Project description:We engineered circular ADAR recruiting guide RNAs (cadRNAs) that efficiently recruit endogenous ADARs to edit specific sites on target RNA
2021-11-15 | GSE164956 | GEO
Project description:Engineered circular ADAR-recruiting RNAs increase the efficiency and fidelity of RNA editing
| PRJNA781295 | ENA
Project description:Modular, programmable RNA sensing using ADAR editing in living cells
Project description:Adenosine-to-inosine RNA base editing is a strategy developed to safely manipulate genetic information at the RNA level. Particularly promising for clinical implementation is the use of the ubiquitously expressed endogenous editing enzyme ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) with tailored guide RNAs. However, the precision of editing could be compromised by global off-target events that can potentially occur throughout the transcriptome. In this study, we introduce a novel circular CLUSTER guide RNA design that recruits endogenous ADAR in vivo. The goals of the whole transcriptome sequencing experiment were to evaluate the A-to-G RNA editing index and the global editing precision of this novel design. To achieve this, Rett syndrome mice harboring a Mecp2 W104Amber mutation were treated either with a circular CLUSTER guide RNA targeting the mutant Mecp2 transcript or a scrambled and thus non-targeting control guide RNA. Both the targeting and the non-targeting guide RNA were encoded as AAV and delivered via retro-orbital injection of 4x10^12 viral genomes per mouse. The used AAV serotype PHP.eB allows cargo delivery to the mouse brain after systemic administration. Four weeks after injection the thalamus was isolated for NGS analysis. Whole transcriptome sequencing showed that the A-to-G RNA editing index was unaffected by treatment with the targeting guide RNA compared to the scrambled non-targeting control. We were unable to identify any global off-target events, excluding mouse to mouse variability, which suggests a very high precision of our approach on the transcriptome-wide level. Harnessing endogenous ADAR with permanent, AAV-driven CLUSTER guide RNAs in the CNS is an important next step towards the development of novel drug modalities that fight neurological diseases.
Project description:The ADAR RNA editing enzymes deaminate adenosine bases to inosines in cellular RNAs, recoding open reading frames. Human ADAR1 mutations cause Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome (AGS) and Adar1 mutant mice showing an aberrant interferon response and death by embryonic day E12.5 model the human disease. Searches have not identified key ADAR1 RNA editing sites recoding immune/haematopoietic proteins but editing is widespread in Alu sequences. We show that Adar1 embryonic lethality is rescued in Adar1; Mavs double mutant mice in which general antiviral responses to cytoplasmic dsRNA are prevented. We propose that inosine bases are epigenetic marks identifying cellular RNA as innate immune ÒselfÓ. Consistent with this idea we show that an editing-active cytoplasmic ADAR is required to prevent aberrant immune responses in Adar1 mutant mouse embryo fibroblasts. No dramatic increase in repetitive transcripts is observed. AGS mutations in ADAR1 affect editing by the interferon-inducible cytoplasmic ADAR1 isoform. RNA-seq expression profiling in Adar1 and Adar1/Mavs knockout mice embryos.
Project description:Alternative mRNA splicing is a major mechanism for gene regulation and transcriptome diversity. Despite the extent of the phenomenon, the regulation and specificity of the splicing machinery are only partially understood. Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing of pre-mRNA by ADAR enzymes has been linked to splicing regulation in several cases. Here we used bioinformatics approaches, RNA-seq and exon-specific microarray of ADAR knockdown cells to globally examine how ADAR and its A-to-I RNA editing activity influence alternative mRNA splicing. Although A-to-I RNA editing only rarely targets canonical splicing acceptor, donor, and branch sites, it was found to affect splicing regulatory elements (SREs) within exons. Cassette exons were found to be significantly enriched with A-to-I RNA editing sites compared with constitutive exons. RNA-seq and exon-specific microarray revealed that ADAR knockdown in hepatocarcinoma and myelogenous leukemia cell lines leads to global changes in gene expression, with hundreds of genes changing their splicing patterns in both cell lines. This global change in splicing pattern cannot be explained by putative editing sites alone. Genes showing significant changes in their splicing pattern are frequently involved in RNA processing and splicing activity. Analysis of recently published RNA-seq data from glioblastoma cell lines showed similar results. Our global analysis reveals that ADAR plays a major role in splicing regulation. Although direct editing of the splicing motifs does occur, we suggest it is not likely to be the primary mechanism for ADAR-mediated regulation of alternative splicing. Rather, this regulation is achieved by modulating trans-acting factors involved in the splicing machinery. HepG2 and K562 cell lines were stably transfected with plasmids containing siRNA designed to specifically knock down ADAR expression (ADAR KD). This in order to examine how ADAR affects alternative splicing globally.
Project description:Alternative mRNA splicing is a major mechanism for gene regulation and transcriptome diversity. Despite the extent of the phenomenon, the regulation and specificity of the splicing machinery are only partially understood. Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing of pre-mRNA by ADAR enzymes has been linked to splicing regulation in several cases. Here we used bioinformatics approaches, RNA-seq and exon-specific microarray of ADAR knockdown cells to globally examine how ADAR and its A-to-I RNA editing activity influence alternative mRNA splicing. Although A-to-I RNA editing only rarely targets canonical splicing acceptor, donor, and branch sites, it was found to affect splicing regulatory elements (SREs) within exons. Cassette exons were found to be significantly enriched with A-to-I RNA editing sites compared with constitutive exons. RNA-seq and exon-specific microarray revealed that ADAR knockdown in hepatocarcinoma and myelogenous leukemia cell lines leads to global changes in gene expression, with hundreds of genes changing their splicing patterns in both cell lines. This global change in splicing pattern cannot be explained by putative editing sites alone. Genes showing significant changes in their splicing pattern are frequently involved in RNA processing and splicing activity. Analysis of recently published RNA-seq data from glioblastoma cell lines showed similar results. Our global analysis reveals that ADAR plays a major role in splicing regulation. Although direct editing of the splicing motifs does occur, we suggest it is not likely to be the primary mechanism for ADAR-mediated regulation of alternative splicing. Rather, this regulation is achieved by modulating trans-acting factors involved in the splicing machinery. HepG2 and K562 cell lines were stably transfected with plasmids containing siRNA designed to specifically knock down ADAR expression (ADAR KD). This in order to examine how ADAR affects alternative splicing globally.
Project description:RNA base editing represents a promising alternative for genome editing. Recent approaches harness the endogenous RNA editing enzyme ADAR to circumvent problems related to the ectopic expression of an editing enzyme, but they suffer from sequence restriction, lack of efficiency, and bystander editing. Here, we present in‐silico optimized CLUSTER guide RNAs, which bind their target mRNAs in a multivalent fashion and thereby enable editing with unprecedented precision as shown by next generation sequencing. CLUSTER guide RNAs can be genetically encoded and manufactured into viruses to work in various cell lines. They achieve on‐target editing on endogenous transcripts like GUSB and NUP43 with yields up to 45% without bystander editing and have been shown to recruit endogenous ADAR in vivo. The CLUSTER approach tremendously enlarges the sequence space available for guide RNA design and opens new avenues for drug development in the field of RNA base editing.
Project description:Adenosine deaminases, RNA specific (ADAR) are proteins that deaminate adenosine to inosine which is then recognized in translation as guanosine. To study the roles of ADAR proteins in RNA editing and gene regulation, we carried out DNA and RNA sequencing, RNA interference and RNA-immunoprecipitation in human B-cells. We also characterized the ADAR protein complex by mass spectrometry. The results uncovered over 60,000 sites where the adenosines (A) are edited to guanosine (G) and several thousand genes whose expression levels are influenced by ADAR. We also identified more than 100 proteins in the ADAR protein complex; these include splicing factors, heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins and several members of the dynactin protein family. Our findings show that in human B-cells, ADAR proteins are involved in two independent functions: A-to-G editing and gene expression regulation. In addition, we showed that other types of RNA-DNA sequence differences are not mediated by ADAR proteins, and thus there are co- or post-transcriptional mechanisms yet to be determined. Here we studied human B-cells where ADAR proteins (ADAR1 and ADAR2) are expressed but APOBECs are not. We identified the sequence differences between DNA and the corresponding RNA in B-cells from two individuals. Then, we carried out RNA interference, RNA-immunoprecipitation and next generation sequencing to determine the contribution of ADAR proteins in mediating A-to-G editing and other types of RNA-DNA sequence differences.