MIR-NATs repress MAPT translation and aid proteostasis in neurodegeneration

The human genome expresses thousands of natural antisense transcripts (NAT) that can regulate epigenetic state, transcription, RNA stability or translation of their overlapping genes1,2. Here we describe MAPT-AS1, a brain-enriched NAT that is conserved in primates and contains an embedded mammalian-wide interspersed repeat (MIR), which represses tau translation by competing for ribosomal RNA pairing with the MAPT mRNA internal ribosome entry site3. MAPT encodes tau, a neuronal intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) that stabilizes axonal microtubules. Hyperphosphorylated, aggregation-prone tau forms the hallmark inclusions of tauopathies4. Mutations in MAPT cause familial frontotemporal dementia, and common variations forming the MAPT H1 haplotype are a significant risk factor in many tauopathies5 and Parkinson's disease. Notably, expression of MAPT-AS1 or minimal essential sequences from MAPT-AS1 (including MIR) reduces-whereas silencing MAPT-AS1 expression increases-neuronal tau levels, and correlate with tau pathology in human brain. Moreover, we identified many additional NATs with embedded MIRs (MIR-NATs), which are overrepresented at coding genes linked to neurodegeneration and/or encoding IDPs, and confirmed MIR-NAT-mediated translational control of one such gene, PLCG1. These results demonstrate a key role for MAPT-AS1 in tauopathies and reveal a potentially broad contribution of MIR-NATs to the tightly controlled translation of IDPs6, with particular relevance for proteostasis in neurodegeneration.

SHORT-COMMUNICATION Validation of reference genes for real-time quantitative PCR in tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum)

Tambaqui, Colossoma macropomum, is the main native freshwater fish in Brazilian aquaculture. Therefore, intensive research pressure has been applied to the species to support new technologies for tambaqui farming. Molecular biology represents a tool that can be used to investigate every field of applied biology, from fish physiology to the effects of climate change. Based on the importance of reference genes for the relative or absolute quantification of gene transcripts, we cloned and sequenced three candidate reference genes in tambaqui (18S ribossomal RNA - 18s, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase - gapdh, and actin beta - β-actin), and validated a set of primers for each gene for use in real-time quantitative PCR. The results were evaluated by RefFinder, which indicated that β-actin is the most suitable reference gene for tambaqui among those studied, followed by 18s.