Detection of transcriptome-wide microRNA-target interactions in single cells with agoTRIBE.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) exert their gene regulatory effects on numerous biological processes based on their selection of target transcripts. Current experimental methods available to identify miRNA targets are laborious and require millions of cells. Here we have overcome these limitations by fusing the miRNA effector protein Argonaute2 to the RNA editing domain of ADAR2, allowing the detection of miRNA targets transcriptome-wide in single cells. miRNAs guide the fusion protein to their natural target transcripts, causing them to undergo A>I editing, which can be detected by sensitive single-cell RNA sequencing. We show that agoTRIBE identifies functional miRNA targets, which are supported by evolutionary sequence conservation. In one application of the method we study microRNA interactions in single cells and identify substantial differential targeting across the cell cycle. AgoTRIBE also provides transcriptome-wide measurements of RNA abundance and allows the deconvolution of miRNA targeting in complex tissues at the single-cell level.

ADAR1- and ADAR2-mediated regulation of maturation and targeting of miR-376b to modulate GABA neurotransmitter catabolism.

miRNAs are short noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression by inhibiting translation or inducing degradation of target mRNAs. miRNAs are often expressed as polycistronic transcripts, so-called miRNA clusters, containing several miRNA precursors. The largest mammalian miRNA cluster, the miR-379-410 cluster, is expressed primarily during embryonic development and in the adult brain; however, downstream regulation of this cluster is not well understood. Here, we investigated adenosine deamination to inosine (RNA editing) in the miR-379-410 cluster by adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes as a possible mechanism modulating the expression and activity of these miRNAs in a brain-specific manner. We show that the levels of editing in the majority of mature miRNAs are lower than the editing levels of the corresponding site in primary miRNA precursors. However, for one miRNA, miR-376b-3p, editing was significantly higher in the mature form than in the primary precursor. We found miR-376b-3p maturation is negatively regulated by ADAR2 in an editing activity-independent manner, whereas ADAR1-mediated and ADAR2-mediated editing were observed to be competitive. In addition, the edited miR-376b-3p targets a different set of mRNAs than unedited miR-376b-3p, including 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, encoding the enzyme responsible for the catabolism of the neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). Expression of edited miR-376b-3p led to increased intracellular GABA levels as well as increased cell surface presentation of GABA type A receptors. Our results indicate that both editing and editing-independent effects modulate the expression of miR-376b-3p, with the potential to regulate GABAergic signaling in the brain.

Spatiotemporal mapping of RNA editing in the developing mouse brain using in situ sequencing reveals regional and cell-type-specific regulation.

BACKGROUND: Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is a process that contributes to the diversification of proteins that has been shown to be essential for neurotransmission and other neuronal functions. However, the spatiotemporal and diversification properties of RNA editing in the brain are largely unknown. Here, we applied in situ sequencing to distinguish between edited and unedited transcripts in distinct regions of the mouse brain at four developmental stages, and investigate the diversity of the RNA landscape. RESULTS: We analyzed RNA editing at codon-altering sites using in situ sequencing at single-cell resolution, in combination with the detection of individual ADAR enzymes and specific cell type marker transcripts. This approach revealed cell-type-specific regulation of RNA editing of a set of transcripts, and developmental and regional variation in editing levels for many of the targeted sites. We found increasing editing diversity throughout development, which arises through regional- and cell type-specific regulation of ADAR enzymes and target transcripts. CONCLUSIONS: Our single-cell in situ sequencing method has proved useful to study the complex landscape of RNA editing and our results indicate that this complexity arises due to distinct mechanisms of regulating individual RNA editing sites, acting both regionally and in specific cell types.

Editing inducer elements increases A-to-I editing efficiency in the mammalian transcriptome.

BACKGROUND: Adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing has been shown to be an essential event that plays a significant role in neuronal function, as well as innate immunity, in mammals. It requires a structure that is largely double-stranded for catalysis but little is known about what determines editing efficiency and specificity in vivo. We have previously shown that some editing sites require adjacent long stem loop structures acting as editing inducer elements (EIEs) for efficient editing. RESULTS: The glutamate receptor subunit A2 is edited at the Q/R site in almost 100% of all transcripts. We show that efficient editing at the Q/R site requires an EIE in the downstream intron, separated by an internal loop. Also, other efficiently edited sites are flanked by conserved, highly structured EIEs and we propose that this is a general requisite for efficient editing, while sites with low levels of editing lack EIEs. This phenomenon is not limited to mRNA, as non-coding primary miRNAs also use EIEs to recruit ADAR to specific sites. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a model where two regions of dsRNA are required for efficient editing: first, an RNA stem that recruits ADAR and increases the local concentration of the enzyme, then a shorter, less stable duplex that is ideal for efficient and specific catalysis. This discovery changes the way we define and determine a substrate for A-to-I editing. This will be important in the discovery of novel editing sites, as well as explaining cases of altered editing in relation to disease.

Accumulation of nuclear ADAR2 regulates adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing during neuronal development.

Adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is important for a functional brain, and most known sites that are subject to selective RNA editing have been found to result in diversified protein isoforms that are involved in neurotransmission. In the absence of the active editing enzymes ADAR1 or ADAR2 (also known as ADAR and ADARB1, respectively), mice fail to survive until adulthood. Nuclear A-to-I editing of neuronal transcripts is regulated during brain development, with low levels of editing in the embryo and a dramatic increase after birth. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms that regulate editing during development. Here, we demonstrate lower levels of ADAR2 in the nucleus of immature neurons than in mature neurons. We show that importin-α4 (encoded by Kpna3), which increases during neuronal maturation, interacts with ADAR2 and contributes to the editing efficiency by bringing it into the nucleus. Moreover, we detect an increased number of interactions between ADAR2 and the nuclear isomerase Pin1 as neurons mature, which contribute to ADAR2 protein stability. Together, these findings explain how the nuclear editing of substrates that are important for neuronal function can increase as the brain develops.