Project description:Alternative splicing is a key process underlying the evolution of increased proteomic and functional complexity and is especially prevalent in the mammalian nervous system. However, the factors and mechanisms governing nervous system-specific alternative splicing are not well understood. Through a genome-wide computational and expression profiling strategy, we have identified a tissue- and vertebrate-restricted Ser/Arg (SR)-repeat splicing factor, the neural-specific SR-related protein of 100 kDa (nSR100). We show that nSR100 regulates an extensive network of brain-specific alternative exons enriched in genes that function in neural cell differentiation. nSR100 acts by increasing the levels of the neural/brain-enriched polypyrimidine tract binding protein and by interacting with its target transcripts. Disruption of nSR100 prevents neural cell differentiation in cell culture and in the developing zebrafish. Our results thus reveal a critical neural-specific alternative splicing regulator, the evolution of which has contributed to increased complexity in the vertebrate nervous system. A microarray platform to profile alternative splicing levels for 8714 cassette-type alternative exons across a diverse spectrum of mouse tissues.
Project description:Alternative splicing is a key process underlying the evolution of increased proteomic and functional complexity and is especially prevalent in the mammalian nervous system. However, the factors and mechanisms governing nervous system-specific alternative splicing are not well understood. Through a genome-wide computational and expression profiling strategy, we have identified a tissue- and vertebrate-restricted Ser/Arg (SR)-repeat splicing factor, the neural-specific SR-related protein of 100 kDa (nSR100). We show that nSR100 regulates an extensive network of brain-specific alternative exons enriched in genes that function in neural cell differentiation. nSR100 acts by increasing the levels of the neural/brain-enriched polypyrimidine tract binding protein and by interacting with its target transcripts. Disruption of nSR100 prevents neural cell differentiation in cell culture and in the developing zebrafish. Our results thus reveal a critical neural-specific alternative splicing regulator, the evolution of which has contributed to increased complexity in the vertebrate nervous system.
Project description:The vertebrate and neural-specific SR-related protein nSR100/SRRM4 regulates an extensive program of alternative splicing with critical roles in nervous system development. However, the mechanism by which nSR100 controls its target exons is poorly understood. We demonstrate that nSR100-dependent neural exons are associated with a unique configuration of intronic cis-elements that promote rapid switch-like regulation during neurogenesis. A key feature of this configuration is the insertion of specialized intronic enhancers between polypyrimidine tracts and acceptor sites that bind nSR100 to potently activate exon inclusion in neural cells, while weakening 3' splice site recognition and contributing to exon skipping in non-neural cells. nSR100 further operates by forming multiple interactions with early spliceosome components bound proximal to 3' splice sites. These multifaceted interactions achieve dominance over neural exon silencing mediated by the splicing regulator PTBP1. The results thus illuminate a widespread mechanism by which a critical neural exon network is activated during neurogenesis. RNA-Seq was used to obtain mRNA profiles of various N2A and 293T cell lines from human and mouse, respectively, to investigate the roles of nSR100, Ptbp1 and U2af65 in alternative splicing regulation. PAR-iCLIP and iCLIP experiments followed by high throughput sequencing were conducted to obtain RNA binding profiles of nSR100, PTBP1 and U2af65.
Project description:Alternative splicing (AS) generates vast transcriptomic complexity in the vertebrate nervous system. However, the extent to which trans-acting splicing regulators and their target AS regulatory networks contribute to nervous system development is not completely understood. To address these questions, we have generated mice lacking the vertebrate- and neural-specific Ser/Arg-repeat related protein of 100 kDa (nSR100/SRRM4). Loss of nSR100 impairs development of the central and peripheral nervous systems, in part by disrupting neurite outgrowth, cortical layering in the forebrain, and axon guidance in the corpus callosum. Accompanying these developmental defects are widespread changes in AS that primarily result in shifts to non-neural patterns for different classes of splicing events. The main component of the altered AS program comprises 3-27 nucleotide neural microexons, an emerging class of highly conserved alternative splicing event associated with the regulation of protein interaction networks in developing neurons and neurological disorders. Remarkably, inclusion of a 6-nucleotide nSR100-activated microexon in Unc13b transcripts is sufficient to rescue a neuritogenesis defect in nSR100 mutant primary neurons. These results thus reveal critical in vivo neurodevelopmental functions of nSR100, and they further link these functions to a conserved program of neural microexon splicing. mRNA profiles of mouse control or nSR100/Srrm4 KO cortex or hippocampus using high-throughput sequencing data.
Project description:Alternative splicing (AS) generates vast transcriptomic complexity in the vertebrate nervous system. However, the extent to which trans-acting splicing regulators and their target AS regulatory networks contribute to nervous system development is not completely understood. To address these questions, we have generated mice lacking the vertebrate- and neural-specific Ser/Arg-repeat related protein of 100 kDa (nSR100/SRRM4). Loss of nSR100 impairs development of the central and peripheral nervous systems, in part by disrupting neurite outgrowth, cortical layering in the forebrain, and axon guidance in the corpus callosum. Accompanying these developmental defects are widespread changes in AS that primarily result in shifts to non-neural patterns for different classes of splicing events. The main component of the altered AS program comprises 3-27 nucleotide neural microexons, an emerging class of highly conserved alternative splicing event associated with the regulation of protein interaction networks in developing neurons and neurological disorders. Remarkably, inclusion of a 6-nucleotide nSR100-activated microexon in Unc13b transcripts is sufficient to rescue a neuritogenesis defect in nSR100 mutant primary neurons. These results thus reveal critical in vivo neurodevelopmental functions of nSR100, and they further link these functions to a conserved program of neural microexon splicing.
Project description:The vertebrate and neural-specific SR-related protein nSR100/SRRM4 regulates an extensive program of alternative splicing with critical roles in nervous system development. However, the mechanism by which nSR100 controls its target exons is poorly understood. We demonstrate that nSR100-dependent neural exons are associated with a unique configuration of intronic cis-elements that promote rapid switch-like regulation during neurogenesis. A key feature of this configuration is the insertion of specialized intronic enhancers between polypyrimidine tracts and acceptor sites that bind nSR100 to potently activate exon inclusion in neural cells, while weakening 3' splice site recognition and contributing to exon skipping in non-neural cells. nSR100 further operates by forming multiple interactions with early spliceosome components bound proximal to 3' splice sites. These multifaceted interactions achieve dominance over neural exon silencing mediated by the splicing regulator PTBP1. The results thus illuminate a widespread mechanism by which a critical neural exon network is activated during neurogenesis.
Project description:SRPK1 is an SR (serine-arginine) protein kinase with an emerging role as a therapeutic target. SRPK1 phosphorylates the SR family of core spliceosomal components and accessory splicing factors, representing a pivotal regulator of splicing events in human cells. Because alternative splicing of mRNAs in the nervous system occurs at high frequency, the imbalance of mRNA isoforms can affect the function of important neural proteins. We used this RNA-seq dataset to classify splicing events upon genetic modulation of SRPK1, in glioblastoma cells.
Project description:The mechanisms by which entire programs of gene regulation emerged during evolution are poorly understood. Neuronal microexons represent the most conserved class of alternative splicing in vertebrates and are critical for proper brain development and function. Here, we discover neural microexon programs in non-vertebrate species and trace their origin to bilaterian ancestors through the emergence of a previously uncharacterized ‘enhancer of microexons' (eMIC) protein domain. The eMIC domain originated as an alternative, neural-enriched splice isoform of the pan-eukaryotic Srrm2/SRm300 splicing factor gene, and subsequently became fixed in the vertebrate and neuronal-specific splicing regulator Srrm4/nSR100 and its paralog Srrm3. Remarkably, the eMIC domain is necessary and sufficient for microexon splicing, and functions by interacting with the earliest components required for exon recognition. The emergence of a novel domain with restricted expression in the nervous system thus resulted in the evolution of splicing programs that contributed to qualitatively expand neuronal molecular complexity in bilaterians.
Project description:Alternative splicing is fundamental for the expansion of biological complexity, particularly in the vertebrate nervous system. Increasing evidence indicates that developmental stage and tissue-dependent alternative exons often control protein-protein interactions, yet only a minor fraction of these events has been characterized at the protein level. Using affinity purification-mass spectrometry (AP-MS) we show that approximately 60% of analyzed neural-differential exons in proteins previously implicated in transcriptional regulation result in the gain or loss of interaction partners. Focusing on Chtop and Sap30bp, the neural exons in these proteins unexpectedly remodel interactions with partners associated with mRNA processing and trafficking. Sap30bp additionally controls RNA localization by regulating the splicing of <100 nt ‘mini-introns’ that contribute to the nuclear retention of transcripts. These activities of Chtop and Sap30bp are linked to programs of transcriptomic regulation associated with development of the nervous system. AP-MS is thus a powerful approach for elucidating multifaceted functions of proteins imparted by context-dependent alternative exons.
Project description:Alternative splicing is fundamental for the expansion of biological complexity, particularly in the vertebrate nervous system. Increasing evidence indicates that developmental stage and tissue-dependent alternative exons often control protein-protein interactions, yet only a minor fraction of these events has been characterized at the protein level. Using affinity purification-mass spectrometry (AP-MS) we show that approximately 60% of analyzed neural-differential exons in proteins previously implicated in transcriptional regulation result in the gain or loss of interaction partners. Focusing on Chtop and Sap30bp, the neural exons in these proteins unexpectedly remodel interactions with partners associated with mRNA processing and trafficking. Sap30bp additionally controls RNA localization by regulating the splicing of <100 nt ‘mini-introns’ that contribute to the nuclear retention of transcripts. These activities of Chtop and Sap30bp are linked to programs of transcriptomic regulation associated with development of the nervous system. AP-MS is thus a powerful approach for elucidating multifaceted functions of proteins imparted by context-dependent alternative exons.