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The role of the mammalian branchpoint sequence in pre-mRNA splicing.

We show that base substitutions in the mammalian branchpoint sequence (BPS) YNCUGAC dramatically reduce the efficiency of pre-mRNA splicing in vitro and alter 3' splice-site selection in vivo. Contrary to current dogma that an adenine residue at the appropriate distance from the 3' splice site is the primary determinant of lariat formation, we find that many mutations in the BPS virtually abolish splicing even though the position of this adenine is unchanged. Comparison of the analogous single-base changes in the mammalian and yeast BPSs revealed similar relative effects on splicing efficiency. However, in contrast to yeast, mammalian branchpoint mutations that decrease splicing efficiency severely do not prevent spliceosome assembly. Thus, mutations in the mammalian BPS appear to uncouple spliceosome assembly from cleavage at the 5' splice site and lariat formation.

Adenine↗

Mutation of the AAUAAA polyadenylation signal depresses in vitro splicing of proximal but not distal introns.

To investigate the relationship between splicing and polyadenylation during the production of vertebrate mRNAs, we examined the effect of mutation of a poly(A) site on splicing of upstream introns. Mutation of the AAUAAA polyadenylation consensus sequence inhibited in vitro splicing of an upstream intron. The magnitude of the depression depended on the magnesium concentration. Dependence of splicing on polyadenylation signals suggests the existence of interaction between polyadenylation and splicing factors. In multi-intron precursor RNAs containing duplicated splice sites, mutation of the poly(A) site inhibited removal of the last intron, but not the removal of introns farther upstream. Inhibition of removal of only the last intron suggests segmental recognition of multi-exon precursor RNAs and is consistent with previous suggestions that signals at both ends of an exon are required for effective splicing of an upstream intron.

Adenoviridae↗

Association of U6 snRNA with the 5'-splice site region of pre-mRNA in the spliceosome.

U6 snRNA is one of the five RNA species required for splicing of nuclear pre-mRNAs. High conservation of its sequence has led to the hypothesis that U6 snRNA plays a catalytic role in splicing. If this is the case, U6 snRNA should be localized close to sites where the splicing reaction occurs. However, this has never been demonstrated. Here, we have shown that U6 snRNA is cross-linked to the 5'-splice site region of pre-mRNA by UV irradiation during the in vitro splicing reaction. We have also detected the cross-link of U6 snRNA and the region around the branchpoint of the intron lariat. The results show that U6 snRNA is present near the splice sites in the splicing reaction and support the idea that U6 snRNA is a catalytic element in the spliceosome.

Base Sequence↗

A splicing enhancer exhibits both constitutive and regulated activities.

The Drosophila proteins Transformer (Tra) and Transformer2 (Tra2) regulate the sex-specific alternative splicing of Drosophila doublesex (dsx) pre-mRNA by specifically binding to a splicing enhancer (dsx repeat element; dsxRE) located 300 nucleotides (nt) downstream from a female-specific 3' splice site. In this paper we show that the dsxRE can function as a Tra and Tra2-independent splicing enhancer in vitro when located within 150 nucleotides of the 3' splice site. Based on the relative levels of SR proteins that bind stably to the dsxRE in the presence or absence of Tra and Tra2, we propose that the constitutive splicing activity of the dsxRE is mediated by its weak interactions with SR proteins and possibly other general splicing factors. In contrast, Tra and Tra2 allow the dsxRE to function at a distance from the intron by stabilizing the interactions between these proteins and the dsxRE.

Alternative Splicing↗

The influenza virus NS1 protein: a novel inhibitor of pre-mRNA splicing.

We have shown previously that the influenza virus NS1 protein inhibits the nuclear export of mRNAs. Here we demonstrate that the NS1 protein also regulates another post-transcriptional step: It inhibits pre-mRNA splicing both in vivo and in vitro. The mode by which the NS1 protein inhibits pre-mRNA splicing is novel. The pre-mRNA forms spliceosomes, but subsequent catalytic steps in splicing are inhibited. Affinity selection experiments establish that the NS1 protein is associated with the spliceosomes that are formed. The RNA-binding domain of the NS1 protein is required for the inhibition of splicing and for the interaction of the protein with spliceosomes. Because the NS1 protein is associated with U6 snRNA in influenza virus-infected cells as well as in splicing extracts from uninfected cells, it is likely that the NS1 protein also inhibits pre-mRNA splicing in infected cells. Surprisingly, the splicing of the viral ns1 mRNA, the very mRNA that encodes the NS1 protein, was resistant to inhibition by the NS1 protein. This resistance is conferred by sequences in ns1 mRNA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A common pyrimidine-rich motif governs trans-splicing and polyadenylation of tubulin polycistronic pre-mRNA in trypanosomes.

In trypanosomes, the generation of monocistronic mRNAs from polycistronic precursors is achieved via RNA processing, namely trans-splicing of the spliced leader sequence at the 5' end and cleavage/polyadenylation at the 3' end of the mRNA coding region. Recent evidence raised the intriguing possibility that these two reactions are coupled. To begin a dissection of the signals required for mRNA 5'-end and 3'-end formation and to uncover potential interactions between trans-splicing and polyadenylation, we mutagenized the intergenic region between the beta- and alpha-tubulin genes of Trypanosoma brucei. Block substitutions identified the pyrimidine-rich sequences at the alpha-tubulin 3'-splice-acceptor site as a major determinant for accurate trans-splicing downstream and 3'-end formation upstream. In addition to the utilization of cryptic 3'-splice sites, obliteration of the polypyrimidine tracts led to aberrant poly(A)+ site choice, even in the presence of the wild-type poly(A)+ site and neighboring sequences. Taken together, these results indicate that the polypyrimidine-rich sequences act as a bifunctional element that affects RNA processing both upstream and downstream from itself. This is consistent with the possibility that the polypyrimidine tract is recognized by both the trans-splicing and polyadenylation machineries, either sequentially or simultaneously.

Animals↗

The generally expressed hnRNP F is involved in a neural-specific pre-mRNA splicing event.

The proteins and RNA regulatory elements that control tissue-specific pre-mRNA splicing in mammalian cells are mostly unknown. In this study, a set of proteins is identified that binds to a splicing regulatory element downstream of the neuron specific c-src N1 exon. This complex of proteins bound specifically to a short RNA containing the regulatory sequence in neuronal extracts that splice the N1 exon. It was not seen in non-neuronal cell extracts that fail to splice this exon. UV-cross-linking experiments identified a neuron-specific 75-kD protein and several nontissue-specific proteins, including the 53-kD heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein F (hnRNP F), as components of this complex. Although present in both extracts, hnRNP F binds tightly to the RNA only in the neuronal extracts. A mutation in the regulatory RNA sequence, that inhibits N1 splicing in vivo, abolished formation of the neuron-specific complex and the binding of the neuron-specific 75-kD protein. Competition experiments in the two extracts show that the binding of the neuronal protein complex to the src pre-mRNA is required to activate N1 exon splicing in vitro. Antibody inhibition experiments indicate that the hnRNP F protein is a functional part of this complex. The assembly of regulatory complexes from both constitutive and specific proteins is likely to be a general feature of tissue-specific splicing regulation.

Animals↗

Intronic sequences flanking alternatively spliced exons are conserved between human and mouse.

Comparison of the sequences of mouse and human genomes revealed a surprising number of nonexonic, nonexpressed conserved sequences, for which no function could be assigned. To study the possible correlation between these conserved intronic sequences and alternative splicing regulation, we developed a method to identify exons that are alternatively spliced in both human and mouse. We compiled two exon sets: one of alternatively spliced conserved exons and another of constitutively spliced conserved exons. We found that 77% of the conserved alternatively spliced exons were flanked on both sides by long conserved intronic sequences. In comparison, only 17% of the conserved constitutively spliced exons were flanked by such conserved intronic sequences. The average length of the conserved intronic sequences was 103 bases in the upstream intron and 94 bases in the downstream intron. The average identity levels in the immediately flanking intronic sequences were 88% and 80% for the upstream and downstream introns, respectively, higher than the conservation levels of 77% that were measured in promoter regions. Our results suggest that the function of many of the intronic sequence blocks that are conserved between human and mouse is the regulation of alternative splicing.

3' Flanking Region↗

Predicting splice variant from DNA chip expression data.

Alternative splicing of premessenger RNA is an important layer of regulation in eukaryotic gene expression. Splice variation of a large number of genes has been implicated in various cell growth and differentiation processes. To measure tissue-specific splicing of genes on a large scale, we collected gene expression data from 11 rat tissues using a high-density oligonucleotide array representing 1600 rat genes. Expression of each gene on the chip is measured by 20 pairs of independent oligonucleotide probes. Two algorithms have been developed to normalize and compare the chip hybridization signals among different tissues at individual oligonucleotide probe level. Oligonucleotide probes (the perfect match [PM] probe of each probe pair), detecting potential tissue-specific splice variants, were identified by the algorithms. The identified candidate splice variants have been compared to the alternatively spliced transcripts predicted by an EST clustering program. In addition, 50% of the top candidates predicted by the algorithms were confirmed by RT-PCR experiment. The study indicates that oligonucleotide probe-based DNA chip assays provide a powerful approach to detect splice variants at genome scale.

Algorithms↗

Inferring alternative splicing patterns in mouse from a full-length cDNA library and microarray data.

Although many studies on alternative splicing of specific genes have been reported in the literature, the general mechanism that regulates alternative splicing has not been clearly understood. In this study, we systematically aligned each pair of the 21,076 cDNA sequences of Mus musculus, searched for putative alternative splicing patterns, and constructed a list of potential alternative splicing sites. Two cDNAs are suspected to be alternatively spliced and originating from a common gene if they share most of their region with a high degree of sequence homology, but parts of the sequences are very distinctive or deleted in either cDNA. The list contains the following information: (1) tissue, (2) developmental stage, (3) sequences around splice sites, (4) the length of each gapped region, and (5) other comments. The list is available at http://www.bioinfo.sfc.keio.ac.jp/intron. Our results have predicted a number of unreported alternatively spliced genes, some of which are expressed only in a specific tissue or at a specific developmental stage.

Alternative Splicing↗

A high resolution A-to-I editing map in the mouse identifies editing events controlled by pre-mRNA splicing.

Pre-mRNA-splicing and adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) RNA-editing occur mostly cotranscriptionally. During A-to-I editing, a genomically encoded adenosine is deaminated to inosine by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs). Editing-competent stems are frequently formed between exons and introns. Consistently, studies using reporter assays have shown that splicing efficiency can affect editing levels. Here, we use Nascent-seq and identify ∼90,000 novel A-to-I editing events in the mouse brain transcriptome. Most novel sites are located in intronic regions. Unlike previously assumed, we show that both ADAR (ADAR1) and ADARB1 (ADAR2) can edit repeat elements and regular transcripts to the same extent. We find that inhibition of splicing primarily increases editing levels at hundreds of sites, suggesting that reduced splicing efficiency extends the exposure of intronic and exonic sequences to ADAR enzymes. Lack of splicing factors NOVA1 or NOVA2 changes global editing levels, demonstrating that alternative splicing factors can modulate RNA editing. Finally, we show that intron retention rates correlate with editing levels across different brain tissues. We therefore demonstrate that splicing efficiency is a major factor controlling tissue-specific differences in editing levels.

Adenosine Deaminase↗

Self-splicing of the Chlamydomonas chloroplast psbA introns.

We used alpha-32P-GTP labeling of total RNA preparations to identify self-splicing group I introns in Chlamydomonas. Several RNAs become labeled with alpha-32P-GTP, a subset of which is not seen with RNA from a mutant that lacks both copies of the psbA gene. Hybridization of the GTP-labeled RNAs to chloroplast DNA indicates that they originate from the psbA and rrn 23S genes, respectively, the only genes known to contain group I introns in this organism. Introns 1, 2, and 3 of psbA (with flanking exon sequences) were subcloned and transcribed in vitro. The synthetic RNAs were found to self-splice; splicing required Mg2+, GTP, and elevated temperature. In addition, the accuracy of self-splicing was confirmed for introns 1 and 2, and intermediates in the splicing reactions were detected. These results, together with our recent data on the 23S intron, indicate that the ability to self-splice is a general feature of Chlamydomonas group I introns. These findings have significant implications for the mechanism of group I intron splicing and evolution in Chlamydomonas and other chloroplast genomes.

Animals↗

Alternative splice site selection in the human growth hormone gene transcript and synthesis of the 20 kDa isoform: role of higher order transcript structure.

Expression of the human growth hormone (hGH) gene in somatotrophs of the anterior pituitary gland results in the synthesis and secretion of a major 22 kDa and a minor 20 kDa GH isohormone. The expression of these two proteins reflects the alternative utilization of a major (B) and a minor (B') splice acceptor site in exon 3 of the hGH-N transcript. By comparing the structure and splicing patterns of the hGH-N gene transcript with that of the structurally related, placentally expressed, hGH-V gene transcript, which uses only the major (B) exon 3 splice acceptor, it has been possible to define the cis-acting elements in exon 3 that are critical for activation of the B' splice acceptor. The present paper demonstrates that, in addition to the importance of sequences in the immediate proximity of the two alternative splice acceptor sites, additional more remote sequences in the transcript also contribute to this alternative splice site selection. The data further suggest that these more distal sequences do not act individually, but interact so that the net level of alternative splicing in exon 3 is dictated by the overall higher order structure of the hGH-N transcript.

Alternative Splicing↗

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 internalization induced by muscarinic acetylcholine receptor activation: differential dependency of internalization of splice variants on nonvisual arrestins.

In this study, we characterized the glutamate- or second-messenger kinase-dependent internalization of the rat metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) splice variants 1a, 1b, and 1c, and assessed the arrestin and dynamin dependence of these processes. To facilitate this we inserted a hemagglutinin epitope tag in the extracellular N-terminal domain of the splice variants. Quantification of glutamate-induced mGluR1 splice variant internalization provided by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed by immunofluorescent microscopy indicated that each splice variant underwent rapid internalization, which was strongly inhibited by coexpression of dominant-negative mutant (DNM) arrestin or dynamin. In addition glutamate-induced rapid translocation of arrestin-2-green fluorescent protein (GFP) or arrestin-3-GFP from cytosol to membrane was observed in cells expressing mGluR1 splice variants. Glutamate-induced internalization of mGluR1a and mGluR1c was partially blocked by a selective inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), 2-[1-(3-dimethylamino-propyl)indol-3-yl]-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)maleimide (GF 109203X), whereas mGluR1b internalization was not significantly affected by this inhibitor. Similarly, inositol phosphate production after glutamate-induced activation of mGluR1a and mGluR1c was increased after PKC inhibition, whereas glutamate-induced mGluR1b stimulation was unaffected. Activation by carbachol of endogenously expressed M(1) muscarinic receptors in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, induced the internalization of mGluR1 splice variants, which was partially blocked by pretreatment with inhibitors of either PKC or Ca(2+) calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII). Expression of DNM-arrestin with mGluR1a or 1c strongly inhibited carbachol-induced internalization. However, coexpression of DNM-arrestin with mGluR1b was less effective in reducing carbachol-induced receptor internalization. In addition, arrestin-2-GFP or arrestin-3-GFP underwent significant carbachol-induced translocation from cytosol to membrane in cells coexpressing mGluR1a or 1c but not in cells coexpressing mGluR1b. This study demonstrates that the internalization of mGluR1 splice variants is subject to PKC and CaMKII regulation. In addition, regulation by these kinases confers differential arrestin dependence.

Alternative Splicing↗

Efficient trans-splicing of a yeast mitochondrial RNA group II intron implicates a strong 5' exon-intron interaction.

The reaction mechanism for self-splicing introns requires the existence of a 5' exon binding site on the intron. Experimental evidence is now presented consistent with the existence of such a binding site by demonstrating efficient and accurate trans-self-splicing of a yeast mitochondrial group II intron. Partial and complete trans-splicing reactions take place in the absence of branch formation, part of the usual pathway of nuclear splicing and group II self-splicing. In addition to indicating the existence of a 5' exon binding site on the intron, the results have mechanistic implications for group II self-splicing and perhaps for nuclear splicing as well.

Exons↗

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins: role in RNA splicing.

Splicing in vitro of a messenger RNA (mRNA) precursor (pre-mRNA) is inhibited by a monoclonal antibody to the C proteins (anti-C) of the heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA)-ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) particles. This antibody, 4F4, inhibits an early step of the reaction: cleavage at the 3' end of the upstream exon and the formation of the intron lariat. In contrast, boiled 4F4, or a different monoclonal antibody (designated 2B12) to the C proteins, or antibodies to other hnRNP proteins (120 and 68 kilodaltons) and nonimmune mouse antibodies have no inhibitory effect. The 4F4 antibody does not prevent the adenosine triphosphate-dependent formation of a 60S splicing complex (spliceosome). Furthermore, the 60S splicing complex contains C proteins, and it can be immunoprecipitated with 4F4. Depletion of C proteins from the splicing extract by immunoadsorption with either of the two monoclonal antibodies to the C proteins (4F4 or 2B12) results in the loss of splicing activity, whereas mock-depletion with nonimmune mouse antibodies bodies has no effect. A 60S splicing complex does not form in a C protein-depleted nuclear extract. These results indicate an essential role for proteins of the hnRNP complex in the splicing of mRNA precursors.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Involvement of U6 snRNA in 5' splice site selection.

Two models describing the interaction between U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) and the 5' splice site of introns have been proposed on the basis of cross-linking experiments. Here it is shown that a conserved sequence present in U6 snRNA forms base pairs with conserved nucleotides at the 5' splice junction and that this interaction is involved in 5' splice site choice. These results demonstrate a specific function for U6 snRNA in splicing and suggest that U6 snRNA has a proofreading role during splice site selection. A model is presented in which this new interaction, in concert with previously described interactions between U6 snRNA, U2 snRNA, and the pre-messenger RNA, would position the branch point near the 5' splice site for the catalysis of the first splicing step.

Base Sequence↗

A conjugation-based system for genetic analysis of group II intron splicing in Lactococcus lactis.

The conjugative element pRS01 from Lactococcus lactis encodes the putative relaxase protein LtrB. The ltrB gene is interrupted by the functional group II intron Ll.ltrB. Accurate splicing of the two ltrB exons is required for synthesis of the mRNA encoding the LtrB conjugative relaxase and subsequent plasmid transfer. A conjugation-based genetic assay was developed to identify Ll.ltrB mutations that affect splicing. In this assay a nonsplicing, transfer-defective pRS01 derivative (pM1014) and a shuttle vector carrying the ltrB region, including the Ll.ltrB intron (pCOM9), are used. pCOM9 provides splicing-dependent complementation of the transfer defect of pM1014. Site-directed mutations within Ll.ltrB, either in the catalytic RNA or in the intron-encoded protein gene ltrA, were generated in the context of pCOM9. When these mutants were tested in the conjugation-based assay, significantly reduced mating was observed. Quantitative molecular analysis of in vivo splicing activity confirmed that the observed mating defects resulted from reduced splicing. Once the system was validated for the engineered mutants, random mutagenesis of the intron followed by genetic and molecular screening for splicing defects resulted in identification of point mutations that affect splicing.

Bacterial Proteins↗

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