Quantification and Localization of Protein-RNA Interactions in Patient-Derived Archival Tumor Tissue

A long non-coding RNA Leat1 mediates the hormone responsiveness of EfnB2 during male urogenital development

The novel long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Leat1 is extraordinarily conserved in both its location (syntenic with EfnB2, an essential gene in anogenital patterning) and sequence. Here we show that Leat1 is upregulated following the testosterone surge from the developing testis and directly interacts with EfnB2, positively regulating its expression. Leat1 expression is suppressed by estrogen, which in turn suppresses the expression of EfnB2. Moreover, the loss of Leat1 leads to reduced EfnB2, resulting in a severe hypospadias phenotype. The human LEAT1 gene is also co-expressed with EFNB2 in the developing human penis suggesting a conserved function for this gene in urethral closure. Together our data identify Leat1 as a novel molecular regulator of urethral closure and implicate it as a target of endocrine disruption in the etiology of hypospadias.

Advances of mRNA vaccine in tumor: a maze of opportunities and challenges

High-frequency mutations in tumor genomes could be exploited as an asset for developing tumor vaccines. In recent years, with the tremendous breakthrough in genomics, intelligence algorithm, and in-depth insight of tumor immunology, it has become possible to rapidly target genomic alterations in tumor cell and rationally select vaccine targets. Among a variety of candidate vaccine platforms, the early application of mRNA was limited by instability low efficiency and excessive immunogenicity until the successful development of mRNA vaccines against SARS-COV-2 broken of technical bottleneck in vaccine preparation, allowing tumor mRNA vaccines to be prepared rapidly in an economical way with good performance of stability and efficiency. In this review, we systematically summarized the classification and characteristics of tumor antigens, the general process and methods for screening neoantigens, the strategies of vaccine preparations and advances in clinical trials, as well as presented the main challenges in the current mRNA tumor vaccine development.

Enhancer RNA lnc-CES1-1 inhibits decidual cell migration by interacting with RNA-binding protein FUS and activating PPARγ in URPL

Unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (URPL) is a significant reproductive health issue, affecting approximately 5% of pregnancies. Enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) have been reported to play important roles during embryo development and may be related to URPL. To investigate whether and how eRNAs are involved in URPL, we performed RNA sequencing in decidual tissue. Through comprehensive screening and validation, we identified a decidua-enriched eRNA long noncoding-CES1-1 (lnc-CES1-1) enriched in URPL patients and studied its function in decidua-associated cell lines (DACs). Higher expression of lnc-CES1-1 increased the level of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and impaired the cell migration ability, which was attenuated by downregulating peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). Upon activation by signal transduction and activation of transcription 4 (STAT4), lnc-CES1-1 interacted with the transcription factor fused in sarcoma (FUS) to upregulate the expression of PPARγ and affected cell migration. Taken together, these findings provide novel insights into the biological functions of decidua-associated lnc-CES1-1 and the molecular mechanisms underlying URPL. Our findings indicated that lnc-CES1-1 might be a potential candidate biomarker for URPL diagnosis and treatment.

Polymerase-tagged respiratory syncytial virus reveals a dynamic rearrangement of the ribonucleocapsid complex during infection

The ribonucleocapsid complex of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is responsible for both viral mRNA transcription and viral replication during infection, though little is known about how this dual function is achieved. Here, we report the use of a recombinant RSV virus with a FLAG-tagged large polymerase protein, L, to characterize and localize RSV ribonucleocapsid structures during the early and late stages of viral infection. Through proximity ligation assays and super-resolution microscopy, viral RNA and proteins in the ribonucleocapsid complex were revealed to dynamically rearrange over time, particularly between 6 and 8 hours post infection, suggesting a connection between the ribonucleocapsid structure and its function. The timing of ribonucleocapsid rearrangement corresponded with an increase in RSV genome RNA accumulation, indicating that this rearrangement is likely involved with the onset of RNA replication and secondary transcription. Additionally, early overexpression of RSV M2-2 from in vitro transcribed mRNA was shown to inhibit virus infection by rearranging the ribonucleocapsid complex. Collectively, these results detail a critical understanding into the localization and activity of RSV L and the ribonucleocapsid complex during RSV infection.