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Assessing the ceRNA hypothesis with quantitative measurements of miRNA and target abundance

ABSTRACT: Recent studies have reported that competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) can act as sponges for a miRNA through their binding sites and that changes in ceRNA abundances from individual genes can modulate the miRNA’s activity. Consideration of this hypothesis would benefit from knowing the quantitative relationship between a miRNA and its endogenous target sites. Here, we altered intracellular target-site abundance through expression of a miR-122 target in hepatocytes and livers, and analyzed the effects on miR-122 target genes. Target repression was released in a threshold-like manner at high target-site abundance (≥1.5x10^5 added target sites per cell), and this threshold was insensitive to the effective levels of the miRNA. Furthermore, in response to extreme metabolic liver disease models, global target-site abundance of hepatocytes did not change sufficiently to affect miRNA-mediated repression. Thus, modulation of miRNA target abundance is unlikely to cause significant effects on gene expression and metabolism through a ceRNA effect.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE52801 | GEO | 2014/05/01

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA230067

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Expression changes of competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) have been proposed to influence microRNA (miRNA) activity and thereby regulate other transcripts that contain miRNA binding sites. Here, we find that although miRNA levels define the extent of repression, they do not affect the magnitude of the ceRNA expression change required to observe derepression. Canonical 6-nt sites, which typically mediate modest repression, can nonetheless compete for miRNA binding, with potency ~20% of that observed for canonical 8-nt sites. Sites with extensive additional complementarity can be even more potent, but this occurs predominantly through miRNA degradation rather than competition. Cooperative binding of closely spaced sites for different miRNAs can also increase potency. These results provide quantitative insights into the stoichiometric relationship between miRNA and target abundance, target-site spacing and affinity requirements for ceRNA-mediated gene regulation and specify the unusual circumstances in which ceRNA-mediated gene regulation might be observed. Sixty-four mRNA profiles were generated of 1) primary hepatocytes of mice expressing variable levels of a recombinant Adenovirus expressing the transcript of AldolaseA (Ad-AldoA), containing sites matching miR-122, let-7, miR-192, miR-194 or a mutated site (no site) or 2) embryonic stem (ES) cells that were transfected with a Tet-inducible dual-color reporter construct expressing enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP) and mCherry that contains zero (0s) or three (3s) 8 nt miRNA seed matches for miR-293 or miR-92 in the 3â?² UTR. ES cells were sorted with a FACSAria IIIu flow cytometer into three bins based on their eYFP fluorescence intensity. All samples were sequenced in duplicates by an Illumina HiSeq 2500. Library preparation and sequencing were performed by Fasteris SA (Switzerland) or by the Functional Genomics Centre ZÃ¼rich (FGCZ). Three small RNA profiles or either primary hepatocytes or embryonic stem cells were also generated by Solexa sequencing.

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Assessing the ceRNA hypothesis with quantitative measurements of miRNA and target abundance

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