scholarly journals The snoGloBe interaction predictor enables a broader study of box C/D snoRNA functions and mechanisms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Deschamps-Francoeur ◽  
Sonia Couture ◽  
Sherif Abou Elela ◽  
Michelle S Scott

Box C/D small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a conserved class of noncoding RNA known to serve as guides for the site-specific 2'-O-ribose methylation of ribosomal RNAs and the U6 small nuclear RNA, through direct base pairing with the target. In recent years however, several examples of box C/D snoRNAs regulating different levels of gene expression including transcript stability and splicing have been reported. These regulatory interactions typically require direct binding of the target but do not always involve the guide region. Supporting these new box C/D snoRNA functions, high-throughput RNA-RNA interaction datasets detect many interactions between box C/D snoRNAs and messenger RNAs. To facilitate the study of box C/D snoRNA functionality, we created snoGloBe, a box C/D snoRNA machine learning target predictor based on a gradient boosting classifier and considering snoRNA and target sequence and position as well as target type. SnoGloBe convincingly outperforms general RNA duplex predictors and PLEXY, the only box C/D snoRNA-specific target predictor available. The study of snoGloBe human transcriptome-wide predictions identifies enrichment in snoRNA interactions in exons and on exon-intron junctions. Some specific snoRNAs are predicted to target groups of functionally-related transcripts on common regulatory elements and the exact position of the predicted targets strongly overlaps binding sites of RNA-binding proteins involved in relevant molecular functions. SnoGloBe was also applied to predicting interactions between human box C/D snoRNAs and the SARS-CoV-2 transcriptome, identifying known and novel interactions. Overall, snoGloBe is a timely new tool that will accelerate our understanding of C/D snoRNA targets and function.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lichao Zhang ◽  
Zihong Huang ◽  
Liang Kong

Background: RNA-binding proteins establish posttranscriptional gene regulation by coordinating the maturation, editing, transport, stability, and translation of cellular RNAs. The immunoprecipitation experiments could identify interaction between RNA and proteins, but they are limited due to the experimental environment and material. Therefore, it is essential to construct computational models to identify the function sites. Objective: Although some computational methods have been proposed to predict RNA binding sites, the accuracy could be further improved. Moreover, it is necessary to construct a dataset with more samples to design a reliable model. Here we present a computational model based on multi-information sources to identify RNA binding sites. Method: We construct an accurate computational model named CSBPI_Site, based on xtreme gradient boosting. The specifically designed 15-dimensional feature vector captures four types of information (chemical shift, chemical bond, chemical properties and position information). Results: The satisfied accuracy of 0.86 and AUC of 0.89 were obtained by leave-one-out cross validation. Meanwhile, the accuracies were slightly different (range from 0.83 to 0.85) among three classifiers algorithm, which showed the novel features are stable and fit to multiple classifiers. These results showed that the proposed method is effective and robust for noncoding RNA binding sites identification. Conclusion: Our method based on multi-information sources is effective to represent the binding sites information among ncRNAs. The satisfied prediction results of Diels-Alder riboz-yme based on CSBPI_Site indicates that our model is valuable to identify the function site.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (33) ◽  
pp. 16410-16419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadiya Khyzha ◽  
Melvin Khor ◽  
Peter V. DiStefano ◽  
Liangxi Wang ◽  
Ljubica Matic ◽  
...  

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is driven, in part, by activation of vascular endothelial cells (ECs). In response to inflammatory stimuli, the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathway orchestrates the expression of a network of EC genes that contribute to monocyte recruitment and diapedesis across the endothelium. Although many long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are dysregulated in atherosclerosis, they remain poorly characterized, especially in the context of human vascular inflammation. Prior studies have illustrated that lncRNAs can regulate their neighboring protein-coding genes via interaction with protein complexes. We therefore identified and characterized neighboring interleukin-1β (IL-1β)−regulated messenger RNA (mRNA)−lncRNA pairs in ECs. We found these pairs to be highly correlated in expression, especially when located within the same chromatin territory. Additionally, these pairs were predominantly divergently transcribed and shared common gene regulatory elements, characterized by active histone marks and NF-κB binding. Further analysis was performed on lncRNA-CCL2, which is transcribed divergently to the gene, CCL2, encoding a proatherosclerotic chemokine. LncRNA-CCL2 and CCL2 showed coordinate up-regulation in response to inflammatory stimuli, and their expression was correlated in unstable symptomatic human atherosclerotic plaques. Knock-down experiments revealed that lncRNA-CCL2 positively regulated CCL2 mRNA levels in multiple primary ECs and EC cell lines. This regulation appeared to involve the interaction of lncRNA-CCL2 with RNA binding proteins, including HNRNPU and IGF2BP2. Hence, our approach has uncovered a network of neighboring mRNA−lncRNA pairs in the setting of inflammation and identified the function of an lncRNA, lncRNA-CCL2, which may contribute to atherogenesis in humans.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuangang Wu ◽  
Xiaoxi Lu ◽  
Bin Shen ◽  
Yi Zeng

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease characterized by progressive degeneration, joint hyperplasia, narrowing of joint spaces, and extracellular matrix metabolism. Recent studies have shown that the pathogenesis of OA may be related to non-coding RNA, and its pathological mechanism may be an effective way to reduce OA. Objective: The purpose of this review was to investigate the recent progress of miRNA, long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA) in gene therapy of OA, discussing the effects of this RNA on gene expression, inflammatory reaction, apoptosis and extracellular matrix in OA. Methods: The following electronic databases were searched, including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, for published studies involving the miRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA in OA. The outcomes included the gene expression, inflammatory reaction, apoptosis, and extracellular matrix. Results and Discussion: With the development of technology, miRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA have been found in many diseases. More importantly, recent studies have found that RNA interacts with RNA-binding proteins to regulate gene transcription and protein translation, and is involved in various pathological processes of OA, thus becoming a potential therapy for OA. Conclusion: In this paper, we briefly introduced the role of miRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA in the occurrence and development of OA and as a new target for gene therapy.


Author(s):  
Feng Xiong ◽  
Ruoyu Wang ◽  
Joo-Hyung Lee ◽  
Shenglan Li ◽  
Shin-Fu Chen ◽  
...  

AbstractThe molecular basis underlying the interaction between retrotransposable elements (RTEs) and the human genome remains poorly understood. Here, we profiled N6-methyladenosine (m6A) deposition on nascent RNAs in human cells by developing a new method MINT-Seq, which revealed that many classes of RTE RNAs, particularly intronic LINE-1s (L1s), are strongly methylated. These m6A-marked intronic L1s (MILs) are evolutionarily young, sense-oriented to hosting genes, and are bound by a dozen RNA binding proteins (RBPs) that are putative novel readers of m6A-modified RNAs, including a nuclear matrix protein SAFB. Notably, m6A positively controls the expression of both autonomous L1s and co-transcribed L1 relics, promoting L1 retrotransposition. We showed that MILs preferentially reside in long genes with critical roles in DNA damage repair and sometimes in L1 suppression per se, where they act as transcriptional “roadblocks” to impede the hosting gene expression, revealing a novel host-weakening strategy by the L1s. In counteraction, the host uses the SAFB reader complex to bind m6A-L1s to reduce their levels, and to safeguard hosting gene transcription. Remarkably, our analysis identified thousands of MILs in multiple human fetal tissues, enlisting them as a novel category of cell-type-specific regulatory elements that often compromise transcription of long genes and confer their vulnerability in neurodevelopmental disorders. We propose that this m6A-orchestrated L1–host interaction plays widespread roles in gene regulation, genome integrity, human development and diseases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai von Kuegelgen ◽  
Samantha Mendonsa ◽  
Sayaka Dantsuji ◽  
Maya Ron ◽  
Marieluise Kirchner ◽  
...  

Cells adopt highly polarized shapes and form distinct subcellular compartments largely due to the localization of many mRNAs to specific areas, where they are translated into proteins with local functions. This mRNA localization is mediated by specific cis-regulatory elements in mRNAs, commonly called "zipcodes." Their recognition by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) leads to the integration of the mRNAs into macromolecular complexes and their localization. While there are hundreds of localized mRNAs, only a few zipcodes have been characterized. Here, we describe a novel neuronal zipcode identification protocol (N-zip) that can identify zipcodes across hundreds of 3'UTRs. This approach combines a method of separating the principal subcellular compartments of neurons - cell bodies and neurites - with a massively parallel reporter assay. Our analysis identifies the let-7 binding site and (AU)n motif as de novo zipcodes in mouse primary cortical neurons and suggests a strategy for detecting many more.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emad Bahrami-Samani ◽  
Yi Xing

AbstractGene expression is tightly regulated at the post-transcriptional level through splicing, transport, translation, and decay. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play key roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation, and genetic variants that alter RBP-RNA interactions can affect gene products and functions. We developed a computational method ASPRIN (Allele-Specific Protein-RNA Interaction), that uses a joint analysis of CLIP-seq (cross-linking and immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing) and RNA-seq data to identify genetic variants that alter RBP-RNA interactions by directly observing the allelic preference of RBP from CLIP-seq experiments as compared to RNA-seq. We used ASPRIN to systematically analyze CLIP-seq and RNA-seq data for 166 RBPs in two ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) cell lines. ASPRIN identified genetic variants that alter RBP-RNA interactions by modifying RBP binding motifs within RNA. Moreover, through an integrative ASPRIN analysis with population-scale RNA-seq data, we showed that ASPRIN can help reveal potential causal variants that affect alternative splicing via allele-specific protein-RNA interactions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott I Adamson ◽  
Lijun Zhan ◽  
Brenton R Graveley

Background: RNA binding protein-RNA interactions mediate a variety of processes including pre-mRNA splicing, translation, decay, polyadenylation and many others. Previous high-throughput studies have characterized general sequence features associated with increased and decreased splicing of certain exons, but these studies are limited by not knowing the mechanisms, and in particular, the mediating RNA binding proteins, underlying these associations. Results: Here we utilize ENCODE data from diverse data modalities to identify functional splicing regulatory elements and their associated RNA binding proteins. We identify features which make splicing events more sensitive to depletion of RNA binding proteins, as well as which RNA binding proteins act as splicing regulators sensitive to depletion. To analyze the sequence determinants underlying RBP-RNA interactions impacting splicing, we assay tens of thousands of sequence variants in a high-throughput splicing reporter called Vex-seq and confirm a small subset in their endogenous loci using CRISPR base editors. Finally, we leverage other large transcriptomic datasets to confirm the importance of RNA binding proteins which we designed experiments around and identify additional RBPs which may act as additional splicing regulators of the exons studied. Conclusions: This study identifies sequence and other features underlying splicing regulation mediated specific RNA binding proteins, as well as validates and identifies other potentially important regulators of splicing in other large transcriptomic datasets.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 465-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Vicente Gomes-Filho ◽  
Michael Daume ◽  
Lennart Randau

Advances in genome-wide sequence technologies allow for detailed insights into the complexity of RNA landscapes of organisms from all three domains of life. Recent analyses of archaeal transcriptomes identified interaction and regulation networks of noncoding RNAs in this understudied domain. Here, we review current knowledge of small, noncoding RNAs with important functions for the archaeal lifestyle, which often requires adaptation to extreme environments. One focus is RNA metabolism at elevated temperatures in hyperthermophilic archaea, which reveals elevated amounts of RNA-guided RNA modification and virus defense strategies. Genome rearrangement events result in unique fragmentation patterns of noncoding RNA genes that require elaborate maturation pathways to yield functional transcripts. RNA-binding proteins, e.g., L7Ae and LSm, are important for many posttranscriptional control functions of RNA molecules in archaeal cells. We also discuss recent insights into the regulatory potential of their noncoding RNA partners.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (28) ◽  
pp. E6457-E6466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine D. Eichhorn ◽  
Yuan Yang ◽  
Lucas Repeta ◽  
Juli Feigon

The La and the La-related protein (LARP) superfamily is a diverse class of RNA binding proteins involved in RNA processing, folding, and function. Larp7 binds to the abundant long noncoding 7SK RNA and is required for 7SK ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assembly and function. The 7SK RNP sequesters a pool of the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) in an inactive state; on release, P-TEFb phosphorylates RNA Polymerase II to stimulate transcription elongation. Despite its essential role in transcription, limited structural information is available for the 7SK RNP, particularly for protein–RNA interactions. Larp7 contains an N-terminal La module that binds UUU-3′OH and a C-terminal atypical RNA recognition motif (xRRM) required for specific binding to 7SK and P-TEFb assembly. Deletion of the xRRM is linked to gastric cancer in humans. We report the 2.2-Å X-ray crystal structure of the human La-related protein group 7 (hLarp7) xRRM bound to the 7SK stem-loop 4, revealing a unique binding interface. Contributions of observed interactions to binding affinity were investigated by mutagenesis and isothermal titration calorimetry. NMR 13C spin relaxation data and comparison of free xRRM, RNA, and xRRM–RNA structures show that the xRRM is preordered to bind a flexible loop 4. Combining structures of the hLarp7 La module and the xRRM–7SK complex presented here, we propose a structural model for Larp7 binding to the 7SK 3′ end and mechanism for 7SK RNP assembly. This work provides insight into how this domain contributes to 7SK recognition and assembly of the core 7SK RNP.


2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahana Suresh Babu ◽  
Johnson Rajasingh ◽  
Wing Tak Wong ◽  
Prasanna Krishnamurthy

Background: The Hu family of RNA-binding proteins, HuR (also known as ELAVL1 or human embryonic lethal abnormal vision-like protein), binds to the 3’-untranslated region of mRNAs and regulates transcript stability and translation. Global deletion of HuR is embryonically lethal in mice and plays a critical role in progenitor cell survival and biology. Induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) have distinct transcriptional machinery for the maintenance of pluripotency and achievement of differentiation. However, the exact role of HuR in pluripotency or differentiation of iPSC to cardiomyocytes (iCM) remains unclear. Methods: HuR knockdown in human dermal fibroblast-derived iPSCs was achieved by CRISPR/Cas9 or lentiviral shRNA transduction and subsequently differentiated into cardiomyocytes (iCM). Then, the expression of HuR, pluripotency and cardiomyocyte markers were evaluated on days 0, 1, 3, 6, 8 and 17 following the initiation of differentiation. Results: At basal level, HuR expression was higher in the iPSCs compared to dermal fibroblasts. Upon differentiation of iPSCs into iCM, HuR mRNA expression gradually reduced with significantly lower levels on day 17. As expected, pluripotency markers gradually reduced upon differentiation with significantly lower levels from day 6 onwards. We observed a corresponding increase in ISL1, MESP1 (mesoderm/cardiac progenitor markers) from day 3 through day 8 with a steep fall from day 8 to day 17. This was associated with Myosin light chain-2V and GATA4 expression increases from day 8 through day 17. Interestingly, knockdown of HuR resulted in clumps of colonies with differentiated cells and a corresponding increase in cardiac-troponin positive cells. However, as a general observation, HuR knockdown reduced beating intensity compared to wild type cells. Conclusions: Based on these data, we could speculate that HuR might be necessary for maintenance of pluripotency and loss of which renders cells to differentiate in culture. HuR knockdown yields higher number of c-troponin positive cells but its effect on functional maturity of iCM needs to be further evaluated.


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