Clinical significance of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein U1 subunit 70 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background & Aims

Small nuclear ribonucleoprotein U1 subunit 70 (SNRNP70) as one of the components of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) is rarely reported in cancers. This study aims to estimate the application potential of SNRNP70 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) clinical practice.

Methods

Based on the TCGA database and cohort of HCC patients, we investigated the expression patterns and prognostic value of SNRNP70 in HCC. Then, the combination of SNRNP70 and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in 278 HCC cases was analyzed. Next, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of SNRNP70 in nucleus and cytoplasm. Finally, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and scratch wound healing assays were used to detect the effect of SNRNP70 on the proliferation and migration of HCC cells.

Results

SNRNP70 was highly expressed in HCC. Its expression was increasingly high during the progression of HCC and was positively related to immune infiltration cells. Higher SNRNP70 expression indicated a poor outcome of HCC patients. In addition, nuclear SNRNP70/AFP combination could be a prognostic biomarker for overall survival and recurrence. Cell experiments confirmed that knockdown of SNRNP70 inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCC cells.

Conclusion

SNRNP70 may be a new biomarker for HCC progression and HCC diagnosis as well as prognosis. SNRNP70 combined with serum AFP may indicate the prognosis and recurrence status of HCC patients after operation.

How Are Short Exons Flanked by Long Introns Defined and Committed to Splicing?

The splice sites (SSs) delimiting an intron are brought together in the earliest step of spliceosome assembly yet it remains obscure how SS pairing occurs, especially when introns are thousands of nucleotides long. Splicing occurs in vivo in mammals within minutes regardless of intron length, implying that SS pairing can instantly follow transcription. Also, factors required for SS pairing, such as the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) and U2AF65, associate with RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), while nucleosomes preferentially bind exonic sequences and associate with U2 snRNP. Based on recent publications, we assume that the 5' SS-bound U1 snRNP can remain tethered to RNAPII until complete synthesis of the downstream intron and exon. An additional U1 snRNP then binds the downstream 5' SS, whereas the RNAPII-associated U2AF65 binds the upstream 3' SS to facilitate SS pairing along with exon definition. Next, the nucleosome-associated U2 snRNP binds the branch site to advance splicing complex assembly. This may explain how RNAPII and chromatin are involved in spliceosome assembly and how introns lengthened during evolution with a relatively minimal compromise in splicing.

Defining the Mer1 and Nam8 meiotic splicing regulons by cDNA rescue

Meiosis-specific pre-mRNA splicing in budding yeast embraces multiple pre-mRNA targets grouped into regulons defined by their genetic requirements for vegetatively optional splicing factors (e.g., splicing enhancer Mer1 and the U1 snRNP subunit Nam8) or snRNA modifications (trimethylguanosine caps). Here, we genetically demarcate a complete meiotic splicing regulon by the criterion of cDNA bypass of the requirement for the governing splicing regulators to execute sporulation. We thereby show that the Mer1 and Nam8 regulons embrace four essential pre-mRNAs: MER2, MER3, SPO22, and AMA1. Whereas Nam8 also regulates PCH2 splicing, PCH2 cDNA is not needed for sporulation by nam8Δ diploids. Our results show that there are no essential intron-containing RNAs missing from the known roster of Mer1 and Nam8 targets. Nam8 is composed of three RRM domains, flanked by N-terminal leader and C-terminal tail segments. We find that the RRM2 and RRM3 domains, and their putative RNA-binding sites, are essential for yeast sporulation, whereas the leader, tail, and RRM1 modules are not.

A highly stable duplex structure sequesters the 5' splice site region of hnRNP A1 alternative exon 7B

Exon 7B in the hnRNP A1 pre-mRNA is alternatively spliced to yield A1 and A1(B), two proteins that differ in their ability to modulate 5' splice site selection. Sequencing the murine intron downstream of exon 7B revealed the existence of several regions of similarity to the corresponding human intron. In vitro splicing assays indicate that an 84-nt region (CE6IO) decreases splicing to the proximal 5' splice site in a pre-mRNA carrying the 5' splice sites of exon 7 and 7B. In vivo, the CE6IO element promotes exon 7B skipping in pre-mRNAs expressed from a mini-gene containing the hnRNP A1 alternative splicing unit. Using oligonucleotide-targeted RNase H cleavage assays, we provide support for the existence of highly stable base pairing interactions between CE6IO and the 5' splice site region of exon 7B. Duplex formation occurs in naked pre-mRNA, resists incubation in splicing extracts, and is associated with a reduction in the assembly of U1 snRNP-dependent complexes to the 5' splice site of exon 7B. Our results demonstrate that pre-mRNA secondary structure plays an important role in promoting exon 7B skipping in the A1 pre-mRNA.

Sequential activation of three distinct ICE-like activities in Fas-ligated Jurkat cells

ICE family proteases have been implicated as important effectors of the apoptotic pathway, perhaps acting hierarchically in a protease cascade. Using cleavage of endogenous protease substrates as probes, three distinct tiers of ICE-like activity were observed after Fas ligation in Jurkat cells. The earliest cleavage detected (30 min) was of fodrin, and produced a 150 kDa fragment. The second phase of cleavage (50 min) involved PARP, U1-70kDa and DNA-PKcs, all substrates of the CPP32-like proteases. Lamin B cleavage was observed during the third cleavage phase (90 min). Distinct inhibition profiles obtained using a panel of peptide-based inhibitors of ICE-like proteases clearly distinguished the three different cleavage phases. These studies provide evidence for a sequence of ICE-like proteolytic activity during apoptosis. The early fodrin cleavage, producing a 150 kDa fragment, identifies an ICE-like activity proximal to CPP32 in Fas-induced Jurkat cell apoptosis.

A conserved epitope on a subset of SR proteins defines a larger family of Pre-mRNA splicing factors

The removal of introns from eukaryotic pre-mRNA occurs in a large ribonucleoprotein complex called the spliceosome. We have generated a monoclonal antibody (mAb 16H3) against four of the family of six SR proteins, known regulators of splice site selection and spliceosome assembly. In addition to the reactive SR proteins, SRp20, SRp40, SRp55, and SRp75, mAb 16H3 also binds approximately 20 distinct nuclear proteins in human, frog, and Drosophila extracts, whereas yeast do not detectably express the epitope. The antigens are shown to be nuclear, nonnucleolar, and concentrated at active sites of RNA polymerase II transcription which suggests their involvement in pre-mRNA processing. Indeed, most of the reactive proteins observed in nuclear extract are detected in spliceosomes (E and/or B complex) assembled in vitro, including the U1 70K component of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle and both subunits of U2AF. Interestingly, the 16H3 epitope was mapped to a 40-amino acid polypeptide composed almost exclusively of arginine alternating with glutamate and aspartate. All of the identified antigens, including the human homolog of yeast Prp22 (HRH1), contain a similar structural element characterized by arginine alternating with serine, glutamate, and/or aspartate. These results indicate that many more spliceosomal components contain such arginine-rich domains. Because it is conserved among metazoans, we propose that the "alternating arginine" domain recognized by mAb 16H3 may represent a common functional element of pre-mRNA splicing factors.

Interaction of N-terminal domain of U1A protein with an RNA stem/loop

The U1A protein is a sequence-specific RNA binding protein found in the U1 snRNP particle where it binds to stem/loop II of U1 snRNA. U1A contains two 'RNP' or 'RRM' (RNA Recognition Motif) domains, which are common to many RNA-binding proteins. The N-terminal RRM has been shown to bind specifically to the U1 RNA stem/loop, while the RNA target of the C-terminal domain is unknown. Here, we describe experiments using a 102 amino acid N-terminal RRM of U1A (102A) and a 25-nucleotide RNA stem/loop to measure the binding constants and thermodynamic parameters of this RNA:protein complex. Using nitrocellulose filter binding, we measure a dissociation constant KD = 2 x 10(-11) M in 250 mM NaCl, 2 mM MgC2, and 10 mM sodium cacodylate, pH 6 at room temperature, and a half-life for the complex of 5 minutes. The free energy of association (delta G degrees) of this complex is about -14 kcal/mol in these conditions. Determination of the salt dependence of the binding suggests that at least 8 ion-pairs are formed upon complex formation. A mutation in the RNA loop sequence reduces the affinity 10 x, or about 10% of the total free energy.

RNA binding specificity of a Drosophila snRNP protein that shares sequence homology with mammalian U1-A and U2-B" proteins

We have characterized a recombinant Drosophila melanogaster RNA binding protein, D25, by virtue of its antigenic relationship to mammalian U1 and U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U snRNP) proteins. Sequence analysis revealed that D25 bears strong similarity to both the human U1 snRNP-A (U1-A) and U2 snRNP-B" (U2-B") proteins. However, at residues known to be critical for the RNA binding specificities of U1-A and U2-B" D25 sequence is more similar to U2-B". Using direct RNA binding assays D25 selected U1 RNA from either HeLa or Drosophila Kc cell total RNA. Furthermore, D25 bound U1 RNA when transfected into mammalian cells. Thus, D25 appears to be a Drosophila homolog of the mammalian U1-A protein, despite its sequence similarity to U2-B".

Intracellular distribution of the U1A protein depends on active transport and nuclear binding to U1 snRNA

Nuclear transport of the U1 snRNP-specific protein U1A has been examined. U1A moves to the nucleus by an active process which is independent of interaction with U1 snRNA. Nuclear localization requires an unusually large sequence element situated between amino acids 94 and 204 of the protein. U1A transport is not unidirectional. The protein shuttles between nucleus and cytoplasm. At equilibrium, the concentration of the protein in the nucleus and cytoplasm is not, however, determined solely by transport rates, but can be perturbed by introducing RNA sequences that can specifically bind U1A in either the nuclear or cytoplasmic compartment. Thus, U1A represents a novel class of protein which shuttles between cytoplasm and nucleus and whose intracellular distribution can be altered by the number of free binding sites for the protein present in the cytoplasm or the nucleus.