A network of DZF proteins controls alternative splicing regulation and fidelity [RNA Bind-n-Seq]
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Proteins containing DZF (domain associated with zinc fingers) modules play important roles throughout gene expression, from transcription to translation. Derived from nucleotidyltransferases but lacking catalytic residues, DZF domains serve as heterodimerization surfaces between DZF protein pairs. Three DZF proteins are widely expressed in mammalian tissues, ILF2, ILF3, and ZFR, which form mutually exclusive ILF2-ILF3 and ILF2-ZFR heterodimers. Using eCLIP-Seq, we find that ZFR binds across broad intronic regions to regulate the alternative splicing of cassette and mutually exclusive exons. ZFR preferentially binds dsRNA in vitro and is enriched on introns containing conserved dsRNA elements in cells. Many splicing events are similarly altered upon depletion of any of the three DZF proteins; however, we also identify independent and opposing roles for ZFR and ILF3 in alternative splicing regulation. Along with widespread involvement in cassette exon splicing, the DZF proteins control the fidelity and regulation of over a dozen highly validated mutually exclusive splicing events. Our findings indicate that the DZF protein complexes form a complex regulatory network that leverages dsRNA binding by ILF3 and ZFR to modulate splicing regulation and fidelity.
Project description:Proteins containing DZF (domain associated with zinc fingers) modules play important roles throughout gene expression, from transcription to translation. Derived from nucleotidyltransferases but lacking catalytic residues, DZF domains serve as heterodimerization surfaces between DZF protein pairs. Three DZF proteins are widely expressed in mammalian tissues, ILF2, ILF3, and ZFR, which form mutually exclusive ILF2-ILF3 and ILF2-ZFR heterodimers. Using eCLIP-Seq, we find that ZFR binds across broad intronic regions to regulate the alternative splicing of cassette and mutually exclusive exons. ZFR preferentially binds dsRNA in vitro and is enriched on introns containing conserved dsRNA elements in cells. Many splicing events are similarly altered upon depletion of any of the three DZF proteins; however, we also identify independent and opposing roles for ZFR and ILF3 in alternative splicing regulation. Along with widespread involvement in cassette exon splicing, the DZF proteins control the fidelity and regulation of over a dozen highly validated mutually exclusive splicing events. Our findings indicate that the DZF protein complexes form a complex regulatory network that leverages dsRNA binding by ILF3 and ZFR to modulate splicing regulation and fidelity.
Project description:Proteins containing DZF (domain associated with zinc fingers) modules play important roles throughout gene expression, from transcription to translation. Derived from nucleotidyltransferases but lacking catalytic residues, DZF domains serve as heterodimerization surfaces between DZF protein pairs. Three DZF proteins are widely expressed in mammalian tissues, ILF2, ILF3, and ZFR, which form mutually exclusive ILF2-ILF3 and ILF2-ZFR heterodimers. Using eCLIP-Seq, we find that ZFR binds across broad intronic regions to regulate the alternative splicing of cassette and mutually exclusive exons. ZFR preferentially binds dsRNA in vitro and is enriched on introns containing conserved dsRNA elements in cells. Many splicing events are similarly altered upon depletion of any of the three DZF proteins; however, we also identify independent and opposing roles for ZFR and ILF3 in alternative splicing regulation. Along with widespread involvement in cassette exon splicing, the DZF proteins control the fidelity and regulation of over a dozen highly validated mutually exclusive splicing events. Our findings indicate that the DZF protein complexes form a complex regulatory network that leverages dsRNA binding by ILF3 and ZFR to modulate splicing regulation and fidelity.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below. GSE206058: Paired-end total RNA-seq of triplicate biological replicate treatments of HEK-293 cells with negative control siRNAs or siRNAs targeting ZFR, ILF2, or ILF3. GSE206059: eCLIP analysis of FLAG-ZFR binding in HEK-293 Flp-In TREx cell lines, with size-matched input control. GSE206060: RNA Bind-n-Seq of recombinantly expressed and purified ZFR-ILF2 complexes, with PTBP1 as a positive control for successful library generation.
Project description:Our data showed that lncRNA ELF3-AS1 could bind on the exon1 of ELF3-201 to form a double-stranded RNA molecule. This double-stranded RNA could interact with ILF2/ILF3 complex. To explore the biofunction of the interaction between ELF3-AS1 and ILF2/ILF3 complex, loss-of-function studies regarding ILF2 and ILF3 were performed in SGC7901 cell line. RNA sequencing studies showed that knockdown of ILF3 significantly decreased ELF3-AS1, while knockdown of ILF2 significantly increased ELF3-AS1 and NF90 expression. Our data revealed that ILF2/ILF3 complex interacted with ELF3-AS1/ELF3 double-stranded RNA and regulated their transcripts stability.
Project description:Chromatin regulation and RNA processing are both fundamental for establishing cell identity, yet how they interact to direct cell fate remains unclear. To uncover factors that coordinate this interplay, we screened dual DNA- and RNA-binding proteins (DRBPs) and identified ILF2 and ILF3 as critical regulators of human cell fate. We show that ILF2 and ILF3 control human, but not mouse, gastrulation and maintain the self-renewal of adult progenitor cells across all three germ layers. Mechanistically, ILF2 and ILF3 interact with and inhibit the RNA-editing enzyme ADAR, which catalyzes adenosine-to-inosine conversion in primate-specific repetitive elements. Acute degradation of the ILF2-ILF3 complex triggers widespread RNA misediting and missplicing of transcripts encoding key cell fate regulators. These misedited transcripts are degraded, destabilizing the proteome and rewiring the epigenetic landscape of stem and progenitor cells. Our findings reveal a human-specific mechanism linking RNA processing to chromatin regulation and identify an evolutionary safeguard that prevents aberrant RNA editing and retrotransposon activation, enabling human cell fate transitions.
Project description:Alternative pre-messenger RNA splicing impacts development, physiology, and disease, but its regulation in humans is not well understood, partially due to the limited scale to which the expression of specific splicing events has been measured. We generated the first genome-scale expression compendium of human alternative splicing events using custom whole-transcript microarrays monitoring expression of 24,426 mutually exclusive alternative splicing event pairs in 48 diverse human samples. Over 11,700 genes and 9,500 splicing events were differentially expressed, providing a rich resource for studying splicing regulation. An unbiased, systematic screen of 21,760 4-mer to 7-mer words for cis-regulatory motifs identified 143 RNA 'words' enriched near regulated cassette exons, including six clusters of motifs represented by UCUCU, UGCAUG, UGCU, UGUGU, UUUU, and AGGG, which map to trans-acting regulators PTB, Fox, Muscleblind, CELF/CUG-BP, TIA-1, and hnRNP F/H, respectively. Each cluster showed a distinct pattern of genomic location and tissue specificity. For example, UCUCU occurs 110 to 35 nucleotides preceding cassette exons upregulated in brain and striated muscle but depleted in other tissues. UCUCU and UGCAUG appear to have similar function but independent action, occurring 5' and 3', respectively, of 33% of the cassette exons upregulated in skeletal muscle but co-occurring for only 2%. Keywords: multiple tissue comparison
Project description:Alternative pre-messenger RNA splicing impacts development, physiology, and disease, but its regulation in humans is not well understood, partially due to the limited scale to which the expression of specific splicing events has been measured. We generated the first genome-scale expression compendium of human alternative splicing events using custom whole-transcript microarrays monitoring expression of 24,426 mutually exclusive alternative splicing event pairs in 48 diverse human samples. Over 11,700 genes and 9,500 splicing events were differentially expressed, providing a rich resource for studying splicing regulation. An unbiased, systematic screen of 21,760 4-mer to 7-mer words for cis-regulatory motifs identified 143 RNA 'words' enriched near regulated cassette exons, including six clusters of motifs represented by UCUCU, UGCAUG, UGCU, UGUGU, UUUU, and AGGG, which map to trans-acting regulators PTB, Fox, Muscleblind, CELF/CUG-BP, TIA-1, and hnRNP F/H, respectively. Each cluster showed a distinct pattern of genomic location and tissue specificity. For example, UCUCU occurs 110 to 35 nucleotides preceding cassette exons upregulated in brain and striated muscle but depleted in other tissues. UCUCU and UGCAUG appear to have similar function but independent action, occurring 5' and 3', respectively, of 33% of the cassette exons upregulated in skeletal muscle but co-occurring for only 2%. Keywords: multiple tissue comparison PolyA+ purified RNA pooled from multiple donors of a single human tissue type (e.g. cerebellum) were amplified with random primers and hybridized on a two-color ink-jet oligonucletodie microarray (17 array set) against a common reference pool, comprising ~20 normal adult tissue pools, on custom microarray patterns containing probes to monitor every exon and exon-exon junction in transcript databases, patent databases, and predicted from mouse transcripts. Data were analyzed for gene expression (the average of multiple probes), exon and junction expression, and splice form proportionality (see paper).
Project description:The RNA helicase BRR2 (SNRNP200) is one of the key remodeling factors of the spliceosome. Here we show its direct interaction with C9ORF78, a poorly characterized protein predicted to be largely intrinsically disordered. We present cryo-EM structures showing how C9ORF78 and the spliceosomal B-complex protein FBP21 wrap around the C-terminal helicase cassette of BRR2 and that binding of the two proteins is mutually exclusive. C9ORF78 associates with the spliceosome, as we confirm via proteomics and RNA UV-crosslinking. An siRNA mediated C9ORF78 knockdown reveals changes in alternative splicing of specific target pre-mRNAs, which in part depend on its interaction with BRR2. In particular, C9ORF78 regulates a substantial number of alternative 3’ splice sites, which might be facilitated through an additional interaction with human PRP22 (DHX8).
Project description:The RNA helicase BRR2 (SNRNP200) is one of the key remodeling factors of the spliceosome. Here we show its direct interaction with C9ORF78, a poorly characterized protein predicted to be largely intrinsically disordered. We present cryo-EM structures showing how C9ORF78 and the spliceosomal B-complex protein FBP21 wrap around the C-terminal helicase cassette of BRR2 and that binding of the two proteins is mutually exclusive. C9ORF78 associates with the spliceosome, as we confirm via proteomics and RNA UV-crosslinking. An siRNA mediated C9ORF78 knockdown reveals changes in alternative splicing of specific target pre-mRNAs, which in part depend on its interaction with BRR2. In particular, C9ORF78 regulates a substantial number of alternative 3’ splice sites, which might be facilitated through an additional interaction with human PRP22 (DHX8).
Project description:The RNA helicase BRR2 (SNRNP200) is one of the key remodeling factors of the spliceosome. Here we show its direct interaction with C9ORF78, a poorly characterized protein predicted to be largely intrinsically disordered. We present cryo-EM structures showing how C9ORF78 and the spliceosomal B-complex protein FBP21 wrap around the C-terminal helicase cassette of BRR2 and that binding of the two proteins is mutually exclusive. C9ORF78 associates with the spliceosome, as we confirm via proteomics and RNA UV-crosslinking. An siRNA mediated C9ORF78 knockdown reveals changes in alternative splicing of specific target pre-mRNAs, which in part depend on its interaction with BRR2. In particular, C9ORF78 regulates a substantial number of alternative 3’ splice sites, which might be facilitated through an additional interaction with human PRP22 (DHX8).