The RNA-binding protein RBM24 regulates lipid metabolism and SLC7A11 mRNA stability to modulate ferroptosis and inflammatory response

Lipids play a critical role in many cellular processes by serving as structural components of cell membranes or functioning as energy fuel and signaling molecules. The RNA-binding proteins RBM24 and RBM38 share an identical RNA-binding domain and thereby, regulate a group of same targets, such as p21. However, it is not certain whether RBM24 and RBM38 participates in lipid homeostasis. Here, lipidomic analysis showed that a deficiency in RBM24 or RBM38 leads to altered lipid metabolism, with more profound alteration by loss of RBM24 in MCF7 cells. We also showed that mice deficient in RBM24 were prone to chronic inflammation and liver steatosis, but not spontaneous tumors. These data let us speculate whether RBM24 regulates ferroptosis, a programmed cell death that links inflammation and liver steatosis via lipid peroxidation. Indeed, we found that over-expression of RBM24 protected, whereas knockout of RBM24 sensitized, cells to Erastin-induced ferroptosis by modulating the mRNA stability of SLC7A11, a ferroptosis inhibitor. Moreover, we showed that knockdown of SLC7A11 reversed the effect of RBM24 on ferroptosis. Together, our study revealed that RBM24 regulates lipid metabolism and SLC7A11 mRNA stability to modulate ferroptosis and inflammatory response.

miR-125a-5p increases cellular DNA damage of aging males and perturbs stage-specific embryo development via Rbm38-p53 signaling

An increasing number of men are fathering children at an older age than in the past. While advanced maternal age has long been recognized as a risk factor for adverse reproductive outcomes, the influence of paternal age on reproduction is incompletely comprehended. Herein, we found that miR‐125a‐5p was upregulated in the sperm of aging males and was related to inferior sperm DNA integrity as an adverse predictor. Moreover, we demonstrated that miR‐125a‐5p suppressed mitochondrial function and increased cellular DNA damage in GC2 cells. We also found that miR‐125a‐5p perturbed embryo development at specific morula/blastocyst stages. Mechanistically, we confirmed that miR‐125a‐5p disturbed the mitochondrial function by targeting Rbm38 and activating the p53 damage response pathway, and induced a developmental delay in a p21‐dependent manner. Our study revealed an important role of miR‐125a‐5p in sperm function and early embryo development of aging males, and provided a fresh view to comprehend the aging process in sperm.

Rbm38 Reduces the Transcription Elongation Defect of the SMEK2 Gene Caused by Splicing Deficiency

Pre-mRNA splicing is an essential mechanism for ensuring integrity of the transcriptome in eukaryotes. Therefore, splicing deficiency might cause a decrease in functional proteins and the production of nonfunctional, aberrant proteins. To prevent the production of such aberrant proteins, eukaryotic cells have several mRNA quality control mechanisms. In addition to the known mechanisms, we previously found that transcription elongation is attenuated to prevent the accumulation of pre-mRNA under splicing-deficient conditions. However, the detailed molecular mechanism behind the defect in transcription elongation remains unknown. Here, we showed that the RNA binding protein Rbm38 reduced the transcription elongation defect of the SMEK2 gene caused by splicing deficiency. This reduction was shown to require the N- and C-terminal regions of Rbm38, along with an important role being played by the RNA-recognition motif of Rbm38. These findings advance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of the transcription elongation defect caused by splicing deficiency.

Modulation of the p53 family network by RNA-binding proteins

Since its discovery more than three decades ago, tumor suppressor p53 has been shown to play pivotal roles in both maintaining genomic integrity and tumor suppression. p53 functions as a transcription factor responding to a multitude of cellular stressors, regulating the transcription of many genes involved in cell-cycle arrest, senescence, autophagy, and apoptosis. Extensive work has revealed that p53 is one of the most commonly mutated tumor suppressor genes. The last three decades have demonstrated that p53 activity is controlled through transcriptional regulation and posttranslational modifications. However, evolving work is now uncovering that p53, and other p53 family members, are post-transcriptionally regulated by multiple RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Understanding the regulation of p53 by RBPs may potentially open up the possibility for cancer therapeutic intervention. This review focuses on the posttranscriptional regulation of p53, and p53 family members, by RNA binding proteins and the reciprocal feedback pathways between several RNA-biding proteins modulating p53, and p53 family members.

Characterization of the duck (Anas platyrhynchos) Rbm24 and Rbm38 genes and their expression profiles in myoblast and skeletal muscle tissues

RNA-binding motif proteins 24 (Rbm24) and 38 (Rbm38) are known to regulate genes expression in a post-transcriptional way. However, it remains unclear about the similarities and differences between Rbm24 and Rbm38 in terms of their sequence characteristics and expression profiles during myoblast differentiation and skeletal muscle development. In this study, we found that the coding domain sequences (CDSs) of duck Rbm24 and Rbm38 consisted of 678 and 648 nucleotides, respectively. Both of them contain a conserved RNA-recognition motif (RRM). Phylogenetic analysis showed that duck Rbm24 and Rbm38 were clustered with other Aves, nevertheless, avian Rbm24 was clustered with mammalian and reptilian Rbm24; avian Rbm38 was clustered with amphibian and reptilian Rbm38. Real-time PCR results exhibited that during embryonic stage, Rbm24 and Rbm38 in leg and breast muscle increased to their peak (P<0.01) at same time. During postnatal stage, the peak of Rbm24 and Rbm38 in leg were found at W5, while the peak of them in breast was found at W6 (P<0.01). Moreover, a relative high value of Rbm24 and Rbm38 in leg was found at W1 and W3, respectively. Additionally, both Rbm24 and Rbm38 expressed at each stage of duck myoblast differentiation, however, Rbm24 shared similar expression profiles with MEF2C, and Rbm38 shared similar expression profiles with MyoG and MEF2A. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering results were consistent with the preceding findings. These results serve as a foundation for further investigations about similar and different effects of Rbm24 and Rbm38 on myoblast differentiation and skeletal muscle development.

Mice deficient in Rbm38, a target of the p53 family, are susceptible to accelerated aging and spontaneous tumors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111:18637-18642. [PMID: 25512531 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1415607112]

RNA-binding motif protein 38 (Rbm38), also called RNPC1 [RNA-binding region (RNP1, RRM) containing 1], is a target of the p53 family and modulates p53 expression via mRNA translation. To investigate the biological function of Rbm38 in vivo, we generated an Rbm38-null mouse model. We showed that mice deficient in Rbm38 exhibit signs of accelerated aging and are prone to hematopoietic defects and spontaneous tumors. To determine the biological significance of the p53-Rbm38 loop, we showed that Rbm38 deficiency enhances accumulation of p53 induced by ionizing radiation (IR) and sensitizes mice to IR-induced lethality in a p53-dependent manner. Most importantly, Rbm38 deficiency markedly decreases the tumor penetrance in mice heterozygous for p53 via enhanced p53 expression. Interestingly, we found that Rbm38 deficiency shortens the life span of, and promotes lymphomagenesis in, mice deficient in p53. These results provide genetic evidence that Rbm38 is necessary for normal hematopoiesis and for suppressing accelerated aging and tumorigenesis. Thus, the p53-Rbm38 axis might be explored for extending longevity and for tumor suppression.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 promotes p53 mRNA translation via phosphorylation of RNPC1

The RNA-binding protein RNPC1/Rbm38 is a p53 target and repressor of p53 mRNA translation. While the p53–RNPC1 loop is critical for modulating p53 tumor suppression, it is unclear how the loop is regulated. Here, Zhang et al. show that glycogen synthase kinase 3 regulates p53 mRNA translation via phosphorylation of RNPC1. Surprisingly, they find that phosphorylation of a specific site converts RNPC1 from a repressor to an activator of p53. This study may have important therapeutic implications for the modulation of p53 activity in cancer cells.

The RNPC1 RNA-binding protein, also called Rbm38, is a target of p53 and a repressor of p53 mRNA translation. Thus, the p53–RNPC1 loop is critical for modulating p53 tumor suppression, but it is not clear how the loop is regulated. Here, we showed that RNPC1 is phosphorylated at Ser195 by glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3). We also showed that GSK3 promotes p53 mRNA translation through phosphorylation of RNPC1. Interestingly, we found that the phosphor-mimetic mutant S195D and the deletion mutant Δ189–204, which lacks the GSK3 phosphorylation site, are unable to repress p53 mRNA translation due to loss of interaction with eukaryotic translation factor eIF4E on p53 mRNA. Additionally, we found that phosphorylated RNPC1, RNPC1-S195D, and RNPC1(Δ189–204) promote p53 mRNA translation through interaction with eukaryotic translation factor eIF4G, which then facilitates the assembly of the eIF4F complex on p53 mRNA. Furthermore, we showed that upon inhibition of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)–Akt pathway, GSK3 is activated, leading to increased RNPC1 phosphorylation and increased p53 expression in a RNPC1-dependent manner. Together, we postulate that the p53–RNPC1 loop can be explored to increase or decrease p53 activity for cancer therapy.