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Disrupted minor intron splicing is prevalent in Mendelian disorders.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Splicing is crucial for proper gene expression, and is predominately executed by the major spliceosome. Conversely, 722 introns in 699 human minor intron-containing genes (MIGs) are spliced by the minor spliceosome. Splicing of these minor introns is disrupted in diseases caused by pathogenic variants in the minor spliceosome, ultimately leading to the aberrant expression of a subset of these MIGs. However, the effect of variants in minor introns and MIGs on diseases remains unexplored. METHODS:Variants in MIGs and associated clinical manifestations were identified using ClinVar. The HPO database was then used to curate the related symptoms and affected organ systems. RESULTS:We found pathogenic variants in 211 MIGs, which commonly resulted in intellectual disability, seizures and microcephaly. This revealed a subset of MIGs whose aberrant splicing may contribute to the pathogenesis of minor spliceosome-related diseases. Moreover, we identified 51 pathogenic variants in minor intron splice sites that reduce the splice site strength and can induce alternative splicing. CONCLUSION:These findings highlight that disrupted minor intron splicing has a broader impact on human diseases than previously appreciated. The hope is that this knowledge will aid in the development of therapeutic strategies that incorporate the minor intron splicing pathway.

SUBMITTER: Olthof AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7507305 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Disrupted minor intron splicing is prevalent in Mendelian disorders.

Olthof Anouk M AM Rasmussen Jeffrey S JS Campeau Philippe M PM Kanadia Rahul N RN

Molecular genetics & genomic medicine 20200623 9

<h4>Background</h4>Splicing is crucial for proper gene expression, and is predominately executed by the major spliceosome. Conversely, 722 introns in 699 human minor intron-containing genes (MIGs) are spliced by the minor spliceosome. Splicing of these minor introns is disrupted in diseases caused by pathogenic variants in the minor spliceosome, ultimately leading to the aberrant expression of a subset of these MIGs. However, the effect of variants in minor introns and MIGs on diseases remains u ...[more]

PMID: 32573973

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Mutations in minor spliceosome components such as U12 snRNA (cerebellar ataxia) and U4atac snRNA (microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type 1 (MOPD1)) result in tissue-specific symptoms. Given that the minor spliceosome is ubiquitously expressed, we hypothesized that these restricted phenotypes might be caused by the tissue-specific regulation of the minor spliceosome targets, i.e. minor intron-containing genes (MIGs). The current model of inefficient splicing is thought to apply to the regulation of the ~?500 MIGs identified in the U12DB. However this database was created more than 10?years ago. Therefore, we first wanted to revisit the classification of minor introns in light of the most recent reference genome. We then sought to address specificity of MIG expression, minor intron retention, and alternative splicing (AS) across mouse and human tissues. RESULTS:We employed position-weight matrices to obtain a comprehensive updated list of minor introns, consisting of 722 mouse and 770 human minor introns. These can be found in the Minor Intron DataBase (MIDB). Besides identification of 99% of the minor introns found in the U12DB, we also discovered ~?150 new MIGs. We then analyzed the RNAseq data from eleven different mouse tissues, which revealed tissue-specific MIG expression and minor intron retention. Additionally, many minor introns were efficiently spliced compared to their flanking major introns. Finally, we identified several novel AS events across minor introns in both mouse and human, which were also tissue-dependent. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that several of the AS events could result in the production of novel tissue-specific proteins. Moreover, like the major introns, we found that these AS events were more prevalent in long minor introns, while retention was favoured in shorter introns. CONCLUSION:Here we show that minor intron splicing and AS across minor introns is a highly organised process that might be regulated in coordination with the major spliceosome in a tissue-specific manner. We have provided a framework to further study the impact of the minor spliceosome and the regulation of MIG expression. These findings may shed light on the mechanism underlying tissue-specific phenotypes in diseases associated with minor spliceosome inactivation. MIDB can be accessed at https://midb.pnb.uconn.edu .

Dataset Information

Disrupted minor intron splicing is prevalent in Mendelian disorders.

Publications

Disrupted minor intron splicing is prevalent in Mendelian disorders.

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