scholarly journals Oxidative-phosphorylation genes from the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes co-express in all human tissues except for the ancient brain

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilad Barshad ◽  
Amit Blumberg ◽  
Dan Mishmar

AbstractIn humans, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), the cellular energy producer, harbors ∼90 nuclear DNA (nDNA)- and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-encoded subunits. Although nDNA- and mtDNA-encoded OXPHOS proteins physically interact, their transcriptional regulation profoundly diverges, thus questioning their co-regulation. To address mtDNA-nDNA gene co-expression, we analyzed ∼8,500 RNA-seq Gene-Tissue-Expression (GTEx) experiments encompassing 48 human tissues. We found overall positive cross-tissue mtDNA-nDNA OXPHOS gene co-expression. Nevertheless, alternatively-spliced variants, as well as certain OXPHOS genes, did not converge into the main OXPHOS gene cluster, suggesting tissue-specific flavor of OXPHOS gene expression. Finally, unlike non-brain body sites, and neocortex and cerebellum (‘mammalian’ brain), negative mito-nuclear expression correlation was found in the hypothalamus, basal ganglia and amygdala (‘ancient brain’). Analyses of co-expression, DNase-seq and ChIP-seq experiments identified candidate RNA-binding genes and CEBPb as best explaining this phenomenon. We suggest that evolutionary convergence of the ‘mammalian’ brain into positive mtDNA-nDNA OXPHOS co-expression reflects adjustment to novel bioenergetics needs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Rong Li ◽  
Mabel Tang ◽  
Yafang Li ◽  
Christopher I Amos ◽  
Chao Cheng

Abstract Background: Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) analyses have been widely used to identify genetic variants associated with gene expression levels to understand what molecular mechanisms underlie genetic traits. The resultant eQTLs might affect the expression of associated genes through transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation. In this study, we attempt to distinguish these two types of regulation by identifying genetic variants associated with mRNA stability of genes (stQTLs).Results: Here, we presented a computational framework that take the advantage of recently developed methods to infer the mRNA stability of genes based on RNA-seq data and performed association analysis to identify stQTLs. Using the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) lung RNA-Seq data, we identified a total of 142,801 stQTLs for 3,942 genes and 186,132 eQTLs for 4,751 genes from 15,122,700 genetic variants for 13,476 genes, respectively. Interesting, our results indicated that stQTLs were enriched in the CDS and 3’UTR regions, while eQTLs are enriched in the CDS, 3’UTR, 5’UTR, and upstream regions. We also found that stQTLs are more likely than eQTLs to overlap with RNA binding protein (RBP) and microRNA (miRNA) binding sites. Our analyses demonstrate that simultaneous identification of stQTLs and eQTLs can provide more mechanistic insight on the association between genetic variants and gene expression levels.



2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanhao Chi ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Wenqin Fu ◽  
Shengqian Xia ◽  
Ellie S. Heckscher ◽  
...  

AbstractHow to respond to starvation determines fitness. One prominent behavioral response is increased locomotor activities upon starvation, also known as Starvation-Induced Hyperactivity (SIH). SIH is paradoxical as it promotes food seeking but also increases energy expenditure. Despite its importance in regulating fitness, the genetic contributions to SIH as a behavioral trait remains unexplored. Here, we examined SIH in the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) and performed genome-wide association studies. We identified 23 significant loci, corresponding to 14 genes, significantly associated with SIH in adult Drosophila. Gene enrichment analyses indicated that genes encoding ion channels and mRNA binding proteins (RBPs) were most enriched in SIH. We are especially interested in RBPs because they provide a potential mechanism to quickly change protein expression in response to environmental challenges. Using RNA interference, we validated the role of Syp in regulating SIH. Syp encodes Syncrip, an RBP. While ubiquitous knockdown of Syp led to lethality during development, adult flies with neuron specific Syp knockdown were viable and exhibited decreased SIH. Using the Temporal and Regional Gene Expression Targeting (TARGET) system, we further confirmed the role of Syp in adult neurons in regulating SIH. Lastly, RNA-seq analyses revealed that Syp was alternatively spliced under starvation while its expression level was unchanged. Together, this study not only demonstrates genetic contributions to SIH as an important behavioral trait but also highlights the significance of RBPs and post-transcriptional processes in the brain in regulating behavioral responses to starvation.Author summaryAnimals living in the wild often face periods of starvation. How to physiologically and behaviorally respond to starvation is essential for survival. One behavioral response is Starvation-Induced Hyperactivity (SIH). We used the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel, derived from a wild population, to study the genetic basis of SIH. Our results show that there is a significant genetic contribution to SIH in this natural population, and that RNA binding proteins (RBPs) are especially important. Using RNA interference and the TARGET system, we confirmed the role of an RBP Syp in adult neurons in SIH. Further studies using RNA-seq and Western blotting showed that Syp was alternatively spliced under starvation while its expression level was unchanged, highlighting an essential role of post-transcriptional modification.



2019 ◽  
Vol 87 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giraldina Trevejo-Nunez ◽  
Waleed Elsegeiny ◽  
Felix E. Y. Aggor ◽  
Jamie L. Tweedle ◽  
Zoe Kaplan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia worldwide, and interleukin-22 (IL-22) helps contain pneumococcal burden in lungs and extrapulmonary tissues. Administration of IL-22 increases hepatic complement 3 and complement deposition on bacteria and improves phagocytosis by neutrophils. The effects of IL-22 can be tempered by a secreted natural antagonist, known as IL-22 binding protein (IL-22BP), encoded by Il22ra2. To date, the degree to which IL-22BP controls IL-22 in pulmonary infection is not well defined. Here, we show that Il22ra2 inhibits IL-22 during S. pneumoniae lung infection and that Il22ra2 deficiency favors downregulation of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes in an IL-22-dependent manner. Il22ra2−/− mice are more resistant to S. pneumoniae infection, have increased IL-22 in lung tissues, and sustain longer survival upon infection than control mice. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of infected Il22ra2−/− mouse lungs revealed downregulation of genes involved in OXPHOS. Downregulation of this metabolic process is necessary for increased glycolysis, a crucial step for transitioning to a proinflammatory phenotype, in particular macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs). Accordingly, we saw that macrophages from Il22ra2−/− mice displayed reduced OXPHOS gene expression upon infection with S. pneumoniae, changes that were IL-22 dependent. Furthermore, we showed that macrophages express IL-22 receptor subunit alpha-1 (IL-22Ra1) during pneumococcal infection and that Il22ra2−/− macrophages rely more on the glycolytic pathway than wild-type (WT) controls. Together, these data indicate that IL-22BP deficiency enhances IL-22 signaling in the lung, thus contributing to resistance to pneumococcal pneumonia by downregulating OXPHOS genes and increasing glycolysis in macrophages.



PLoS Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. e1009396
Author(s):  
Wanhao Chi ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Wenqin Fu ◽  
Shengqian Xia ◽  
Ellie S. Heckscher ◽  
...  

How to respond to starvation determines fitness. One prominent behavioral response is increased locomotor activities upon starvation, also known as Starvation-Induced Hyperactivity (SIH). SIH is paradoxical as it promotes food seeking but also increases energy expenditure. Despite its importance in fitness, the genetic contributions to SIH as a behavioral trait remains unexplored. Here, we examined SIH in the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) and performed genome-wide association studies. We identified 23 significant loci, corresponding to 14 genes, significantly associated with SIH in adult Drosophila. Gene enrichment analyses indicated that genes encoding ion channels and mRNA binding proteins (RBPs) were most enriched in SIH. We are especially interested in RBPs because they provide a potential mechanism to quickly change protein expression in response to environmental challenges. Using RNA interference, we validated the role of syp in regulating SIH. syp encodes Syncrip (Syp), an RBP. While ubiquitous knockdown of syp led to semi-lethality in adult flies, adult flies with neuron-specific syp knockdown were viable and exhibited decreased SIH. Using the Temporal and Regional Gene Expression Targeting (TARGET) system, we further confirmed the role of Syp in adult neurons in regulating SIH. To determine how syp is regulated by starvation, we performed RNA-seq using the heads of flies maintained under either food or starvation conditions. RNA-seq analyses revealed that syp was alternatively spliced under starvation while its expression level was unchanged. We further generated an alternatively-spliced-exon-specific knockout (KO) line and found that KO flies showed reduced SIH. Together, this study demonstrates a significant genetic contribution to SIH as a behavioral trait, identifies syp as a SIH gene, and highlights the significance of RBPs and post-transcriptional processes in the brain in regulating behavioral responses to starvation.



2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Agirre ◽  
A. J. Oldfield ◽  
N. Bellora ◽  
A. Segelle ◽  
R. F. Luco

AbstractAlternative splicing relies on the combinatorial recruitment of splicing regulators to specific RNA binding sites. Chromatin has been shown to impact this recruitment. However, a limited number of histone marks have been studied at a global level. In this work, a machine learning approach, applied to extensive epigenomics datasets in human H1 embryonic stem cells and IMR90 foetal fibroblasts, has identified eleven chromatin modifications that differentially mark alternatively spliced exons depending on the level of exon inclusion. These marks act in a combinatorial and position-dependent way, creating characteristic splicing-associated chromatin signatures (SACS). In support of a functional role for SACS in coordinating splicing regulation, changes in the alternative splicing of SACS-marked exons between ten different cell lines correlate with changes in SACS enrichment levels and recruitment of the splicing regulators predicted by RNA motif search analysis. We propose the dynamic nature of chromatin modifications as a mechanism to rapidly fine-tune alternative splicing when necessary.



Author(s):  
Chad Sundberg ◽  
Monika Lakk ◽  
Sharan Paul ◽  
K. P. Figueroa ◽  
Daniel R. Scoles ◽  
...  


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Étienne Fafard-Couture ◽  
Danny Bergeron ◽  
Sonia Couture ◽  
Sherif Abou-Elela ◽  
Michelle S. Scott

Abstract Background Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are mid-size non-coding RNAs required for ribosomal RNA modification, implying a ubiquitous tissue distribution linked to ribosome synthesis. However, increasing numbers of studies identify extra-ribosomal roles of snoRNAs in modulating gene expression, suggesting more complex snoRNA abundance patterns. Therefore, there is a great need for mapping the snoRNome in different human tissues as the blueprint for snoRNA functions. Results We used a low structure bias RNA-Seq approach to accurately quantify snoRNAs and compare them to the entire transcriptome in seven healthy human tissues (breast, ovary, prostate, testis, skeletal muscle, liver, and brain). We identify 475 expressed snoRNAs categorized in two abundance classes that differ significantly in their function, conservation level, and correlation with their host gene: 390 snoRNAs are uniformly expressed and 85 are enriched in the brain or reproductive tissues. Most tissue-enriched snoRNAs are embedded in lncRNAs and display strong correlation of abundance with them, whereas uniformly expressed snoRNAs are mostly embedded in protein-coding host genes and are mainly non- or anticorrelated with them. Fifty-nine percent of the non-correlated or anticorrelated protein-coding host gene/snoRNA pairs feature dual-initiation promoters, compared to only 16% of the correlated non-coding host gene/snoRNA pairs. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that snoRNAs are not a single homogeneous group of housekeeping genes but include highly regulated tissue-enriched RNAs. Indeed, our work indicates that the architecture of snoRNA host genes varies to uncouple the host and snoRNA expressions in order to meet the different snoRNA abundance levels and functional needs of human tissues.



1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 5456-5463 ◽  
Author(s):  
G L Shen-Ong ◽  
B Lüscher ◽  
R N Eisenman

The major protein encoded by the c-myb oncogene in many species has been identified as an unstable, nuclear DNA-binding protein with an apparent molecular mass of 75 to 80 kilodaltons (p75c-myb). Recently, an alternatively spliced form of c-myb-encoded mRNA has been identified in murine cells containing either normal or rearranged c-myb genes. This mRNA includes a new exon, termed E6A, formed through use of cryptic splice sites located in the large intron between c-myb exons vE6 and vE7. E6A is predicted to contribute an internal 121-residue in-frame insertion into a region C terminal of the DNA-binding domain the c-myb-encoded protein. Here we report the identification of an 85-kilodalton (p85c-myb-E6A) protein as the translation product of the alternatively spliced E6A c-myb mRNA. This protein as well as p75c-myb were precipitated with anti-Myb antibodies raised against the conserved DNA-binding region of c-Myb. Proteolytic mapping studies showed that the two proteins are highly related but not identical. However, only the p85 protein reacted with an antiserum prepared against the E6A region expressed in bacteria, demonstrating that p85 but not p75 contains E6A sequences. In addition, the mobilities of both p85 and p75 were increased in myeloid tumor cell lines containing proviral integrations upstream of the 5' coding exons of v-myb, indicating that both proteins are truncated forms of c-Myb expressed from the same disrupted allele. p75c-myb and p85c-myb-E6A were indistinguishable with respect to nuclear localization and protein half-life. Furthermore, both forms of Myb were synthesized continuously throughout the cell cycle in 70Z ore-B cells. The contribution of the E6A domain to c-myb function remains to be elucidated.



2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Wang ◽  
Yunliang Wang ◽  
Qingshan Lu ◽  
Xinshan Liu ◽  
Fuyu Wang ◽  
...  

Acidic (leucine-rich) nuclear phosphoprotein 32 family, member A (ANP32A), has multiple functions involved in neuritogenesis, transcriptional regulation, and apoptosis. However, whether ANP32A has an effect on the mammalian developing brain is still in question. In this study, it was shown that brain was the organ that expressed the most abundant ANP32A by human multiple tissue expression (MTE) array. The distribution of ANP32A in the different adult brain areas was diverse dramatically, with high expression in cerebellum, temporal lobe, and cerebral cortex and with low expression in pons, medulla oblongata, and spinal cord. The expression of ANP32A was higher in the adult brain than in the fetal brain of not only humans but also mice in a time-dependent manner. ANP32A signals were dispersed accordantly in embryonic mouse brain. However, ANP32A was abundant in the granular layer of the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex when the mice were growing up, as well as in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. The variation of expression levels and distribution of ANP32A in the developing brain would imply that ANP32A may play an important role in mammalian brain development, especially in the differentiation and function of neurons in the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex.



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