Project description:ObjectiveHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous tumour displaying a complex variety of genetic and epigenetic changes. In human cancers, aberrant post-transcriptional modifications, such as alternative splicing and RNA editing, may lead to tumour specific transcriptome diversity.DesignBy utilising large scale transcriptome sequencing of three paired HCC clinical specimens and their adjacent non-tumour (NT) tissue counterparts at depth, we discovered an average of 20 007 inferred A to I (adenosine to inosine) RNA editing events in transcripts. The roles of the double stranded RNA specific ADAR (Adenosine DeAminase that act on RNA) family members (ADARs) and the altered gene specific editing patterns were investigated in clinical specimens, cell models and mice.ResultsHCC displays a severely disrupted A to I RNA editing balance. ADAR1 and ADAR2 manipulate the A to I imbalance of HCC via their differential expression in HCC compared with NT liver tissues. Patients with ADAR1 overexpression and ADAR2 downregulation in tumours demonstrated an increased risk of liver cirrhosis and postoperative recurrence and had poor prognoses. Due to the differentially expressed ADAR1 and ADAR2 in tumours, the altered gene specific editing activities, which was reflected by the hyper-editing of FLNB (filamin B, β) and the hypo-editing of COPA (coatomer protein complex, subunit α), are closely associated with HCC pathogenesis. In vitro and in vivo functional assays prove that ADAR1 functions as an oncogene while ADAR2 has tumour suppressive ability in HCC.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the fact that the differentially expressed ADARs in tumours, which are responsible for an A to I editing imbalance, has great prognostic value and diagnostic potential for HCC.
Project description:ADARs are RNA editing enzymes that target double-stranded regions of nuclear-encoded RNA and viral RNA. These enzymes are particularly abundant in the nervous system, where they diversify the information encoded in the genome, for example, by altering codons in mRNAs. The functions of ADARs in known substrates suggest that the enzymes serve to fine-tune and optimize many biological pathways, in ways that we are only starting to imagine. ADARs are also interesting in regard to the remarkable double-stranded structures of their substrates and how enzyme specificity is achieved with little regard to sequence. This review summarizes ongoing investigations of the enzyme family and their substrates, focusing on biological function as well as biochemical mechanism.
Project description:We present in vivo sequence-specific RNA base editing via adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes with associated ADAR guide RNAs (adRNAs). To achieve this, we systematically engineered adRNAs to harness ADARs, and comprehensively evaluated the specificity and activity of the toolsets in vitro and in vivo via two mouse models of human disease. We anticipate that this platform will enable tunable and reversible engineering of cellular RNAs for diverse applications.
Project description:Adenosine deaminases that act on RNA (ADARs) carry out adenosine (A) to inosine (I) editing reactions with a known requirement for duplex RNA. Here, we show that ADARs also react with DNA/RNA hybrid duplexes. Hybrid substrates are deaminated efficiently by ADAR deaminase domains at dA-C mismatches and with E to Q mutations in the base flipping loop of the enzyme. For a long, perfectly matched hybrid, deamination is more efficient with full length ADAR2 than its isolated deaminase domain. Guide RNA strands for directed DNA editing by ADAR were used to target six different 2΄-deoxyadenosines in the M13 bacteriophage ssDNA genome. DNA editing efficiencies varied depending on the sequence context of the editing site consistent with known sequence preferences for ADARs. These observations suggest the reaction within DNA/RNA hybrids may be a natural function of human ADARs. In addition, this work sets the stage for development of a new class of genome editing tools based on directed deamination of 2΄-deoxyadenosines in DNA/RNA hybrids.
Project description:Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADAR1 and ADAR2) are human RNA-editing adenosine deaminases responsible for the conversion of adenosine to inosine at specific locations in cellular RNAs. Since inosine is recognized during translation as guanosine, this often results in the expression of protein sequences different from those encoded in the genome. While our knowledge of the ADAR2 structure and catalytic mechanism has grown over the years, our knowledge of ADAR1 has lagged. This is due, at least in part, to the lack of well defined, small RNA substrates useful for mechanistic studies of ADAR1. Here, we describe an ADAR1 substrate RNA that can be prepared by a combination of chemical synthesis and enzymatic ligation. Incorporation of adenosine analogs into this RNA and analysis of the rate of ADAR1 catalyzed deamination revealed similarities and differences in the way the ADARs recognize the edited nucleotide. Importantly, ADAR1 is more dependent than ADAR2 on the presence of N7 in the edited base. This difference between ADAR1 and ADAR2 appears to be dependent on the identity of a single amino acid residue near the active site. Thus, this work provides an important starting point in defining mechanistic differences between two functionally distinct human RNA editing ADARs.
Project description:Methylphosphonate(mP)-modified RNA serves as valuable probe to evaluate biomolecular interactions between the nucleic acid backbone and binding partners, such as proteins or small molecules. Here, we describe an efficient workflow for the synthesis of RNA with a single mP modification in diastereomerically pure form. While the automated assembly of mP-modified RNA is straightforward, its deprotection under basic conditions is challenging; a carefully optimized step-by-step procedure is provided. In addition, we demonstrate purification and separation strategies for the RP and SP-configurated RNA diastereomers using a combination of anion-exchange and reversed-phase HPLC, and comment on troubleshooting if their separation appears difficult. Furthermore, we demonstrate the stereochemical assignment of short RP and SP mP-modified RNA diastereomers based on 2D ROESY NMR spectroscopy and we report on the impact of the mP modification on thermal and thermodynamic stabilities of RNA-DNA hybrid and RNA-RNA duplexes.
Project description:Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing, catalyzed by Adenosine DeAminases acting on double-stranded RNA(dsRNA) (ADAR), occurs predominantly in the 3' untranslated regions (3'UTRs) of spliced mRNA. Here we uncover an unanticipated link between ADARs (ADAR1 and ADAR2) and the expression of target genes undergoing extensive 3'UTR editing. Using METTL7A (Methyltransferase Like 7A), a novel tumor suppressor gene with multiple editing sites at its 3'UTR, we demonstrate that its expression could be repressed by ADARs beyond their RNA editing and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding functions. ADARs interact with Dicer to augment the processing of pre-miR-27a to mature miR-27a. Consequently, mature miR-27a targets the METTL7A 3'UTR to repress its expression level. In sum, our study unveils that the extensive 3'UTR editing of METTL7A is merely a footprint of ADAR binding, and there are a subset of target genes that are equivalently regulated by ADAR1 and ADAR2 through their non-canonical RNA editing and dsRNA binding-independent functions, albeit maybe less common. The functional significance of ADARs is much more diverse than previously appreciated and this gene regulatory function of ADARs is most likely to be of high biological importance beyond the best-studied editing function. This non-editing side of ADARs opens another door to target cancer.
Project description:The most abundant form of RNA editing in metazoa is the deamination of adenosines into inosines (A-to-I), catalyzed by ADAR enzymes. Inosines are read as guanosines by the translation machinery, and thus A-to-I may lead to protein recoding. The ability of ADARs to recode at the mRNA level makes them attractive therapeutic tools. Several approaches for Site-Directed RNA Editing (SDRE) are currently under development. A major challenge in this field is achieving high on-target editing efficiency, and thus it is of much interest to identify highly potent ADARs. To address this, we used the baker yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an editing-naïve system. We exogenously expressed a range of heterologous ADARs and identified the hummingbird and primarily mallard-duck ADARs, which evolved at 40-42°C, as two exceptionally potent editors. ADARs bind to double-stranded RNA structures (dsRNAs), which in turn are temperature sensitive. Our results indicate that species evolved to live with higher core body temperatures have developed ADAR enzymes that target weaker dsRNA structures and would therefore be more effective than other ADARs. Further studies may use this approach to isolate additional ADARs with an editing profile of choice to meet specific requirements, thus broadening the applicability of SDRE.
Project description:The adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) comprise a family of RNA editing enzymes that selectively modify single codons within RNA primary transcripts with often profound impact on protein function. Little is known about the mechanisms that regulate nuclear RNA editing activity. Editing levels show cell-type specific and developmental modulation that does not strictly coincide with observed expression levels of ADARs. Here, we provide evidence for a molecular mechanism that might control nuclear import of specific ADARs and, in turn, nuclear RNA editing. We identify an in vivo ADAR3 interaction partner, importin alpha 1 (KPNA2) that specifically recognizes an arginine-rich ADAR3 sequence motif and show that it acts as a functional nuclear localization sequence. Furthermore, whereas KPNA2, but not KPNA1 or KNPA3, recognizes the ADAR3 NLS, we observe the converse binding specificity with ADAR2. Interestingly, alternative splicing of ADAR2 pre-mRNA introduces an ADAR3-like NLS that alters the interaction profile with the importins. Thus, in vivo RNA editing might be regulated, in part, through controlled subcellular localization of ADARs, which in turn is governed by the coordinated local expression of importin alpha proteins and ADAR protein variants.
Project description:Following synthesis, tRNAs are peppered by numerous chemical modifications which may differentially affect a tRNA's structure and function. Although modifications affecting the business ends of a tRNA are predictably important for cell viability, a majority of modifications play more subtle structural roles that can affect tRNA stability and folding. The current trend is that modifications act in concert and it is in the context of the specific sequence of a given tRNA that they impart their differing effects. Recent developments in the modification field have highlighted the diversity of modifications in tRNA. From these, the combinatorial nature of modifications in explaining previously described phenotypes derived from their absence has emerged as a growing theme.