Dataset Information

RNA-seq analysis of impact of PNN on gene expression and alternative splicing in corneal epithelial cells.

ABSTRACT: The specialized corneal epithelium requires differentiated properties, specific for its role at the anterior surface of the eye. Thus, tight maintenance of the differentiated qualities of the corneal epithelial is essential. Pinin (PNN) is an exon junction component (EJC) that has dramatic implications for corneal epithelial cell differentiation and may act as a stabilizer of the corneal epithelial cell phenotype. Our studies revealed that PNN is involved in transcriptional repression complexes and spliceosomal complexes, placing PNN at the fulcrum between chromatin and mRNA splicing. Transcriptome analysis of PNN-knockdown cells revealed clear and reproducible alterations in transcript profiles and splicing patterns of a subset of genes that would significantly impact the epithelial cell phenotype. We further investigated PNN's role in the regulation of gene expression and alternative splicing (AS) in a corneal epithelial context.Human corneal epithelial (HCET) cells that carry the doxycycline-inducible PNN-knockdown shRNA vector were used to perform RNA-seq to determine differential gene expression and differential AS events.Multiple genes and AS events were identified as differentially expressed between PNN-knockdown and control cells. Genes upregulated by PNN knockdown included a large proportion of genes that are associated with enhanced cell migration and ECM remodeling processes, such as MMPs, ADAMs, HAS2, LAMA3, CXCRs, and UNC5C. Genes downregulated in response to PNN depletion included IGFBP5, FGD3, FGFR2, PAX6, RARG, and SOX10. AS events in PNN-knockdown cells compared to control cells were also more likely to be detected, and upregulated. In particular, 60% of exon-skipping events, detected in only one condition, were detected in PNN-knockdown cells and of the shared exon-skipping events, 92% of those differentially expressed were more frequent in the PNN knockdown.These data suggest that lowering of PNN levels in epithelial cells results in dramatic transformation in the number and composition of splicing variants and that PNN plays a crucial role in the selection of which RNA isoforms differentiating cells produce. Many of the genes affected by PNN knockdown are known to affect the epithelial phenotype. This window into the complexity of RNA splicing in the corneal epithelium implies that PNN exerts broad influence over the regulation and maintenance of the epithelial cell phenotype.

SUBMITTER: Akin D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4734150 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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RNA-seq analysis of impact of PNN on gene expression and alternative splicing in corneal epithelial cells.

Akin Debra D Newman Jeremy R B JR McIntyre Lauren M LM Sugrue Stephen P SP

Molecular vision 20160116

<h4>Purpose</h4>The specialized corneal epithelium requires differentiated properties, specific for its role at the anterior surface of the eye. Thus, tight maintenance of the differentiated qualities of the corneal epithelial is essential. Pinin (PNN) is an exon junction component (EJC) that has dramatic implications for corneal epithelial cell differentiation and may act as a stabilizer of the corneal epithelial cell phenotype. Our studies revealed that PNN is involved in transcriptional repre ...[more]

PMID: 26900324

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Project description:The specialized corneal epithelium requires differentiated properties, specific for its role at the anterior surface of the eye, thus tight maintenance of the differentiated qualities of the corneal epithelial is essential. Our studies have focused on pinin (PNN), an exon junction component (EJC) that has dramatic implications on corneal epithelial cell differentiation and may act as a stabilizer of the corneal epithelial cell phenotype. Our studies revealed that PNN is involved in both transcriptional repression complexes and the spliceosomal complexes, placing PNN at the fulcrum between chromatin and mRNA splicing. Transcriptome analysis of PNN-knockdown cells revealed clear and reproducible alterations in transcript profiles and splicing patterns of a subset of genes that would significantly impact the epithelial cell phenotype. Here, we further investigate PNN’s role in the regulation of gene expression and alternative splicing (AS) in a corneal epithelial context. We used human corneal epithelial cells (HCET cells) that carry doxycycline-inducible PNN-knockdown shRNA vector and performed RNA-seq to determine differential gene expression and differential AS events. Multiple genes and AS events were identified as differentially expressed between PNN-knockdown and controls cells. Genes up-regulated by PNN-knockdown included a large proportion of genes that are associated with processes associated with enhanced cell migration and ECM remodeling including: MMPs, ADAMs, HAS2, LAMA3, CXCRs and UNC5C. Genes down-regulated in response to PNN depletion included: IGFBP5. FGD3, FGFR2, PAX6, RARG and SOX10. AS events in PNN compared to controls was also more likely to be detected, and uregulated in PNN-knockdowns. In particular, 60% of exon skipping events detected in only one condition were detected in PNN-knockdowns and of the shared exon skipping events, 92% of those differentially expressed were more frequent in the PNN-knockdown. This suggests that in the absence of PNN the epithelial cells are dramatically transformed in the amount and composition of isoforms and that PNN plays a crucial role in the selection of which isoforms differentiating cells produce. Many of the genes affected by PNN-knockdown are known to affect epithelial phenotype. This window into the complexity of RNA splicing in the corneal epithelium implies that PNN exerts broad influence over the regulation and maintenance of epithelial cell phenotype. We used HCET cells that carry doxycycline-inducible PNN knockdown shRNA vector and performed RNA-seq to determine differential gene expression and differential alternative splicing events.

Project description:PurposeCorneal epithelial homeostasis is maintained by coordinated gene expression across distinct cell populations, but the gene regulatory programs underlying this cellular diversity remain to be characterized. Here we applied single-cell multi-omics analysis to delineate the gene regulatory profile of mouse corneal epithelial cells under normal homeostasis.MethodsSingle cells isolated from the cornea epithelium (with marginal conjunctiva) of adult mice were subjected to scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq using the 10×Genomics platform. Cell types were clustered by the graph-based visualization method uniform manifold approximation and projection and unbiased computational informatics analysis. The scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq datasets were integrated following the integration pipeline described in ArchR and Seurat.ResultsWe characterized diverse corneal epithelial cell types based on gene expression signatures and chromatin accessibility. We found that cell type-specific accessibility regions were mainly located at distal regions, suggesting essential roles of distal regulatory elements in determining corneal epithelial cell diversity. Trajectory analyses revealed a continuum of cell state transition and higher coordination between transcription factor (TF) motif accessibility and gene expression during corneal epithelial cell differentiation. By integrating transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility analysis, we identified cell type-specific and shared gene regulation programs. We also uncovered critical TFs driving corneal epithelial cell differentiation, such as nuclear factor I (NFI) family members, Rarg, Elf3. We found that nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) family members were positive TFs in limbal cells and some superficial cells, but they were involved in regulating distinct biological processes.ConclusionsOur study presents a comprehensive gene regulatory landscape of mouse cornea epithelial cells, and provides valuable foundations for future investigation of corneal epithelial homeostasis in the context of cornea pathologies and regenerative medicine.

Dataset Information

RNA-seq analysis of impact of PNN on gene expression and alternative splicing in corneal epithelial cells.

Publications

RNA-seq analysis of impact of PNN on gene expression and alternative splicing in corneal epithelial cells.

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