon usage in neurons. eLife 2024; 13:e96048. [PMID: 38597390 PMCID: PMC11045219 DOI: 10.7554/elife.96048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Alternative RNA splicing is an essential and dynamic process in neuronal differentiation and synapse maturation, and dysregulation of this process has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies have revealed the importance of RNA-binding proteins in the regulation of neuronal splicing programs. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the control of these splicing regulators are still unclear. Here, we show that KIS, a kinase upregulated in the developmental brain, imposes a genome-wide alteration in exon usage during neuronal differentiation in mice. KIS contains a protein-recognition domain common to spliceosomal components and phosphorylates PTBP2, counteracting the role of this splicing factor in exon exclusion. At the molecular level, phosphorylation of unstructured domains within PTBP2 causes its dissociation from two co-regulators, Matrin3 and hnRNPM, and hinders the RNA-binding capability of the complex. Furthermore, KIS and PTBP2 display strong and opposing functional interactions in synaptic spine emergence and maturation. Taken together, our data uncover a post-translational control of splicing regulators that link transcriptional and alternative exon usage programs in neuronal development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alba M Neher
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB), CSICBarcelonaSpain
| | - Mónica B Mendoza
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB), CSICBarcelonaSpain
| | - Martin Dodel
- Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Faraz K Mardakheh
- Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Raúl Ortiz
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB), CSICBarcelonaSpain
| | - Carme Gallego
- Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB), CSICBarcelonaSpain
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6
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de Reus AJEM, Basak O, Dykstra W, van Asperen JV, van Bodegraven EJ, Hol EM. GFAP-isoforms in the nervous system: Understanding the need for diversity. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2024; 87:102340. [PMID: 38401182 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2024.102340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate filament (IF) protein expressed in specific types of glial cells in the nervous system. The expression of GFAP is highly regulated during brain development and in neurological diseases. The presence of distinct GFAP-isoforms in various cell types, developmental stages, and diseases indicates that GFAP (post-)transcriptional regulation has a role in glial cell physiology and pathology. GFAP-isoforms differ in sub-cellular localisation, IF-network assembly properties, and IF-dynamics which results in distinct molecular interactions and mechanical properties of the IF-network. Therefore, GFAP (post-)transcriptional regulation is likely a mechanism by which radial glia, astrocytes, and glioma cells can modulate cellular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra J E M de Reus
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Onur Basak
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Werner Dykstra
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jessy V van Asperen
- Institut NeuroMyoGène (INMG), Unité Physiopathologie et Génétique du Neurone et du Muscle, Unversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1 CNRS UMR 5261, INSERM U1315, Lyon, France
| | - Emma J van Bodegraven
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Elly M Hol
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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7
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Chen X, Birey F, Li MY, Revah O, Levy R, Thete MV, Reis N, Kaganovsky K, Onesto M, Sakai N, Hudacova Z, Hao J, Meng X, Nishino S, Huguenard J, Pașca SP. Antisense oligonucleotide therapeutic approach for Timothy syndrome. Nature 2024; 628:818-825. [PMID: 38658687 PMCID: PMC11043036 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07310-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Timothy syndrome (TS) is a severe, multisystem disorder characterized by autism, epilepsy, long-QT syndrome and other neuropsychiatric conditions1. TS type 1 (TS1) is caused by a gain-of-function variant in the alternatively spliced and developmentally enriched CACNA1C exon 8A, as opposed to its counterpart exon 8. We previously uncovered several phenotypes in neurons derived from patients with TS1, including delayed channel inactivation, prolonged depolarization-induced calcium rise, impaired interneuron migration, activity-dependent dendrite retraction and an unanticipated persistent expression of exon 8A2-6. We reasoned that switching CACNA1C exon utilization from 8A to 8 would represent a potential therapeutic strategy. Here we developed antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to effectively decrease the inclusion of exon 8A in human cells both in vitro and, following transplantation, in vivo. We discovered that the ASO-mediated switch from exon 8A to 8 robustly rescued defects in patient-derived cortical organoids and migration in forebrain assembloids. Leveraging a transplantation platform previously developed7, we found that a single intrathecal ASO administration rescued calcium changes and in vivo dendrite retraction of patient neurons, suggesting that suppression of CACNA1C exon 8A expression is a potential treatment for TS1. Broadly, these experiments illustrate how a multilevel, in vivo and in vitro stem cell model-based approach can identify strategies to reverse disease-relevant neural pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Chen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Fikri Birey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Min-Yin Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Omer Revah
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca Levy
- Department of Neurology, Division of Child Neurology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Mayuri Vijay Thete
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Noah Reis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Konstantin Kaganovsky
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Massimo Onesto
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Noriaki Sakai
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Zuzana Hudacova
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jin Hao
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xiangling Meng
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Seiji Nishino
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - John Huguenard
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sergiu P Pașca
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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8
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Takashima S, Sun W, Otten ABC, Cai P, Peng SI, Tong E, Bui J, Mai M, Amarbayar O, Cheng B, Odango RJ, Li Z, Qu K, Sun BK. Alternative mRNA splicing events and regulators in epidermal differentiation. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113814. [PMID: 38402585 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Alternative splicing (AS) of messenger RNAs occurs in ∼95% of multi-exon human genes and generates diverse RNA and protein isoforms. We investigated AS events associated with human epidermal differentiation, a process crucial for skin function. We identified 6,413 AS events, primarily involving cassette exons. We also predicted 34 RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) regulating epidermal AS, including 19 previously undescribed candidate regulators. From these results, we identified FUS as an RBP that regulates the balance between keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation. Additionally, we characterized the function of a cassette exon AS event in MAP3K7, which encodes a kinase involved in cell signaling. We found that a switch from the short to long isoform of MAP3K7, triggered during differentiation, enforces the demarcation between proliferating basal progenitors and overlying differentiated strata. Our findings indicate that AS occurs extensively in the human epidermis and has critical roles in skin homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Takashima
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Wujianan Sun
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Auke B C Otten
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Pengfei Cai
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Shaohong Isaac Peng
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Elton Tong
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Jolina Bui
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - McKenzie Mai
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Oyumergen Amarbayar
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Binbin Cheng
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Rowen Jane Odango
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA
| | - Zongkai Li
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Kun Qu
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Bryan K Sun
- Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92109, USA.
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9
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Romeo-Cardeillac C, Trovero MF, Radío S, Smircich P, Rodríguez-Casuriaga R, Geisinger A, Sotelo-Silveira J. Uncovering a multitude of stage-specific splice variants and putative protein isoforms generated along mouse spermatogenesis. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:295. [PMID: 38509455 PMCID: PMC10953240 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10170-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mammalian testis is a highly complex and heterogeneous tissue. This complexity, which mostly derives from spermatogenic cells, is reflected at the transcriptional level, with the largest number of tissue-specific genes and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) compared to other tissues, and one of the highest rates of alternative splicing. Although it is known that adequate alternative-splicing patterns and stage-specific isoforms are critical for successful spermatogenesis, so far only a very limited number of reports have addressed a detailed study of alternative splicing and isoforms along the different spermatogenic stages. RESULTS In the present work, using highly purified stage-specific testicular cell populations, we detected 33,002 transcripts expressed throughout mouse spermatogenesis not annotated so far. These include both splice variants of already annotated genes, and of hitherto unannotated genes. Using conservative criteria, we uncovered 13,471 spermatogenic lncRNAs, which reflects the still incomplete annotation of lncRNAs. A distinctive feature of lncRNAs was their lower number of splice variants compared to protein-coding ones, adding to the conclusion that lncRNAs are, in general, less complex than mRNAs. Besides, we identified 2,794 unannotated transcripts with high coding potential (including some arising from yet unannotated genes), many of which encode unnoticed putative testis-specific proteins. Some of the most interesting coding splice variants were chosen, and validated through RT-PCR. Remarkably, the largest number of stage-specific unannotated transcripts are expressed during early meiotic prophase stages, whose study has been scarcely addressed in former transcriptomic analyses. CONCLUSIONS We detected a high number of yet unannotated genes and alternatively spliced transcripts along mouse spermatogenesis, hence showing that the transcriptomic diversity of the testis is considerably higher than previously reported. This is especially prominent for specific, underrepresented stages such as those of early meiotic prophase, and its unveiling may constitute a step towards the understanding of their key events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Romeo-Cardeillac
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Reproduction, Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Department of Genomics, IIBCE, 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - María Fernanda Trovero
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Reproduction, Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Santiago Radío
- Department of Genomics, IIBCE, 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Pablo Smircich
- Department of Genomics, IIBCE, 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Rosana Rodríguez-Casuriaga
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Reproduction, Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Adriana Geisinger
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Reproduction, Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Biochemistry-Molecular Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República (UdelaR), 11,400, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - José Sotelo-Silveira
- Department of Genomics, IIBCE, 11,600, Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, UdelaR, 11,400, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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10
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Bénitière F, Necsulea A, Duret L. Random genetic drift sets an upper limit on mRNA splicing accuracy in metazoans. eLife 2024; 13:RP93629. [PMID: 38470242 DOI: 10.7554/elife.93629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Most eukaryotic genes undergo alternative splicing (AS), but the overall functional significance of this process remains a controversial issue. It has been noticed that the complexity of organisms (assayed by the number of distinct cell types) correlates positively with their genome-wide AS rate. This has been interpreted as evidence that AS plays an important role in adaptive evolution by increasing the functional repertoires of genomes. However, this observation also fits with a totally opposite interpretation: given that 'complex' organisms tend to have small effective population sizes (Ne), they are expected to be more affected by genetic drift, and hence more prone to accumulate deleterious mutations that decrease splicing accuracy. Thus, according to this 'drift barrier' theory, the elevated AS rate in complex organisms might simply result from a higher splicing error rate. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed 3496 transcriptome sequencing samples to quantify AS in 53 metazoan species spanning a wide range of Ne values. Our results show a negative correlation between Ne proxies and the genome-wide AS rates among species, consistent with the drift barrier hypothesis. This pattern is dominated by low abundance isoforms, which represent the vast majority of the splice variant repertoire. We show that these low abundance isoforms are depleted in functional AS events, and most likely correspond to errors. Conversely, the AS rate of abundant isoforms, which are relatively enriched in functional AS events, tends to be lower in more complex species. All these observations are consistent with the hypothesis that variation in AS rates across metazoans reflects the limits set by drift on the capacity of selection to prevent gene expression errors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Bénitière
- Laboratoire de Biometrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS, Universite Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Anamaria Necsulea
- Laboratoire de Biometrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS, Universite Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Laurent Duret
- Laboratoire de Biometrie et Biologie Evolutive, CNRS, Universite Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
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11
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Liu L, Wang W, Liu W, Li X, Yi G, Adetula AA, Huang H, Tang Z. Comprehensive Atlas of Alternative Splicing Reveals NSRP1 Promoting Adipogenesis through CCDC18. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2874. [PMID: 38474122 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Alternative splicing (AS) plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression, function, and diversity. However, limited reports exist on the identification and comparison of AS in Eastern and Western pigs. Here, we analyzed 243 transcriptome data from eight tissues, integrating information on transcription factors (TFs), selection signals, splicing factors (SFs), and quantitative trait loci (QTL) to comprehensively study alternative splicing events (ASEs) in pigs. Five ASE types were identified, with Mutually Exclusive Exon (MXE) and Skipped Exon (SE) ASEs being the most prevalent. A significant portion of genes with ASEs (ASGs) showed conservation across all eight tissues (63.21-76.13% per tissue). Differentially alternative splicing genes (DASGs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) exhibited tissue specificity, with blood and adipose tissues having more DASGs. Functional enrichment analysis revealed coDASG_DEGs in adipose were enriched in pathways associated with adipose deposition and immune inflammation, while coDASG_DEGs in blood were enriched in pathways related to immune inflammation and metabolism. Adipose deposition in Eastern pigs might be linked to the down-regulation of immune-inflammation-related pathways and reduced insulin resistance. The TFs, selection signals, and SFs appeared to regulate ASEs. Notably, ARID4A (TF), NSRP1 (SF), ANKRD12, IFT74, KIAA2026, CCDC18, NEXN, PPIG, and ROCK1 genes in adipose tissue showed potential regulatory effects on adipose-deposition traits. NSRP1 could promote adipogenesis by regulating alternative splicing and expression of CCDC18. Conducting an in-depth investigation into AS, this study has successfully identified key marker genes essential for pig genetic breeding and the enhancement of meat quality, which will play important roles in promoting the diversity of pork quality and meeting market demand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Liu
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
| | - Weiwei Liu
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
| | - Xingzheng Li
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
| | - Guoqiang Yi
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Kunpeng Institute of Modern Agriculture at Foshan, Agricultural Genomics Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Foshan 528226, China
| | - Adeyinka Abiola Adetula
- Reproductive Biotechnology, Department of Molecular Life Sciences, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University Munich, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Haibo Huang
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
| | - Zhonglin Tang
- Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518124, China
- Kunpeng Institute of Modern Agriculture at Foshan, Agricultural Genomics Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Foshan 528226, China
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12
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Cui H, Shi Q, Macarios CM, Schimmel P. Metabolic regulation of mRNA splicing. Trends Cell Biol 2024:S0962-8924(24)00025-4. [PMID: 38431493 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2024.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Alternative mRNA splicing enables the diversification of the proteome from a static genome and confers plasticity and adaptiveness on cells. Although this is often explored in development, where hard-wired programs drive the differentiation and specialization, alternative mRNA splicing also offers a way for cells to react to sudden changes in outside stimuli such as small-molecule metabolites. Fluctuations in metabolite levels and availability in particular convey crucial information to which cells react and adapt. We summarize and highlight findings surrounding the metabolic regulation of mRNA splicing. We discuss the principles underlying the biochemistry and biophysical properties of mRNA splicing, and propose how these could intersect with metabolite levels. Further, we present examples in which metabolites directly influence RNA-binding proteins and splicing factors. We also discuss the interplay between alternative mRNA splicing and metabolite-responsive signaling pathways. We hope to inspire future research to obtain a holistic picture of alternative mRNA splicing in response to metabolic cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haissi Cui
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada.
| | - Qingyu Shi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada
| | | | - Paul Schimmel
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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13
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Sun L, Lv Z, Chen X, Ye R, Tian S, Wang C, Xie X, Yan L, Yao X, Shao Y, Cui S, Chen J, Liu J. Splicing factor SRSF1 is essential for homing of precursor spermatogonial stem cells in mice. eLife 2024; 12:RP89316. [PMID: 38271475 PMCID: PMC10945694 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are essential for continuous spermatogenesis and male fertility. The underlying mechanisms of alternative splicing (AS) in mouse SSCs are still largely unclear. We demonstrated that SRSF1 is essential for gene expression and splicing in mouse SSCs. Crosslinking immunoprecipitation and sequencing data revealed that spermatogonia-related genes (e.g. Plzf, Id4, Setdb1, Stra8, Tial1/Tiar, Bcas2, Ddx5, Srsf10, Uhrf1, and Bud31) were bound by SRSF1 in the mouse testes. Specific deletion of Srsf1 in mouse germ cells impairs homing of precursor SSCs leading to male infertility. Whole-mount staining data showed the absence of germ cells in the testes of adult conditional knockout (cKO) mice, which indicates Sertoli cell-only syndrome in cKO mice. The expression of spermatogonia-related genes (e.g. Gfra1, Pou5f1, Plzf, Dnd1, Stra8, and Taf4b) was significantly reduced in the testes of cKO mice. Moreover, multiomics analysis suggests that SRSF1 may affect survival of spermatogonia by directly binding and regulating Tial1/Tiar expression through AS. In addition, immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry and co-immunoprecipitation data showed that SRSF1 interacts with RNA splicing-related proteins (e.g. SART1, RBM15, and SRSF10). Collectively, our data reveal the critical role of SRSF1 in spermatogonia survival, which may provide a framework to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the posttranscriptional network underlying homing of precursor SSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longjie Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Zheng Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Xuexue Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Rong Ye
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Shuang Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Chaofan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Xiaomei Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Lu Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Xiaohong Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Yujing Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Sheng Cui
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou UniversityJiangsuChina
| | - Juan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food Quality, Department of Nutrition and Health, China, Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Jiali Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural UniversityBeijingChina
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14
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Beiki H, Murdoch BM, Park CA, Kern C, Kontechy D, Becker G, Rincon G, Jiang H, Zhou H, Thorne J, Koltes JE, Michal JJ, Davenport K, Rijnkels M, Ross PJ, Hu R, Corum S, McKay S, Smith TPL, Liu W, Ma W, Zhang X, Xu X, Han X, Jiang Z, Hu ZL, Reecy JM. Enhanced bovine genome annotation through integration of transcriptomics and epi-transcriptomics datasets facilitates genomic biology. Gigascience 2024; 13:giae019. [PMID: 38626724 PMCID: PMC11020238 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giae019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The accurate identification of the functional elements in the bovine genome is a fundamental requirement for high-quality analysis of data informing both genome biology and genomic selection. Functional annotation of the bovine genome was performed to identify a more complete catalog of transcript isoforms across bovine tissues. RESULTS A total of 160,820 unique transcripts (50% protein coding) representing 34,882 unique genes (60% protein coding) were identified across tissues. Among them, 118,563 transcripts (73% of the total) were structurally validated by independent datasets (PacBio isoform sequencing data, Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing data, de novo assembled transcripts from RNA sequencing data) and comparison with Ensembl and NCBI gene sets. In addition, all transcripts were supported by extensive data from different technologies such as whole transcriptome termini site sequencing, RNA Annotation and Mapping of Promoters for the Analysis of Gene Expression, chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, and assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing. A large proportion of identified transcripts (69%) were unannotated, of which 86% were produced by annotated genes and 14% by unannotated genes. A median of two 5' untranslated regions were expressed per gene. Around 50% of protein-coding genes in each tissue were bifunctional and transcribed both coding and noncoding isoforms. Furthermore, we identified 3,744 genes that functioned as noncoding genes in fetal tissues but as protein-coding genes in adult tissues. Our new bovine genome annotation extended more than 11,000 annotated gene borders compared to Ensembl or NCBI annotations. The resulting bovine transcriptome was integrated with publicly available quantitative trait loci data to study tissue-tissue interconnection involved in different traits and construct the first bovine trait similarity network. CONCLUSIONS These validated results show significant improvement over current bovine genome annotations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Beiki
- Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Brenda M Murdoch
- Department of Animal and Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, ID 83844, USA
| | - Carissa A Park
- Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Chandlar Kern
- Department of Animal Science, Pennsylvania State University, PA 16802, USA
| | - Denise Kontechy
- Department of Animal and Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, ID 83844, USA
| | - Gabrielle Becker
- Department of Animal and Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, ID 83844, USA
| | | | - Honglin Jiang
- Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech, VA 24060, USA
| | - Huaijun Zhou
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jacob Thorne
- Department of Animal and Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, ID 83844, USA
| | - James E Koltes
- Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Jennifer J Michal
- Department of Animal Science, Washington State University, WA 99164, USA
| | - Kimberly Davenport
- Department of Animal and Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, ID 83844, USA
| | - Monique Rijnkels
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, TX 77843, USA
| | - Pablo J Ross
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Rui Hu
- Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech, VA 24060, USA
| | - Sarah Corum
- Zoetis, Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ 07054, USA
| | | | | | - Wansheng Liu
- Department of Animal Science, Pennsylvania State University, PA 16802, USA
| | - Wenzhi Ma
- Department of Animal Science, Pennsylvania State University, PA 16802, USA
| | - Xiaohui Zhang
- Department of Animal Science, Washington State University, WA 99164, USA
| | - Xiaoqing Xu
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Xuelei Han
- Department of Animal Science, Washington State University, WA 99164, USA
| | - Zhihua Jiang
- Department of Animal Science, Washington State University, WA 99164, USA
| | - Zhi-Liang Hu
- Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - James M Reecy
- Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
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15
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Schilling K. Revisiting the development of cerebellar inhibitory interneurons in the light of single-cell genetic analyses. Histochem Cell Biol 2024; 161:5-27. [PMID: 37940705 PMCID: PMC10794478 DOI: 10.1007/s00418-023-02251-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
The present review aims to provide a short update of our understanding of the inhibitory interneurons of the cerebellum. While these cells constitute but a minority of all cerebellar neurons, their functional significance is increasingly being recognized. For one, inhibitory interneurons of the cerebellar cortex are now known to constitute a clearly more diverse group than their traditional grouping as stellate, basket, and Golgi cells suggests, and this diversity is now substantiated by single-cell genetic data. The past decade or so has also provided important information about interneurons in cerebellar nuclei. Significantly, developmental studies have revealed that the specification and formation of cerebellar inhibitory interneurons fundamentally differ from, say, the cortical interneurons, and define a mode of diversification critically dependent on spatiotemporally patterned external signals. Last, but not least, in the past years, dysfunction of cerebellar inhibitory interneurons could also be linked with clinically defined deficits. I hope that this review, however fragmentary, may stimulate interest and help focus research towards understanding the cerebellum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl Schilling
- Anatomisches Institut - Anatomie und Zellbiologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 10, 53115, Bonn, Germany.
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16
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Yu Q, Wu T, Xu W, Wei J, Zhao A, Wang M, Li M, Chi G. PTBP1 as a potential regulator of disease. Mol Cell Biochem 2023:10.1007/s11010-023-04905-x. [PMID: 38129625 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-023-04905-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1 (PTBP1) is a member of the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) family, which plays a key role in alternative splicing of precursor mRNA and RNA metabolism. PTBP1 is universally expressed in various tissues and binds to multiple downstream transcripts to interfere with physiological and pathological processes such as the tumor growth, body metabolism, cardiovascular homeostasis, and central nervous system damage, showing great prospects in many fields. The function of PTBP1 involves the regulation and interaction of various upstream molecules, including circular RNAs (circRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). These regulatory systems are inseparable from the development and treatment of diseases. Here, we review the latest knowledge regarding the structure and molecular functions of PTBP1 and summarize its functions and mechanisms of PTBP1 in various diseases, including controversial studies. Furthermore, we recommend future studies on PTBP1 and discuss the prospects of targeting PTBP1 in new clinical therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Yu
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Tongtong Wu
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenhong Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Junyuan Wei
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Anqi Zhao
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Miaomiao Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China
| | - Meiying Li
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China.
| | - Guangfan Chi
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, People's Republic of China.
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17
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Li H, Sun C, Li Y, Sun H. Analysis of alternative splicing in chicken macrophages transfected with overexpression/knockdown of RIP2 gene. Anim Biotechnol 2023; 34:3855-3866. [PMID: 37466384 DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2023.2233012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Receptor-interacting protein 2 (RIP2) plays a critical role in the transduction of many signaling pathways and is associated with many diseases. Alternative splicing (AS) is an essential and ubiquitous regulatory mechanism of gene expression that contributes to distinct transcript variants and many different kinds of proteins. In this present study, we characterized genome-wide AS events in wild-type chicken macrophages (WT) and RIP2 overexpression/knockdown chicken macrophages (oeRIP2/shRIP2) by high-throughput RNA sequencing technology. A total of 1901, 2061, and 817 differentially expressed (DE) AS genes were identified in the comparison of oeRIP2 vs. WT, oeRIP2 vs. shRIP2, and shRIP2 vs. WT, respectively. These DE AS genes participated in many important KEGG pathways, including regulation of autophagy, Wnt signaling pathway, Ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, MAPK signaling pathway, and Focal adhesion, etc. In conclusion, this research provided a broad atlas of the genome-wide scale of the AS event landscape in RIP2 overexpression/knockdown and wild-type chicken macrophages. This research also provides the theoretical basis of the gene network related to RIP2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Li
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, China
- Yangzhou Engineering Research Center of Agricultural Products Intelligent Measurement and Control & Cleaner Production, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, China
| | - Changhua Sun
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, China
- Yangzhou Engineering Research Center of Agricultural Products Intelligent Measurement and Control & Cleaner Production, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, China
| | - Yunlong Li
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, China
- Yangzhou Engineering Research Center of Agricultural Products Intelligent Measurement and Control & Cleaner Production, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, China
| | - Hongyan Sun
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture & Agri-Product Safety, Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
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18
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Tomaszkiewicz M, Sahlin K, Medvedev P, Makova KD. Transcript Isoform Diversity of Ampliconic Genes on the Y Chromosome of Great Apes. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad205. [PMID: 37967251 PMCID: PMC10673640 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Y chromosomal ampliconic genes (YAGs) are important for male fertility, as they encode proteins functioning in spermatogenesis. The variation in copy number and expression levels of these multicopy gene families has been studied in great apes; however, the diversity of splicing variants remains unexplored. Here, we deciphered the sequences of polyadenylated transcripts of all nine YAG families (BPY2, CDY, DAZ, HSFY, PRY, RBMY, TSPY, VCY, and XKRY) from testis samples of six great ape species (human, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, and Sumatran orangutan). To achieve this, we enriched YAG transcripts with capture probe hybridization and sequenced them with long (Pacific Biosciences) reads. Our analysis of this data set resulted in several findings. First, we observed evolutionarily conserved alternative splicing patterns for most YAG families except for BPY2 and PRY. Second, our results suggest that BPY2 transcripts and proteins originate from separate genomic regions in bonobo versus human, which is possibly facilitated by acquiring new promoters. Third, our analysis indicates that the PRY gene family, having the highest representation of noncoding transcripts, has been undergoing pseudogenization. Fourth, we have not detected signatures of selection in the five YAG families shared among great apes, even though we identified many species-specific protein-coding transcripts. Fifth, we predicted consensus disorder regions across most gene families and species, which could be used for future investigations of male infertility. Overall, our work illuminates the YAG isoform landscape and provides a genomic resource for future functional studies focusing on infertility phenotypes in humans and critically endangered great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Tomaszkiewicz
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Kristoffer Sahlin
- Department of Mathematics, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paul Medvedev
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for Medical Genomics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Kateryna D Makova
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for Medical Genomics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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19
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Nguyen JP, Arthur TD, Fujita K, Salgado BM, Donovan MKR, Matsui H, Kim JH, D'Antonio-Chronowska A, D'Antonio M, Frazer KA. eQTL mapping in fetal-like pancreatic progenitor cells reveals early developmental insights into diabetes risk. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6928. [PMID: 37903777 PMCID: PMC10616100 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42560-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The impact of genetic regulatory variation active in early pancreatic development on adult pancreatic disease and traits is not well understood. Here, we generate a panel of 107 fetal-like iPSC-derived pancreatic progenitor cells (iPSC-PPCs) from whole genome-sequenced individuals and identify 4065 genes and 4016 isoforms whose expression and/or alternative splicing are affected by regulatory variation. We integrate eQTLs identified in adult islets and whole pancreas samples, which reveal 1805 eQTL associations that are unique to the fetal-like iPSC-PPCs and 1043 eQTLs that exhibit regulatory plasticity across the fetal-like and adult pancreas tissues. Colocalization with GWAS risk loci for pancreatic diseases and traits show that some putative causal regulatory variants are active only in the fetal-like iPSC-PPCs and likely influence disease by modulating expression of disease-associated genes in early development, while others with regulatory plasticity likely exert their effects in both the fetal and adult pancreas by modulating expression of different disease genes in the two developmental stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer P Nguyen
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Timothy D Arthur
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Kyohei Fujita
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Bianca M Salgado
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Margaret K R Donovan
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Hiroko Matsui
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Ji Hyun Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, South Korea
| | | | - Matteo D'Antonio
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Kelly A Frazer
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
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20
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Torre D, Francoeur NJ, Kalma Y, Gross Carmel I, Melo BS, Deikus G, Allette K, Flohr R, Fridrikh M, Vlachos K, Madrid K, Shah H, Wang YC, Sridhar SH, Smith ML, Eliyahu E, Azem F, Amir H, Mayshar Y, Marazzi I, Guccione E, Schadt E, Ben-Yosef D, Sebra R. Isoform-resolved transcriptome of the human preimplantation embryo. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6902. [PMID: 37903791 PMCID: PMC10616205 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42558-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human preimplantation development involves extensive remodeling of RNA expression and splicing. However, its transcriptome has been compiled using short-read sequencing data, which fails to capture most full-length mRNAs. Here, we generate an isoform-resolved transcriptome of early human development by performing long- and short-read RNA sequencing on 73 embryos spanning the zygote to blastocyst stages. We identify 110,212 unannotated isoforms transcribed from known genes, including highly conserved protein-coding loci and key developmental regulators. We further identify 17,964 isoforms from 5,239 unannotated genes, which are largely non-coding, primate-specific, and highly associated with transposable elements. These isoforms are widely supported by the integration of published multi-omics datasets, including single-cell 8CLC and blastoid studies. Alternative splicing and gene co-expression network analyses further reveal that embryonic genome activation is associated with splicing disruption and transient upregulation of gene modules. Together, these findings show that the human embryo transcriptome is far more complex than currently known, and will act as a valuable resource to empower future studies exploring development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Torre
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | | | - Yael Kalma
- Fertility and IVF Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel
| | - Ilana Gross Carmel
- Fertility and IVF Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel
| | - Betsaida S Melo
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Gintaras Deikus
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Kimaada Allette
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Ron Flohr
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978, Israel
- CORAL - Center Of Regeneration and Longevity, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel
| | - Maya Fridrikh
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | | | - Kent Madrid
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Hardik Shah
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Ying-Chih Wang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Shwetha H Sridhar
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Melissa L Smith
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA
| | - Efrat Eliyahu
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Foad Azem
- Fertility and IVF Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel
| | - Hadar Amir
- Fertility and IVF Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel
| | - Yoav Mayshar
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ivan Marazzi
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Ernesto Guccione
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics (COGIT); Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Eric Schadt
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Dalit Ben-Yosef
- Fertility and IVF Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel.
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978, Israel.
- CORAL - Center Of Regeneration and Longevity, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, 64239, Israel.
| | - Robert Sebra
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
- Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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21
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Choi S, Cho N, Kim EM, Kim KK. The role of alternative pre-mRNA splicing in cancer progression. Cancer Cell Int 2023; 23:249. [PMID: 37875914 PMCID: PMC10594706 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-023-03094-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Alternative pre-mRNA splicing is a critical mechanism that generates multiple mRNA from a single gene, thereby increasing the diversity of the proteome. Recent research has highlighted the significance of specific splicing isoforms in cellular processes, particularly in regulating cell numbers. In this review, we examine the current understanding of the role of alternative splicing in controlling cancer cell growth and discuss specific splicing factors and isoforms and their molecular mechanisms in cancer progression. These isoforms have been found to intricately control signaling pathways crucial for cell cycle progression, proliferation, and apoptosis. Furthermore, studies have elucidated the characteristics and functional importance of splicing factors that influence cell numbers. Abnormal expression of oncogenic splicing isoforms and splicing factors, as well as disruptions in splicing caused by genetic mutations, have been implicated in the development and progression of tumors. Collectively, these findings provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between alternative splicing and cell proliferation, thereby suggesting the potential of alternative splicing as a therapeutic target for cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunkyung Choi
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Namjoon Cho
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Mi Kim
- Department of Predictive Toxicology, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Daejeon, 34114, Republic of Korea.
| | - Kee K Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.
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22
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Wang Z, Tian W, Wang D, Guo Y, Cheng Z, Zhang Y, Li X, Zhi Y, Li D, Li Z, Jiang R, Li G, Tian Y, Kang X, Li H, Dunn IC, Liu X. Comparative analyses of dynamic transcriptome profiles highlight key response genes and dominant isoforms for muscle development and growth in chicken. Genet Sel Evol 2023; 55:73. [PMID: 37872550 PMCID: PMC10591418 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-023-00849-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Modern breeding strategies have resulted in significant differences in muscle mass between indigenous chicken and specialized broiler. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms that underlie these differences remain elusive. The aim of this study was to identify key genes and regulatory mechanisms underlying differences in breast muscle development between indigenous chicken and specialized broiler. RESULTS Two time-series RNA-sequencing profiles of breast muscles were generated from commercial Arbor Acres (AA) broiler (fast-growing) and Chinese indigenous Lushi blue-shelled-egg (LS) chicken (slow-growing) at embryonic days 10, 14, and 18, and post-hatching day 1 and weeks 1, 3, and 5. Principal component analysis of the transcriptome profiles showed that the top four principal components accounted for more than 80% of the total variance in each breed. The developmental axes between the AA and LS chicken overlapped at the embryonic stages but gradually separated at the adult stages. Integrative investigation of differentially-expressed transcripts contained in the top four principal components identified 44 genes that formed a molecular network associated with differences in breast muscle mass between the two breeds. In addition, alternative splicing analysis revealed that genes with multiple isoforms always had one dominant transcript that exhibited a significantly higher expression level than the others. Among the 44 genes, the TNFRSF6B gene, a mediator of signal transduction pathways and cell proliferation, harbored two alternative splicing isoforms, TNFRSF6B-X1 and TNFRSF6B-X2. TNFRSF6B-X1 was the dominant isoform in both breeds before the age of one week. A switching event of the dominant isoform occurred at one week of age, resulting in TNFRSF6B-X2 being the dominant isoform in AA broiler, whereas TNFRSF6B-X1 remained the dominant isoform in LS chicken. Gain-of-function assays demonstrated that both isoforms promoted the proliferation of chicken primary myoblasts, but only TNFRSF6B-X2 augmented the differentiation and intracellular protein content of chicken primary myoblasts. CONCLUSIONS For the first time, we identified several key genes and dominant isoforms that may be responsible for differences in muscle mass between slow-growing indigenous chicken and fast-growing commercial broiler. These findings provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying breast muscle development in chicken.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Weihua Tian
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Dandan Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Yulong Guo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Zhimin Cheng
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Yanyan Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Xinyan Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Yihao Zhi
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Donghua Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Zhuanjian Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Ruirui Jiang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Guoxi Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Yadong Tian
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Xiangtao Kang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Hong Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.
| | - Ian C Dunn
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH25 9RG, UK.
| | - Xiaojun Liu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, No. 63, Nongye Road, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.
- Henan Innovative Engineering Research Center of Poultry Germplasm Resource, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.
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23
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Liao SE, Sudarshan M, Regev O. Deciphering RNA splicing logic with interpretable machine learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2221165120. [PMID: 37796983 PMCID: PMC10576025 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221165120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Machine learning methods, particularly neural networks trained on large datasets, are transforming how scientists approach scientific discovery and experimental design. However, current state-of-the-art neural networks are limited by their uninterpretability: Despite their excellent accuracy, they cannot describe how they arrived at their predictions. Here, using an "interpretable-by-design" approach, we present a neural network model that provides insights into RNA splicing, a fundamental process in the transfer of genomic information into functional biochemical products. Although we designed our model to emphasize interpretability, its predictive accuracy is on par with state-of-the-art models. To demonstrate the model's interpretability, we introduce a visualization that, for any given exon, allows us to trace and quantify the entire decision process from input sequence to output splicing prediction. Importantly, the model revealed uncharacterized components of the splicing logic, which we experimentally validated. This study highlights how interpretable machine learning can advance scientific discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan E. Liao
- Department of Computer Science, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY10012
| | - Mukund Sudarshan
- Department of Computer Science, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY10012
| | - Oded Regev
- Department of Computer Science, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY10012
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24
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Martinez-Lozada Z, Todd FW, Schober AL, Krizman E, Robinson MB, Murai KK. Cooperative and competitive regulation of the astrocytic transcriptome by neurons and endothelial cells: Impact on astrocyte maturation. J Neurochem 2023; 167:52-75. [PMID: 37525469 PMCID: PMC10543513 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Astrocytes have essential roles in central nervous system (CNS) health and disease. During development, immature astrocytes show complex interactions with neurons, endothelial cells, and other glial cell types. Our work and that of others have shown that these interactions are important for astrocytic maturation. However, whether and how these cells work together to control this process remains poorly understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that cooperative interactions of astrocytes with neurons and endothelial cells promote astrocytic maturation. Astrocytes were cultured alone, with neurons, endothelial cells, or a combination of both. This was followed by astrocyte sorting, RNA sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis to detect transcriptional changes. Across culture configurations, 7302 genes were differentially expressed by 4 or more fold and organized into 8 groups that demonstrate cooperative and antagonist effects of neurons and endothelia on astrocytes. We also discovered that neurons and endothelial cells caused splicing of 200 and 781 mRNAs, respectively. Changes in gene expression were validated using quantitative PCR, western blot (WB), and immunofluorescence analysis. We found that the transcriptomic data from the three-culture configurations correlated with protein expression of three representative targets (FAM107A, GAT3, and GLT1) in vivo. Alternative splicing results also correlated with cortical tissue isoform representation of a target (Fibronectin 1) at different developmental stages. By comparing our results to published transcriptomes of immature and mature astrocytes, we found that neurons or endothelia shift the astrocytic transcriptome toward a mature state and that the presence of both cell types has a greater effect on maturation than either cell alone. These results increase our understanding of cellular interactions/pathways that contribute to astrocytic maturation. They also provide insight into how alterations to neurons and/or endothelial cells may alter astrocytes with implications for astrocytic changes in CNS disorders and diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zila Martinez-Lozada
- Departments of Pediatrics and Systems Pharmacology & Translational Therapeutics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 19104-4318
| | - Farmer W. Todd
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1A4
| | - Alexandra L. Schober
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1A4
| | - Elizabeth Krizman
- Departments of Pediatrics and Systems Pharmacology & Translational Therapeutics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 19104-4318
| | - Michael B. Robinson
- Departments of Pediatrics and Systems Pharmacology & Translational Therapeutics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 19104-4318
| | - Keith K. Murai
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1A4
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25
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Werren E, LaForce G, Srivastava A, Perillo D, Johnson K, Berger B, Regan S, Pfennig C, Baris S, de Munnik S, Pfundt R, Hebbar M, Jimenez Heredia R, Karakoc-Aydiner E, Ozen A, Dmytrus J, Krolo A, Corning K, Prijoles E, Louie R, Lebel R, Le TL, Amiel J, Gordon C, Boztug K, Girisha K, Shukla A, Bielas S, Schaffer A. Mechanisms of mRNA processing defects in inherited THOC6 intellectual disability syndrome. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2126145. [PMID: 37720017 PMCID: PMC10503840 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2126145/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/19/2023]
Abstract
THOC6 is the genetic basis of autosomal recessive THOC6 Intellectual Disability Syndrome (TIDS). THOC6 facilitates the formation of the Transcription Export complex (TREX) tetramer, composed of four THO monomers. The TREX tetramer supports mammalian mRNA processing that is distinct from yeast TREX dimer functions. Human and mouse TIDS model systems allow novel THOC6-dependent TREX tetramer functions to be investigated. Biallelic loss-of-functon(LOF) THOC6 variants do not influence the expression and localization of TREX members in human cells, but our data suggests reduced binding affinity of ALYREF. Impairment of TREX nuclear export functions were not detected in cells with biallelic THOC6 LOF. Instead, mRNA mis-splicing was observed in human and mouse neural tissue, revealing novel insights into THOC6-mediated TREX coordination of mRNA processing. We demonstrate that THOC6 is required for regulation of key signaling pathways in human corticogenesis that dictate the transition from proliferative to neurogenic divisions that may inform TIDS neuropathology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jasmin Dmytrus
- CeMM Research Centre for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
| | - Ana Krolo
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases
| | | | | | | | | | - Thuy-Linh Le
- Imagine Institute, INSERM U1163, Paris Descartes University
| | | | - Christopher Gordon
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) UMR 1163, Institut Imagine
| | - Kaan Boztug
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases
| | - Katta Girisha
- Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education
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26
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Ye X, He C, Yang Y, Sun YH, Xiong S, Chan KC, Si Y, Xiao S, Zhao X, Lin H, Mei Y, Yao Y, Ye G, Wu F, Fang Q. Comprehensive isoform-level analysis reveals the contribution of alternative isoforms to venom evolution and repertoire diversity. Genome Res 2023; 33:1554-1567. [PMID: 37798117 PMCID: PMC10620052 DOI: 10.1101/gr.277707.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Animal venom systems have emerged as valuable models for investigating how novel polygenic phenotypes may arise from gene evolution by varying molecular mechanisms. However, a significant portion of venom genes produce alternative mRNA isoforms that have not been extensively characterized, hindering a comprehensive understanding of venom biology. In this study, we present a full-length isoform-level profiling workflow integrating multiple RNA sequencing technologies, allowing us to reconstruct a high-resolution transcriptome landscape of venom genes in the parasitoid wasp Pteromalus puparum Our findings demonstrate that more than half of the venom genes generate multiple isoforms within the venom gland. Through mass spectrometry analysis, we confirm that alternative splicing contributes to the diversity of venom proteins, acting as a mechanism for expanding the venom repertoire. Notably, we identified seven venom genes that exhibit distinct isoform usages between the venom gland and other tissues. Furthermore, evolutionary analyses of venom serpin3 and orcokinin further reveal that the co-option of an ancient isoform and a newly evolved isoform, respectively, contributes to venom recruitment, providing valuable insights into the genetic mechanisms driving venom evolution in parasitoid wasps. Overall, our study presents a comprehensive investigation of venom genes at the isoform level, significantly advancing our understanding of alternative isoforms in venom diversity and evolution and setting the stage for further in-depth research on venoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinhai Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang University, Shanghai 201203, China
- College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Chun He
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
| | - Yi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yu H Sun
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA
| | - Shijiao Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Kevin C Chan
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang University, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Yuxuan Si
- College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Shan Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xianxin Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Haiwei Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yang Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yufeng Yao
- Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310020, China
| | - Gongyin Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Fei Wu
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study, Zhejiang University, Shanghai 201203, China;
- College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Qi Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
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27
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Das S, Mallick D, Sarkar S, Billington N, Sellers JR, Jana SS. A brain specific alternatively spliced isoform of nonmuscle myosin IIA lacks its mechanoenzymatic activities. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105143. [PMID: 37562567 PMCID: PMC10480317 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent genomic studies reported that 90 to 95% of human genes can undergo alternative splicing, by which multiple isoforms of proteins are synthesized. However, the functional consequences of most of the isoforms are largely unknown. Here, we report a novel alternatively spliced isoform of nonmuscle myosin IIA (NM IIA), called NM IIA2, which is generated by the inclusion of 21 amino acids near the actin-binding region (loop 2) of the head domain of heavy chains. Expression of NM IIA2 is found exclusively in the brain tissue, where it reaches a maximum level at 24 h during the circadian rhythm. The actin-dependent Mg2+-ATPase activity and in vitro motility assays reveal that NM IIA2 lacks its motor activities but localizes with actin filaments in cells. Interestingly, NM IIA2 can also make heterofilaments with NM IIA0 (noninserted isoform of NM IIA) and can retard the in vitro motility of NM IIA, when the two are mixed. Altogether, our findings provide the functional importance of a previously unknown alternatively spliced isoform, NM IIA2, and its potential physiological role in regulating NM IIA activity in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samprita Das
- School of Biological Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Ditipriya Mallick
- School of Biological Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Sourav Sarkar
- School of Biological Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Neil Billington
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - James R Sellers
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
| | - Siddhartha S Jana
- School of Biological Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
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28
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Yankee TN, Oh S, Winchester EW, Wilderman A, Robinson K, Gordon T, Rosenfeld JA, VanOudenhove J, Scott DA, Leslie EJ, Cotney J. Integrative analysis of transcriptome dynamics during human craniofacial development identifies candidate disease genes. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4623. [PMID: 37532691 PMCID: PMC10397224 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40363-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Craniofacial disorders arise in early pregnancy and are one of the most common congenital defects. To fully understand how craniofacial disorders arise, it is essential to characterize gene expression during the patterning of the craniofacial region. To address this, we performed bulk and single-cell RNA-seq on human craniofacial tissue from 4-8 weeks post conception. Comparisons to dozens of other human tissues revealed 239 genes most strongly expressed during craniofacial development. Craniofacial-biased developmental enhancers were enriched +/- 400 kb surrounding these craniofacial-biased genes. Gene co-expression analysis revealed that regulatory hubs are enriched for known disease causing genes and are resistant to mutation in the normal healthy population. Combining transcriptomic and epigenomic data we identified 539 genes likely to contribute to craniofacial disorders. While most have not been previously implicated in craniofacial disorders, we demonstrate this set of genes has increased levels of de novo mutations in orofacial clefting patients warranting further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara N Yankee
- Graduate Program in Genetics and Developmental Biology, UConn Health, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Sungryong Oh
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | | | - Andrea Wilderman
- Graduate Program in Genetics and Developmental Biology, UConn Health, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Kelsey Robinson
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Tia Gordon
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Jill A Rosenfeld
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Baylor Genetics Laboratory, Houston, TX, 77021, USA
| | - Jennifer VanOudenhove
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Daryl A Scott
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Leslie
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Justin Cotney
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA.
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
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29
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Gotthardt M, Badillo-Lisakowski V, Parikh VN, Ashley E, Furtado M, Carmo-Fonseca M, Schudy S, Meder B, Grosch M, Steinmetz L, Crocini C, Leinwand L. Cardiac splicing as a diagnostic and therapeutic target. Nat Rev Cardiol 2023; 20:517-530. [PMID: 36653465 DOI: 10.1038/s41569-022-00828-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Despite advances in therapeutics for heart failure and arrhythmias, a substantial proportion of patients with cardiomyopathy do not respond to interventions, indicating a need to identify novel modifiable myocardial pathobiology. Human genetic variation associated with severe forms of cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias has highlighted the crucial role of alternative splicing in myocardial health and disease, given that it determines which mature RNA transcripts drive the mechanical, structural, signalling and metabolic properties of the heart. In this Review, we discuss how the analysis of cardiac isoform expression has been facilitated by technical advances in multiomics and long-read and single-cell sequencing technologies. The resulting insights into the regulation of alternative splicing - including the identification of cardiac splice regulators as therapeutic targets and the development of a translational pipeline to evaluate splice modulators in human engineered heart tissue, animal models and clinical trials - provide a basis for improved diagnosis and therapy. Finally, we consider how the medical and scientific communities can benefit from facilitated acquisition and interpretation of splicing data towards improved clinical decision-making and patient care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Gotthardt
- Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Cell Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany.
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research Partner Site Berlin), Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Cardiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Victor Badillo-Lisakowski
- Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Cell Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research Partner Site Berlin), Berlin, Germany
| | - Victoria Nicole Parikh
- Stanford Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Euan Ashley
- Stanford Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Stanford Genome Technology Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Marta Furtado
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maria Carmo-Fonseca
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sarah Schudy
- Institute for Cardiomyopathies, Department of Medicine III, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Meder
- Institute for Cardiomyopathies, Department of Medicine III, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research Partner Site Heidelberg-Mannheim), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Markus Grosch
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genome Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lars Steinmetz
- Stanford Genome Technology Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genome Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Claudia Crocini
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Leslie Leinwand
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
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30
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Rezvykh A, Ustyugov A, Chaprov K, Teterina E, Nebogatikov V, Spasskaya D, Evgen’ev M, Morozov A, Funikov S. Cytoplasmic aggregation of mutant FUS causes multistep RNA splicing perturbations in the course of motor neuron pathology. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:5810-5830. [PMID: 37115004 PMCID: PMC10287951 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction of the RNA-binding protein (RBP) FUS implicated in RNA metabolism can cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Mutations affecting FUS nuclear localization can drive RNA splicing defects and stimulate the formation of non-amyloid inclusions in affected neurons. However, the mechanism by which FUS mutations contribute to the development of ALS remains uncertain. Here we describe a pattern of RNA splicing changes in the dynamics of the continuous proteinopathy induced by mislocalized FUS. We show that the decrease in intron retention of FUS-associated transcripts represents the hallmark of the pathogenesis of ALS and is the earliest molecular event in the course of progression of the disease. As FUS aggregation increases, the pattern of RNA splicing changes, becoming more complex, including a decrease in the inclusion of neuron-specific microexons and induction of cryptic exon splicing due to the sequestration of additional RBPs into FUS aggregates. Crucially, the identified features of the pathological splicing pattern are also observed in ALS patients in both sporadic and familial cases. Our data provide evidence that both a loss of nuclear FUS function due to mislocalization and the subsequent cytoplasmic aggregation of mutant protein lead to the disruption of RNA splicing in a multistep fashion during FUS aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander P Rezvykh
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
| | - Aleksey A Ustyugov
- Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds at Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, 142432, Russian Federation
| | - Kirill D Chaprov
- Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds at Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, 142432, Russian Federation
| | - Ekaterina V Teterina
- Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds at Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, 142432, Russian Federation
| | - Vladimir O Nebogatikov
- Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds at Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, 142432, Russian Federation
| | - Daria S Spasskaya
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
| | - Michael B Evgen’ev
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
| | - Alexey V Morozov
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
| | - Sergei Yu Funikov
- Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
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31
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McBeath E, Fujiwara K, Hofmann MC. Evidence-Based Guide to Using Artificial Introns for Tissue-Specific Knockout in Mice. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10258. [PMID: 37373404 PMCID: PMC10299402 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241210258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Up until recently, methods for generating floxed mice either conventionally or by CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) editing have been technically challenging, expensive and error-prone, or time-consuming. To circumvent these issues, several labs have started successfully using a small artificial intron to conditionally knockout (KO) a gene of interest in mice. However, many other labs are having difficulty getting the technique to work. The key problem appears to be either a failure in achieving correct splicing after the introduction of the artificial intron into the gene or, just as crucial, insufficient functional KO of the gene's protein after Cre-induced removal of the intron's branchpoint. Presented here is a guide on how to choose an appropriate exon and where to place the recombinase-regulated artificial intron (rAI) in that exon to prevent disrupting normal gene splicing while maximizing mRNA degradation after recombinase treatment. The reasoning behind each step in the guide is also discussed. Following these recommendations should increase the success rate of this easy, new, and alternative technique for producing tissue-specific KO mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena McBeath
- Department of Endocrine Neoplasia & Hormonal Disorders, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Keigi Fujiwara
- National Coalition of Independent Scholars, Brattleboro, VT 05301, USA;
| | - Marie-Claude Hofmann
- Department of Endocrine Neoplasia & Hormonal Disorders, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
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32
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Singh NP, Love MI, Patro R. TreeTerminus -creating transcript trees using inferential replicate counts. iScience 2023; 26:106961. [PMID: 37378336 PMCID: PMC10291472 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
A certain degree of uncertainty is always associated with the transcript abundance estimates. The uncertainty may make many downstream analyses, such as differential testing, difficult for certain transcripts. Conversely, gene-level analysis, though less ambiguous, is often too coarse-grained. We introduce TreeTerminus, a data-driven approach for grouping transcripts into a tree structure where leaves represent individual transcripts and internal nodes represent an aggregation of a transcript set. TreeTerminus constructs trees such that, on average, the inferential uncertainty decreases as we ascend the tree topology. The tree provides the flexibility to analyze data at nodes that are at different levels of resolution in the tree and can be tuned depending on the analysis of interest. We evaluated TreeTerminus on two simulated and two experimental datasets and observed an improved performance compared to transcripts (leaves) and other methods under several different metrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noor Pratap Singh
- Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Michael I. Love
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Rob Patro
- Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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33
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Sun L, Chen J, Ye R, Lv Z, Chen X, Xie X, Li Y, Wang C, Lv P, Yan L, Tian S, Yao X, Chen C, Cui S, Liu J. SRSF1 is crucial for male meiosis through alternative splicing during homologous pairing and synapsis in mice. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2023; 68:1100-1104. [PMID: 37179228 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.04.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Longjie Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Juan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food Quality, Department of Nutrition and Health, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Rong Ye
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zheng Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xuexue Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaomei Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yuheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Chaofan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Pengbo Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Lu Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Shuang Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaohong Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA; Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, USA; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids 49503, USA
| | - Sheng Cui
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Jiali Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
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34
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Penna MS, Hu RC, Rodney GG, Cooper TA. The role of Limch1 alternative splicing in skeletal muscle function. Life Sci Alliance 2023; 6:e202201868. [PMID: 36977593 PMCID: PMC10052820 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202201868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Postnatal skeletal muscle development is a highly dynamic period associated with widespread alternative splicing changes required to adapt tissues to adult function. These splicing events have significant implications because the reversion of adult mRNA isoforms to fetal isoforms is observed in forms of muscular dystrophy. LIMCH1 is a stress fiber-associated protein that is alternatively spliced to generate uLIMCH1, a ubiquitously expressed isoform, and mLIMCH1, a skeletal muscle-specific isoform containing six additional exons simultaneously included after birth in the mouse. CRISPR/Cas9 was used to delete the six alternatively spliced exons of LIMCH1 in mice, thereby forcing the constitutive expression of the predominantly fetal isoform, uLIMCH1. mLIMCH1 knockout mice had significant grip strength weakness in vivo, and maximum force generated was decreased ex vivo. Calcium-handling deficits were observed during myofiber stimulation that could explain the mechanism by which mLIMCH1 knockout leads to muscle weakness. In addition, LIMCH1 is mis-spliced in myotonic dystrophy type 1, with the muscleblind-like (MBNL) family of proteins acting as the likely major regulator of Limch1 alternative splicing in skeletal muscle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew S Penna
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Rong-Chi Hu
- Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - George G Rodney
- Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Thomas A Cooper
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Integrative Physiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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35
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Rotival M. Archaic hominin traits through the splicing lens. Nat Ecol Evol 2023:10.1038/s41559-023-02045-5. [PMID: 37142740 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02045-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Rotival
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Human Evolutionary Genetics Unit, Paris, France.
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36
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Zhao F, Yan Y, Wang Y, Liu Y, Yang R. Splicing complexity as a pivotal feature of alternative exons in mammalian species. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:198. [PMID: 37046221 PMCID: PMC10099729 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09247-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As a significant process of post-transcriptional gene expression regulation in eukaryotic cells, alternative splicing (AS) of exons greatly contributes to the complexity of the transcriptome and indirectly enriches the protein repertoires. A large number of studies have focused on the splicing inclusion of alternative exons and have revealed the roles of AS in organ development and maturation. Notably, AS takes place through a change in the relative abundance of the transcript isoforms produced by a single gene, meaning that exons can have complex splicing patterns. However, the commonly used percent spliced-in (Ψ) values only define the usage rate of exons, but lose information about the complexity of exons' linkage pattern. To date, the extent and functional consequence of splicing complexity of alternative exons in development and evolution is poorly understood. RESULTS By comparing splicing complexity of exons in six tissues (brain, cerebellum, heart, liver, kidney, and testis) from six mammalian species (human, chimpanzee, gorilla, macaque, mouse, opossum) and an outgroup species (chicken), we revealed that exons with high splicing complexity are prevalent in mammals and are closely related to features of genes. Using traditional machine learning and deep learning methods, we found that the splicing complexity of exons can be moderately predicted with features derived from exons, among which length of flanking exons and splicing strength of downstream/upstream splice sites are top predictors. Comparative analysis among human, chimpanzee, gorilla, macaque, and mouse revealed that, alternative exons tend to evolve to an increased level of splicing complexity and higher tissue specificity in splicing complexity. During organ development, not only developmentally regulated exons, but also 10-15% of non-developmentally regulated exons show dynamic splicing complexity. CONCLUSIONS Our analysis revealed that splicing complexity is an important metric to characterize the splicing dynamics of alternative exons during the development and evolution of mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feiyang Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yubin Yan
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yaxi Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yuan Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ruolin Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
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37
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Montañés-Agudo P, Pinto YM, Creemers EE. Splicing factors in the heart: Uncovering shared and unique targets. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2023; 179:72-79. [PMID: 37059416 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2023.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
Alternative splicing generates specialized protein isoforms that allow the heart to adapt during development and disease. The recent discovery that mutations in the splicing factor RNA-binding protein 20 (RBM20) cause a severe form of familial dilated cardiomyopathy has sparked a great interest in alternative splicing in the field of cardiology. Since then, identification of splicing factors controlling alternative splicing in the heart has grown at a rapid pace. Despite the intriguing observation that a certain overlap exists between the targets of some splicing factors, an integrated and systematic analysis of their splicing networks is missing. Here, we compared the splicing networks of individual splicing factors by re-analyzing original RNA-sequencing data from eight previously published mouse models, in which a single splicing factor has been genetically deleted (i.e. HNRNPU, MBNL1/2, QKI, RBM20, RBM24, RBPMS, SRSF3, SRSF4). We show that key splicing events in Camk2d, Ryr2, Tpm1, Tpm2 and Pdlim5 require the combined action of the majority of these splicing factors. Additionally, we identified common targets and pathways among splicing factors, with the largest overlap between the splicing networks of MBNL, QKI and RBM24. We also re-analyzed a large-scale RNA-sequencing study on hearts of 128 heart failure patients. Here, we observed that MBNL1, QKI and RBM24 expression varied greatly. This variation in expression correlated with differential splicing of their downstream targets as found in mice, suggesting that aberrant splicing by MBNL1, QKI and RBM24 might contribute to the disease mechanism in heart failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Montañés-Agudo
- Experimental Cardiology, Room K2-112, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam 1105AZ, the Netherlands.
| | - Yigal M Pinto
- Experimental Cardiology, Room K2-104, Amsterdam UMC, location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam 1105AZ, the Netherlands.
| | - Esther E Creemers
- Experimental Cardiology, Room K2-104-2, Amsterdam UMC, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Amsterdam 1105AZ, the Netherlands.
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Joglekar A, Hu W, Zhang B, Narykov O, Diekhans M, Balacco J, Ndhlovu LC, Milner TA, Fedrigo O, Jarvis ED, Sheynkman G, Korkin D, Ross ME, Tilgner HU. Single-cell long-read mRNA isoform regulation is pervasive across mammalian brain regions, cell types, and development. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.02.535281. [PMID: 37066387 PMCID: PMC10103983 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.02.535281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
RNA isoforms influence cell identity and function. Until recently, technological limitations prevented a genome-wide appraisal of isoform influence on cell identity in various parts of the brain. Using enhanced long-read single-cell isoform sequencing, we comprehensively analyze RNA isoforms in multiple mouse brain regions, cell subtypes, and developmental timepoints from postnatal day 14 (P14) to adult (P56). For 75% of genes, full-length isoform expression varies along one or more axes of phenotypic origin, underscoring the pervasiveness of isoform regulation across multiple scales. As expected, splicing varies strongly between cell types. However, certain gene classes including neurotransmitter release and reuptake as well as synapse turnover, harbor significant variability in the same cell type across anatomical regions, suggesting differences in network activity may influence cell-type identity. Glial brain-region specificity in isoform expression includes strong poly(A)-site regulation, whereas neurons have stronger TSS regulation. Furthermore, developmental patterns of cell-type specific splicing are especially pronounced in the murine adolescent transition from P21 to P28. The same cell type traced across development shows more isoform variability than across adult anatomical regions, indicating a coordinated modulation of functional programs dictating neural development. As most cell-type specific exons in P56 mouse hippocampus behave similarly in newly generated data from human hippocampi, these principles may be extrapolated to human brain. However, human brains have evolved additional cell-type specificity in splicing, suggesting gain-of-function isoforms. Taken together, we present a detailed single-cell atlas of full-length brain isoform regulation across development and anatomical regions, providing a previously unappreciated degree of isoform variability across multiple scales of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anoushka Joglekar
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wen Hu
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Oleksandr Narykov
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Computer Science Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Data Science Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Mark Diekhans
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | | | - Lishomwa C Ndhlovu
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Teresa A Milner
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Olivier Fedrigo
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, the Rockefeller University, New York, NY
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Vertebrate Genome Lab, the Rockefeller University, New York, NY
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, the Rockefeller University, New York, NY
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD
| | - Gloria Sheynkman
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Dmitry Korkin
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Computer Science Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
- Data Science Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - M Elizabeth Ross
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hagen U Tilgner
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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Wen W, Mead AJ, Thongjuea S. MARVEL: an integrated alternative splicing analysis platform for single-cell RNA sequencing data. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:e29. [PMID: 36631981 PMCID: PMC10018366 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Alternative splicing is an important source of heterogeneity underlying gene expression between individual cells but remains an understudied area due to the paucity of computational tools to analyze splicing dynamics at single-cell resolution. Here, we present MARVEL, a comprehensive R package for single-cell splicing analysis applicable to RNA sequencing generated from the plate- and droplet-based methods. We performed extensive benchmarking of MARVEL against available tools and demonstrated its utility by analyzing multiple publicly available datasets in diverse cell types, including in disease. MARVEL enables systematic and integrated splicing and gene expression analysis of single cells to characterize the splicing landscape and reveal biological insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Xiong Wen
- MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
- MRC WIMM Centre for Computational Biology, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Adam J Mead
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Adam J. Mead.
| | - Supat Thongjuea
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +49 015201091154;
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Tomaszkiewicz M, Sahlin K, Medvedev P, Makova KD. Transcript Isoform Diversity of Ampliconic Genes on the Y Chromosome of Great Apes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.02.530874. [PMID: 36993458 PMCID: PMC10054944 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.02.530874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Y-chromosomal Ampliconic Genes (YAGs) are important for male fertility, as they encode proteins functioning in spermatogenesis. The variation in copy number and expression levels of these multicopy gene families has been recently studied in great apes, however, the diversity of splicing variants remains unexplored. Here we deciphered the sequences of polyadenylated transcripts of all nine YAG families (BPY2, CDY, DAZ, HSFY, PRY, RBMY, TSPY, VCY, and XKRY) from testis samples of six great ape species (human, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, and Sumatran orangutan). To achieve this, we enriched YAG transcripts with capture-probe hybridization and sequenced them with long (Pacific Biosciences) reads. Our analysis of this dataset resulted in several findings. First, we uncovered a high diversity of YAG transcripts across great apes. Second, we observed evolutionarily conserved alternative splicing patterns for most YAG families except for BPY2 and PRY. Our results suggest that BPY2 transcripts and predicted proteins in several great ape species (bonobo and the two orangutans) have independent evolutionary origins and are not homologous to human reference transcripts and proteins. In contrast, our results suggest that the PRY gene family, having the highest representation of transcripts without open reading frames, has been undergoing pseudogenization. Third, even though we have identified many species-specific protein-coding YAG transcripts, we have not detected any signatures of positive selection. Overall, our work illuminates the YAG isoform landscape and its evolutionary history, and provides a genomic resource for future functional studies focusing on infertility phenotypes in humans and critically endangered great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Tomaszkiewicz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Kristoffer Sahlin
- Department of Mathematics, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paul Medvedev
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for Medical Genomics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Kateryna D Makova
- Center for Medical Genomics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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A novel splicing variant of DJ-1 in Parkinson's disease induces mitochondrial dysfunction. Heliyon 2023; 9:e14039. [PMID: 36915530 PMCID: PMC10006478 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Several studies have identified mutations in neuroprotective genes in a few cases of Parkinson's disease (PD); however, the role of alternative splicing changes in PD remains unelucidated. Based on the transcriptome analysis of substantia nigra (SN) tissues obtained from PD cases and age-matched healthy controls, we identified a novel alternative splicing variant of DJ-1, lacking exon 6 (DJ-1 ΔE6), frequently detected in the SN of patients with PD. We found that the exon 6 skipping of DJ-1 induces mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired antioxidant capability. According to an in silico modeling study, the exon 6 skipping of DJ-1 disrupts the structural state suitable for the oxidation of the cysteine 106 residue that is a prerequisite for activating its neuroprotective roles. Our results suggest that change in DJ-1 alternative splicing may contribute to PD progression and provide an insight for studying PD etiology and its potential therapeutic targets.
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Traunmüller L, Schulz J, Ortiz R, Feng H, Furlanis E, Gomez AM, Schreiner D, Bischofberger J, Zhang C, Scheiffele P. A cell-type-specific alternative splicing regulator shapes synapse properties in a trans-synaptic manner. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112173. [PMID: 36862556 PMCID: PMC10066595 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The specification of synaptic properties is fundamental for the function of neuronal circuits. "Terminal selector" transcription factors coordinate terminal gene batteries that specify cell-type-specific properties. Moreover, pan-neuronal splicing regulators have been implicated in directing neuronal differentiation. However, the cellular logic of how splicing regulators instruct specific synaptic properties remains poorly understood. Here, we combine genome-wide mapping of mRNA targets and cell-type-specific loss-of-function studies to uncover the contribution of the RNA-binding protein SLM2 to hippocampal synapse specification. Focusing on pyramidal cells and somatostatin (SST)-positive GABAergic interneurons, we find that SLM2 preferentially binds and regulates alternative splicing of transcripts encoding synaptic proteins. In the absence of SLM2, neuronal populations exhibit normal intrinsic properties, but there are non-cell-autonomous synaptic phenotypes and associated defects in a hippocampus-dependent memory task. Thus, alternative splicing provides a critical layer of gene regulation that instructs specification of neuronal connectivity in a trans-synaptic manner.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jan Schulz
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Raul Ortiz
- Biozentrum of the University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Huijuan Feng
- Department of Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | | | - Andrea M Gomez
- Biozentrum of the University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Chaolin Zhang
- Department of Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
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Elucidation of the Landscape of Alternatively Spliced Genes and Features in the Dorsal Striatum of Aggressive/Aggression-Deprived Mice in the Model of Chronic Social Conflicts. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14030599. [PMID: 36980872 PMCID: PMC10048575 DOI: 10.3390/genes14030599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Both aggressive and aggression-deprived (AD) individuals represent pathological cases extensively studied in psychiatry and substance abuse disciplines. We employed the animal model of chronic social conflicts curated in our laboratory for over 30 years. In the study, we pursued the task of evaluation of the key events in the dorsal striatum transcriptomes of aggression-experienced mice and AD species, as compared with the controls, using RNA-seq profiling. We evaluated the alternative splicing-mediated transcriptome dynamics based on the RNA-seq data. We confined our attention to the exon skipping (ES) events as the major AS type for animals. We report the concurrent posttranscriptional and posttranslational regulation of the ES events observed in the phosphorylation cycles (in phosphoproteins and their targets) in the neuron-specific genes of the striatum. Strikingly, we found that major neurospecific splicing factors (Nova1, Ptbp1, 2, Mbnl1, 2, and Sam68) related to the alternative splicing regulation of cAMP genes (Darpp-32, Grin1, Ptpn5, Ppp3ca, Pde10a, Prkaca, Psd95, and Adora1) are upregulated specifically in aggressive individuals as compared with the controls and specifically AD animals, assuming intense switching between isoforms in the cAMP-mediated (de)phosphorylation signaling cascade. We found that the coding alternative splicing events were mostly attributed to synaptic plasticity and neural development-related proteins, while the nonsense-mediated decay-associated splicing events are mostly attributed to the mRNA processing of genes, including the spliceosome and splicing factors. In addition, considering the gene families, the transporter (Slc) gene family manifested most of the ES events. We found out that the major molecular systems employing AS for their plasticity are the ‘spliceosome’, ‘chromatin rearrangement complex’, ‘synapse’, and ‘neural development/axonogenesis’ GO categories. Finally, we state that approximately 35% of the exon skipping variants in gene coding regions manifest the noncoding variants subject to nonsense-mediated decay, employed as a homeostasis-mediated expression regulation layer and often associated with the corresponding gene expression alteration.
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Mehta Z, Touma M. Post-Transcriptional Modification by Alternative Splicing and Pathogenic Splicing Variants in Cardiovascular Development and Congenital Heart Defects. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021555. [PMID: 36675070 PMCID: PMC9862068 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021555] [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: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Advancements in genomics, bioinformatics, and genome editing have uncovered new dimensions in gene regulation. Post-transcriptional modifications by the alternative splicing of mRNA transcripts are critical regulatory mechanisms of mammalian gene expression. In the heart, there is an expanding interest in elucidating the role of alternative splicing in transcriptome regulation. Substantial efforts were directed toward investigating this process in heart development and failure. However, few studies shed light on alternative splicing products and their dysregulation in congenital heart defects (CHDs). While elegant reports showed the crucial roles of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) in orchestrating splicing transitions during heart development and failure, the impact of RBPs dysregulation or genetic variation on CHDs has not been fully addressed. Herein, we review the current understanding of alternative splicing and RBPs' roles in heart development and CHDs. Wediscuss the impact of perinatal splicing transition and its dysregulation in CHDs. We further summarize the discoveries made of causal splicing variants in key transcription factors that are implicated in CHDs. An improved understanding of the roles of alternative splicing in heart development and CHDs may potentially inform novel preventive and therapeutic advancements for newborn infants with CHDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zubin Mehta
- Neonatal/Congenital Heart Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Stem Cell Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Marlin Touma
- Neonatal/Congenital Heart Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Eli and Edythe Broad Stem Cell Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Correspondence:
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Paukszto Ł, Wiśniewska J, Liszewska E, Majewska M, Jastrzębski J, Jankowski J, Ciereszko A, Słowińska M. Specific expression of alternatively spliced genes in the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) reproductive tract revealed their function in spermatogenesis and post-testicular sperm maturation. Poult Sci 2023; 102:102484. [PMID: 36709584 PMCID: PMC9922982 DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.102484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The tissue-specific profile of alternatively spliced genes (ASGs) and their involvement in reproduction processes characteristic of turkey testis, epididymis, and ductus deferens were investigated for the first time in birds. Deep sequencing of male turkey reproductive tissue RNA samples (n = 6) was performed using Illumina RNA-Seq with 2 independent methods, rMATs and SUPPA2, for differential alternative splicing (DAS) event prediction. The expression of selected ASGs was validated using quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The testis was found to be the site of the highest number of posttranscriptional splicing events within the reproductive tract, and skipping exons were the most frequently occurring class of alternative splicing (AS) among the reproductive tract. Statistical analysis revealed 86, 229, and 6 DAS events in the testis/epididymis, testis/ductus deferens, and epididymis/ductus deferens comparison, respectively. Alternative splicing was found to be a mechanism of gene expression regulation within the turkey reproduction tract. In testis, modification was observed for spermatogenesis specific genes; the changes in 5' UTR could act as regulator of MEIG1 expression (a player during spermatocytes meiosis), and modification of 3' UTR led to diversification of CREM mRNA (modulator of gene expression related to the structuring of mature spermatozoa). Sperm tail formation can be regulated by changes in the 5' UTR of testicular SLC9A3R1 and gene silencing by producing dysfunctional variants of ODF2 in the testis and ATP1B3 in the epididymis. Predicted differentially ASGs in the turkey reproductive tract seem to be involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis, including acrosome formation and sperm tail formation and binding of sperm to the zona pellucida. Several ASGs were classified as cilia by actin and microtubule cytoskeleton organization. Such genes may play a role in the organization of sperm flagellum and post-testicular motility development. To our knowledge, this is the first functional investigation of alternatively spliced genes associated with tissue-specific processes in the turkey reproductive tract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łukasz Paukszto
- Department of Botany and Nature Protection, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology; University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Joanna Wiśniewska
- Department of Biological Function of Food, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn, 10-748, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Ewa Liszewska
- Department of Gamete and Embryo Biology, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn, 10-748, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Marta Majewska
- Department of Human Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Collegium Medicum; University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-561 Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Jan Jastrzębski
- Department of Plant Physiology, Genetics, and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Jan Jankowski
- Department of Poultry Science, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Andrzej Ciereszko
- Department of Gamete and Embryo Biology, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn, 10-748, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Mariola Słowińska
- Department of Gamete and Embryo Biology, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn, 10-748, Olsztyn, Poland.
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Zhang J, Lin X, Chen Y, Li T, Lee AC, Chow EY, Cho WC, Chan T. LAFITE Reveals the Complexity of Transcript Isoforms in Subcellular Fractions. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2203480. [PMID: 36461702 PMCID: PMC9875686 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202203480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Characterization of the subcellular distribution of RNA is essential for understanding the molecular basis of biological processes. Here, the subcellular nanopore direct RNA-sequencing (DRS) of four lung cancer cell lines (A549, H1975, H358, and HCC4006) is performed, coupled with a computational pipeline, Low-abundance Aware Full-length Isoform clusTEr (LAFITE), to comprehensively analyze the full-length cytoplasmic and nuclear transcriptome. Using additional DRS and orthogonal data sets, it is shown that LAFITE outperforms current methods for detecting full-length transcripts, particularly for low-abundance isoforms that are usually overlooked due to poor read coverage. Experimental validation of six novel isoforms exclusively identified by LAFITE further confirms the reliability of this pipeline. By applying LAFITE to subcellular DRS data, the complexity of the nuclear transcriptome is revealed in terms of isoform diversity, 3'-UTR usage, m6A modification patterns, and intron retention. Overall, LAFITE provides enhanced full-length isoform identification and enables a high-resolution view of the RNA landscape at the isoform level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jizhou Zhang
- School of Life SciencesThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
- State Key Laboratory of AgrobiotechnologyThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
| | - Xiao Lin
- School of Life SciencesThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
- State Key Laboratory of AgrobiotechnologyThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
| | - Yuelong Chen
- School of Life SciencesThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
| | - Tsz‐Ho Li
- School of Life SciencesThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
- State Key Laboratory of AgrobiotechnologyThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
| | - Alan Chun‐Kit Lee
- School of Life SciencesThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
| | | | | | - Ting‐Fung Chan
- School of Life SciencesThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
- State Key Laboratory of AgrobiotechnologyThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinHong Kong SARChina
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47
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Murat F, Mbengue N, Winge SB, Trefzer T, Leushkin E, Sepp M, Cardoso-Moreira M, Schmidt J, Schneider C, Mößinger K, Brüning T, Lamanna F, Belles MR, Conrad C, Kondova I, Bontrop R, Behr R, Khaitovich P, Pääbo S, Marques-Bonet T, Grützner F, Almstrup K, Schierup MH, Kaessmann H. The molecular evolution of spermatogenesis across mammals. Nature 2023; 613:308-316. [PMID: 36544022 PMCID: PMC9834047 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05547-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The testis produces gametes through spermatogenesis and evolves rapidly at both the morphological and molecular level in mammals1-6, probably owing to the evolutionary pressure on males to be reproductively successful7. However, the molecular evolution of individual spermatogenic cell types across mammals remains largely uncharacterized. Here we report evolutionary analyses of single-nucleus transcriptome data for testes from 11 species that cover the three main mammalian lineages (eutherians, marsupials and monotremes) and birds (the evolutionary outgroup), and include seven primates. We find that the rapid evolution of the testis was driven by accelerated fixation rates of gene expression changes, amino acid substitutions and new genes in late spermatogenic stages, probably facilitated by reduced pleiotropic constraints, haploid selection and transcriptionally permissive chromatin. We identify temporal expression changes of individual genes across species and conserved expression programs controlling ancestral spermatogenic processes. Genes predominantly expressed in spermatogonia (germ cells fuelling spermatogenesis) and Sertoli (somatic support) cells accumulated on X chromosomes during evolution, presumably owing to male-beneficial selective forces. Further work identified transcriptomal differences between X- and Y-bearing spermatids and uncovered that meiotic sex-chromosome inactivation (MSCI) also occurs in monotremes and hence is common to mammalian sex-chromosome systems. Thus, the mechanism of meiotic silencing of unsynapsed chromatin, which underlies MSCI, is an ancestral mammalian feature. Our study illuminates the molecular evolution of spermatogenesis and associated selective forces, and provides a resource for investigating the biology of the testis across mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florent Murat
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. .,INRAE, LPGP, Rennes, France.
| | - Noe Mbengue
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Sofia Boeg Winge
- Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.,International Center for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Bioinformatics Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Timo Trefzer
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, University of Medicine Berlin, Corporate Member of the Free University of Berlin, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Evgeny Leushkin
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mari Sepp
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Julia Schmidt
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Celine Schneider
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katharina Mößinger
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thoomke Brüning
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Francesco Lamanna
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Christian Conrad
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, University of Medicine Berlin, Corporate Member of the Free University of Berlin, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ivanela Kondova
- Biomedical Primate Research Center (BPRC), Rijswijk, the Netherlands
| | - Ronald Bontrop
- Biomedical Primate Research Center (BPRC), Rijswijk, the Netherlands
| | - Rüdiger Behr
- German Primate Center (DPZ), Platform Degenerative Diseases, Göttingen, Germany.,German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philipp Khaitovich
- Center for Neurobiology and Brain Restoration, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Svante Pääbo
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tomas Marques-Bonet
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.,Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.,CNAG-CRG, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain.,Miquel Crusafont Catalan Institute of Paleontology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Frank Grützner
- The Robinson Research Institute, School of Biological Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Kristian Almstrup
- Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.,International Center for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Henrik Kaessmann
- Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
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48
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Fu Y, Bai C, Wang S, Chen D, Zhang P, Wei H, Rong F, Zhang C, Chen S, Wang Z. AKT1 phosphorylates RBM17 to promote Sox2 transcription by modulating alternative splicing of FOXM1 to enhance cancer stem cell properties in colorectal cancer cells. FASEB J 2023; 37:e22707. [PMID: 36520054 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202201255r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. The existence of cancer stem cells (CSC) causes tumor relapses, metastasis, and resistance to conventional therapy. Alternative splicing has been shown to affect physiological and pathological processes. Accumulating evidence has confirmed that targeting alternative splicing could be an effective strategy to treat CRC. Currently, the role of alternative splicing in the regulation of CSC properties in CRC has not been elucidated. Here, we show that RBM17 displays oncogenic roles in CRC cells. RBM17 enhances cell proliferation and reduces chemotherapeutic-induced apoptosis in CRC cells. Besides, RBM17 increases CD133 positive and ALDEFLUOR positive populations and promotes sphere formation in CRC cells. In mechanism studies, we found that FOXM1 is critical for RBM17 enhanced CSC properties. Moreover, FOXM1 alternative splicing is essential for RBM17 enhanced CSC properties in CRC cells. Additionally, RBM17 enhances CSC characteristics by controlling FOXM1 expression to promote Sox2 expression. Furthermore, AKT1 works as an upstream kinase to control RBM17-mediated FOXM1 alternative splicing and enhancement of CSC properties in CRC cells. Our study reveals that AKT1-RBM17-FOXM1-Sox2 axis could be a potential target for modulating alternative splicing to reduce CSC properties in CRC cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Fu
- Department of General Surgery, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,Department of General Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.,Hubei Key Laboratory of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.,Center for Evidence Based Medicine and Clinical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Chen Bai
- Department of General Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Shengsheng Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Denggang Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Hailang Wei
- Department of General Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Fan Rong
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Chao Zhang
- Center for Evidence Based Medicine and Clinical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Shaojuan Chen
- Department of Stomatology, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Zhenjun Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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49
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García-Pérez R, Ramirez JM, Ripoll-Cladellas A, Chazarra-Gil R, Oliveros W, Soldatkina O, Bosio M, Rognon PJ, Capella-Gutierrez S, Calvo M, Reverter F, Guigó R, Aguet F, Ferreira PG, Ardlie KG, Melé M. The landscape of expression and alternative splicing variation across human traits. CELL GENOMICS 2022; 3:100244. [PMID: 36777183 PMCID: PMC9903719 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2022.100244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the consequences of individual transcriptome variation is fundamental to deciphering human biology and disease. We implement a statistical framework to quantify the contributions of 21 individual traits as drivers of gene expression and alternative splicing variation across 46 human tissues and 781 individuals from the Genotype-Tissue Expression project. We demonstrate that ancestry, sex, age, and BMI make additive and tissue-specific contributions to expression variability, whereas interactions are rare. Variation in splicing is dominated by ancestry and is under genetic control in most tissues, with ribosomal proteins showing a strong enrichment of tissue-shared splicing events. Our analyses reveal a systemic contribution of types 1 and 2 diabetes to tissue transcriptome variation with the strongest signal in the nerve, where histopathology image analysis identifies novel genes related to diabetic neuropathy. Our multi-tissue and multi-trait approach provides an extensive characterization of the main drivers of human transcriptome variation in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel García-Pérez
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Jose Miguel Ramirez
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Aida Ripoll-Cladellas
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Ruben Chazarra-Gil
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Winona Oliveros
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Oleksandra Soldatkina
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Mattia Bosio
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Paul Joris Rognon
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain,Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia 08005, Spain,Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Salvador Capella-Gutierrez
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain
| | - Miquel Calvo
- Statistics Section, Faculty of Biology, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Catalonia 08028, Spain
| | - Ferran Reverter
- Statistics Section, Faculty of Biology, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Catalonia 08028, Spain
| | - Roderic Guigó
- Bioinformatics and Genomics, Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Catalonia 08003, Spain
| | | | - Pedro G. Ferreira
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal,Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support, INESC TEC, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal,Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3s), R. Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | | | - Marta Melé
- Department of Life Sciences, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BCN-CNS), Barcelona, Catalonia 08034, Spain,Corresponding author
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50
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Singh A, Rajeevan A, Gopalan V, Agrawal P, Day CP, Hannenhalli S. Broad misappropriation of developmental splicing profile by cancer in multiple organs. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7664. [PMID: 36509773 PMCID: PMC9744839 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35322-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Oncogenesis mimics key aspects of embryonic development. However, the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that the splicing events specifically active during human organogenesis, are broadly reactivated in the organ-specific tumor. Such events are associated with key oncogenic processes and predict proliferation rates in cancer cell lines as well as patient survival. Such events preferentially target nitrosylation and transmembrane-region domains, whose coordinated splicing in multiple genes respectively affect intracellular transport and N-linked glycosylation. We infer critical splicing factors potentially regulating embryonic splicing events and show that such factors are potential oncogenic drivers and are upregulated specifically in malignant cells. Multiple complementary analyses point to MYC and FOXM1 as potential transcriptional regulators of critical splicing factors in brain and liver. Our study provides a comprehensive demonstration of a splicing-mediated link between development and cancer, and suggest anti-cancer targets including splicing events, and their upstream splicing and transcriptional regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arashdeep Singh
- grid.48336.3a0000 0004 1936 8075Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Arati Rajeevan
- grid.48336.3a0000 0004 1936 8075Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Vishaka Gopalan
- grid.48336.3a0000 0004 1936 8075Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Piyush Agrawal
- grid.48336.3a0000 0004 1936 8075Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Chi-Ping Day
- grid.94365.3d0000 0001 2297 5165Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Sridhar Hannenhalli
- grid.48336.3a0000 0004 1936 8075Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA
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