Project description:Transfer RNA-derived fragments (tRFs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that have exhibited several functions in cancer. Recent studies have shown that mutations in tRNA genes can lead to global changes in tRF expression levels and may affect tRF function, highlighting the need to further elucidate the regulation and functions of tRFs in cancer. Here, we conducted a pan-cancer analysis of tRF quantitative trait loci (tRFQTLs), encompassing 16,703 genetic variants associated with tRF expression across 31 cancer types. A joint analysis of GWAS data revealed that tRFQTLs were preferentially enriched in cancer risk loci and colocalized with 106 GWAS variants, explaining a substantial portion of cancer heritability. Moreover, tRFs regulated by tRFQTLs were enriched in cancer-related pathways and correlated with drug response and immune infiltration. Notably, polygenic risk score models incorporating tRFQTLs improved high-risk population identification. Investigation of large-scale population cohorts revealed a tRFQTL, rs9461276, associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. In biological assays, the rs9461276-C allele increased tRF-18-HSQS52D2 expression, which suppressed CRC malignant phenotypes. Mechanistically, tRF-18-HSQS52D2 bound to the 3'UTR of POU2F1, destabilizing the oncogenic transcript. Integrated RNA sequencing and ChIP-seq assays indicated that POU2F1 enhanced CRC cell proliferation by activating various pathological pathways associated with oxidative and glycolytic metabolism, mitotic stability, and cell cycle regulation. Finally, a database (Cancer-tRFQTL) was generated as a resource to support investigation into tRF-mediated mechanisms and genetic basis of tRF expression in human cancers. Overall, this study helps advance the understanding of tRFs in cancer pathogenesis.
Project description:We report the profiling of tRNA fragments from the temporal cortex of controls and late-stage Alzheimer's disease subjects. We show tRNA fragments expression changes between the two groups. Four upregulatedtRNA fragments in the results of Real Time-qPCR were consistent with the small RNA microarray:5'tRF_GluCTC, 5'tRF_GluTTC, 5'tRF_GlyGCC, 5'tRF_GlyCCC
Project description:To identify tRNA fragments regulated by angiogenin (ANG, Rnase 5), we sequenced 15-50nt small RNAs upon ANG overexpression and ANG knockout.
Project description:We report a modulated expression of tRNA fragments and microRNAs linked to chondrosarcoma progression and demonstrate a method for re-modulating this pathway
Project description:Parental dietary conditions can influence the metabolic traits of offspring. In mice, paternal consumption of low protein diet alters cholesterol and lipid metabolism of progeny. Here, we examine RNA species expressed in male reproductive tissues of mice. Protein restriction leads to altered levels of multiple small RNAs in mature sperm, as well as throughout the male reproductive tract, with decreased levels of let-7 family members and increased levels of 5â?? fragments of tRNA-Gly isoacceptors. Intriguingly, tRNA fragments are scarce in the testis, but their levels increase in sperm during posttesticular maturation in the epididymis. We find that epididymosomes â?? extracellular vesicles which fuse with sperm during epididymal transit â?? exhibit RNA payloads closely matching those of mature sperm, and can deliver tRNA fragments to immature sperm in vitro both in mouse and in bull. Finally, we show that tRNA-Gly-GCC fragments play a role in repressing genes associated with the endogenous retroelement MERVL, both in ES cells and in preimplantation embryos. Our results shed light on small RNA biogenesis during post-testicular sperm maturation, and link tRNA fragments to regulation of endogenous retroelements active in the early embryo. E14 mESCs were transfected with LNA-containing oligos antisense to tRF-GG or GFP-esiRNA as control, then either total RNA was isolated or 80S ribosomes were isolated from Rnase-digested whole cell lysate, and footprints between 26-32nt were collected for ribosome profiling library construction using a kit-free protocol based on Heyer et al. 2015 NAR.
Project description:Parental dietary conditions can influence the metabolic traits of offspring. In mice, paternal consumption of low protein diet alters cholesterol and lipid metabolism of progeny. Here, we examine RNA species expressed in male reproductive tissues of mice. Protein restriction leads to altered levels of multiple small RNAs in mature sperm, as well as throughout the male reproductive tract, with decreased levels of let-7 family members and increased levels of 5â fragments of tRNA-Gly isoacceptors. Intriguingly, tRNA fragments are scarce in the testis, but their levels increase in sperm during post-testicular maturation in the epididymis. We find that epididymosomes â extracellular vesicles which fuse with sperm during epididymal transit â exhibit RNA payloads closely matching those of mature sperm, and can deliver tRNA fragments to immature sperm in vitro both in mouse and in bull. Finally, we show that tRNA-Gly-GCC fragments play a role in repressing genes associated with the endogenous retroelement MERVL, both in ES cells and in preimplantation embryos. Our results shed light on small RNA biogenesis during post-testicular sperm maturation, and link tRNA fragments to regulation of endogenous retroelements active in the early embryo. Small RNA (<40nt) profile of various tissues and cells was examined by deep sequencing
Project description:tRNA-derived small RNA including tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) and tRNA halves (tiRNAs) plays significant roles in the various molecular mechanisms that underlie certain human diseases. of the generation of tRFs/tiRNAs and their potential roles during Dengue virus (DENV) infection is not yet known. Here, we have performed small RNA sequencing to identify the generation and alterations in tRF expression profiles of DENV infected Huh7 cells. Our results suggest that 733 tiRNAs/tRFs were found to be differentially expressed during DENV infection. Interestingly, 3’tRF population were found to be upregulated and i-tRF population were found to be downregulated. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were performed to analyze the impact of differentially expressed tRFs on DENV pathogenesis. Our results suggest the significant involvement in transcriptional regulation via RNA polymerase II promoter and metabolic pathways. Overall, our study contributes significantly to our understanding of the roles played by tRFs in the complex dynamics of DENV infection.
Project description:Parental dietary conditions can influence the metabolic traits of offspring. In mice, paternal consumption of low protein diet alters cholesterol and lipid metabolism of progeny. Here, we examine RNA species expressed in male reproductive tissues of mice. Protein restriction leads to altered levels of multiple small RNAs in mature sperm, as well as throughout the male reproductive tract, with decreased levels of let-7 family members and increased levels of 5’ fragments of tRNA-Gly isoacceptors. Intriguingly, tRNA fragments are scarce in the testis, but their levels increase in sperm during posttesticular maturation in the epididymis. We find that epididymosomes – extracellular vesicles which fuse with sperm during epididymal transit – exhibit RNA payloads closely matching those of mature sperm, and can deliver tRNA fragments to immature sperm in vitro both in mouse and in bull. Finally, we show that tRNA-Gly-GCC fragments play a role in repressing genes associated with the endogenous retroelement MERVL, both in ES cells and in preimplantation embryos. Our results shed light on small RNA biogenesis during post-testicular sperm maturation, and link tRNA fragments to regulation of endogenous retroelements active in the early embryo.
Project description:Annotation of tRNA fragments relies on the alignment of signals obtained from small RNA-seq on mature tRNA positions and requires the pretreatment of the RNA to remove tRNA modifications that may interfere with sequencing.