scholarly journals Rpb4 and Puf3 imprint and post-transcriptionally control the stability of a common set of mRNAs in yeast

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.I. Garrido-Godino ◽  
I. Gupta ◽  
F. Gutiérrez-Santiago ◽  
A.B. Martínez-Padilla ◽  
A. Alekseenko ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTGene expression involving RNA polymerase II is regulated by the concerted interplay between mRNA synthesis and degradation, crosstalk in which mRNA decay machinery and transcription machinery respectively impact transcription and mRNA stability. Rpb4, and likely dimer Rpb4/7, seem the central components of the RNA pol II governing these processes. In this work we unravel the molecular mechanisms participated by Rpb4 that mediate the posttranscriptional events regulating mRNA imprinting and stability. By RIP-Seq, we analyzed genome-wide the association of Rpb4 with mRNAs and demonstrated that it targeted a large population of more than 1400 transcripts. A group of these mRNAs was also the target of the RNA binding protein, Puf3. We demonstrated that Rpb4 and Puf3 physically, genetically, and functionally interact and also affect mRNA stability, and likely the imprinting, of a common group of mRNAs. Furthermore, the Rpb4 and Puf3 association with mRNAs depends on one another. We also demonstrated, for the first time, that Puf3 associates with chromatin in an Rpb4-dependent manner. Our data also suggest that Rpb4 could be a key element of the RNA pol II that coordinates mRNA synthesis, imprinting and stability in cooperation with RBPs.

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (17) ◽  
pp. 2571-2578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob C. Schwartz ◽  
Elaine R. Podell ◽  
Steve S. W. Han ◽  
James D. Berry ◽  
Kevin C. Eggan ◽  
...  

Mutations in the RNA-binding protein FUS have been shown to cause the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We investigate whether mutant FUS protein in ALS patient–derived fibroblasts affects normal FUS functions in the nucleus. We investigated fibroblasts from two ALS patients possessing different FUS mutations and a normal control. Fibroblasts from these patients have their nuclear FUS protein trapped in SDS-resistant aggregates. Genome-wide analysis reveals an inappropriate accumulation of Ser-2 phosphorylation on RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) near the transcription start sites of 625 genes for ALS patient cells and after small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown of FUS in normal fibroblasts. Furthermore, both the presence of mutant FUS protein and siRNA knockdown of wild-type FUS correlate with altered distribution of RNA Pol II within fibroblast nuclei. A loss of FUS function in orchestrating Ser-2 phosphorylation of the CTD of RNA Pol II is detectable in ALS patient–derived fibroblasts expressing mutant FUS protein, even when the FUS protein remains largely nuclear. A likely explanation for this loss of function is the aggregation of FUS protein in nuclei. Thus our results suggest a specific mechanism by which mutant FUS can have biological consequences other than by the formation of cytoplasmic aggregates.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 5304-5315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Archa H. Fox ◽  
Charles S. Bond ◽  
Angus I. Lamond

P54nrb is a protein implicated in multiple nuclear processes whose specific functions may correlate with its presence at different nuclear locations. Here we characterize paraspeckles, a subnuclear domain containing p54nrb and other RNA-binding proteins including PSP1, a protein with sequence similarity to p54nrb that acts as a marker for paraspeckles. We show that PSP1 interacts in vivo with a subset of the total cellular pool of p54nrb. We map the domain within PSP1 that is mediating this interaction and show it is required for the correct localization of PSP1 to paraspeckles. This interaction is necessary but not sufficient for paraspeckle targeting by PSP1, which also requires an RRM capable of RNA binding. Blocking the reinitiation of RNA Pol II transcription at the end of mitosis with DRB prevents paraspeckle formation, which recommences after removal of DRB, indicating that paraspeckle formation is dependent on RNA Polymerase II transcription. Thus paraspeckles are the sites where a subset of the total cellular pool of p54nrb is targeted in a RNA Polymerase II-dependent manner.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.I. Garrido-Godino ◽  
A. Cuevas-Bermúdez ◽  
F. Gutiérrez-Santiago ◽  
M.C. Mota-Trujillo ◽  
F. Navarro

ABSTRACTRtr1 is an RNA pol II CTD-phosphatase that influences gene expression by acting during the transition from transcription initiation to elongation, and during transcription termination. Rtr1 has been proposed as an RNA pol II import factor in RNA pol II biogenesis, and participating in mRNA decay by autoregulating the turnover of its own mRNA. In addition, the interaction of Rtr1 with RNA pol II depends on the phosphorylation state of CTD, which also influences Rpb4/7 dissociation during transcription. In this work, we demonstrate that Rtr1 acts in RNA pol II assembly, likely in a final cytoplasmic RNA pol II biogenesis step, and mediates the Rpb4 association with the rest of the enzyme, However, we do not rule out discard a role in the Rpb4 association with RNA pol II in the nucleus. This role of Rtr1 interplays RNA pol II biogenesis and mRNA decay regulation. In fact, RTR1 deletion alters RNA pol II assembly and leads to the chromatin association of RNA pol II lacking Rpb4, in addition to whole RNA pol II, decreasing mRNA-Rpb4 imprinting and, consequently, increasing mRNA stability. Notably, the RPB5 overexpression that overcomes RNA pol II assembly and the defect in Rpb4 binding to chromatin-associated RNA pol II partially suppresses the mRNA stability defect of rtr1Δ cells. Our data also indicate that Rtr1 mediates mRNA decay regulation more broadly than previously proposed in cooperation with Rpb4 and Dhh1. Interestingly, these data include new layers in the crosstalk between mRNA synthesis and decay.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 4562-4571 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Immanuel ◽  
H Zinszner ◽  
D Ron

Many oncogenes associated with human sarcomas are composed of a fusion between transcription factors and the N-terminal portions of two similar RNA-binding proteins, TLS and EWS. Though the oncogenic fusion proteins lack the RNA-binding domain and do not bind RNA, the contribution from the N-terminal portion of the RNA-binding protein is essential for their transforming activity. TLS and EWS associate in vivo with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcripts. To learn more about the target gene specificity of this interaction, the localization of a Drosophila melanogaster protein that has extensive sequence identity to the C-terminal RNA-binding portions of TLS and EWS was studied in preparations of Drosophila polytene nuclei. cDNA clones encoding the full-length Drosophila TLS-EWS homolog, SARFH (stands for sarcoma-associated RNA-binding fly homolog), were isolated. Functional similarity to TLS and EWS was revealed by the association of SARFH with Pol II transcripts in mammalian cells and by the ability of SARFH to elicit homologous down-regulation of the levels of the mammalian proteins. The SARFH gene is expressed in the developing Drosophila embryo from the earliest stages of cellularization and is subsequently found in many cell types. In preparations of polytene chromosomes from salivary gland nuclei, SARFH antibodies recognize their target associated with the majority of active transcription units, revealed by colocalization with the phosphorylated form of RNA Pol II. We conclude that SARFH and, by homology, EWS and TLS participate in a function common to the expression of most genes transcribed by RNA Pol II.


2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (13) ◽  
pp. 6457-6463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziying Han ◽  
Carolina Alves ◽  
Severin Gudima ◽  
John Taylor

ABSTRACT Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) encodes one protein, hepatitis delta antigen (δAg), a 195-amino-acid RNA binding protein essential for the accumulation of HDV RNA-directed RNA transcripts. It has been accepted that δAg localizes predominantly to the nucleolus in the absence of HDV genome replication while in the presence of replication, δAg facilitates HDV RNA transport to the nucleoplasm and helps redirect host RNA polymerase II (Pol II) to achieve transcription and accumulation of processed HDV RNA species. This study used immunostaining and confocal microscopy to evaluate factors controlling the localization of δAg in the presence and absence of replicating and nonreplicating HDV RNAs. When δAg was expressed in the absence of full-length HDV RNAs, it colocalized with nucleolin, a predominant nucleolar protein. With time, or more quickly after induced cell stress, there was a redistribution of both δAg and nucleolin to the nucleoplasm. Following expression of nonreplicating HDV RNAs, δAg moved to the nucleoplasm, but nucleolin was unchanged. When δAg was expressed along with replicating HDV RNA, it was found predominantly in the nucleoplasm along with Pol II. This localization was insensitive to inhibitors of HDV replication, suggesting that the majority of δAg in the nucleoplasm reflects ribonucleoprotein accumulation rather than ongoing transcription. An additional approach was to reevaluate several forms of δAg altered at specific locations considered to be essential for protein function. These studies provide evidence that δAg does not interact directly with either Pol II or nucleolin and that forms of δAg which support replication are also capable of prior nucleolar transit.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 20140031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Reese ◽  
Anna Melbinger ◽  
Erwin Frey

The cytoskeleton is regulated by a plethora of enzymes that influence the stability and dynamics of cytoskeletal filaments. How microtubules (MTs) are controlled is of particular importance for mitosis, during which dynamic MTs are responsible for proper segregation of chromosomes. Molecular motors of the kinesin-8 protein family have been shown to depolymerize MTs in a length-dependent manner, and recent experimental and theoretical evidence suggests a possible role for kinesin-8 in the dynamic regulation of MTs. However, so far the detailed molecular mechanisms of how these molecular motors interact with the growing MT tip remain elusive. Here we show that two distinct scenarios for the interactions of kinesin-8 with the MT tip lead to qualitatively different MT dynamics, including accurate length control as well as intermittent dynamics. We give a comprehensive analysis of the regimes where length regulation is possible and characterize how the stationary length depends on the biochemical rates and the bulk concentrations of the various proteins. For a neutral scenario, where MTs grow irrespective of whether the MT tip is occupied by a molecular motor, length regulation is possible only for a narrow range of biochemical rates, and, in particular, limited to small polymerization rates. By contrast, for an inhibition scenario, where the presence of a motor at the MT tip inhibits MT growth, the regime where length regulation is possible is extremely broad and includes high growth rates. These results also apply to situations where a polymerizing enzyme like XMAP215 and kinesin-8 mutually exclude each other from the MT tip. Moreover, we characterize the differences in the stochastic length dynamics between the two scenarios. While for the neutral scenario length is tightly controlled, length dynamics is intermittent for the inhibition scenario and exhibits extended periods of MT growth and shrinkage. On a broader perspective, the set of models established in this work quite generally suggest that mutual exclusion of molecules at the ends of cytoskeletal filaments is an important factor for filament dynamics and regulation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa-Marie Appel ◽  
Vedran Franke ◽  
Melania Bruno ◽  
Irina Grishkovskaya ◽  
Aiste Kasiliauskaite ◽  
...  

AbstractThe C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a regulatory hub for transcription and RNA processing. Here, we identify PHD-finger protein 3 (PHF3) as a regulator of transcription and mRNA stability that docks onto Pol II CTD through its SPOC domain. We characterize SPOC as a CTD reader domain that preferentially binds two phosphorylated Serine-2 marks in adjacent CTD repeats. PHF3 drives liquid-liquid phase separation of phosphorylated Pol II, colocalizes with Pol II clusters and tracks with Pol II across the length of genes. PHF3 knock-out or SPOC deletion in human cells results in increased Pol II stalling, reduced elongation rate and an increase in mRNA stability, with marked derepression of neuronal genes. Key neuronal genes are aberrantly expressed in Phf3 knock-out mouse embryonic stem cells, resulting in impaired neuronal differentiation. Our data suggest that PHF3 acts as a prominent effector of neuronal gene regulation by bridging transcription with mRNA decay.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samu V Himanen ◽  
Mikael C Puustinen ◽  
Alejandro J Da Silva ◽  
Anniina Vihervaara ◽  
Lea Sistonen

Reprogramming of transcription is critical for the survival under cellular stress. Heat shock has provided an excellent model to investigate nascent transcription in stressed cells, but the molecular mechanisms orchestrating RNA synthesis during other types of stress are unknown. We utilized PRO-seq and ChIP-seq to study how Heat Shock Factors, HSF1 and HSF2, coordinate transcription at genes and enhancers upon oxidative stress and heat shock. We show that pause-release of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a universal mechanism regulating gene transcription in stressed cells, while enhancers are activated at the level of Pol II recruitment. Moreover, besides functioning as conventional promoter-binding transcription factors, HSF1 and HSF2 bind to stress-induced enhancers to trigger Pol II pause-release from poised gene promoters. Importantly, HSFs act at distinct genes and enhancers in a stress type-specific manner. HSF1 binds to many chaperone genes upon oxidative and heat stress but activates them only in heat-shocked cells. Under oxidative stress, HSF1 and HSF2 trans-activate genes independently of each other, demonstrating, for the first time, that HSF2 is a bona fide transcription factor. Taken together, we show that HSFs function as multi-stress-responsive factors that activate specific genes and enhancers when encountering changes in temperature and redox state.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (46) ◽  
pp. 12172-12177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Malvezzi ◽  
Lucas Farnung ◽  
Claudia M. N. Aloisi ◽  
Todor Angelov ◽  
Patrick Cramer ◽  
...  

Several anticancer agents that form DNA adducts in the minor groove interfere with DNA replication and transcription to induce apoptosis. Therapeutic resistance can occur, however, when cells are proficient in the removal of drug-induced damage. Acylfulvenes are a class of experimental anticancer agents with a unique repair profile suggesting their capacity to stall RNA polymerase (Pol) II and trigger transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair. Here we show how different forms of DNA alkylation impair transcription by RNA Pol II in cells and with the isolated enzyme and unravel a mode of RNA Pol II stalling that is due to alkylation of DNA in the minor groove. We incorporated a model for acylfulvene adducts, the stable 3-deaza-3-methoxynaphtylethyl-adenosine analog (3d-Napht-A), and smaller 3-deaza-adenosine analogs, into DNA oligonucleotides to assess RNA Pol II transcription elongation in vitro. RNA Pol II was strongly blocked by a 3d-Napht-A analog but bypassed smaller analogs. Crystal structure analysis revealed that a DNA base containing 3d-Napht-A can occupy the +1 templating position and impair closing of the trigger loop in the Pol II active center and polymerase translocation into the next template position. These results show how RNA Pol II copes with minor-groove DNA alkylation and establishes a mechanism for drug resistance.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (14) ◽  
pp. 6241-6252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina L. Carroll ◽  
Dennis A. Pradhan ◽  
Josh A. Granek ◽  
Neil D. Clarke ◽  
Jeffry L. Corden

ABSTRACT RNA polymerase II (Pol II) termination is triggered by sequences present in the nascent transcript. Termination of pre-mRNA transcription is coupled to recognition of cis-acting sequences that direct cleavage and polyadenylation of the pre-mRNA. Termination of nonpolyadenylated [non-poly(A)] Pol II transcripts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires the RNA-binding proteins Nrd1 and Nab3. We have used a mutational strategy to characterize non-poly(A) termination elements downstream of the SNR13 and SNR47 snoRNA genes. This approach detected two common RNA sequence motifs, GUA[AG] and UCUU. The first motif corresponds to the known Nrd1-binding site, which we have verified here by gel mobility shift assays. We also show that Nab3 protein binds specifically to RNA containing the UCUU motif. Taken together, our data suggest that Nrd1 and Nab3 binding sites play a significant role in defining non-poly(A) terminators. As is the case with poly(A) terminators, there is no strong consensus for non-poly(A) terminators, and the arrangement of Nrd1p and Nab3p binding sites varies considerably. In addition, the organization of these sequences is not strongly conserved among even closely related yeasts. This indicates a large degree of genetic variability. Despite this variability, we were able to use a computational model to show that the binding sites for Nrd1 and Nab3 can identify genes for which transcription termination is mediated by these proteins.


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