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Identification of genes in toxicity pathways of trinucleotide-repeat RNA in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Myotonic dystrophy disorders are caused by expanded CUG repeats in noncoding regions. Here we used Caenorhabditis elegans expressing CUG repeats to identify genes that modulate the toxicity of such repeats. We identified 15 conserved genes that function as suppressors or enhancers of CUG repeat-induced toxicity and that modulate formation of nuclear foci by CUG-repeat RNA. These genes regulate CUG repeat-induced toxicity through distinct mechanisms including RNA export and clearance, thus suggesting that CUG-repeat toxicity is mediated by multiple pathways. A subset of the genes are also involved in other degenerative disorders. The nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway has a conserved role in regulating CUG-repeat-RNA transcript levels and toxicity, and NMD recognition of toxic RNAs depends on 3'-untranslated-region GC-nucleotide content. Our studies suggest a broader surveillance role for NMD in which variations in this pathway influence multiple degenerative diseases.

SUBMITTER: Garcia SM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4125460 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identification of genes in toxicity pathways of trinucleotide-repeat RNA in C. elegans.

Garcia Susana M D A SM Tabach Yuval Y Lourenço Guinevere F GF Armakola Maria M Ruvkun Gary G

Nature structural & molecular biology 20140720 8

Myotonic dystrophy disorders are caused by expanded CUG repeats in noncoding regions. Here we used Caenorhabditis elegans expressing CUG repeats to identify genes that modulate the toxicity of such repeats. We identified 15 conserved genes that function as suppressors or enhancers of CUG repeat-induced toxicity and that modulate formation of nuclear foci by CUG-repeat RNA. These genes regulate CUG repeat-induced toxicity through distinct mechanisms including RNA export and clearance, thus sugges ...[more]

PMID: 25038802

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Project description:Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is one of the polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases, which are caused by a CAG repeat expansion within the coding region of the associated genes. The CAG repeat specifies glutamine, and the expanded polyQ domain with mutation confers dominant toxicity on the protein. Traditionally, studies have focused on protein toxicity in polyQ disease mechanisms. Recent findings, however, demonstrate that the CAG repeat RNA, which encodes the toxic polyQ protein, also contributes to the disease in Drosophila. To provide insight into the nature of the RNA toxicity, we extracted brain-enriched RNA from flies expressing a toxic CAG repeat mRNA (CAG100) and a non-toxic interrupted CAA/G mRNA repeat (CAA/G105) for microarray analysis. This approach identified a set of genes that are differentially expressed specifically in CAG100 flies. Four independent replicates of flies expressing CAG0, CAG100, or CAA/G105 by elav-GAL4 were collected at 3 days. The transgenes are DsRed with either (CAG0) no CAG repeat in the 3'UTR, (CAG100) a CAG repeat of 100 CAGs in the 3'UTR, or (CAA/G105) an interrupted CAA CAG repeat in the 3'UTR (ref: Li et al., Nature 453:1107) The transgenes were adjusted to match in mRNA expression such that CAG0 flies had one copy of the transgene, CAG100 flies had 5 copies, and CAA/G105 had two copies. Fly brain tissue (about 20 brains per sample, dissected from head capsule, eyes, lamina and outer medulla removed) was dissected in cold phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and stored in Trizol reagent (Invitrogen Corporation, Carlsbad, CA) at -80Ë?C. Total brain RNA was extracted and purified using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen) and the RNeasy Mini system (Qiagen), and treated with RNase-free DNase I (Qiagen). To define genes whose expression is altered in response to a toxic CAG repeat RNA, we compared CAG100 flies with age-matched flies expressing CAG0. To exclude transcriptional changes in response to a non-toxic trinucleotide repeat, a second gene list was generated by comparing CAA/G105 flies with age-matched CAG0 flies.

Dataset Information

Identification of genes in toxicity pathways of trinucleotide-repeat RNA in C. elegans.

Publications

Identification of genes in toxicity pathways of trinucleotide-repeat RNA in C. elegans.

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