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A conserved RNA regulates miRNA turnover and animal behavior through a near-perfect miRNA site

ABSTRACT: Metazoan high complementarity microRNA (miRNA) binding sites can induce miRNA turnover through 3′ tailing and trimming, however the in vivo importance of this mechanism remains unknown. Here, we show that a transcript harboring a highly complementary and deeply conserved miRNA binding site for miR-29 controls zebrafish and mouse behavior. This brain-enriched transcript originated in distal vertebrates as a long noncoding RNA, which we called libra (lncRNA involved in behavioral alterations), and evolved to the protein-coding gene known as NREP in mammals where the miR-29 binding site is located within the 3′UTR. libra-deficiency results in viable fish that manifest abnormal exploration behavior. To determine if the Nrep transcript retained the regulatory noncoding function and to define the contribution of the highly complementary miR-29 binding site, we generated the NrepmiR-29scr allele in mice where the sequence of the site was scrambled to specifically uncouple Nrep function from miR-29 regulation. We show that the Nrep miR-29 binding site restricts miR-29b expression in the cerebellum. The ectopic miR-29b expression in NrepmiR-29scr mice is associated with altered cerebellum function and behavior. We finally show that the near-perfect miRNA site triggers miR-29b turnover through 3′ trimming. In summary, we demonstrate the first example of an endogenous RNA-directed miRNA degradation event in vivo that is required for normal animal behavior.

OTHER RELATED OMICS DATASETS IN: PRJNA385967

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus Danio rerio

PROVIDER: GSE98707 | GEO | 2018/01/14

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA385967

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Tissue fibrosis is a significant health issue associated with organ dysfunction and failure. Increased deposition of collagen and other extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in the interstitial area is a major process in the formation of tissue fibrosis. The microRNA-29 (miR-29) family has been demonstrated as anti-fibrotic microRNAs. Our recent work also showed that dysregulation of miR-29 contributes to the formation of cardiac fibrosis in animal models of uremic cardiomyopathy and replenish of miR-29 attenuated cardiac fibrosis in these animals. However, due to the multi-targeting effect, overexpression of miR-29 could result in unexpected side effect. In the current study, we constructed a novel col1a1-miR-29b vector using collagen 1a1 promoter, which can strategically express miR-29b-3p (miR-29b) in cells with high expression of collagen and thus minimize the side effect of excessive miR-29b. Because of the similarity between the col1a1 promoter in the plasmid and the endogenous col1a1 promoter in the cell, pro-fibrotic factors that stimulate endogenous collagen expression will simultaneously activate the col1a1 promoter in the plasmid vector and thus stimulate the anti-fibrotic miR-29b expression. The increased miR-29b will then contra-regulate the collagen synthesis and maintain a dynamic balance of collagen. To evaluate the anti-fibrotic effect of miR-29b overexpression, we performed RNA sequencing in MEF cells transfected with the col1a1-miR-29b vector with or without TGF-β treatment. A CMV-miR-29b vector was used as positive control. The RNA-sequencing data showed that TGF-β treatment upregulated a broad spectrum of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes. In accordance, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis using GAGE package showed that the top 5 upregulated pathways after TGF-β treatment were mostly fibrosis-related, including focal adhesion, ECM reaction, and TGF-β signaling pathways, while transfection of miR-29b expression vectors attenuated the activation of these pathways, suggesting their anti-fibrotic effect. However, despite that the expression of miR-29b in CMV-miR-29b transfected cells were about 1000 times higher compared to the col1a1-miR-29b transfected cells, there was no significant difference in the anti-fibrotic effect in these cells. In summary, our work demonstrated that the col1a1-miR-29b vector expresses much lower miR-29b compared to the CMV-miR-29b vector, but it is as effective as the CMV-miR-29b vector in blocking the fibrosis-related signaling pathways in response to TGF-β treatment. Our results also suggest that miR-29b has a moderate effect on each of its targeting genes, and its anti-fibrotic effect may result from perturbation of a broad spectrum of fibrosis-related signaling pathways.

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A conserved RNA regulates miRNA turnover and animal behavior through a near-perfect miRNA site

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