Cryptic Last Exon splicing is a conserved tuning mechanism during neural development
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Danio rerio
PROVIDER: GSE319120 | GEO | 2026/02/10
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is the hallmark of ALS, occurring in over 97% of cases. A key consequence of TDP-43 nuclear loss is the de-repression of cryptic exons. Whilst TDP-43 regulated cryptic splicing is increasingly well catalogued, cryptic alternative polyadenylation (APA) events, which define the 3’ end of last exons, have been largely overlooked, especially when not associated with novel upstream splice junctions. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline to reliably identify distinct APA event types: alternative last exons (ALE), 3’UTR extensions (3’Ext) and ‘ composite ’ intronic polyadenylation (IPA) events. We identified novel neuronal cryptic APA sites induced by TDP-43 loss of function by systematically applying our pipeline to a compendium of publicly available and in house datasets. We find that TDP-43 binding sites and target motifs are enriched at these cryptic events and that TDP-43 can have both repressive and enhancing action on APA. Importantly, all categories of cryptic APA can also be identified in ALS and FTD post mortem brain regions with TDP-43 proteinopathy underlining their potential disease relevance. RNA-seq and Ribo-seq analyses indicate that distinct cryptic APA categories have different downstream effects on transcript and translation. Intriguingly, cryptic 3’Exts occur in multiple transcription factors, such as ELK1 , SIX3, and TLX1, and lead to an increase in RNA stability. 3’Exts are localised to the cytoplasm and neurites and translated leading to an increase in wild-type protein levels. In summary, we demonstrate that TDP-43 nuclear depletion induces a novel category of cryptic RNA processing events and we expand the palette of TDP-43 loss consequences by showing this can also lead to an increase in normal protein translation.
2025-05-30 | GSE296711 | GEO
Project description:Nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is the hallmark of ALS, occurring in over 97% of cases. A key consequence of TDP-43 nuclear loss is the de-repression of cryptic exons. Whilst TDP-43 regulated cryptic splicing is increasingly well catalogued, cryptic alternative polyadenylation (APA) events, which define the 3’ end of last exons, have been largely overlooked, especially when not associated with novel upstream splice junctions. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline to reliably identify distinct APA event types: alternative last exons (ALE), 3’UTR extensions (3’Ext) and ‘ composite ’ intronic polyadenylation (IPA) events. We identified novel neuronal cryptic APA sites induced by TDP-43 loss of function by systematically applying our pipeline to a compendium of publicly available and in house datasets. We find that TDP-43 binding sites and target motifs are enriched at these cryptic events and that TDP-43 can have both repressive and enhancing action on APA. Importantly, all categories of cryptic APA can also be identified in ALS and FTD post mortem brain regions with TDP-43 proteinopathy underlining their potential disease relevance. RNA-seq and Ribo-seq analyses indicate that distinct cryptic APA categories have different downstream effects on transcript and translation. Intriguingly, cryptic 3’Exts occur in multiple transcription factors, such as ELK1 , SIX3, and TLX1, and lead to an increase in RNA stability. 3’Exts are localised to the cytoplasm and neurites and translated leading to an increase in wild-type protein levels. In summary, we demonstrate that TDP-43 nuclear depletion induces a novel category of cryptic RNA processing events and we expand the palette of TDP-43 loss consequences by showing this can also lead to an increase in normal protein translation.
2025-05-30 | GSE296710 | GEO
Project description:Nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is the hallmark of ALS, occurring in over 97% of cases. A key consequence of TDP-43 nuclear loss is the de-repression of cryptic exons. Whilst TDP-43 regulated cryptic splicing is increasingly well catalogued, cryptic alternative polyadenylation (APA) events, which define the 3’ end of last exons, have been largely overlooked, especially when not associated with novel upstream splice junctions. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline to reliably identify distinct APA event types: alternative last exons (ALE), 3’UTR extensions (3’Ext) and ‘ composite ’ intronic polyadenylation (IPA) events. We identified novel neuronal cryptic APA sites induced by TDP-43 loss of function by systematically applying our pipeline to a compendium of publicly available and in house datasets. We find that TDP-43 binding sites and target motifs are enriched at these cryptic events and that TDP-43 can have both repressive and enhancing action on APA. Importantly, all categories of cryptic APA can also be identified in ALS and FTD post mortem brain regions with TDP-43 proteinopathy underlining their potential disease relevance. RNA-seq and Ribo-seq analyses indicate that distinct cryptic APA categories have different downstream effects on transcript and translation. Intriguingly, cryptic 3’Exts occur in multiple transcription factors, such as ELK1 , SIX3, and TLX1, and lead to an increase in RNA stability. 3’Exts are localised to the cytoplasm and neurites and translated leading to an increase in wild-type protein levels. In summary, we demonstrate that TDP-43 nuclear depletion induces a novel category of cryptic RNA processing events and we expand the palette of TDP-43 loss consequences by showing this can also lead to an increase in normal protein translation.
2025-05-30 | GSE296716 | GEO
Project description:Nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is the hallmark of ALS, occurring in over 97% of cases. A key consequence of TDP-43 nuclear loss is the de-repression of cryptic exons. Whilst TDP-43 regulated cryptic splicing is increasingly well catalogued, cryptic alternative polyadenylation (APA) events, which define the 3’ end of last exons, have been largely overlooked, especially when not associated with novel upstream splice junctions. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline to reliably identify distinct APA event types: alternative last exons (ALE), 3’UTR extensions (3’Ext) and ‘ composite ’ intronic polyadenylation (IPA) events. We identified novel neuronal cryptic APA sites induced by TDP-43 loss of function by systematically applying our pipeline to a compendium of publicly available and in house datasets. We find that TDP-43 binding sites and target motifs are enriched at these cryptic events and that TDP-43 can have both repressive and enhancing action on APA. Importantly, all categories of cryptic APA can also be identified in ALS and FTD post mortem brain regions with TDP-43 proteinopathy underlining their potential disease relevance. RNA-seq and Ribo-seq analyses indicate that distinct cryptic APA categories have different downstream effects on transcript and translation. Intriguingly, cryptic 3’Exts occur in multiple transcription factors, such as ELK1 , SIX3, and TLX1, and lead to an increase in RNA stability. 3’Exts are localised to the cytoplasm and neurites and translated leading to an increase in wild-type protein levels. In summary, we demonstrate that TDP-43 nuclear depletion induces a novel category of cryptic RNA processing events and we expand the palette of TDP-43 loss consequences by showing this can also lead to an increase in normal protein translation.
2025-05-30 | GSE296712 | GEO
Project description:Nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is the hallmark of ALS, occurring in over 97% of cases. A key consequence of TDP-43 nuclear loss is the de-repression of cryptic exons. Whilst TDP-43 regulated cryptic splicing is increasingly well catalogued, cryptic alternative polyadenylation (APA) events, which define the 3’ end of last exons, have been largely overlooked, especially when not associated with novel upstream splice junctions. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline to reliably identify distinct APA event types: alternative last exons (ALE), 3’UTR extensions (3’Ext) and ‘ composite ’ intronic polyadenylation (IPA) events. We identified novel neuronal cryptic APA sites induced by TDP-43 loss of function by systematically applying our pipeline to a compendium of publicly available and in house datasets. We find that TDP-43 binding sites and target motifs are enriched at these cryptic events and that TDP-43 can have both repressive and enhancing action on APA. Importantly, all categories of cryptic APA can also be identified in ALS and FTD post mortem brain regions with TDP-43 proteinopathy underlining their potential disease relevance. RNA-seq and Ribo-seq analyses indicate that distinct cryptic APA categories have different downstream effects on transcript and translation. Intriguingly, cryptic 3’Exts occur in multiple transcription factors, such as ELK1 , SIX3, and TLX1, and lead to an increase in RNA stability. 3’Exts are localised to the cytoplasm and neurites and translated leading to an increase in wild-type protein levels. In summary, we demonstrate that TDP-43 nuclear depletion induces a novel category of cryptic RNA processing events and we expand the palette of TDP-43 loss consequences by showing this can also lead to an increase in normal protein translation.
2025-05-30 | GSE296713 | GEO
Project description:Nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is the hallmark of ALS, occurring in over 97% of cases. A key consequence of TDP-43 nuclear loss is the de-repression of cryptic exons. Whilst TDP-43 regulated cryptic splicing is increasingly well catalogued, cryptic alternative polyadenylation (APA) events, which define the 3’ end of last exons, have been largely overlooked, especially when not associated with novel upstream splice junctions. We developed a bioinformatic pipeline to reliably identify distinct APA event types: alternative last exons (ALE), 3’UTR extensions (3’Ext) and ‘ composite ’ intronic polyadenylation (IPA) events. We identified novel neuronal cryptic APA sites induced by TDP-43 loss of function by systematically applying our pipeline to a compendium of publicly available and in house datasets. We find that TDP-43 binding sites and target motifs are enriched at these cryptic events and that TDP-43 can have both repressive and enhancing action on APA. Importantly, all categories of cryptic APA can also be identified in ALS and FTD post mortem brain regions with TDP-43 proteinopathy underlining their potential disease relevance. RNA-seq and Ribo-seq analyses indicate that distinct cryptic APA categories have different downstream effects on transcript and translation. Intriguingly, cryptic 3’Exts occur in multiple transcription factors, such as ELK1 , SIX3, and TLX1, and lead to an increase in RNA stability. 3’Exts are localised to the cytoplasm and neurites and translated leading to an increase in wild-type protein levels. In summary, we demonstrate that TDP-43 nuclear depletion induces a novel category of cryptic RNA processing events and we expand the palette of TDP-43 loss consequences by showing this can also lead to an increase in normal protein translation.
2025-05-30 | GSE296714 | GEO
Project description:RNA splicing and protein degradation systems allow functional adaptation of the proteome in response to changing cellular contexts. However, the regulatory mechanisms connecting these processes remain poorly understood. Here, we show that impaired spliceosome assembly caused by USP39 deficiency leads to a pathogenic splicing profile characterized by the use of cryptic 5′ splice sites. Importantly, disruptive cryptic variants evade mRNA surveillance pathways and are translated into misfolded proteins. These spurious isoforms disrupt proteostasis causing proteotoxic aggregates, ER stress and CHOP-mediated cell death. In response to impaired splicing, eukaryotic cells enhance ubiquitination and ER-phagy to alleviate the pathogenic translation of proteotoxic exons. Our findings show how cryptic splicing-inducedproteotoxicity can be mitigated, and provide insight into the molecular pathogenesis of spliceosome-associated diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa.
2024-09-25 | PXD051146 | Pride
Project description:RNA splicing and protein degradation systems allow the functional adaptation of the proteome in response to changing cellular contexts. However, the regulatory mechanisms connecting these processes remain poorly understood. Here, we show that impaired spliceosome assembly caused by USP39 deficiency leads to a pathogenic splicing profile characterized by the use of cryptic 5′ splice sites. Importantly, disruptive cryptic variants evade mRNA surveillance pathways and are translated into misfolded proteins. These spurious isoforms disrupt proteostasis causing cytosolic protein aggregates and ER stress. Proteotoxic exons activate unfolded protein response, causing CHOP-mediated cell death. In response to impaired splicing, eukaryotic cells enhance ubiquitination and ER-phagy to alleviate the pathogenic accumulation of proteotoxic isoforms. Our findings show how cryptic splicing-induced proteotoxicity can be mitigated, and provide insight into the molecular pathogenesis of spliceosome-associated diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.
2024-09-25 | PXD050806 | Pride
Project description:RNA splicing and protein degradation systems allow the functional adaptation of the proteome in response to changing cellular contexts. However, the regulatory mechanisms connecting these processes remain poorly understood. Here, we show that impaired spliceosome assembly caused by USP39 deficiency leads to a pathogenic splicing profile characterized by the use of cryptic 5′ splice sites. Importantly, disruptive cryptic variants evade mRNA surveillance pathways and are translated into misfolded proteins. These spurious isoforms disrupt proteostasis causing cytosolic protein aggregates and ER stress. Proteotoxic exons activate unfolded protein response, causing CHOP-mediated cell death. In response to impaired splicing, eukaryotic cells enhance ubiquitination and ER-phagy to alleviate the pathogenic accumulation of proteotoxic isoforms. Our findings show how cryptic splicing-induced proteotoxicity can be mitigated, and provide insight into the molecular pathogenesis of spliceosome-associated diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.
2024-09-25 | GSE272836 | GEO
Project description:Transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is a key factor in maintaining the fidelity of neuronal RNA splicing, and its dysfunction is observed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with TDP-43 pathology. Although loss of TDP-43 can activate multiple cryptic splicing events, whether specific cryptic exons generate stable and toxic peptides remains unclear. Here, we identify a TDP-43–dependent cryptic splicing event (PKN1-5a1) in the serine/threonine kinase gene PKN1: in transcriptomes of ALS patient brains it is markedly activated, inserting a 127-bp unannotated exon and introducing multiple premature termination codons. We further show that this aberrant transcript can partially escape nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) and is translated into a truncated peptide, N207; in AD brains with TDP-43 pathology, N207 is also detected by a specific antibody. Functional studies indicate that N207 overexpression impairs cognitive behaviors and weakens synaptic plasticity. These results indicate that cryptic splicing resulting from dysregulated TDP-43 not only causes loss of protein function but can also generate truncated toxic peptides that evade NMD, providing a new molecular-level explanation for the pathogenesis of TDP-43–related proteinopathies.
2025-10-11 | PXD069368 |