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Cloning and characterization of p10, an alternatively spliced form of p15 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor.

We have cloned an alternatively spliced form of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p15 from human placenta. The alternative splice arises from an alternative 5' donor site in intron 1. An in-frame stop codon within the new exon, called exon 1beta, leads to translation of a Mr 10,000 protein identical to the NH2 terminus of p15 but contains a novel, basic COOH terminus. The alternatively spliced form, termed here as p10, is ubiquitously expressed in normal and tumor cell lines as shown by Northern hybridization and reverse transcription-PCR. Transforming growth factor beta1 induces the expression of p10 similarly to p15 in human HaCaT keratinocytes. Expression and analysis of p15 and epitope-tagged p10 in cells by immunohistochemistry showed similar localization of both to the cytoplasm and nucleus in mink epithelial cells and cytoplasmic localization in mouse fibroblasts. Analysis of the effects of p10 and p15 on cell growth indicated that both were transiently growth inhibitory in Mv1Lu and NIH 3T3 cells, but their stable expression did not significantly reduce the number of cell colonies. In contrast to p15, CDK4 and CDK6 did not coimmunoprecipitate p10 in transient expression assays in COS-7 cells. Furthermore, overexpression of p10 together with p15 in COS-7 cells did not interfere with the complex formation of p15 with CDK4 or CDK6. Thus, in the absence of detectable CDK binding, p10 is transiently able to restrain cell cycling, indicating that the alternative splicing of the CDK inhibitors presents further complexity in their regulation and functions.

3T3 Cells↗

The effects of alternative splicing on transmembrane proteins in the mouse genome.

Alternative splicing is a major source of variety in mammalian mRNAs, yet many questions remain on its downstream effects on protein function. To this end, we assessed the impact of gene structure and splice variation on signal peptide and transmembrane regions in proteins. Transmembrane proteins perform several key functions in cell signaling and transport, with their function tied closely to their transmembrane architecture. Signal peptides and transmembrane regions both provide key information on protein localization. Thus, any modification to such regions will likely alter protein destination and function. We applied TMHMM and SignalP to a nonredundant set of proteins, and assessed the effects of gene structure and alternative splicing on predicted transmembrane and signal peptide regions. These regions were altered by alternative splicing in roughly half of the cases studied. Transmembrane regions are divided by introns slightly less often than expected given gene structure and transmembrane region size. However, the transmembrane regions in single-pass transmembranes are divided substantially less often than expected. This suggests that intron placement might be subject to some evolutionary pressure to preserve function in these signaling proteins. The data described in this paper is available online at http://www.affymetrix.com/community/publications/affymetrix/tmsplice/.

Alternative Splicing↗

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↗

Mouse pseudouridine synthase 1: gene structure and alternative splicing of pre-mRNA.

Evidence for the alternative splicing of the message for mouse pseudouridine synthase 1 (mPus1p) was found when several expressed sequence tag clones were completely sequenced. The genomic DNA for the MPUS1 gene (6.9 kb) was cloned from a mouse genomic library; the gene contains seven exons, of which three are alternatively spliced. In addition, one of the internal exons (exon VI) is unusually large. RNase protection analysis confirmed that several alternatively spliced messages were present in mouse tissues and cells in culture. A Western blot of total cellular protein from mouse tissues and cultured cells was reacted with an antibody specific for mPus1p; at least three proteins were detected. One protein corresponds to the predicted molecular mass of mPus1p (44 kDa) and is the most abundant. The two other isoforms, one 2 kDa larger and one 7 kDa smaller than mPus1p, were differentially expressed. The cDNA species for the three isoforms were cloned into expression plasmids; the proteins were synthesized in vitro and tested for pseudouridine synthase activity. The two isoforms, one containing an insert of 18 amino acids in a region of the enzyme assumed to be critical for activity, and the other, which has a deletion of the protein coding potential of two exons, were both inactive on tRNA substrates that mPus1p modifies.

Alternative Splicing↗

In vivo introduction of the interleukin 6 gene into human keratinocytes: induction of epidermal proliferation by the fully spliced form of interleukin 6, but not by the alternatively spliced form.

The achievement of keratinocyte gene therapy in clinical practice requires fundamental experiments using human keratinocytes or skin. We have recently demonstrated that the in vivo introduction of the interleukin 6 (IL-6) gene into rat keratinocytes induces epidermal proliferation and lymphocyte infiltration into the skin. In this study, we first amplified the human IL-6 cDNA from oligo-dT-primed keratinocyte cDNA and then detected the fully spliced (FS) form and the alternatively spliced (AS) form of IL-6 cDNA. Sequence analysis showed that the AS form, which was composed of the IL-6 coding region with all of exon II deleted except for the first guanine, was identical to that reported to be present in lymphocytes. We constructed the expression vectors phIL6 of the FS form and phIL6S of the AS form. We transplanted human skin onto nude rats and introduced phIL6 and phIL6S into the human keratinocytes using the naked DNA method. Keratinocytes prepared 24 h after introduction from the areas treated with them were examined by reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RT-PCR showed that the amounts of FS IL-6 mRNA and AS IL-6 mRNA were similar, whereas the ELISA showed that the amount of FS IL-6 peptide was four times that of the AS IL-6 peptide. Histological examination 48 h after introduction showed that the FS form had induced epidermal proliferation, whereas the AS form had not. The epidermal thickening without lymphocyte infiltration induce by the FS form indicates that keratinocyte proliferation is caused by a direct effect of overexpressed IL-6, and not by a secondary effect of infiltrating lymphocytes. This is the first report of the introduction of a human gene into human keratinocytes to produce a biologically active transgenic gene product in human skin using the naked DNA method.

Alternative Splicing↗

A novel autoregulatory mechanism for transcriptional activation of the IL-15 gene by a nonsecretable isoform of IL-15 generated by alternative splicing.

There are several isoforms of interleukin (IL) -15 generated by alternating splicing. We reported previously that alternative IL-15 transgenic (Tg) mice expressing an IL-15 cDNA isoform encoding nonsecretable IL-15 protein had an impaired ability to produce IL-15. In this study, we found that expression of endogenous IL-15 mRNA but not tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA was severely impaired in response to lipopolysaccharide, not only in macrophages from alternative IL-15 Tg mice but also in RAW264.7 cells that had been transfected with alternative IL-15 together with IL-15 receptor alpha (IL-15Ralpha). IL-15 promoter activity was suppressed in the transfected cells. Although nuclear factor-kappaB activation was not impaired, the binding activity of nuclear extracts to the interferon-stimulated response element of the IL-15 promoter region was reduced in RAW264.7 cells, which had been cotransfected with alternative IL-15 and IL-15Ralpha. IL-15 was mainly colocalized with IL-15Ralpha at the cytoplasmic membrane of RAW264.7 cells, which had been cotransfected with normal IL-15, whereas nonsecretable IL-15 was colocalized with IL-15Ralpha in nucleus after cotransfection with alternative IL-15 and IL-15Ralpha. These results suggest that nonsecretable IL-15 generated by alternative splicing suppresses further IL-15 gene transcription, implying a novel autocrine regulatory mechanism for cytokine gene expression by alternative splicing.

Alternative Splicing↗

Alternative splicing: multiple control mechanisms and involvement in human disease.

Alternative splicing is an important mechanism for controlling gene expression. It allows large proteomic complexity from a limited number of genes. An interplay of cis-acting sequences and trans-acting factors modulates the splicing of regulated exons. Here, we discuss the roles of the SR and hnRNP families of proteins in this process. We also focus on the role of the transcriptional machinery in the regulation of alternative splicing, and on those alterations of alternative splicing that lead to human disease.

Alternative Splicing↗

Novel development-related alternative splices in human testis identified by cDNA microarrays.

Alternative splicing of premessenger RNA is an important regulatory mechanism that increases the diversity of proteins transcribed from a single gene. This is particularly important in the testis because germ cell expansion and differentiation require many cellular changes and regulatory steps. To investigate novel development-related alternative splicings in the human testis, complementary DNA microarray studies were conducted with the use of probes from human fetal testes, adult testes, and human spermatozoa. Of a total of 386 Unigene clusters found to be related to the development of the testis, 67 clusters showed a total of 74 novel alternative spliceoforms. Developmental stage-dependent expression was also performed for a novel Unigene, NYD-SP20 (Hs.351068), which had 4 possible novel spliceoforms and another Unigene, CRISP2 (cysteine-rich secretory protein 2, Hs.2042), which had 3 possible novel spliceoforms. These results indicate that alternative splicing plays an important role in the complicated processes of testis development and spermatogenesis.

Adult↗

Detection of alternative splicing of fibronectin mRNA in a single cell.

Pre-fibronectin mRNA is subject to alternative splicing at three sites, EDA, EDB and IIICS. We analyzed the alternative splicing of fibronectin mRNA in a single cell. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses showed cells that produced a single form of mRNA at each one of these sites as well as cells that produced multiple forms at a given site: for example, some cells produced either the EDA(+) or EDA(-) form of the mRNA and other cells produced both forms. About 80% of the cells produced both (+) and (-) forms of the mRNA at the EDA and EDB sites, and the remaining cells contained either the (+) or (-) form. Five forms of fibronectin mRNA can result from alternative splicing at the IIICS site. Complex combinations of alternative splicing products were observed among the individual cells: there were ten different combinations of mRNA isoforms with respect to the IIICS site. Statistically significant changes in alternative splicing at the IIICS site were observed during cellular senescence.

Alternative Splicing↗

Modification of alternative splicing by antisense oligonucleotides as a potential chemotherapy for cancer and other diseases.

It has been estimated that greater than 35% of all human genes undergo alternative splicing. The process of alternative splicing is highly regulated and disruption of a splicing pattern can produce splice variants that have different functions. Certain splice variants that are associated with induction of cell death, regulation of cellular proliferation and differentiation, cell signaling, and angiogenesis are present in a variety of cancers. Several of these cancer-related alternatively spliced genes will be discussed in this review. In addition, alternative splicing is associated with several genetic disorders such as beta-thalassemia, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy. Control of pre-mRNA splicing patterns with antisense oligonucleotides presents an attractive way to potentially treat and manage a variety of diseases. This review will discuss potential gene targets for antisense oligonucleotide induced modification of alternative splicing patterns. Furthermore, the chemistries and delivery strategies of antisense oligonucleotides will be discussed.

Alternative Splicing↗

Molecular mechanisms governing Pcdh-gamma gene expression: evidence for a multiple promoter and cis-alternative splicing model.

The genomic architecture of protocadherin (Pcdh) gene clusters is remarkably similar to that of the immunoglobulin and T cell receptor gene clusters, and can potentially provide significant molecular diversity. Pcdh genes are abundantly expressed in the central nervous system. These molecules are primary candidates for establishing specific neuronal connectivity. Despite the extensive analyses of the genomic structure of both human and mouse Pcdh gene clusters, the definitive molecular mechanisms that control Pcdh gene expression are still unknown. Four theories have been proposed, including (1) DNA recombination followed by cis-splicing, (2) single promoter and cis-alternative splicing, (3) multiple promoters and cis-alternative splicing, and (4) multiple promoters and trans-splicing. Using a combination of molecular and genetic analyses, we evaluated the four models at the Pcdh-gamma locus. Our analysis provides evidence that the transcription of individual Pcdh-gamma genes is under the control of a distinct but related promoter upstream of each Pcdh-gamma variable exon, and posttranscriptional processing of each Pcdh-gamma transcript is predominantly mediated through cis-alternative splicing.

Alleles↗

Regulation of alternative splicing by the ATP-dependent DEAD-box RNA helicase p72.

Although a number of ATP-dependent RNA helicases are important for constitutive RNA splicing, no helicases have been implicated in alternative RNA splicing. Here, we show that the abundant DEAD-box RNA helicase p72, but not its close relative p68, affects the splicing of alternative exons containing AC-rich exon enhancer elements. The effect of p72 was tested by using mini-genes that undergo different types of alternative splicing. When the concentration of p72 was increased in transient transfections, the inclusion of enhancer-containing CD44 alternative exons v4 and v5 increased using a mini-gene that contained these exons and their flanking introns inserted into a beta-globin gene. Other types of alternative splicing were not impacted by altering p72 concentrations. Mutation of the p72 helicase ATP-binding site or deletion of the carboxy-terminal region of the protein reduced the ability of the transfected protein to affect CD44 variable exon splicing. Use of in vitro extracts overexpressing p72 indicated that p72 becomes associated with complexes containing precursor RNA. Helicases have been implicated both in altering RNA-RNA interactions and in remodeling RNA-protein complexes. CD44 exon v4 contains a potential internal secondary structure element that base pairs the 5' splice site with a region inside the exon located between enhancer elements. Mutations that destroyed this complementarity modestly increased inclusion in the absence of p72 but still responded to increasing p72 concentration like the wild-type exon, suggesting that p72 might have effects on protein-RNA interactions. In agreement with this hypothesis, p72 was not able to restore the inclusion of an exon mutated for its major enhancer element. Our results suggest that RNA helicases may be important alternative splicing regulatory factors.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Alternative splicing of the FMR1 gene in human fetal brain neurons.

The alternative splicing expression of the FMR1 gene was reported in several human and mouse tissues. Five regions of FMR1 gene can be alternatively spliced, but the combination of them has not been investigated fully. We reported here the analysis of alternative splicing pattern of the FMR1 gene in cultured fetal human neurons, using a RT-PCR and cloning strategy. Eleven splicing types were cloned and different isoforms were not equally represented. The dominant isoform represents nearly 40%, and the other isoforms were relatively rare. One isoform has a different carboxylterminus. Most of the alternative spliced regions appear hydrophilic; thus, they may locate on the surface of the FMR1 protein.

Alternative Splicing↗

Large-scale identification and characterization of alternative splicing variants of human gene transcripts using 56,419 completely sequenced and manually annotated full-length cDNAs.

We report the first genome-wide identification and characterization of alternative splicing in human gene transcripts based on analysis of the full-length cDNAs. Applying both manual and computational analyses for 56,419 completely sequenced and precisely annotated full-length cDNAs selected for the H-Invitational human transcriptome annotation meetings, we identified 6877 alternative splicing genes with 18 297 different alternative splicing variants. A total of 37,670 exons were involved in these alternative splicing events. The encoded protein sequences were affected in 6005 of the 6877 genes. Notably, alternative splicing affected protein motifs in 3015 genes, subcellular localizations in 2982 genes and transmembrane domains in 1348 genes. We also identified interesting patterns of alternative splicing, in which two distinct genes seemed to be bridged, nested or having overlapping protein coding sequences (CDSs) of different reading frames (multiple CDS). In these cases, completely unrelated proteins are encoded by a single locus. Genome-wide annotations of alternative splicing, relying on full-length cDNAs, should lay firm groundwork for exploring in detail the diversification of protein function, which is mediated by the fast expanding universe of alternative splicing variants.

Alternative Splicing↗

Alternative splicing microarrays reveal functional expression of neuron-specific regulators in Hodgkin lymphoma cells.

Alternative splicing provides a versatile mechanism of gene regulation, which is often subverted in disease. We have used customized oligonucleotide microarrays to interrogate simultaneously the levels of expression of splicing factors and the patterns of alternative splicing of genes involved in tumor progression. Analysis of RNAs isolated from cell lines derived from Hodgkin lymphoma tumors indicate that the relative abundance of alternatively spliced isoforms correlates with transformation and tumor grade. Changes in expression of regulators were also detected, and a subset sample was confirmed at the protein level. Ectopic expression of neuron-specific splicing regulatory proteins of the Nova family was observed in some cell lines and tumor samples, correlating with expression of a neuron-specific mRNA isoform of JNK2 kinase. This microarray design can help assess the role of alternative splicing in a variety of biological and medical problems and potentially serve as a diagnostic tool.

Alternative Splicing↗

Alternative splicing of rat tropoelastin mRNA is tissue-specific and developmentally regulated.

Sequence analysis of cDNA clones coding for rat tropoelastin previously has identified two variants that potentially corresponded to alternatively spliced tropoelastin mRNAs (Pierce et al., 1990). We have now used S1 nuclease protection analysis of total RNA from aorta, skin and lungs of 10-day and 6-week old rats to localize all sites of alternative splicing in the tropoelastin mRNA and to examine tissue-specific and developmental regulation of the use of these sites. This analysis revealed multiple sites of alternative splicing involving rat tropoelastin coding sequences corresponding to exons 12 through 15 of the bovine tropoelastin gene and a single site of alternative splicing at sequences corresponding to exon 33. Messenger RNAs from all three tissues at both developmental stages were alternatively spliced at the same sites; there was no evidence for the use of an alternative splice site unique to a particular tissue or developmental stage. However, both tissue-specific and developmentally regulated differences were apparent in the proportion of rat tropoelastin mRNA alternatively spliced at exon 33. Tropoelastin mRNA from the aorta and lungs of neonatal rats was alternatively spliced at exon 33 ten time more frequently than tropoelastin mRNA from skin. Between 10 days and 6 weeks of development, the use of this site of alternative splicing decreased by twenty-fold in RNA from skin, ten-fold in RNA from lungs and two-fold in RNA from aorta. In contrast, alternative splicing at exons 12 through 15 occurred in a small percentage of the mRNA and use of these sites exhibited minimal tissue-specific differences or developmental regulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors↗

Alternate splice sites within the human VH gene coding sequences lead to truncated Ig mu-chains.

The Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines JBL2 and Ly91 contain intracytoplasmic mu chains without L chain by immunofluorescence. These mu chains and the corresponding cDNA are abnormally short. Detailed analysis of the productive H chain alleles showed that the cell lines JBL2 and Ly91 use a VHIV and a VHIII subgroup gene, respectively. In both cell lines, the 3' part of the V exon was markedly abnormal and contained several stop codons. Point mutations affected the JH6 donor splice site in the JBL2 gene, precluding normal splicing into C mu. Although the JH2 splice site was unmodified in Ly91, it was not used. As in JBL2, splicing occurred at an alternate splice site present 5' of these alterations, thus removing all these abnormalities from the mature transcripts. This alternate splicing explains the presence in both cell lines of truncated mRNA and proteins lacking two-thirds of the V region.

Base Sequence↗

Alternative splicing of human and mouse NPFF2 receptor genes: Implications to receptor expression.

Alternative splicing has an important role in the tissue-specific regulation of gene expression. Here we report that similar to the human NPFF2 receptor, the mouse NPFF2 receptor is alternatively spliced. In human the presence of three alternatively spliced receptor variants were verified, whereas two NPFF2 receptor variants were identified in mouse. The alternative splicing affected the 5' untranslated region of the mouse receptor and the variants in mouse were differently distributed. The mouse NPFF system may also have species-specific features since the NPFF2 receptor mRNA expression differs from that reported for rat.

Alternative Splicing↗