Perturbation of the Akt/Gsk3-beta signaling pathway is common to Drosophila expressing expanded untranslated CAG, CUG and AUUCU repeat RNAs
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster
PROVIDER: GSE27178 | GEO | 2011/04/28
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA137367
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Recent evidence supports a role for RNA as a common pathogenic agent in both the “polyglutamine” and “untranslated” dominant expanded repeat disorders. One feature of all repeat sequences currently associated with disease is their predicted ability to form a hairpin secondary structure at the RNA level. In order to investigate mechanisms by which hairpin forming repeat RNAs could induce neurodegeneration, we have looked for alterations in gene transcripts as hallmarks of the cellular response to toxic hairpin repeat RNAs. Three disease associated repeat sequences - CAG, CUG and AUUCU - were specifically expressed in the neurons of Drosophila and resultant common, early, transcriptional changes assessed by microarray analyses. Transcripts that encode several components of the Akt/Gsk3-β signalling pathway were altered as a consequence of expression of these repeat RNAs, indicating that this pathway is a component of the neuronal response to these pathogenic RNAs and may represent an important common therapeutic target in this class of diseases. The heads from newly eclosed Male Drosophila were used for RNA extraction and profiling on Affymetrix Drosophile Genome 2.0 microarrays. Twenty samples were analysed, representing control and experimental lines. Two independently derived control lines were used in each exeriment, totaling 4 samples. The tri-nucleotide repeats (CAG, CUG, CAA) were represented by three independently derived two transgene insertion lines each in one experiment and two independent four transgene insertion lines each in a second experiment, totaling 15 samples. A single four transgene insertion line was analysed for AUUCU. Candidates were selected from the pool of transcripts which showed a ‘present’ call in either all independent lines for a particular repeat sequence, or in all samples for the elav- GAL4/+ control in that experiment. Where possible, T-tests were performed on raw values to determine samples that showed a significant difference with a P-value < 0.05.
2011-04-28 | E-GEOD-27178 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Recent evidence supports a role for RNA as a common pathogenic agent in both the 'polyglutamine' and 'untranslated' dominant expanded repeat disorders. One feature of all repeat sequences currently associated with disease is their predicted ability to form a hairpin secondary structure at the RNA level. In order to investigate mechanisms by which hairpin-forming repeat RNAs could induce neurodegeneration, we have looked for alterations in gene transcript levels as hallmarks of the cellular response to toxic hairpin repeat RNAs. Three disease-associated repeat sequences--CAG, CUG and AUUCU--were specifically expressed in the neurons of Drosophila and resultant common transcriptional changes assessed by microarray analyses. Transcripts that encode several components of the Akt/Gsk3-? signalling pathway were altered as a consequence of expression of these repeat RNAs, indicating that this pathway is a component of the neuronal response to these pathogenic RNAs and may represent an important common therapeutic target in this class of diseases.
| S-EPMC3118759 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mutant transcripts containing expanded CUG repeats in the untranslated region are a pathogenic factor in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). The mutant RNA sequesters the muscleblind-like 1 (MBNL1) splicing factor and causes misregulation of the alternative splicing of multiple genes that are linked to clinical symptoms of the disease. In this study, we show that either long untranslated CAG repeat RNA or short synthetic CAG repeats induce splicing aberrations typical of DM1. Alternative splicing defects are also caused by translated CAG repeats in normal cells transfected with a mutant ATXN3 gene construct and in cells derived from spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 and Huntington's disease patients. Splicing misregulation is unlikely to be caused by traces of antisense transcripts with CUG repeats, and the possible trigger of this misregulation may be sequestration of the MBNL1 protein with nuclear RNA inclusions containing expanded CAG repeat transcripts. We propose that alternative splicing misregulation by mutant CAG repeats may contribute to the pathological features of polyglutamine disorders.
| S-EPMC3203611 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Targeted DNA sequencing approaches will improve how the size of short tandem repeats is measured for diagnostic tests and pre-clinical studies. The expansion of these sequences causes dozens of disorders, with longer tracts generally leading to a more severe disease. In addition, interruptions are sometimes present within repeats and can alter disease manifestation. Despite advances in methodologies, determining repeat size and identifying interruptions in targeted sequencing datasets remains a major challenge. This is because standard alignment tools are ill-suited for the repetitive nature of these sequences. To address this, we have developed Repeat Detector (RD), a deterministic profile weighting algorithm for counting repeats in targeted sequencing data. We tested RD using blood-derived DNA samples from Huntington’s disease (HD) and Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy patients sequenced using either Illumina MiSeq or Pacific Biosciences single-molecule, real-time sequencing platforms. RD was highly accurate in determining repeat sizes of 609 HD blood-derived samples and did not require prior knowledge of the flanking sequences or their polymorphisms within the patient population. We demonstrate that RD can be used to identify individuals with repeat interruptions and may provide a measure of repeat instability within an individual. RD is therefore highly versatile and may find applications in the diagnosis of expanded repeat disorders and the development of novel therapies.
2022-03-22 | GSE199005 | GEO
Project description:In plants, RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription of inverted DNA repeats produces hairpin RNAs that are processed by several DICER-LIKE enzymes into siRNAs that are 21-24-nt in length. When targeted to transcriptional regulatory regions, the 24-nt size class can induce RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). In a forward genetic screen to identify mutants defective in RdDM of a target enhancer leading to TGS of a downstream GFP reporter gene in Arabidopsis thaliana, we recovered a structurally mutated silencer locus, named SM-NM-^T35S, in which the 35S promoter driving transcription of an inverted repeat of target enhancer sequences had been specifically deleted. Although Pol II-dependent, hairpin-derived 21-24-nt siRNAs were no longer generated at the newly created SM-NM-^T35S locus, the GFP reporter gene was nevertheless still partially silenced. Silencing was associated with methylation in a short tandem repeat in the upstream target enhancer and with low levels of 24-nt tandem repeat siRNAs. Introducing an nrpd1 mutation into the SM-NM-^T35S line fully released GFP silencing and eliminated both the tandem repeat methylation and associated 24-nt siRNAs, demonstrating their dependence on Pol IV. Deletion of the 35S promoter thus revealed a Pol IV-dependent pathway of 24-nt siRNA biogenesis that was previously inhibited or masked by the Pol II-dependent pathway in wild-type plants. Both Pol II- and Pol IV-dependent siRNAs accrued predominantly from cytosine (C)-containing segments of the tandem repeat monomer, suggesting that the local base composition influenced siRNA accumulation. Preferential accumulation of siRNAs at C-containing sequences was also observed at an endogenous tandem repeat comprising discrete C-rich and AT-rich sections. Our studies illuminate the potential complexity of siRNA generation at repeat-containing loci and show that Pol IV can act in siRNA biogenesis in the absence of a conventional Pol II promoter. Examination of whole-genome DNA methylation status in transgenic T+S Arabidopsis plant
2013-05-30 | E-GEOD-47453 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Huntington’s disease (HD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder caused by genetic expansion of a CAG repeat sequence in one allele of the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Reducing expression of the mutant HTT (mutHTT) protein has remained a clear therapeutic goal but reduction of wild-type HTT (wtHTT) is undesirable as it compromises gene function and potential therapeutic efficacy. One promising allele- selective approach involves targeting the CAG repeat expansion with steric binding small RNAs bearing central mismatches. However, successful genetic encoding requires consistent placement of mismatches to the target within the small RNA guide sequence, which involves 5' processing precision by cellular enzymes. Here, we used small RNA sequencing to monitor processing precision of a limited set of CAG repeat- targeted small RNAs expressed from multiple scaffold contexts. Small RNA sequencing identified expression constructs with high guide strand 5' processing precision that also conferred promising allele-selective inhibition of mutHTT. However, mRNA-seq revealed varying degrees of transcriptome-wide off-target effects, including certain CAG repeat-containing mRNAs. These results support the continued investigation and optimization of genetically encoded repeat-targeted small RNAs for allele-selective HD gene therapy and underscore the value of sequencing methods to balance specificity with allele selectivity during the design and selection process.
2024-05-01 | GSE264218 | GEO
Project description:Huntington’s disease (HD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder caused by genetic expansion of a CAG repeat sequence in one allele of the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Reducing expression of the mutant HTT (mutHTT) protein has remained a clear therapeutic goal but reduction of wild-type HTT (wtHTT) is undesirable as it compromises gene function and potential therapeutic efficacy. One promising allele- selective approach involves targeting the CAG repeat expansion with steric binding small RNAs bearing central mismatches. However, successful genetic encoding requires consistent placement of mismatches to the target within the small RNA guide sequence, which involves 5' processing precision by cellular enzymes. Here, we used small RNA sequencing to monitor processing precision of a limited set of CAG repeat- targeted small RNAs expressed from multiple scaffold contexts. Small RNA sequencing identified expression constructs with high guide strand 5' processing precision that also conferred promising allele-selective inhibition of mutHTT. However, mRNA-seq revealed varying degrees of transcriptome-wide off-target effects, including certain CAG repeat-containing mRNAs. These results support the continued investigation and optimization of genetically encoded repeat-targeted small RNAs for allele-selective HD gene therapy and underscore the value of sequencing methods to balance specificity with allele selectivity during the design and selection process.
2024-05-01 | GSE242506 | GEO
Project description:The most frequent trinucleotide repeat found in human disorders is the CAG sequence. Expansion of CAG repeats is mostly found in coding regions and is thought to cause diseases through a protein mechanism. Recently, expanded CAG repeats were shown to induce toxicity at the RNA level in Drosophila and C. elegans. These findings raise the possibility that CAG repeats may trigger RNA-mediated pathogenesis in mammals. Here, we demonstrate that transgenic mice expressing EGFP transcripts with long CAG repeats in the 3' untranslated region develop pathogenic features. Expression of the transgene was directed to the muscle in order to compare the resulting phenotype to that caused by the CUG expansion, as occurs in myotonic dystrophy. Transgenic mice expressing 200, but not those expressing 0 or 23 CAG repeats, showed alterations in muscle morphology, histochemistry and electrophysiology, as well as abnormal behavioral phenotypes. Expression of the expanded CAG repeats in testes resulted in reduced fertility due to defective sperm motility. The production of EGFP protein was significantly reduced by the 200 CAG repeats, and no polyglutamine-containing product was detected, which argues against a protein mechanism. Moreover, nuclear RNA foci were detected for the long CAG repeats. These data support the notion that expanded CAG repeat RNA can cause deleterious effects in mammals. They also suggest the possible involvement of an RNA mechanism in human diseases with long CAG repeats.
| S-EPMC3025035 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Purpose: The goal of this study was to characterize the atrial and ventricular transcriptomic changes in a cardiac mouse model of myotonic dystrophy. The mouse model utilizes a bitransgenic system for doxycycline (dox) inducible and cardiomyocyte specific expression of pathogenic RNA containing 960 CUG repeats. Bitransgenic animals (called CUG960 mice) homozygous for the TREDT960I transgene (containing 960 interrupted CTG repeats) and hemizygous for reverse transactivator (rtTA) transgene containing a cardiomyocyte-specific alpha myosin heavy chain promoter are given dox food for expression of CUG repeat RNA. Mice hemizygous for rtTA transgene (MHCrtTA) given dox food were used as controls. Methods:We performed RNA-seq for high-resolution analysis of transcriptomic alterations in atria and ventricles of CUG960 experimental and MHCrtTA control mice given dox chow since postnatal day 1 (PN1) for a period of 10 weeks. Results: We identified pathogenic CUG repeat RNA induced gene expression and alternative splicing changes in ion transport genes that are associated with inherited cardiac conduction diseases, including a subset of genes involved in calcium handling. Conclusions: We identified potential tissue-specific mechanisms contributing to the cardiac disease relevant phenotypes in an animal model of DM1.
2021-01-15 | GSE164825 | GEO
Project description:Dominantly inherited expanded repeat neurodegenerative diseases are typically caused by the expansion of existing variable copy number tandem repeat sequences in otherwise unrelated genes. Repeats located in translated regions encode polyglutamine that is thought to be the toxic agent, however in several instances the expanded repeat is in an untranslated region, necessitating multiple pathogenic pathways or an alternative common toxic agent. As numerous clinical features are shared by several of these diseases, and expanded repeat RNA is a common intermediary, RNA has been proposed as a common pathogenic agent. Various forms of repeat RNA are toxic in animal models, by multiple distinct pathways. In Drosophila, repeat-containing double-stranded RNA (rCAG.rCUG~100) toxicity is dependent on Dicer processing evident with the presence of single-stranded rCAG7, which have been detected in affected HD brains. Microarray analysis of Drosophila rCAG.rCUG~100 repeat RNA toxicity revealed perturbation of several pathways including innate immunity. Recent reports of elevated circulating cytokines prior to clinical onset, and age-dependent increased inflammatory signaling and microglia activation in the brain, suggest that immune activation precedes neuronal toxicity. Since the Toll pathway is activated by certain forms of RNA, we assessed the role of this pathway in RNA toxicity. We find that rCAG.rCUG~100 activates Toll signaling and that RNA toxicity is dependent on this pathway. The sensitivity of RNA toxicity to autophagy further implicates innate immune activation. Expression of rCAG.rCUG~100 was therefore directed in glial cells and found to be sufficient to cause neuronal dysfunction. Non-autonomous toxicity due to expanded repeat-containing double-stranded RNA mediated activation of innate immunity is therefore proposed as a candidate pathway for this group of human genetic diseases.
2013-04-05 | GSE42910 | GEO