scholarly journals Ribonomic Analysis of Human Pum1 Reveals cis-trans Conservation across Species despite Evolution of Diverse mRNA Target Sets

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 4093-4103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Morris ◽  
Neelanjan Mukherjee ◽  
Jack D. Keene

ABSTRACT PUF family proteins are among the best-characterized regulatory RNA-binding proteins in nonmammalian species, but relatively little is known about mRNA targets or functions of mammalian PUF proteins. In this study, we used ribonomic analysis to identify and analyze mRNAs associated with ribonucleoproteins containing an endogenous human PUF protein, Pum1. Pum1-associated mRNAs were highly enriched for genes encoding proteins that function in transcriptional regulation and cell cycle/proliferation, results consistent with the posttranscriptional RNA regulon model and the proposed ancestral functions of PUF proteins in stem cell biology. Analysis of 3′ untranslated region sequences of Pum1-associated mRNAs revealed a core Pum1 consensus sequence, UGUAHAUA. Pum1 knockdown demonstrated that Pum1 enhances decay of associated mRNAs, and relocalization of Pum1 to stress granules suggested that Pum1 functions in repression of translation. This study is the first in vivo genome-wide mRNA target identification of a mammalian PUF protein and provides direct evidence that human PUF proteins regulate stability of associated mRNAs. Comparison of Pum1-associated mRNAs to mRNA targets of PUF proteins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Drosophila melanogaster demonstrates how a well-conserved RNA-binding domain and cognate binding sequence have been evolutionarily rewired to regulate the collective expression of different sets of functionally related genes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Arribas-Hernández ◽  
Sarah Rennie ◽  
Tino Köster ◽  
Michael Schon ◽  
Carlotta Porcelli ◽  
...  

AbstractGene regulation dependent on N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in mRNA involves RNA-binding proteins that recognize m6A through a YTH domain. The Arabidopsis YTH-domain protein ECT2 is thought to influence mRNA 3’-end formation via binding to URU(m6A)Y sites, an unexpected conclusion given that ECT2 functions require its m6A binding activity, and that RR(m6A)CH is the m6A consensus site in all eukaryotes. Here, we apply the orthogonal techniques individual nucleotide-resolution UV-crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (iCLIP) and HyperTRIBE to define high-quality target sets of the YTH-domain proteins ECT2 and ECT3. The results show that in vivo, ECT2 does in fact bind to RR(m6A)CH. URUAY and other pyrimidine-rich motifs are enriched around, but not at m6A-sites, reflecting a preference for N6-adenosine methylation of RRACH islands in pyrimidine-rich regions. Such regions may also be implicated in ECT2-binding. In particular, a series of properties unique to the URUAY motif suggest that URUAY-type sequences act as sites of competition between unknown RNA-binding proteins and the intrinsically disordered region of ECT2. We also show that the abundance of many ECT2/3 mRNA targets is decreased in meristematic cells devoid of ECT2/3/4-activity. In contrast, loss of ECT2/3/4 activity has no effect on polyadenylation site usage in ECT2/3 targets, consistent with the exclusive cytoplasmic localization of ECT2 observed by super-resolution confocal microscopy. Our study reconciles conflicting results between genetic observations on N6-adenosine methylation and ECT2/3/4 function on the one side, and ECT2 target identification on the other, and point to regulation of cytoplasmic mRNA function, including abundance, as a mechanism of plant YTHDF action.


eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarden Katz ◽  
Feifei Li ◽  
Nicole J Lambert ◽  
Ethan S Sokol ◽  
Wai-Leong Tam ◽  
...  

The conserved Musashi (Msi) family of RNA binding proteins are expressed in stem/progenitor and cancer cells, but generally absent from differentiated cells, consistent with a role in cell state regulation. We found that Msi genes are rarely mutated but frequently overexpressed in human cancers and are associated with an epithelial-luminal cell state. Using ribosome profiling and RNA-seq analysis, we found that Msi proteins regulate translation of genes implicated in epithelial cell biology and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and promote an epithelial splicing pattern. Overexpression of Msi proteins inhibited the translation of Jagged1, a factor required for EMT, and repressed EMT in cell culture and in mammary gland in vivo. Knockdown of Msis in epithelial cancer cells promoted loss of epithelial identity. Our results show that mammalian Msi proteins contribute to an epithelial gene expression program in neural and mammary cell types.


Author(s):  
Hua Jin ◽  
Daxiang Na ◽  
Reazur Rahman ◽  
Weijin Xu ◽  
Allegra Fieldsend ◽  
...  

Abstract4E-BP (eIF4E-BP) represses translation initiation by binding to the 5’cap-binding protein eIF4E and inhibiting its activity. Although 4E-BP has been shown to be important in growth control, stress response, cancer, neuronal activity and mammalian circadian rhythms, it is not understood how it preferentially represses a subset of mRNAs. We successfully used hyperTRIBE (Targets of RNA-binding proteins identified by editing) to identify in vivo 4E-BP mRNA targets in both Drosophila and mammals under conditions known to activate 4E-BP. The protein associates with specific mRNAs, and ribosome profiling data show that mTOR inhibition changes the translational efficiency of 4E-BP TRIBE targets compared to non-targets. In both systems, these targets have specific motifs and are enriched in translation-related pathways, which correlate well with the known activity of 4E-BP and suggest that it modulates the binding specificity of eIF4E and contributes to mTOR translational specificity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 664-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhaskar Anand Jha ◽  
Abeer Fadda ◽  
Clementine Merce ◽  
Elisha Mugo ◽  
Dorothea Droll ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Pumilio domain RNA-binding proteins are known mainly as posttranscriptional repressors of gene expression that reduce mRNA translation and stability. Trypanosoma brucei has 11 PUF proteins. We show here that PUF2 is in the cytosol, with roughly the same number of molecules per cell as there are mRNAs. Although PUF2 exhibits a low level of in vivo RNA binding, it is not associated with polysomes. PUF2 also decreased reporter mRNA levels in a tethering assay, consistent with a repressive role. Depletion of PUF2 inhibited growth of bloodstream-form trypanosomes, causing selective loss of mRNAs with long open reading frames and increases in mRNAs with shorter open reading frames. Reexamination of published RNASeq data revealed the same trend in cells depleted of some other proteins. We speculate that these length effects could be caused by inhibition of the elongation phase of transcription or by an influence of translation status or polysomal conformation on mRNA decay.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Rieger ◽  
Dana M. King ◽  
Barak A. Cohen ◽  
Joseph D. Dougherty

AbstractCELF6 is a RNA-binding protein in a family of proteins with roles in human health and disease, however little is known about the mRNA targets or in vivo function of this protein. We utilized CLIP-Seq to identify, for the first time, in vivo targets of CELF6 and identify hundreds of transcripts bound by CELF6 in the brain. We found these are disproportionately mRNAs coding for synaptic proteins. We then conducted functional validation of these targets, testing greater than 400 CELF6 bound sequence elements for their activity, applying a massively parallel reporter assay framework to evaluation of the CLIP data. We also mutated potential binding motifs within these elements and tested their impact. This comprehensive analysis led us to ascribe a previously unknown function to CELF6: we found bound elements were generally repressive of translation, that CELF6 further enhances this repression via decreasing RNA abundance, and this process was dependent on UGU-rich sequence motifs. This greatly extends the known role for CELF6, which had previously been defined only as a splicing factor. We further extend these findings by demonstrating the same function for CELF3, CELF4, and CELF5. Finally, we demonstrate that the CELF6 targets are derepressed in CELF6 mutant mice in vivo, confirming this new role in the brain. Thus, our study demonstrates that CELF6 and other sub-family members are repressive CNS RNA-binding proteins, and CELF6 downregulates specific mRNAs in vivo.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarden Katz ◽  
Feifei Li ◽  
Nicole Lambert ◽  
Ethan M Sokol ◽  
Wai-Leong Tam ◽  
...  

The conserved Musashi (Msi) family of RNA binding proteins are expressed in stem/progenitor and cancer cells, but mostly absent from differentiated cells, consistent with a role in cell state regulation. We found that Msi genes are rarely mutated but frequently overexpressed in human cancers, and associated with an epithelial-luminal cell state. Using ribosome footprint profiling and RNA-seq analysis of genetic mouse models in neuronal and mammary cell types, we found that Msis regulate translation of genes implicated in epithelial cell biology and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promote an epithelial splicing pattern. Overexpression of Msi proteins inhibited translation of genes required for EMT, including Jagged1, and repressed EMT in cell culture and in mammary gland in vivo, while knockdown in epithelial cancer cells led to loss of epithelial identity. Our results show that mammalian Msi proteins contribute to an epithelial gene expression program and promote an epithelial-luminal state in both neural and breast cell types.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (18) ◽  
pp. 2458-2469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayley H. Schulmeyer ◽  
Manisha R. Diaz ◽  
Thomas B. Bair ◽  
Wes Sanders ◽  
Cindy J. Gode ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCsrA family RNA-binding proteins are widely distributed in bacteria and regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level.Pseudomonas aeruginosahas a canonical member of the CsrA family (RsmA) and a novel, structurally distinct variant (RsmF). To better understand RsmF binding properties, we performed parallel systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) experiments for RsmA and RsmF. The initial target library consisted of 62-nucleotide (nt) RNA transcripts with central cores randomized at 15 sequential positions. Most targets selected by RsmA and RsmF were the expected size and shared a common consensus sequence (CANGGAYG) that was positioned in a hexaloop region of the stem-loop structure. RsmA and RsmF also selected for longer targets (≥96 nt) that were likely generated by rare PCR errors. Most of the long targets contained two consensus-binding sites. Representative short (single consensus site) and long (two consensus sites) targets were tested for RsmA and RsmF binding. Whereas RsmA bound the short targets with high affinity, RsmF was unable to bind the same targets. RsmA and RsmF both bound the long targets. Mutation of either consensus GGA site in the long targets reduced or eliminated RsmF binding, suggesting a requirement for two tandem binding sites. Conversely, RsmA bound long targets containing only a single GGA site with unaltered affinity. The RsmF requirement for two binding sites was confirmed withtssA1, anin vivoregulatory target of RsmA and RsmF. Our findings suggest that RsmF binding requires two GGA-containing sites, while RsmA binding requirements are less stringent.IMPORTANCEThe CsrA family of RNA-binding proteins is widely conserved in bacteria and plays important roles in the posttranscriptional regulation of protein synthesis.P. aeruginosahas two CsrA proteins, RsmA and RsmF. Although RsmA and RsmF share a few RNA targets, RsmF is unable to bind to other targets recognized by RsmA. The goal of the present study was to better understand the basis for differential binding by RsmF. Our data indicate that RsmF binding requires target RNAs with two consensus-binding sites, while RsmA recognizes targets with just a single binding site. This information should prove useful to future efforts to define the RsmF regulon and its contribution toP. aeruginosaphysiology and virulence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (33) ◽  
pp. eabb8771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Jin ◽  
Weijin Xu ◽  
Reazur Rahman ◽  
Daxiang Na ◽  
Allegra Fieldsend ◽  
...  

4E-BP (eIF4E-BP) represses translation initiation by binding to the 5′ cap–binding protein eIF4E and inhibiting its activity. Although 4E-BP has been shown to be important in growth control, stress response, cancer, neuronal activity, and mammalian circadian rhythms, it is not understood how it preferentially represses a subset of mRNAs. We successfully used HyperTRIBE (targets of RNA binding proteins identified by editing) to identify in vivo 4E-BP mRNA targets in both Drosophila and mammals under conditions known to activate 4E-BP. The protein associates with specific mRNAs, and ribosome profiling data show that mTOR inhibition changes the translational efficiency of 4E-BP TRIBE targets more substantially compared to nontargets. In both systems, these targets have specific motifs and are enriched in translation-related pathways, which correlate well with the known activity of 4E-BP and suggest that it modulates the binding specificity of eIF4E and contributes to mTOR translational specificity.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W Webster ◽  
James AW Stowell ◽  
Lori A Passmore

The Ccr4-Not complex removes mRNA poly(A) tails to regulate eukaryotic mRNA stability and translation. RNA-binding proteins contribute to specificity by interacting with both Ccr4-Not and target mRNAs, but this is not fully understood. Here, we reconstitute accelerated and selective deadenylation of RNAs containing AU-rich elements (AREs) and Pumilio-response elements (PREs). We find that the fission yeast homologues of Tristetraprolin/TTP and Pumilio/Puf (Zfs1 and Puf3) interact with Ccr4-Not via multiple regions within low-complexity sequences, suggestive of a multipartite interface that extends beyond previously defined interactions. Using a two-color assay to simultaneously monitor poly(A) tail removal from different RNAs, we demonstrate that Puf3 can distinguish between RNAs of very similar sequence. Analysis of binding kinetics reveals that this is primarily due to differences in dissociation rate constants. Consequently, motif quality is a major determinant of mRNA stability for Puf3 targets in vivo and can be used for the prediction of mRNA targets.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 6803
Author(s):  
Misaki Sugimoto ◽  
Akiyo Suda ◽  
Shiroh Futaki ◽  
Miki Imanishi

RNAs play important roles in gene expression through translation and RNA splicing. Regulation of specific RNAs is useful to understand and manipulate specific transcripts. Pumilio and fem-3 mRNA-binding factor (PUF) proteins, programmable RNA-binding proteins, are promising tools for regulating specific RNAs by fusing them with various functional domains. The key question is: How can PUF-based molecular tools efficiently regulate RNA functions? Here, we show that the combination of multiple PUF proteins, compared to using a single PUF protein, targeting independent RNA sequences at the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of a target transcript caused cooperative effects to regulate the function of the target RNA by luciferase reporter assays. It is worth noting that a higher efficacy was achieved with smaller amounts of each PUF expression vector introduced into the cells compared to using a single PUF protein. This strategy not only efficiently regulates target RNA functions but would also be effective in reducing off-target effects due to the low doses of each expression vector.


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