Screening of human SNP database identifies recoding sites of A-to-I RNA editing

A-to-I Editing Is Subtype-Specific in Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas

Cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease, in which a number of genetic and epigenetic changes occur in tumor onset and progression. Recent studies indicate that changes at the RNA level are also involved in tumorigenesis, such as adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing. Here, we systematically investigate transcriptome-wide A-to-I editing events in a large number of samples from Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). Using a computational pipeline that determines significant differences in editing level between NHL and normal samples at known A-to-I editing sites, we identify a number of differentially edited editing sites between NHL subtypes and normal samples. Most of the differentially edited sites are located in non-coding regions, and many such sites show a strong correlation between gene expression level and editing efficiency, indicating that RNA editing might have direct consequences for the cancer cell's aberrant gene regulation status in these cases. Moreover, we establish a strong link between RNA editing and NHL by demonstrating that NHL and normal samples and even NHL subtypes can be distinguished based on genome-wide RNA editing profiles alone. Our study establishes a strong link between RNA editing, cancer and aberrant gene regulation in NHL.

An informatics approach to distinguish RNA modifications in nanopore direct RNA sequencing

Modifications in RNA can influence their structure, function, and stability and play essential roles in gene expression and regulation. Methods to detect RNA modifications rely on biophysical techniques such as chromatography or mass spectrometry, which are low throughput, or on high throughput short-read sequencing techniques based on selectively reactive chemical probes. Recent studies have utilized nanopore-based fourth-generation sequencing methods to detect modifications by directly sequencing RNA in its native state. However, these approaches are based on modification-associated mismatch errors that are liable to be confounded by SNPs. Also, there is a need to generate matched knockout controls for reference, which is laborious. In this work, we introduce an internal comparison strategy termed "IndoC," where features such as 'trace' and 'current signal intensity' of potentially modified sites are compared to similar sequence contexts on the same RNA molecule within the sample, alleviating the need for matched knockout controls. We first show that in an IVT model, 'trace' is able to distinguish between artificially generated SNPs and true pseudouridine (Ψ) modifications, both of which display highly similar mismatch profiles. We then apply IndoC on yeast and human ribosomal RNA to demonstrate that previously reported Ψ sites show marked changes in their trace and signal intensity profiles compared with their unmodified counterparts in the same dataset. Finally, we perform direct RNA sequencing of RNA containing Ψ intact with a chemical probe adduct (N-cyclohexyl-N'-β-(4-methylmorpholinium) ethylcarbodiimide [CMC]) and show that CMC reactivity also induces changes in trace and signal intensity distributions in a Ψ specific manner, allowing their separation from high mismatch sites that display SNP-like behavior.

Inosine and its methyl derivatives: Occurrence, biogenesis, and function in RNA

Inosine is one of the most common post-transcriptional modifications. Since its discovery, it has been noted for its ability to contribute to non-Watson-Crick interactions within RNA. Rapidly accumulating evidence points to the widespread generation of inosine through hydrolytic deamination of adenosine to inosine by different classes of adenosine deaminases. Three naturally occurring methyl derivatives of inosine, i.e., 1-methylinosine, 2'-O-methylinosine and 1,2'-O-dimethylinosine are currently reported in RNA modification databases. These modifications are expected to lead to changes in the structure, folding, dynamics, stability and functions of RNA. The importance of the modifications is indicated by the strong conservation of the modifying enzymes across organisms. The structure, binding and catalytic mechanism of the adenosine deaminases have been well-studied, but the underlying mechanism of the catalytic reaction is not very clear yet. Here we extensively review the existing data on the occurrence, biogenesis and functions of inosine and its methyl derivatives in RNA. We also included the structural and thermodynamic aspects of these modifications in our review to provide a detailed and integrated discussion on the consequences of A-to-I editing in RNA and the contribution of different structural and thermodynamic studies in understanding its role in RNA. We also highlight the importance of further studies for a better understanding of the mechanisms of the different classes of deamination reactions. Further investigation of the structural and thermodynamic consequences and functions of these modifications in RNA should provide more useful information about their role in different diseases.

Novel Regulators of the IGF System in Cancer

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is a dynamic network of proteins, which includes cognate ligands, membrane receptors, ligand binding proteins and functional downstream effectors. It plays a critical role in regulating several important physiological processes including cell growth, metabolism and differentiation. Importantly, alterations in expression levels or activation of components of the IGF network are implicated in many pathological conditions including diabetes, obesity and cancer initiation and progression. In this review we will initially cover some general aspects of IGF action and regulation in cancer and then focus in particular on the role of transcriptional regulators and novel interacting proteins, which functionally contribute in fine tuning IGF1R signaling in several cancer models. A deeper understanding of the biological relevance of this network of IGF1R modulators might provide novel therapeutic opportunities to block this system in neoplasia.

Diagnostic Value of Serum Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 7 (IGFBP7) in Colorectal Cancer

PURPOSE

High serum insulin-like growth factor binding protein-7 (IGFBP-7) has been found in several malignant tumors. Here, we aimed to assess the diagnostic potential of serum IGFBP7 in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect IGFBP7 level in the serum of 115 CRC patients and 107 healthy controls, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) was used to evaluate the accuracy of diagnosis.

RESULTS

The levels of serum IGFBP7 were significantly higher in CRC than those in normal controls (P < 0.001). With optimized cutoff of 2.050 ng/mL, IGFBP7 showed certain diagnostic value with specificity of 93.9%, sensitivity of 64.5% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.815 (95% CI: 0.754-0.877) in CRC. In early-stage CRC, IGFBP7 provided an AUC of 0.826 (95% CI: 0.757-0.896), a sensitivity of 64.5%, and a specificity of 95.8%. Furthermore, when compared with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), the accuracy of serum IGFBP7 in the diagnosis of CRC and early-stage CRC were significantly improved. Analysis of clinical data shows that there are no significant differences between IGFBP7 and clinical factors.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggested that serum IGFBP7 might serve as a potential biomarker for early-stage CRC diagnosis.

ADAR, the carcinogenesis mechanisms of ADAR and related clinical applications

Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) catalyze the conversion of adenosine (A) to inosine (I) in double-stranded RNA, which can change the codons after transcription. Abnormal ADAR editing is present in a variety of cancers. However, the study of the biological effects of ADARs in cancer is not very deep. Here, we review current important ADAR-mediated editing events, related carcinogenic mechanisms and applications in clinical medicine. Further exploration in ADARs can provide a new direction for cancer treatment.

ADARs and editing: The role of A-to-I RNA modification in cancer progression

Cancer arises when pathways that control cell functions such as proliferation and migration are dysregulated to such an extent that cells start to divide uncontrollably and eventually spread throughout the body, ultimately endangering the survival of an affected individual. It is well established that somatic mutations are important in cancer initiation and progression as well as in creation of tumor diversity. Now also modifications of the transcriptome are emerging as a significant force during the transition from normal cell to malignant tumor. Editing of adenosine (A) to inosine (I) in double-stranded RNA, catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs), is one dynamic modification that in a combinatorial manner can give rise to a very diverse transcriptome. Since the cell interprets inosine as guanosine (G), editing can result in non-synonymous codon changes in transcripts as well as yield alternative splicing, but also affect targeting and disrupt maturation of microRNA. ADAR editing is essential for survival in mammals but its dysregulation can lead to cancer. ADAR1 is for instance overexpressed in, e.g., lung cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer and chronic myoelogenous leukemia, which with few exceptions promotes cancer progression. In contrast, ADAR2 is lowly expressed in e.g. glioblastoma, where the lower levels of ADAR2 editing leads to malignant phenotypes. Altogether, RNA editing by the ADAR enzymes is a powerful regulatory mechanism during tumorigenesis. Depending on the cell type, cancer progression seems to mainly be induced by ADAR1 upregulation or ADAR2 downregulation, although in a few cases ADAR1 is instead downregulated. In this review, we discuss how aberrant editing of specific substrates contributes to malignancy.

Adenosine Deaminases That Act on RNA (ADARs)

Inosine is one of the most common modifications found in human RNAs and the Adenosine Deaminases that act on RNA (ADARs) are the main enzymes responsible for its production. ADARs were first discovered in the 1980s and since then our understanding of ADARs has advanced tremendously. For instance, it is now known that defective ADAR function can cause human diseases. Furthermore, recently solved crystal structures of the human ADAR2 deaminase bound to RNA have provided insights regarding the catalytic and substrate recognition mechanisms. In this chapter, we describe the occurrence of inosine in human RNAs and the newest perspective on the ADAR family of enzymes, including their substrate recognition, catalytic mechanism, regulation as well as the consequences of A-to-I editing, and their relation to human diseases.

ADAR2 functions as a tumor suppressor via editing IGFBP7 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), one of the most aggressive cancers, is characterized by heterogeneous genetic and epigenetic changes. Recently, A-to-I RNA editing, catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs), was found to be aberrantly regulated during tumorigenesis. We previously reported that ADAR2 was downregulated in ESCC but its role was unclear. Thus, we report here that overexpression of ADAR2 can induce apoptosis in ESCC cell lines and inhibit tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. ADAR2 knockdown inhibited apoptosis in ADAR2 highly expressing tumor cells. RNA-seq assay showed that ADAR2, not ADAR1 or active-site-mutated ADAR2, could edit insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) mRNA in ESCC. IGFBP7 knockdown or ADAR2 catalytic activity destruction abolished the pro-apoptotic function of ADAR2. Mechanistically, RNA editing may stabilize IGFBP7 protein by changing the protease recognition site of matriptase and this is essential for IGFBP7 to induce apoptosis. Western blotting revealed that ADAR2 overexpression could induce IGFBP7-dependent inhibition of Akt signaling. Thus, our data indicate that ADAR2 suppresses tumor growth and induces apoptosis by editing and stabilizing IGFBP7 in ESCC, and this may represent a novel therapeutic target for treating ESCC.

Identification of human RNA editing sites: A historical perspective

A-to-I RNA editing is an essential gene regulatory mechanism. Once thought to be a rare phenomenon only occurring in a few transcripts, the emergence of high-throughput RNA sequencing has facilitated the identification of over 2 million RNA editing sites in the human transcriptome. In this review, we survey the current RNA-seq based methods as well as historical methods used to identify RNA editing sites.

Mammalian conserved ADAR targets comprise only a small fragment of the human editosome

BACKGROUND

ADAR proteins are among the most extensively studied RNA binding proteins. They bind to their target and deaminate specific adenosines to inosines. ADAR activity is essential, and the editing of a subset of their targets is critical for viability. Recently, a huge number of novel ADAR targets were detected by analyzing next generation sequencing data. Most of these novel editing sites are located in lineage-specific genomic repeats, probably a result of overactivity of editing enzymes, thus masking the functional sites. In this study we aim to identify the set of mammalian conserved ADAR targets.

RESULTS

We used RNA sequencing data from human, mouse, rat, cow, opossum, and platypus to define the conserved mammalian set of ADAR targets. We found that the conserved mammalian editing sites are surprisingly small in number and have unique characteristics that distinguish them from non-conserved ones. The sites that constitute the set have a distinct genomic distribution, tend to be located in genes encoding neurotransmitter receptors or other synapse related proteins, and have higher editing and expression levels. We also found a high consistency of editing levels of this set within mice strains and between human and mouse. Tight regulation of editing in these sites across strains and species implies their functional importance.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the discovery of numerous editing targets, only a small number of them are conserved within mammalian evolution. These sites are extremely highly conserved and exhibit unique features, such as tight regulation, and probably play a pivotal role in mammalian biology.

A-to-I RNA editing occurs at over a hundred million genomic sites, located in a majority of human genes

RNA molecules transmit the information encoded in the genome and generally reflect its content. Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing by ADAR proteins converts a genomically encoded adenosine into inosine. It is known that most RNA editing in human takes place in the primate-specific Alu sequences, but the extent of this phenomenon and its effect on transcriptome diversity are not yet clear. Here, we analyzed large-scale RNA-seq data and detected ∼1.6 million editing sites. As detection sensitivity increases with sequencing coverage, we performed ultradeep sequencing of selected Alu sequences and showed that the scope of editing is much larger than anticipated. We found that virtually all adenosines within Alu repeats that form double-stranded RNA undergo A-to-I editing, although most sites exhibit editing at only low levels (<1%). Moreover, using high coverage sequencing, we observed editing of transcripts resulting from residual antisense expression, doubling the number of edited sites in the human genome. Based on bioinformatic analyses and deep targeted sequencing, we estimate that there are over 100 million human Alu RNA editing sites, located in the majority of human genes. These findings set the stage for exploring how this primate-specific massive diversification of the transcriptome is utilized.

RADAR: a rigorously annotated database of A-to-I RNA editing

We present RADAR—a rigorously annotated database of A-to-I RNA editing (available at http://RNAedit.com). The identification of A-to-I RNA editing sites has been dramatically accelerated in the past few years by high-throughput RNA sequencing studies. RADAR includes a comprehensive collection of A-to-I RNA editing sites identified in humans (Homo sapiens), mice (Mus musculus) and flies (Drosophila melanogaster), together with extensive manually curated annotations for each editing site. RADAR also includes an expandable listing of tissue-specific editing levels for each editing site, which will facilitate the assignment of biological functions to specific editing sites.

Darned in 2013: inclusion of model organisms and linking with Wikipedia

DARNED (DAtabase of RNa EDiting, available at http://darned.ucc.ie) is a centralized repository of reference genome coordinates corresponding to RNA nucleotides having altered templated identities in the process of RNA editing. The data in DARNED are derived from published datasets of RNA editing events. RNA editing instances have been identified with various methods, such as bioinformatics screenings, deep sequencing and/or biochemical techniques. Here we report our current progress in the development and expansion of the DARNED. In addition to novel database features the DARNED update describes inclusion of Drosophila melanogaster and Mus musculus RNA editing events and the launch of a community-based annotation in the RNA WikiProject.

A strategy for developing a hammerhead ribozyme for selective RNA cleavage depending on substitutional RNA editing

Substitutional RNA editing plays a crucial role in the regulation of biological processes. Cleavage of target RNA that depends on the specific site of substitutional RNA editing is a useful tool for analyzing and regulating intracellular processes related to RNA editing. Hammerhead ribozymes have been utilized as small catalytic RNAs for cleaving target RNA at a specific site and may be used for RNA-editing-specific RNA cleavage. Here we reveal a design strategy for a hammerhead ribozyme that specifically recognizes adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) and cytosine to uracil (C-to-U) substitutional RNA-editing sites and cleaves target RNA. Because the hammerhead ribozyme cleaves one base upstream of the target-editing site, the base that pairs with the target-editing site was utilized for recognition. RNA-editing-specific ribozymes were designed such that the recognition base paired only with the edited base. These ribozymes showed A-to-I and C-to-U editing-specific cleavage activity against synthetic serotonin receptor 2C and apolipoprotein B mRNA fragments in vitro, respectively. Additionally, the ribozyme designed for recognizing A-to-I RNA editing at the Q/R site on filamin A (FLNA) showed editing-specific cleavage activity against physiologically edited FLNA mRNA extracted from cells. We demonstrated that our strategy is effective for cleaving target RNA in an editing-dependent manner. The data in this study provided an experimental basis for the RNA-editing-dependent degradation of specific target RNA in vivo.

Spatio-temporal regulation of ADAR editing during development in porcine neural tissues

Editing by ADAR enzymes is essential for mammalian life. Still, knowledge of the spatio-temporal editing patterns in mammals is limited. By use of 454 amplicon sequencing we examined the editing status of 12 regionally extracted mRNAs from porcine developing brain encompassing a total of 64 putative ADAR editing sites. In total 24 brain tissues, dissected from up to five regions from embryonic gestation day 23, 42, 60, 80, 100 and 115, were examined for editing.   Generally, editing increased during embryonic development concomitantly with an increase in ADAR2 mRNA level. Notably, the Gria2 (GluR-B) Q/R site, reported to be ~100% edited in previous studies, is only 54% edited at embryonic day 23. Transcripts with multiple editing sites in close proximity to each other exhibit coupled editing and an extraordinary incidence of long-range coupling of editing events more than 32 kb apart is observed for the kainate glutamate receptor 2 transcript, Grik2. Our study reveals complex spatio-temporal ADAR editing patterns of coordinated editing events that may play important roles in the development of the mammalian brain.

IGFBP7's susceptibility to proteolysis is altered by A-to-I RNA editing of its transcript

The selective deamination of adenosines (A) to inosines (I) in messenger RNAs (mRNAs) can alter the encoded protein's amino acid sequence, with often critical consequences on protein stability, localization, and/or function. Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) supports cell-adhesion and stimulates fibroblast proliferation with IGF and insulin. It exists in both proteolytically processed and unprocessed forms with altered cell-extracellular matrix interactions. Here we show that editing of IGFBP7 transcripts impacts the protein's susceptibility to proteolytic cleavage, thus providing a means for a cell to modulate its functionality through A-to-I RNA editing.

Personal omics profiling reveals dynamic molecular and medical phenotypes

Personalized medicine is expected to benefit from combining genomic information with regular monitoring of physiological states by multiple high-throughput methods. Here, we present an integrative personal omics profile (iPOP), an analysis that combines genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and autoantibody profiles from a single individual over a 14 month period. Our iPOP analysis revealed various medical risks, including type 2 diabetes. It also uncovered extensive, dynamic changes in diverse molecular components and biological pathways across healthy and diseased conditions. Extremely high-coverage genomic and transcriptomic data, which provide the basis of our iPOP, revealed extensive heteroallelic changes during healthy and diseased states and an unexpected RNA editing mechanism. This study demonstrates that longitudinal iPOP can be used to interpret healthy and diseased states by connecting genomic information with additional dynamic omics activity.

Extra double-stranded RNA binding domain (dsRBD) in a squid RNA editing enzyme confers resistance to high salt environment

A-to-I RNA editing is particularly common in coding regions of squid mRNAs. Previously, we isolated a squid editing enzyme (sqADAR2) that shows a unique structural feature when compared with other ADAR2 family members: an additional double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding domain (dsRBD). Alternative splicing includes or excludes this motif, generating a novel or a conventional variant termed sqADAR2a and sqADAR2b, respectively. The extra dsRBD of sqADAR2a increases its editing activity in vitro. We hypothesized that the high activity is due to an increase in the affinity of the enzyme for dsRNA. This may be important because protein-RNA interactions can be influenced by physical factors. We became particularly interested in analyzing the effects of salt on interactions between sqADAR2 and RNA because squid cells have a ∼3-fold higher ionic strength and proportionally more Cl(-) than vertebrate cells. To date, in vitro biochemical analyses of adenosine deamination have been conducted using vertebrate-like ionic strength buffers containing chloride as the major anion, although the vast majority of cellular anions are known to be organic. We found that squid-like salt conditions severely impair the binding affinity of conventional ADAR2s for dsRNA, leading to a decrease in nonspecific and site-specific editing activity. Inhibition of editing was mostly due to high Cl(-) levels and not to the high concentrations of K(+), Na(+), and organic anions like glutamate. Interestingly, the extra dsRBD in sqADAR2a conferred resistance to the high Cl(-) levels found in squid neurons. It does so by increasing the affinity of sqADAR2 for dsRNA by 30- or 100-fold in vertebrate-like or squid-like conditions, respectively. Site-directed mutagenesis of squid ADAR2a showed that its increased affinity and editing activity are directly attributable to the RNA binding activity of the extra dsRBD.

Identification of A-to-I RNA editing: dotting the i's in the human transcriptome

The phenomenon of adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing has attracted considerable attention from the scientific community due to its potential relationship to the evolution of cognition in animals. While A-to-I editing exists in all organisms with neurons, including those with primitive neuronal systems (hydra and nematodes), it is particularly frequent in organisms with a highly developed central nervous system (primates, especially humans). Diversification of RNA transcript sequences via A-to-I editing serves a number of different functional roles, such as altering the genome-templated identity of particular amino acids in proteins or altering splice site junctions and modulating regulation of alternatively spliced mRNA variants. Here we provide an overview of current computational and experimental methods for the high-throughput discovery of edited RNA nucleotides in the human transcriptome, as well as a survey of the existing RNA editing bioinformatics resources and an outlook of future perspectives.

Posttranscriptional recoding by RNA editing

The posttranscriptional recoding of nuclear RNA transcripts has emerged as an important regulatory mechanism during eukaryotic gene expression. In particular the deamination of adenosine to inosine (interpreted by the translational machinery as a guanosine) is a frequent event that can recode the meaning of amino acid codons in translated exons, lead to structural changes in the RNA fold, or may affect splice consensus or regulatory sequence sites in noncoding exons or introns and modulate the biogenesis of small RNAs. The molecular mechanism of how the RNA editing machinery and its substrates recognize and interact with each other is not understood well enough to allow for the ab initio delineation of bona fide RNA editing sites. However, progress in the identification of various physiological modification sites and their characterization has given important insights regarding molecular features and events critical for productive RNA editing reactions. In addition, structural studies using components of the RNA editing machinery and together with editing competent substrate molecules have provided information on the chemical mechanism of adenosine deamination within the context of RNA molecules. Here, I give an overview of the process of adenosine deamination RNA editing and describe its relationship to other RNA processing events and its currently established roles in gene regulation.

Identification of widespread ultra-edited human RNAs

Adenosine-to-inosine modification of RNA molecules (A-to-I RNA editing) is an important mechanism that increases transciptome diversity. It occurs when a genomically encoded adenosine (A) is converted to an inosine (I) by ADAR proteins. Sequencing reactions read inosine as guanosine (G); therefore, current methods to detect A-to-I editing sites align RNA sequences to their corresponding DNA regions and identify A-to-G mismatches. However, such methods perform poorly on RNAs that underwent extensive editing ("ultra"-editing), as the large number of mismatches obscures the genomic origin of these RNAs. Therefore, only a few anecdotal ultra-edited RNAs have been discovered so far. Here we introduce and apply a novel computational method to identify ultra-edited RNAs. We detected 760 ESTs containing 15,646 editing sites (more than 20 sites per EST, on average), of which 13,668 are novel. Ultra-edited RNAs exhibit the known sequence motif of ADARs and tend to localize in sense strand Alu elements. Compared to sites of mild editing, ultra-editing occurs primarily in Alu-rich regions, where potential base pairing with neighboring, inverted Alus creates particularly long double-stranded RNA structures. Ultra-editing sites are underrepresented in old Alu subfamilies, tend to be non-conserved, and avoid exons, suggesting that ultra-editing is usually deleterious. A possible biological function of ultra-editing could be mediated by non-canonical splicing and cleavage of the RNA near the editing sites.

Accurate identification of A-to-I RNA editing in human by transcriptome sequencing

RNA editing enhances the diversity of gene products at the post-transcriptional level. Approaches for genome-wide identification of RNA editing face two main challenges: separating true editing sites from false discoveries and accurate estimation of editing levels. We developed an approach to analyze transcriptome sequencing data (RNA-seq) for global identification of RNA editing in cells for which whole-genome sequencing data are available. We applied the method to analyze RNA-seq data of a human glioblastoma cell line, U87MG. Around 10,000 DNA-RNA differences were identified, the majority being putative A-to-I editing sites. These predicted A-to-I events were associated with a low false-discovery rate (∼5%). Moreover, the estimated editing levels from RNA-seq correlated well with those based on traditional clonal sequencing. Our results further facilitated unbiased characterization of the sequence and evolutionary features flanking predicted A-to-I editing sites and discovery of a conserved RNA structural motif that may be functionally relevant to editing. Genes with predicted A-to-I editing were significantly enriched with those known to be involved in cancer, supporting the potential importance of cancer-specific RNA editing. A similar profile of DNA-RNA differences as in U87MG was predicted for another RNA-seq data set obtained from primary breast cancer samples. Remarkably, significant overlap exists between the putative editing sites of the two transcriptomes despite their difference in cell type, cancer type, and genomic backgrounds. Our approach enabled de novo identification of the RNA editome, which sets the stage for further mechanistic studies of this important step of post-transcriptional regulation.

RNA editing by mammalian ADARs

The main type of RNA editing in mammals is the conversion of adenosine to inosine which is translated as if it were guanosine. The enzymes that catalyze this reaction are ADARs (adenosine deaminases that act on RNA), of which there are four in mammals, two of which are catalytically inactive. ADARs edit transcripts that encode proteins expressed mainly in the CNS and editing is crucial to maintain a correctly functioning nervous system. However, the majority of editing has been found in transcripts encoding Alu repeat elements and the biological role of this editing remains a mystery. This chapter describes in detail the different ADAR enzymes and the phenotype of animals that are deficient in their activity. Besides being enzymes, ADARs are also double-stranded RNA-binding proteins, so by binding alone they can interfere with other processes such as RNA interference. Lack of editing by ADARs has been implicated in disorders such as forebrain ischemia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and this will also be discussed.

Disease-associated mutations that alter the RNA structural ensemble

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) often identify disease-associated mutations in intergenic and non-coding regions of the genome. Given the high percentage of the human genome that is transcribed, we postulate that for some observed associations the disease phenotype is caused by a structural rearrangement in a regulatory region of the RNA transcript. To identify such mutations, we have performed a genome-wide analysis of all known disease-associated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) from the Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD) that map to the untranslated regions (UTRs) of a gene. Rather than using minimum free energy approaches (e.g. mFold), we use a partition function calculation that takes into consideration the ensemble of possible RNA conformations for a given sequence. We identified in the human genome disease-associated SNPs that significantly alter the global conformation of the UTR to which they map. For six disease-states (Hyperferritinemia Cataract Syndrome, β-Thalassemia, Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia, Retinoblastoma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and Hypertension), we identified multiple SNPs in UTRs that alter the mRNA structural ensemble of the associated genes. Using a Boltzmann sampling procedure for sub-optimal RNA structures, we are able to characterize and visualize the nature of the conformational changes induced by the disease-associated mutations in the structural ensemble. We observe in several cases (specifically the 5′ UTRs of FTL and RB1) SNP–induced conformational changes analogous to those observed in bacterial regulatory Riboswitches when specific ligands bind. We propose that the UTR and SNP combinations we identify constitute a “RiboSNitch,” that is a regulatory RNA in which a specific SNP has a structural consequence that results in a disease phenotype. Our SNPfold algorithm can help identify RiboSNitches by leveraging GWAS data and an analysis of the mRNA structural ensemble.

Genome-wide association studies identify mutations in the human genome that correlate with a particular disease. It is common to find mutations associated with disease in the non-coding region of the genome. These non-coding mutations are more difficult to interpret at a molecular level, because they do not affect the protein sequence. In this study, we analyze disease-associated mutations in non-coding regions of our genome in the context of their structural effect on the message of genetic information in our cells, Ribonucleic Acid (RNA). We focus in particular on the regulatory parts of our genes known as untranslated regions. We find that certain disease-associated mutations in these regulatory untranslated regions have a significant effect on the structure of the RNA message. We call these elements “RiboSNitches,” because they act like switches turning on and off genes, but are caused by Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), which are single point mutations in our genome. The RiboSNitches we identify are potentially a new class of pharmaceutical targets, as it is possible to change the structure of RNA with small drug-like molecules.

Functions and regulation of RNA editing by ADAR deaminases

One type of RNA editing converts adenosines to inosines (A-->I editing) in double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) substrates. A-->I RNA editing is mediated by adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes. A-->I RNA editing of protein-coding sequences of a limited number of mammalian genes results in recoding and subsequent alterations of their functions. However, A-->I RNA editing most frequently targets repetitive RNA sequences located within introns and 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs). Although the biological significance of noncoding RNA editing remains largely unknown, several possibilities, including its role in the control of endogenous short interfering RNAs (esiRNAs), have been proposed. Furthermore, recent studies have revealed that the biogenesis and functions of certain microRNAs (miRNAs) are regulated by the editing of their precursors. Here, I review the recent findings that indicate new functions for A-->I editing in the regulation of noncoding RNAs and for interactions between RNA editing and RNA interference mechanisms.

A mammalian reporter system for fast and quantitative detection of intracellular A-to-I RNA editing levels

An important molecular mechanism to create protein diversity from a limited set of genes is A-to-I RNA editing. RNA editing converts single adenosines into inosines in pre-mRNA. These single base conversions can have a wide variety of consequences. Editing can lead to codon changes and, consequently, altered protein function. Moreover, editing can alter splice sites and influences miRNA biogenesis and target recognition. The two enzymes responsible for editing in mammals are adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) 1 and 2. However, it is currently largely unknown how the activity of these enzymes is regulated in vivo. Editing activity does not always correlate with ADAR expression levels, suggesting posttranscriptional or posttranslational mechanisms for controlling activity. To investigate how editing is regulated in mammalian cells, we have developed a straightforward quantitative reporter system to detect editing levels. By employing luciferase activity as a readout, we could easily detect different levels of editing in a cellular context. In addition, increased levels of ADAR2 correlated with increased levels of luciferase activity. This reporter system therefore sets the stage for the effective screening of cDNA libraries or small molecules for strong modulators of intracellular editing to ultimately elucidate how A-to-I editing is regulated in vivo.

A computational screen for site selective A-to-I editing detects novel sites in neuron specific Hu proteins

Background

Several bioinformatic approaches have previously been used to find novel sites of ADAR mediated A-to-I RNA editing in human. These studies have discovered thousands of genes that are hyper-edited in their non-coding intronic regions, especially in alu retrotransposable elements, but very few substrates that are site-selectively edited in coding regions. Known RNA edited substrates suggest, however, that site selective A-to-I editing is particularly important for normal brain development in mammals.

Results

We have compiled a screen that enables the identification of new sites of site-selective editing, primarily in coding sequences. To avoid hyper-edited repeat regions, we applied our screen to the alu-free mouse genome. Focusing on the mouse also facilitated better experimental verification. To identify candidate sites of RNA editing, we first performed an explorative screen based on RNA structure and genomic sequence conservation. We further evaluated the results of the explorative screen by determining which transcripts were enriched for A-G mismatches between the genomic template and the expressed sequence since the editing product, inosine (I), is read as guanosine (G) by the translational machinery. For expressed sequences, we only considered coding regions to focus entirely on re-coding events. Lastly, we refined the results from the explorative screen using a novel scoring scheme based on characteristics for known A-to-I edited sites. The extent of editing in the final candidate genes was verified using total RNA from mouse brain and 454 sequencing.

Conclusions

Using this method, we identified and confirmed efficient editing at one site in the Gabra3 gene. Editing was also verified at several other novel sites within candidates predicted to be edited. Five of these sites are situated in genes coding for the neuron-specific RNA binding proteins HuB and HuD.

RNA editing: a driving force for adaptive evolution?

Genetic variability is considered a key to the evolvability of species. The conversion of an adenosine (A) to inosine (I) in primary RNA transcripts can result in an amino acid change in the encoded protein, a change in secondary structure of the RNA, creation or destruction of a splice consensus site, or otherwise alter RNA fate. Substantial transcriptome and proteome variability is generated by A-to-I RNA editing through site-selective post-transcriptional recoding of single nucleotides. We posit that this epigenetic source of phenotypic variation is an unrecognized mechanism of adaptive evolution. The genetic variation introduced through editing occurs at low evolutionary cost since predominant production of the wild-type protein is retained. This property even allows exploration of sequence space that is inaccessible through mutation, leading to increased phenotypic plasticity and provides an evolutionary advantage for acclimatization as well as long-term adaptation. Furthermore, continuous probing for novel RNA editing sites throughout the transcriptome is an intrinsic property of the editing machinery and represents the molecular basis for increased adaptability. We propose that higher organisms have therefore evolved to systems with increasing RNA editing activity and, as a result, to more complex systems.

Evidence for large diversity in the human transcriptome created by Alu RNA editing

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing alters the original genomic content of the human transcriptome and is essential for maintenance of normal life in mammals. A-to-I editing in Alu repeats is abundant in the human genome, with many thousands of expressed Alu sequences undergoing editing. Little is known so far about the contribution of Alu editing to transcriptome complexity. Transcripts derived from a single edited Alu sequence can be edited in multiple sites, and thus could theoretically generate a large number of different transcripts. Here we explored whether the combinatorial potential nature of edited Alu sequences is actually fulfilled in the human transcriptome. We analyzed datasets of editing sites and performed an analysis of a detailed transcript set of one edited Alu sequence. We found that editing appears at many more sites than detected by earlier genomic screens. To a large extent, editing of different sites within the same transcript is only weakly correlated. Thus, rather than finding a few versions of each transcript, a large number of edited variants arise, resulting in immense transcript diversity that eclipses alternative splicing as mechanism of transcriptome diversity, although with less impact on the proteome.

Genome-wide identification of human RNA editing sites by parallel DNA capturing and sequencing

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing leads to transcriptome diversity and is important for normal brain function. To date, only a handful of functional sites have been identified in mammals. We developed an unbiased assay to screen more than 36,000 computationally predicted nonrepetitive A-to-I sites using massively parallel target capture and DNA sequencing. A comprehensive set of several hundred human RNA editing sites was detected by comparing genomic DNA with RNAs from seven tissues of a single individual. Specificity of our profiling was supported by observations of enrichment with known features of targets of adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR) and validation by means of capillary sequencing. This efficient approach greatly expands the repertoire of RNA editing targets and can be applied to studies involving RNA editing-related human diseases.

An extra double-stranded RNA binding domain confers high activity to a squid RNA editing enzyme

RNA editing by adenosine deamination is particularly prevalent in the squid nervous system. We hypothesized that the squid editing enzyme might contain structural differences that help explain this phenomenon. As a first step, a squid adenosine deaminase that acts on RNA (sqADAR2a) cDNA and the gene that encodes it were cloned from the giant axon system. PCR and RNase protection assays showed that a splice variant of this clone (sqADAR2b) was also expressed in this tissue. Both versions are homologous to the vertebrate ADAR2 family. sqADAR2b encodes a conventional ADAR2 family member with an evolutionarily conserved deaminase domain and two double-stranded RNA binding domains (dsRBD). sqADAR2a differs from sqADAR2b by containing an optional exon that encodes an "extra" dsRBD. Both splice variants are expressed at comparable levels and are extensively edited, each in a unique pattern. Recombinant sqADAR2a and sqADAR2b, produced in Pichia pastoris, are both active on duplex RNA. Using a standard 48-h protein induction, both sqADAR2a and sqADAR2b exhibit promiscuous self-editing; however, this activity is particularly robust for sqADAR2a. By decreasing the induction time to 16 h, self-editing was mostly eliminated. We next tested the ability of sqADAR2a and sqADAR2b to edit two K+ channel mRNAs in vitro. Both substrates are known to be edited in squid. For each mRNA, sqADAR2a edited many more sites than sqADAR2b. These data suggest that the "extra" dsRBD confers high activity on sqADAR2a.

Conserved recoding RNA editing of vertebrate C1q-related factor C1QL1

A-to-I RNA editing can lead to recoding of pre-mRNAs with profound functional consequences for the ensuing proteins. Here we show that complement component 1, q subcomponent-like 1 (C1QL1) undergoes RNA editing in vivo causing non-synonymous amino acid substitutions in human, mouse as well as zebrafish. The major editing site had previously been annotated as a single-nucleotide polymorphism in human, but our analysis reveals that post-transcriptional modification is the cause for the sequence variation. Remarkably, although editing of C1QL1 is conserved across vertebrate species, the predicted RNA secondary structure mediating editing involves different regions in zebrafish versus mammals.

Characterization of ADAR1-mediated modulation of gene expression

Conversion of adenosine into inosine in RNA molecules constitutes an important post-transcriptional mechanism for generating transcript diversity and is catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs). Intriguingly, we observed that the editing enzyme ADAR1 enhances reporter gene expression in a cellular, plasmid-based system. The induction of gene expression is independent of the used reporter transgene or the promoter type, but relies on the RNA editing activity and specificity of ADAR1. More detailed analysis indicates that the effect is due to enhanced reporter gene transcription. Induction of gene expression by ADAR1 is lost when the reporter expression cassette is placed in a chromosomal environment. Our results suggest that a cellular, ADAR1-specific RNA editing substrate causes upregulation of plasmid-based gene expression.