SAP30BP interacts with RBM17/SPF45 to promote splicing in a subset of human short introns

Human pre-mRNA splicing requires the removal of introns with highly variable lengths, from tens to over a million nucleotides. Therefore, mechanisms of intron recognition and splicing are likely not universal. Recently, we reported that splicing in a subset of human short introns with truncated polypyrimidine tracts depends on RBM17 (SPF45), instead of the canonical splicing factor U2 auxiliary factor (U2AF) heterodimer. Here, we demonstrate that SAP30BP, a factor previously implicated in transcriptional control, is an essential splicing cofactor for RBM17. In vitro binding and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses demonstrate that a U2AF-homology motif (UHM) in RBM17 binds directly to a newly identified UHM-ligand motif in SAP30BP. We show that this RBM17-SAP30BP interaction is required to specifically recruit RBM17 to phosphorylated SF3B1 (SF3b155), a U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U2 snRNP) component in active spliceosomes. We propose a mechanism for splicing in a subset of short introns, in which SAP30BP guides RBM17 in the assembly of active spliceosomes.

SPF45/RBM17-dependent splicing and multidrug resistance to cancer chemotherapy

The early splicing complex A occupies at least eighty nucleotides of intron, in which U2AF covers the polypyrimidine tract. SPF45 (RBM17) functionally substitutes for U2AF on a subset of short introns. Since SPF45 expression confers resistance to various anticancer drugs, SPF45-dependent splicing may play a critical role in multidrug resistance.

Genomic functions of U2AF in constitutive and regulated splicing

The U2AF heterodimer is generally accepted to play a vital role in defining functional 3' splice sites in pre-mRNA splicing. Given prevalent mutations in U2AF, particularly in the U2AF1 gene (which encodes for the U2AF35 subunit) in blood disorders and other human cancers, there are renewed interests in these classic splicing factors to further understand their regulatory functions in RNA metabolism in both physiological and disease settings. We recently reported that U2AF has a maximal capacity to directly bind ˜88% of functional 3' splice sites in the human genome and that numerous U2AF binding events also occur in various exonic and intronic locations, thus providing additional mechanisms for the regulation of alternative splicing besides their traditional role in titrating weak splice sites in the cell. These findings, coupled with the existence of multiple related proteins to both U2AF65 and U2AF35, beg a series of questions on the universal role of U2AF in functional 3' splice site definition, their binding specificities in vivo, potential mechanisms to bypass their requirement for certain intron removal events, contribution of splicing-independent functions of U2AF to important cellular functions, and the mechanism for U2AF mutations to invoke specific diseases in humans.