Circular RNAs are enriched in anucleate platelets and are a signature of transcriptome degradation

ABSTRACT: In platelets, splicing and translation occur in the absence of a nucleus. However, the integrity and stability of mRNAs derived from megakaryocyte progenitor cells remain poorly quantified on a transcriptome-wide level. As circular RNAs (circRNAs) are resistant to degradation by exonucleases, their abundance relative to linear RNAs can be used as a surrogate marker for mRNA stability in the absence of transcription. Here we show that circRNAs are enriched in human platelets 17-188 fold relative to nucleated tissues, and 14-26 fold relative to samples digested with RNAseR to selectively remove linear RNA. We compare RNAseq read depths inside and outside circRNAs to provide in silico evidence of transcript circularity, show that exons within circRNAs are enriched ~13X in platelets relative to nucleated tissues, and identify 3162 genes significantly enriched for circRNAs including some where all RNAs appear to be derived from circular molecules. We also confirm that this is a feature of other anucleate cells through transcriptome sequencing of mature erythrocytes, demonstrate that circRNAs are not enriched in megakaryocytes, and that linear RNAs decay more rapidly than circRNAs in platelet preparations. Collectively, these results suggest that circulating platelets have lost on aveage over 90% of their progenitor mRNAs, and that translation in platelets occurrs against the backdrop of a highly degraded transcriptome. Finally, we find that transcripts classified as products of reverse transcriptase template switching are both enriched in platelets and resistant to decay, countering the recent suggestion that up to 50% of rearranged RNAs are artefacts.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE69192 | GEO | 2015/12/12

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA284775

REPOSITORIES: GEO