An electroosmotic flow-free two-direction migration strategy enables fast affinity capillary electrophoresis to study the weak interactions between basic peptides and RNA

Recent developments in capillary and microchip electroseparations of peptides (2019-mid 2021)

The review provides a comprehensive overview of developments and applications of high performance capillary and microchip electroseparation methods (zone electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, isoelectric focusing, affinity electrophoresis, electrokinetic chromatography, and electrochromatography) for analysis, microscale isolation, and physicochemical characterization of peptides from 2019 up to approximately the middle of 2021. Advances in the investigation of electromigration properties of peptides and in the methodology of their analysis, such as sample preparation, sorption suppression, EOF control, and detection, are presented. New developments in the individual CE and CEC methods are demonstrated and several types of their applications are shown. They include qualitative and quantitative analysis, determination in complex biomatrices, monitoring of chemical and enzymatic reactions and physicochemical changes, amino acid, sequence, and chiral analyses, and peptide mapping of proteins. In addition, micropreparative separations and determination of significant physicochemical parameters of peptides by CE and CEC methods are described.

UHRF1 regulates alternative splicing by binding to splicing factors and U snRNAs

The well-established functions of UHRF1 converge to DNA biological processes, as exemplified by DNA methylation maintenance and DNA damage repair during cell cycles. However, the potential effect of UHRF1 on RNA metabolism is largely unexplored. Here, we revealed that UHRF1 serves as a novel alternative RNA splicing regulator. The protein interactome of UHRF1 identified various splicing factors. Among them, SF3B3 could interact with UHRF1 directly and participate in UHRF1-regulated alternative splicing events. Furthermore, we interrogated the RNA interactome of UHRF1, and surprisingly, we identified U snRNAs, the canonical spliceosome component, in the UHRF1-associated RNA components. Unexpectedly, we found H3R2 methylation status determines the binding preference of U snRNA, especially U2 snRNA. The involvement of U snRNAs in UHRF1-containing complex and their binding preference to specific chromatin configuration imply a finely orchestrated mechanism at play. Our results provided the resources and pinpointed the molecular basis of UHRF1-mediated alternative RNA splicing, which will help us better our understanding of the physiological and pathological roles of UHRF1 in disease development.