Project description:Dysregulation of pre-mRNA alternative splicing (AS) is closely associated with cancers. However, the relationships between the AS and classic oncogenes/tumor suppressors are largely unknown. Here we show that the deletion of tumor suppressor PTEN alters pre-mRNA splicing in its phosphatase-independent manner, and identify262 PTEN-regulated AS events in 293T cells by RNA sequencing, which are associated with significant worse outcome of cancer patients. Based on these findings, we report that nuclear PTEN interacts with the splicing machinery, spliceosome, to regulate its assembly and pre-mRNA splicing. Especially, the exon-2b exclusion of GOLGA2 contributes to PTEN knockdown-induced tumorigenesis by promoting dramatic Golgi extension and secretion, and PTEN depletion significantly sensitizes cancer cells to secretion inhibitors, Brefeldin A and Golgicide A. Given that many cancers lack PTEN expression, our results suggest that Golgi secretion inhibitors alone or in combination with PI3K/Akt kinase inhibitors may be therapeutically useful for PTEN-deficient cancers.
Project description:Nuclear localization of PTEN is essential for its tumor suppressive role, and loss of nuclear PTEN is more prominent than cytoplasmic PTEN in many kinds of cancers. However, nuclear PTEN-specific regulatory mechanisms were rarely reported. Based on the finding that nuclear PTEN is more unstable than cytoplasmic PTEN. Thus, 293T cells were transiently transfected with plasmid encoding Flag-tagged PTEN along with empty vector, followed by affinity purification using an anti-Flag antibody, and the bound proteins were analyzed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC−MS/MS). Here we identify that F-box only protein 22 (FBXO22) induces ubiquitylation of nuclear but not cytoplasmic PTEN at lysine 221, which is responsible for the degradation of nuclear PTEN.
Project description:Transcription and pre-mRNA alternative splicing are highly regulated processes that play major roles in modulating eukaryotic gene expression. It is increasingly apparent that other pathways of RNA metabolism, including small RNA biogenesis, can regulate these processes. However, a direct link between alternative pre- mRNA splicing and small RNA pathways has remained elusive. Here we show that the small RNA pathway protein Argonaute-2 (Ago-2) regulates alternative pre-mRNA splicing patterns of specific transcripts in the Drosophila nucleus using genome-wide methods in conjunction with RNAi in cell culture and Ago-2 deletion or catalytic site mutations in Drosophila adults. Moreover, we show that nuclear Argonaute-2 binds to specific chromatin sites near gene promoters and negatively regulates the transcription of the Ago-2-associated target genes. These transcriptional target genes are also bound by Polycomb group (PcG) transcriptional repressor proteins and change during development, implying that Ago-2 may regulate Drosophila development. Impor- tantly, both of these activities were independent of the catalytic activity of Ago-2, suggesting new roles for Ago-2 in the nucleus. Finally, we determined the nuclear RNA-binding profile of Ago-2, found it bound to several splicing target transcripts, and identified a G-rich RNA-binding site for Ago-2 that was enriched in these transcripts. These results suggest two new nuclear roles for Ago-2: one in pre-mRNA splicing and one in transcriptional repression. Input chromatin, 2 replicates of Ago2 ChIP-seq
Project description:Transcription and pre-mRNA alternative splicing are highly regulated processes that play major roles in modulating eukaryotic gene expression. It is increasingly apparent that other pathways of RNA metabolism, including small RNA biogenesis, can regulate these processes. However, a direct link between alternative pre- mRNA splicing and small RNA pathways has remained elusive. Here we show that the small RNA pathway protein Argonaute-2 (Ago-2) regulates alternative pre-mRNA splicing patterns of specific transcripts in the Drosophila nucleus using genome-wide methods in conjunction with RNAi in cell culture and Ago-2 deletion or catalytic site mutations in Drosophila adults. Moreover, we show that nuclear Argonaute-2 binds to specific chromatin sites near gene promoters and negatively regulates the transcription of the Ago-2-associated target genes. These transcriptional target genes are also bound by Polycomb group (PcG) transcriptional repressor proteins and change during development, implying that Ago-2 may regulate Drosophila development. Impor- tantly, both of these activities were independent of the catalytic activity of Ago-2, suggesting new roles for Ago-2 in the nucleus. Finally, we determined the nuclear RNA-binding profile of Ago-2, found it bound to several splicing target transcripts, and identified a G-rich RNA-binding site for Ago-2 that was enriched in these transcripts. These results suggest two new nuclear roles for Ago-2: one in pre-mRNA splicing and one in transcriptional repression. 2 Ago2 mutants, 51B and V966M, heterozygotes and homozygotes of both each sequenced in duplicate
Project description:Background: The fundamental process of protein secretion from eukaryotic cells has been well described for many years, yet gaps in our understanding of how this process is regulated remain. Methods: With the aim of identifying novel genes involved in the secretion of glycoproteins, we used a screening pipeline consisting of a pooled genome-wide CRISPR screen, followed by secondary siRNA screening of the hits to identify and validate several novel regulators of protein secretion. Results: We present approximately 50 novel genes not previously associated with protein secretion, many of which also had an effect on the structure of the Golgi apparatus. We further studied a small selection of hits to investigate their subcellular localization. One of these, GPR161, is a novel Golgi-resident protein that we propose maintains Golgi structure via an interaction with golgin A5. Conclusions: This study has identified new factors for protein secretion involved in Golgi homeostasis.
Project description:Protein secretion is an essential process in cell biology. The conventional secretion pathway is well known, and involves proteins with a signal sequence being directed into the endoplasmic reticulum. Once in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, proteins are trafficked through the Golgi and remain separate from the cytosol throughout their journey to the outside of the cell. More recently, proteins without a signal sequence have been found outside the cell. These proteins are secreted unconventionally, and avoid the ER-Golgi route. For both pathways, some aspects remain unclear, particularly surrounding the regulation of protein secretion. Galectin-3, an unconventionally secreted protein, was used here to investigate both conventional and unconventional protein secretion. The unconventional protein secretion of galectin-3 is poorly understood. To address this, genetic manipulation of galectin-3 was used to gain insights into the mechanism of galectin-3 secretion. It was found that galectin-3 does not require unfolding or binding to cell surface glycoproteins to be secreted. Galectin-3 was also used to assess protein secretion using a genome-wide CRISPR screen. As galectin‑3 binds to cell surface glycoproteins, galectin-3 on the cell surface was used to assess secretion of these glycoproteins. Hits were validated by a glycoprotein secretion assay. Using this pipeline, 93 hits were identified as involved in protein secretion, of which 51 were novel hits not previously associated with protein secretion. Many of the hits identified also resulted in a phenotype of altered Golgi morphology, and five of these were investigated further. Two novel hits that localised to the Golgi were identified, TMEM220 and GPR161. GPR161 likely mediates its effect on Golgi morphology by its interaction with golgin A5. This thesis presents new insights into both conventional and unconventional protein secretion. Insights into the mechanism for galaectin-3 secretion were revealed. A novel Golgi-localised regulator of secretion, GRP161, was identified, with a mechanism for action suggested. Importantly, the list of 51 novel genes identified will serve as a useful resource for other researchers investigating protein secretion.
Project description:Transcription and pre-mRNA alternative splicing are highly regulated processes that play major roles in modulating eukaryotic gene expression. It is increasingly apparent that other pathways of RNA metabolism, including small RNA biogenesis, can regulate these processes. However, a direct link between alternative pre- mRNA splicing and small RNA pathways has remained elusive. Here we show that the small RNA pathway protein Argonaute-2 (Ago-2) regulates alternative pre-mRNA splicing patterns of specific transcripts in the Drosophila nucleus using genome-wide methods in conjunction with RNAi in cell culture and Ago-2 deletion or catalytic site mutations in Drosophila adults. Moreover, we show that nuclear Argonaute-2 binds to specific chromatin sites near gene promoters and negatively regulates the transcription of the Ago-2-associated target genes. These transcriptional target genes are also bound by Polycomb group (PcG) transcriptional repressor proteins and change during development, implying that Ago-2 may regulate Drosophila development. Impor- tantly, both of these activities were independent of the catalytic activity of Ago-2, suggesting new roles for Ago-2 in the nucleus. Finally, we determined the nuclear RNA-binding profile of Ago-2, found it bound to several splicing target transcripts, and identified a G-rich RNA-binding site for Ago-2 that was enriched in these transcripts. These results suggest two new nuclear roles for Ago-2: one in pre-mRNA splicing and one in transcriptional repression.
Project description:Transcription and pre-mRNA alternative splicing are highly regulated processes that play major roles in modulating eukaryotic gene expression. It is increasingly apparent that other pathways of RNA metabolism, including small RNA biogenesis, can regulate these processes. However, a direct link between alternative pre- mRNA splicing and small RNA pathways has remained elusive. Here we show that the small RNA pathway protein Argonaute-2 (Ago-2) regulates alternative pre-mRNA splicing patterns of specific transcripts in the Drosophila nucleus using genome-wide methods in conjunction with RNAi in cell culture and Ago-2 deletion or catalytic site mutations in Drosophila adults. Moreover, we show that nuclear Argonaute-2 binds to specific chromatin sites near gene promoters and negatively regulates the transcription of the Ago-2-associated target genes. These transcriptional target genes are also bound by Polycomb group (PcG) transcriptional repressor proteins and change during development, implying that Ago-2 may regulate Drosophila development. Impor- tantly, both of these activities were independent of the catalytic activity of Ago-2, suggesting new roles for Ago-2 in the nucleus. Finally, we determined the nuclear RNA-binding profile of Ago-2, found it bound to several splicing target transcripts, and identified a G-rich RNA-binding site for Ago-2 that was enriched in these transcripts. These results suggest two new nuclear roles for Ago-2: one in pre-mRNA splicing and one in transcriptional repression.
Project description:General discard pathways eliminate unprocessed and irregular pre-mRNAs to control the quality of gene expression. In contrast to such general pre-mRNA decay, we describe here a nuclear pre-mRNA degradation pathway that controls the expression of select intron-containing genes. We show that the fission yeast nuclear poly(A)-binding protein, Pab2, and the nuclear exosome subunit, Rrp6, are the main factors involved in this polyadenylation-dependent pre-mRNA degradation pathway. Transcriptome analysis and intron swapping experiments revealed that inefficient splicing is important to dictate susceptibility to Pab2-dependent pre-mRNA decay. We also show that negative splicing regulation can promote the poor splicing efficiency required for this pre-mRNA decay pathway, and in doing so identify a mechanism of cross-regulation between paralogous ribosomal proteins through nuclear pre-mRNA decay. Our findings unveil a layer of regulation in the nucleus in which the turnover of specific pre-mRNAs, besides the turnover of mature mRNAs, is used to control gene expression.
Project description:Alternative pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing is a post-transcriptional mechanism for controlling gene expression. Splicing patterns are determined by both RNA binding proteins and nuclear pre-mRNA structure. Here, we analyze pre-mRNA splicing patterns, RNA binding sites and RNA structures near these binding sites coordinately controlled by two splicing factors, the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein hnRNPA1 and the RNA helicase DDX5. We identified thousands of alternative pre-mRNA splicing events controlled by these factors by RNA-seq following RNA interference. Enhanced CLIP (eCLIP) on nuclear extracts was used to identify protein-RNA binding sites for both proteins in the nuclear transcriptome. We found a significant overlap between hnRNPA1 and DDX5 splicing targets and that they share many closely linked binding sites as determined by eCLIP analysis. In vivo SHAPE chemical RNA structure probing data was used to model RNA structures near several exons controlled and bound by both proteins. Both sequence motifs and in vivo UV crosslinking sites for hnRNPA1 and DDX5 were used to map binding sites in their RNA targets and often these sites flanked regions of higher chemical reactivity suggesting an organized nature to nuclear pre-mRNPs. This work provides a first glimpse into the possible RNA structures surrounding pre-mRNA splicing factor binding sites.