Coordinated circRNA Biogenesis and Function with NF90/NF110 in Viral Infection.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) generated via back-splicing are enhanced by flanking complementary sequences. Expression levels of circRNAs vary under different conditions, suggesting participation of protein factors in their biogenesis. Using genome-wide siRNA screening that targets all human unique genes and an efficient circRNA expression reporter, we identify double-stranded RNA-binding domain containing immune factors NF90/NF110 as key regulators in circRNA biogenesis. NF90/NF110 promote circRNA production in the nucleus by associating with intronic RNA pairs juxtaposing the circRNA-forming exon(s); they also interact with mature circRNAs in the cytoplasm. Upon viral infection, circRNA expression is decreased, in part owing to the nuclear export of NF90/NF110 to the cytoplasm. Meanwhile, NF90/NF110 released from circRNP complexes bind to viral mRNAs as part of their functions in antiviral immune response. Our results therefore implicate a coordinated regulation of circRNA biogenesis and function by NF90/NF110 in viral infection.

Unusual Processing Generates SPA LncRNAs that Sequester Multiple RNA Binding Proteins.

We identify a type of polycistronic transcript-derived long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are 5' small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) capped and 3' polyadenylated (SPAs). SPA processing is associated with nascent mRNA 3' processing and kinetic competition between XRN2 trimming and Pol II elongation. Following cleavage/polyadenylation of its upstream gene, the downstream uncapped pre-SPA is trimmed by XRN2 until this exonuclease reaches the co-transcriptionally assembled snoRNP. This snoRNP complex prevents further degradation, generates a snoRNA 5' end, and allows continuous Pol II elongation. The imprinted 15q11-q13 encodes two SPAs that are deleted in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) patients. These lncRNAs form a nuclear accumulation that is enriched in RNA binding proteins (RBPs) including TDP43, RBFOX2, and hnRNP M. Generation of a human PWS cellular model by depleting these lncRNAs results in altered patterns of RBPs binding and alternative splicing. Together, these results expand the diversity of lncRNAs and provide additional insights into PWS pathogenesis.

ADAR1 is required for differentiation and neural induction by regulating microRNA processing in a catalytically independent manner.

Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) are involved in adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing and are implicated in development and diseases. Here we observed that ADAR1 deficiency in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) significantly affected hESC differentiation and neural induction with widespread changes in mRNA and miRNA expression, including upregulation of self-renewal-related miRNAs, such as miR302s. Global editing analyses revealed that ADAR1 editing activity contributes little to the altered miRNA/mRNA expression in ADAR1-deficient hESCs upon neural induction. Genome-wide iCLIP studies identified that ADAR1 binds directly to pri-miRNAs to interfere with miRNA processing by acting as an RNA-binding protein. Importantly, aberrant expression of miRNAs and phenotypes observed in ADAR1-depleted hESCs upon neural differentiation could be reversed by an enzymatically inactive ADAR1 mutant, but not by the RNA-binding-null ADAR1 mutant. These findings reveal that ADAR1, but not its editing activity, is critical for hESC differentiation and neural induction by regulating miRNA biogenesis via direct RNA interaction.

SnoVectors for nuclear expression of RNA.

Many long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are constrained to the nucleus to exert their functions. However, commonly used vectors that were designed to express mRNAs have not been optimized for the study of nuclear RNAs. We reported recently that sno-lncRNAs are not capped or polyadenylated but rather are terminated on each end by snoRNAs and their associated proteins. These RNAs are processed from introns and are strictly confined to the nucleus. Here we have used these features to design expression vectors that can stably express virtually any sequence of interest and constrain its accumulation to the nucleus. Further, these RNAs appear to retain normal nuclear associations and function. SnoVectors should be useful in conditions where nuclear RNA function is studied or where export to the cytoplasm needs to be avoided.

Fractionation of non-polyadenylated and ribosomal-free RNAs from mammalian cells.

Most of mRNAs and well-characterized long noncoding RNAs are shaped with 5' cap and 3' poly(A) tail. Thereby, conventional transcriptome analysis typically involved the enrichment of poly(A)+ RNAs by oligo(dT) selection. However, accumulated lines of evidence suggest that there are many RNA transcripts processed in alternative ways, which largely failed to be detected by oligo(dT) purification. Here, we describe an enrichment strategy to purify non-polyadenylated (poly(A)-/ribo-) RNAs from total RNAs by removal of poly(A)+ RNA transcripts and ribosomal RNAs. In the combination with high-throughput sequencing methods, this strategy has been successfully applied to identify the rich repertoire of non-polyadenylated RNAs in vivo.

Species-specific alternative splicing leads to unique expression of sno-lncRNAs.

BACKGROUND: Intron-derived long noncoding RNAs with snoRNA ends (sno-lncRNAs) are highly expressed from the imprinted Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) region on human chromosome 15. However, sno-lncRNAs from other regions of the human genome or from other genomes have not yet been documented. RESULTS: By exploring non-polyadenylated transcriptomes from human, rhesus and mouse, we have systematically annotated sno-lncRNAs expressed in all three species. In total, using available data from a limited set of cell lines, 19 sno-lncRNAs have been identified with tissue- and species-specific expression patterns. Although primary sequence analysis revealed that snoRNAs themselves are conserved from human to mouse, sno-lncRNAs are not. PWS region sno-lncRNAs are highly expressed in human and rhesus monkey, but are undetectable in mouse. Importantly, the absence of PWS region sno-lncRNAs in mouse suggested a possible reason why current mouse models fail to fully recapitulate pathological features of human PWS. In addition, a RPL13A region sno-lncRNA was specifically revealed in mouse embryonic stem cells, and its snoRNA ends were reported to influence lipid metabolism. Interestingly, the RPL13A region sno-lncRNA is barely detectable in human. We further demonstrated that the formation of sno-lncRNAs is often associated with alternative splicing of exons within their parent genes, and species-specific alternative splicing leads to unique expression pattern of sno-lncRNAs in different animals. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative transcriptomes of non-polyadenylated RNAs among human, rhesus and mouse revealed that the expression of sno-lncRNAs is species-specific and that their processing is closely linked to alternative splicing of their parent genes. This study thus further demonstrates a complex regulatory network of coding and noncoding parts of the mammalian genome.

Human colorectal cancer-specific CCAT1-L lncRNA regulates long-range chromatin interactions at the MYC locus.

The human 8q24 gene desert contains multiple enhancers that form tissue-specific long-range chromatin loops with the MYC oncogene, but how chromatin looping at the MYC locus is regulated remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), CCAT1-L, is transcribed specifically in human colorectal cancers from a locus 515 kb upstream of MYC. This lncRNA plays a role in MYC transcriptional regulation and promotes long-range chromatin looping. Importantly, the CCAT1-L locus is located within a strong super-enhancer and is spatially close to MYC. Knockdown of CCAT1-L reduced long-range interactions between the MYC promoter and its enhancers. In addition, CCAT1-L interacts with CTCF and modulates chromatin conformation at these loop regions. These results reveal an important role of a previously unannotated lncRNA in gene regulation at the MYC locus.

Gene expression profiling of non-polyadenylated RNA-seq across species.

Transcriptomes are dynamic and unique, with each cell type/tissue, developmental stage and species expressing a different repertoire of RNA transcripts. Most mRNAs and well-characterized long noncoding RNAs are shaped with a 5' cap and 3' poly(A) tail, thus conventional transcriptome analyses typically start with the enrichment of poly(A)+ RNAs by oligo(dT) selection, followed by deep sequencing approaches. However, accumulated lines of evidence suggest that many RNA transcripts are processed by alternative mechanisms without 3' poly(A) tails and, therefore, fail to be enriched by oligo(dT) purification and are absent following deep sequencing analyses. We have described an enrichment strategy to purify non-polyadenylated (poly(A)-/ribo-) RNAs from human total RNAs by removal of both poly(A)+ RNA transcripts and ribosomal RNAs, which led to the identification of many novel RNA transcripts with non-canonical 3' ends in human. Here, we describe the application of non-polyadenylated RNA-sequencing in rhesus monkey and mouse cell lines/tissue, and further profile the transcription of non-polyadenylated RNAs across species, providing new resources for non-polyadenylated RNA identification and comparison across species.

Circular intronic long noncoding RNAs.

We describe the identification and characterization of circular intronic long noncoding RNAs in human cells, which accumulate owing to a failure in debranching. The formation of such circular intronic RNAs (ciRNAs) can be recapitulated using expression vectors, and their processing depends on a consensus motif containing a 7 nt GU-rich element near the 5' splice site and an 11 nt C-rich element close to the branchpoint site. In addition, we show that ciRNAs are abundant in the nucleus and have little enrichment for microRNA target sites. Importantly, knockdown of ciRNAs led to the reduced expression of their parent genes. One abundant such RNA, ci-ankrd52, largely accumulates to its sites of transcription, associates with elongation Pol II machinery, and acts as a positive regulator of Pol II transcription. This study thus suggests a cis-regulatory role of noncoding intronic transcripts on their parent coding genes.

Long noncoding RNAs with snoRNA ends.

We describe the discovery of sno-lncRNAs, a class of nuclear-enriched intron-derived long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are processed on both ends by the snoRNA machinery. During exonucleolytic trimming, the sequences between the snoRNAs are not degraded, leading to the accumulation of lncRNAs flanked by snoRNA sequences but lacking 5' caps and 3' poly(A) tails. Such RNAs are widely expressed in cells and tissues and can be produced by either box C/D or box H/ACA snoRNAs. Importantly, the genomic region encoding one abundant class of sno-lncRNAs (15q11-q13) is specifically deleted in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). The PWS region sno-lncRNAs do not colocalize with nucleoli or Cajal bodies, but rather accumulate near their sites of synthesis. These sno-lncRNAs associate strongly with Fox family splicing regulators and alter patterns of splicing. These results thus implicate a previously unannotated class of lncRNAs in the molecular pathogenesis of PWS.