Splicing Inhibition Reveals Novel Roles for SF3B1 in Transcription Dynamics and R-Loop Metabolism
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ABSTRACT: Efficient co-transcriptional splicing has been proposed to suppress the formation of genome-destabilizing R-loops upon interaction between nascent RNA and the DNA template. To test this, we inhibited the SF3B splicing complex using Pladienolide B (PladB) in human K562 cells and mapped R-loop genomic distributions. PladB caused widespread intron retention, as expected, and nearly 2,000 instances of R-loops gains. However, only minimal overlap existed between these two events, arguing that unspliced introns do not cause excessive R-loops. Instead, R-loop gains were driven by a loss of transcription termination over a specific subset of stress-response genes, defining a new class of “downstream of genes” (DoG) aberrant R-loops. Unexpectedly, the predominant response to splicing inhibition was a global R-loop loss over thousands of genes, resulting from a profound loss of transcription elongation. Thus, acute splicing inhibition triggered profound and contrasting alterations in transcriptional dynamics, which were reflected in the global R-loop landscape.
Project description:The SF3B complex, a multiprotein component of the U2 snRNP of the spliceosome, mediates branch point selection and facilitates spliceosome assembly and activation. Several splicing modulators bind the SF3B1 and PHF5A subunits of the SF3B complex and globally inhibit splicing. Engineered mutant variants of SF3B1 and PHF5A conferred tolerance to splicing inhibitors with only minor effects on gene expression and AS.
Project description:The aim of the current study is to characterize the global alternative splicing profiles associated with ex vivo GC resistance in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Specifically, we investigated differential splicing profiles in 38 primary childhood ALL samples by using RNA sequencing. Finally, we tested whether GC-resistant cell lines can be sensitized to GC treatment by using the SF3B modulator Pladienolide-B.
Project description:Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with mutated SF3B1 gene have many features including a favorable outcome that are distinct from MDS with mutations in other splicing factor genes SRSF2 or U2AF1. Molecular bases of these divergences are poorly understood. Here we show that SF3B1-mutated MDS are characterized by a dramatically reduced R-loop formation predominating in gene bodies, which tightly associates with reduced retention of introns specifically found in SF3B1-mutated, but not in U2AF1- or SRSF2-mutated MDS. Compared to erythroblasts from SRSF2- or U2AF1-mutated patients, SF3B1-mutated erythroblasts exhibited augmented DNA synthesis, accelerated replication forks, and single-stranded DNA exposure upon differentiation, which were recapitulated in murine Sf3b1K700E/+ proerythroblasts. Importantly, R-loop formation was restored by histone deacetylase inhibition using SAHA/vorinostat, which improved Sf3b1K700E/+ erythroblast differentiation. In conclusion, loss of R-loops with associated DNA replication stress is a hallmark of SF3B1- mutated MDS ineffective erythropoiesis, which could be used as a new therapeutic target.
Project description:Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with mutated SF3B1 gene have many features including a favorable outcome that are distinct from MDS with mutations in other splicing factor genes SRSF2 or U2AF1. Molecular bases of these divergences are poorly understood. Here we show that SF3B1-mutated MDS are characterized by a dramatically reduced R-loop formation predominating in gene bodies, which tightly associates with reduced retention of introns specifically found in SF3B1-mutated, but not in U2AF1- or SRSF2-mutated MDS. Compared to erythroblasts from SRSF2- or U2AF1-mutated patients, SF3B1-mutated erythroblasts exhibited augmented DNA synthesis, accelerated replication forks, and single-stranded DNA exposure upon differentiation, which were recapitulated in murine Sf3b1K700E/+ proerythroblasts. Importantly, R-loop formation was restored by histone deacetylase inhibition using SAHA/vorinostat, which improved Sf3b1K700E/+ erythroblast differentiation. In conclusion, loss of R-loops with associated DNA replication stress is a hallmark of SF3B1- mutated MDS ineffective erythropoiesis, which could be used as a new therapeutic target.
Project description:In order to explore the effect of SF3B1 inhibitor, pladienolide B, on ovarian cancer cells, OVCAR8 cells were treated with DMSO or 2nM pladienolide B for 72h. Cells were collected and performed RNA sequencing.
Project description:Developing small-molecule splicing modulators represents a promising therapeutic approach for various diseases. Natural products such as pladienolide, herboxidiene, and spliceostatin have been identified as potent splicing modulators that target SF3B1 in the SF3b subcomplex. Using integrated chemogenomic, structural and biochemical approaches, we show that PHF5A, another core component of the SF3b complex, is also targeted by these compounds. Mutations in PHF5A-Y36, SF3B1-K1071, SF3B1-R1074, and SF3B1-V1078 confer resistance to these modulators, suggesting a common site of interaction. Whole-transcriptome RNA-seq analysis reveals that PHF5A-Y36C has minimal effect on basal splicing but alters the action of splicing modulators from inducing intron-retention to exon-skipping. Relative intron strength to splicing inhibition correlates with the differential in GC content between adjacent introns and exons, leading to this differential global splicing pattern. We determine the crystal structure of human PHF5A and find that Y36 is located on the surface in a region of high sequence conservation. Structural analysis of the cryo-EM spliceosome Bact complex shows that these mutations cluster in a well-defined pocket surrounding the branch point adenosine suggesting a possible competitive mode of action for these splicing modulators, which interact with the aromatic side-chain of PHF5A-Y36. Collectively, we propose that PHF5A-SF3B1 forms a central node for binding to these small-molecule splicing modulators, offering insights to modulate splicing.
Project description:A major impediment to studying the human spliceosome in vivo has been the inability to program point mutations in endogenous genes on a large scale. CRISPR-Cas9 technology now provides such opportunities. Due to its scalability and ability to introduce point mutations, we chose CRISPR-Cas9 base editing for a forward genetic screen of the spliceosome in an eHAP haploid human cell line background. We maintained eHAP FNLS cells as haploid so that we could subsequently assign genotype-phenotype relationships. We designed a single guide RNA (sgRNA) library targeting a hand-curated list of 153 human spliceosomal proteins which engage at various steps of the splicing cycle. After mutagenesis, we interrogated the spliceosome using the potent inhibitor pladienolide B (PB), which targets U2 snRNP by binding to a pocket between the SF3B1 and PHF5A subunits of the SF3b complex, preventing stabilization of the U2-branchpoint RNA duplex. Validation and genomic sequencing revealed resistance mutations in SF3B1 and PHF5A in residues adjacent to the compound binding pocket. We mapped hypersensitive mutants to U2 snRNP components, but also to factors that act as late as the second chemical step, after SF3b has dissociated. Strikingly, we obtained resistance mutants in SUGP1, a spliceosomal G-patch protein of unknown function that lacks orthologs in yeast and is also a newly proposed tumor suppressor whose loss underpins the splicing changes induced by cancer-associated SF3B1 mutations.
Project description:A major impediment to studying the human spliceosome in vivo has been the inability to program point mutations in endogenous genes on a large scale. CRISPR-Cas9 technology now provides such opportunities. Due to its scalability and ability to introduce point mutations, we chose CRISPR-Cas9 base editing for a forward genetic screen of the spliceosome in an eHAP haploid human cell line background. We maintained eHAP FNLS cells as haploid so that we could subsequently assign genotype-phenotype relationships. We designed a single guide RNA (sgRNA) library targeting a hand-curated list of 153 human spliceosomal proteins which engage at various steps of the splicing cycle. After mutagenesis, we interrogated the spliceosome using the potent inhibitor pladienolide B (PB), which targets U2 snRNP by binding to a pocket between the SF3B1 and PHF5A subunits of the SF3b complex, preventing stabilization of the U2-branchpoint RNA duplex. Validation and genomic sequencing revealed resistance mutations in SF3B1 and PHF5A in residues adjacent to the compound binding pocket. We mapped hypersensitive mutants to U2 snRNP components, but also to factors that act as late as the second chemical step, after SF3b has dissociated. Strikingly, we obtained resistance mutants in SUGP1, a spliceosomal G-patch protein of unknown function that lacks orthologs in yeast and is also a newly proposed tumor suppressor whose loss underpins the splicing changes induced by cancer-associated SF3B1 mutations.
Project description:A major impediment to studying the human spliceosome in vivo has been the inability to program point mutations in endogenous genes on a large scale. CRISPR-Cas9 technology now provides such opportunities. Due to its scalability and ability to introduce point mutations, we chose CRISPR-Cas9 base editing for a forward genetic screen of the spliceosome in an eHAP haploid human cell line background. We maintained eHAP FNLS cells as haploid so that we could subsequently assign genotype-phenotype relationships. We designed a single guide RNA (sgRNA) library targeting a hand-curated list of 153 human spliceosomal proteins which engage at various steps of the splicing cycle. After mutagenesis, we interrogated the spliceosome using the potent inhibitor pladienolide B (PB), which targets U2 snRNP by binding to a pocket between the SF3B1 and PHF5A subunits of the SF3b complex, preventing stabilization of the U2-branchpoint RNA duplex. Validation and genomic sequencing revealed resistance mutations in SF3B1 and PHF5A in residues adjacent to the compound binding pocket. We mapped hypersensitive mutants to U2 snRNP components, but also to factors that act as late as the second chemical step, after SF3b has dissociated. Strikingly, we obtained resistance mutants in SUGP1, a spliceosomal G-patch protein of unknown function that lacks orthologs in yeast and is also a newly proposed tumor suppressor whose loss underpins the splicing changes induced by cancer-associated SF3B1 mutations.
Project description:Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with mutated SF3B1 gene have many features including a favorable outcome that are distinct from MDS with mutations in other splicing factor genes SRSF2 or U2AF1. Molecular bases of these divergences are poorly understood. Here we show that SF3B1-mutated MDS are characterized by a dramatically reduced R-loop formation predominating in gene bodies, which tightly associates with reduced retention of introns specifically found in SF3B1-mutated, but not in U2AF1- or SRSF2-mutated MDS. Compared to erythroblasts from SRSF2- or U2AF1-mutated patients, SF3B1-mutated erythroblasts exhibited augmented DNA synthesis, accelerated replication forks, and single-stranded DNA exposure upon differentiation, which were recapitulated in murine Sf3b1K700E/+ proerythroblasts. Importantly, R-loop formation was restored by histone deacetylase inhibition using SAHA/vorinostat, which improved Sf3b1K700E/+ erythroblast differentiation. In conclusion, loss of R-loops with associated DNA replication stress is a hallmark of SF3B1- mutated MDS ineffective erythropoiesis, which could be used as a new therapeutic target.