Target-directed microRNA degradation: Mechanisms, significance, and functional implications.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play a fundamental role in enabling miRNA-mediated target repression, a post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanism preserved across metazoans. Loss of certain animal miRNA genes can lead to developmental abnormalities, disease, and various degrees of embryonic lethality. These short RNAs normally guide Argonaute (AGO) proteins to target RNAs, which are in turn translationally repressed and destabilized, silencing the target to fine-tune gene expression and maintain cellular homeostasis. Delineating miRNA-mediated target decay has been thoroughly examined in thousands of studies, yet despite these exhaustive studies, comparatively less is known about how and why miRNAs are directed for decay. Several key observations over the years have noted instances of rapid miRNA turnover, suggesting endogenous means for animals to induce miRNA degradation. Recently, it was revealed that certain targets, so-called target-directed miRNA degradation (TDMD) triggers, can "trigger" miRNA decay through inducing proteolysis of AGO and thereby the bound miRNA. This process is mediated in animals via the ZSWIM8 ubiquitin ligase complex, which is recruited to AGO during engagement with triggers. Since its discovery, several studies have identified that ZSWIM8 and TDMD are indispensable for proper animal development. Given the rapid expansion of this field of study, here, we summarize the key findings that have led to and followed the discovery of ZSWIM8-dependent TDMD. This article is categorized under: Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs RNA Turnover and Surveillance > Turnover/Surveillance Mechanisms RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Development.

Meet the authors: Yuzhi Wang, Conner Traugot, and Mingyi Xie.

We talk to authors Yuzhi Wang, Conner Traugot, and Mingyi Xie about their paper "N6-methyladenosine in 7SK small nuclear RNA underlies RNA polymerase II transcription regulation" (this issue of Molecular Cell), their path to research science, and the interesting findings that keep bringing them back to the bench.

N6-methyladenosine in 7SK small nuclear RNA underlies RNA polymerase II transcription regulation.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications play crucial roles in RNA metabolism. How m6A regulates RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) transcription remains unclear. We find that 7SK small nuclear RNA (snRNA), a regulator of RNA Pol II promoter-proximal pausing, is highly m6A-modified in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. In A549 cells, we identified eight m6A sites on 7SK and discovered methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and alkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5) as the responsible writer and eraser. When the m6A-7SK is specifically erased by a dCasRx-ALKBH5 fusion protein, A549 cell growth is attenuated due to reduction of RNA Pol II transcription. Mechanistically, removal of m6A leads to 7SK structural rearrangements that facilitate sequestration of the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) complex, which results in reduction of serine 2 phosphorylation (Ser2P) in the RNA Pol II C-terminal domain and accumulation of RNA Pol II in the promoter-proximal region. Taken together, we uncover that m6A modifications of a non-coding RNA regulate RNA Pol II transcription and NSCLC tumorigenesis.