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Variation in alternative splicing across human tissues.

BACKGROUND: Alternative pre-mRNA splicing (AS) is widely used by higher eukaryotes to generate different protein isoforms in specific cell or tissue types. To compare AS events across human tissues, we analyzed the splicing patterns of genomically aligned expressed sequence tags (ESTs) derived from libraries of cDNAs from different tissues. RESULTS: Controlling for differences in EST coverage among tissues, we found that the brain and testis had the highest levels of exon skipping. The most pronounced differences between tissues were seen for the frequencies of alternative 3' splice site and alternative 5' splice site usage, which were about 50 to 100% higher in the liver than in any other human tissue studied. Quantifying differences in splice junction usage, the brain, pancreas, liver and the peripheral nervous system had the most distinctive patterns of AS. Analysis of available microarray expression data showed that the liver had the most divergent pattern of expression of serine-arginine protein and heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein genes compared to the other human tissues studied, possibly contributing to the unusually high frequency of alternative splice site usage seen in liver. Sequence motifs enriched in alternative exons in genes expressed in the brain, testis and liver suggest specific splicing factors that may be important in AS regulation in these tissues. CONCLUSIONS: This study distinguishes the human brain, testis and liver as having unusually high levels of AS, highlights differences in the types of AS occurring commonly in different tissues, and identifies candidate cis-regulatory elements and trans-acting factors likely to have important roles in tissue-specific AS in human cells.

Alternative Splicing↗

Functional differences in ionic regulation between alternatively spliced isoforms of the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger from Drosophila melanogaster.

Ion transport and regulation were studied in two, alternatively spliced isoforms of the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger from Drosophila melanogaster. These exchangers, designated CALX1.1 and CALX1.2, differ by five amino acids in a region where alternative splicing also occurs in the mammalian Na+-Ca2+ exchanger, NCX1. The CALX isoforms were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and characterized electrophysiologically using the giant, excised patch clamp technique. Outward Na+-Ca2+ exchange currents, where pipette Ca2+o exchanges for bath Na+i, were examined in all cases. Although the isoforms exhibited similar transport properties with respect to their Na+i affinities and current-voltage relationships, significant differences were observed in their Na+i- and Ca2+i-dependent regulatory properties. Both isoforms underwent Na+i-dependent inactivation, apparent as a time-dependent decrease in outward exchange current upon Na+i application. We observed a two- to threefold difference in recovery rates from this inactive state and the extent of Na+i-dependent inactivation was approximately twofold greater for CALX1.2 as compared with CALX1.1. Both isoforms showed regulation of Na+-Ca2+ exchange activity by Ca2+i, but their responses to regulatory Ca2+i differed markedly. For both isoforms, the application of cytoplasmic Ca2+i led to a decrease in outward exchange currents. This negative regulation by Ca2+i is unique to Na+-Ca2+ exchangers from Drosophila, and contrasts to the positive regulation produced by cytoplasmic Ca2+ for all other characterized Na+-Ca2+ exchangers. For CALX1.1, Ca2+i inhibited peak and steady state currents almost equally, with the extent of inhibition being approximately 80%. In comparison, the effects of regulatory Ca2+i occurred with much higher affinity for CALX1.2, but the extent of these effects was greatly reduced ( approximately 20-40% inhibition). For both exchangers, the effects of regulatory Ca2+i occurred by a direct mechanism and indirectly through effects on Na+i-induced inactivation. Our results show that regulatory Ca2+i decreases Na+i-induced inactivation of CALX1.2, whereas it stabilizes the Na+i-induced inactive state of CALX1.1. These effects of Ca2+i produce striking differences in regulation between CALX isoforms. Our findings indicate that alternative splicing may play a significant role in tailoring the regulatory profile of CALX isoforms and, possibly, other Na+-Ca2+ exchange proteins.

Alternative Splicing↗

An alternatively spliced form of NQO1 (DT-diaphorase) messenger RNA lacking the putative quinone substrate binding site is present in human normal and tumor tissues.

DT-diaphorase is a ubiquitously expressed flavoenzyme responsible for the two-electron reduction of a number of quinone and other anticancer drugs. The majority of DT-diaphorase enzyme activity in human tissues is the product of the NQO1 gene. We have now identified a novel alternatively spliced form of human NQO1 mRNA lacking exon 4 at levels equal to or exceeding those of wild-type NQO1 mRNA. Exon 4 codes for the putative quinone substrate binding site of DT-diaphorase derived from NQO1 and the recombinant protein from alternatively spliced NQO1 mRNA lacking exon 4 has minimal enzyme activity with quinoid and other known substrates of DT-diaphorase. The physiological substrate of DT-diaphorase is unknown, and it is possible that the protein derived from the alternatively spliced NQO1 mRNA could have enzyme activity with an appropriate substrate. We found full-length DT-diaphorase protein but could not detect expression of an appropriately smaller form of DT-diaphorase in human tissues using polyclonal antibody to DT-diaphorase, suggesting that alternatively spliced NQO1 mRNA lacking exon 4 may not be translated or that the protein product is rapidly degraded. Alternative splicing of NQO1 RNA could provide an important mechanism for regulating NQO1 gene expression.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Alternative splicing caused by RNA secondary structure.

mRNA precursors with stable hairpins were constructed by inserting inverted repeats into an adenovirus transcriptional template that encoded the three late leader exons. When the loop of the hairpin contained the second exon and the flanking splice sites, most of the RNA spliced in vitro had the first exon joined directly to the third exon. The remainder was spliced normally. The same types of alternatively spliced RNAs were formed when a similar template was introduced into HeLa cells by transfection. Thus both in extracts and in cells, an exon became optional when sequestered in a hairpin loop. Perhaps a related mechanism creates the alternative splicing patterns of complex transcription units.

Adenoviruses, Human↗

A novel form of prostate-specific antigen transcript produced by alternative splicing.

Molecular characterization of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has not been well elucidated, despite a great deal of clinical study. We examined the heterogeneity of PSA using reverse transcription-PCR and direct sequencing. A novel, alternatively spliced variant of the PSA transcript was found in prostate cancer (PC), as well as in benign prostatic tissue. This alternative splicing leads to the deletion of 44 amino acid residues (amino acids 45-88) from mature PSA, resulting in the loss of asparagine 45, which is a binding site for a carbohydrate chain. By these nested reverse transcription-PCR systems, this novel, alternatively spliced PSA gene was recognized in 13 of 18 (72.2%) cases with noncancerous prostate tissue, 4 of 5 (80.0%) PC cases, and 3 of 12 (25.0%) blood samples from PC patients (noncancerous prostate tissue group versus blood sample group, P = 0.011). At present, the biological significance of this alternative splicing remains to be established.

Alternative Splicing↗

Lack of telomerase activity in lung carcinoids is dependent on human telomerase reverse transcriptase transcription and alternative splicing and is associated with long telomeres.

PURPOSE: Preliminary evidence indicates that telomerase activity is significantly less expressed in typical carcinoids than in large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas or in small cell lung cancers. Knowledge of the mechanisms by which telomerase is differentially regulated in neuroendocrine lung tumors is important for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of these malignancies. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We investigated telomerase activity in 86 neuroendocrine lung tumors and correlated the enzyme activity with the expression of the enzyme subunits [human RNA component (hTR), human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), and alternatively spliced hTERT variants], with the telomere-associated protein human protection of telomere-1, and with the telomere length pattern. RESULTS: A significantly (P = 0.0001) lower frequency of telomerase-positive cases was found in typical carcinoids (14%) than in large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (87%) and small cell lung cancers (92%). hTR was constitutively expressed in all carcinoids. Telomerase-negative carcinoids were characterized by the absence of any hTERT transcript, only displayed the beta(-) alternatively spliced variant, or concomitantly expressed the alpha(+)beta(+) full-length message with different combinations of alternatively spliced variants. However, in these tumors, a more abundant level of alternatively spliced transcripts than that of the alpha(+)beta(+) full-length transcript was generally found. No significant difference was observed in human protection of telomere-1 expression between telomerase-negative and telomerase-positive carcinoids. Telomeres were significantly (P < 0.05) longer in telomerase-negative carcinoids than in telomerase-positive carcinoids (median value, 9.15 versus 4.47 kb). However, alternative lengthening of telomeres, as shown by associated promyelocytic leukemia bodies, was not observed in these tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that telomerase is repressed in most lung carcinoids and that hTERT transcription and alternative splicing play a role in such a negative regulation. Moreover, the absence of any telomerase maintenance mechanism may contribute to the favorable prognosis of this malignancy.

Alternative Splicing↗

The molecular basis for alternative splicing of the CABP1 transcripts in Dictyostelium discoideum.

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the CABP1 gene from Dictyostelium discoideum. Together with previous data on cDNA sequences, we establish that alternative splicing of transcripts derived from this gene is responsible for the production of the two CABP1 subunits. RNA blot analysis suggested that alternative splicing of the CABP1 transcripts occurs during growth and throughout development. In addition, we have compiled the intron sequences of Dictyostelium pre-mRNAs and observed that the GUAAGU hexanucleotide at the 5' splice site is highly conserved. The 5' splice site of CABP1 deviates from the consensus hexanucleotide in having a sequence of GUAAUA. To assess the role of the modified 5' splice on differential splicing, we have constructed an actin-CABP1 fusion gene and transformed it into Dictyostelium cells. Analysis by immunoprecipitation, with anti-CABP1 antibody and amplification of specific cDNAs by polymerase chain reaction show that the transcripts generated by the fusion gene are alternatively spliced. When the 5' splice site of the fusion gene is mutated to conform to the consensus sequence, the resulting transcripts are constitutively spliced. These observations suggest that changes in positions 5 and 6 of the donor splice site are involved in the alternative splicing of the CABP1 transcripts.

Actins↗

An alternate splicing variant of the human telomerase catalytic subunit inhibits telomerase activity.

Telomerase, a cellular reverse transcriptase, adds telomeric repeats to chromosome ends. In normal human somatic cells, telomerase is repressed and telomeres progressively shorten, leading to proliferative senescence. Introduction of the telomerase (hTERT) cDNA is sufficient to produce telomerase activity and immortalize normal human cells, suggesting that the repression of telomerase activity is transcriptional. The telomerase transcript has been shown to have at least six alternate splicing sites (four insertion sites and two deletion sites), and variants containing both or either of the deletion sites are present during development and in a panel of cancer cell lines we surveyed. One deletion (beta site) and all four insertions cause premature translation terminations, whereas the other deletion (alpha site) is 36 bp and lies within reverse transcriptase (RT) motif A, suggesting that this deletion variant may be a candidate as a dominant-negative inhibitor of telomerase. We have cloned three alternately spliced hTERT variants that contain the alpha, beta or both alpha and beta deletion sites. These alternate splicing variants along with empty vector and wild-type hTERT were introduced into normal human fibroblasts and several telomerase-positive immortal and tumor cell lines. Expression of the alpha site deletion variant (hTERT alpha-) construct was confirmed by Western blotting. We found that none of the three alternate splicing variants reconstitutes telomerase activity in fibroblasts. However, hTERT alpha- inhibits telomerase activities in telomerase-positive cells, causes telomere shortening and eventually cell death. This alternately spliced dominant-negative variant may be important in understanding telomerase regulation during development, differentiation and in cancer progression.

Alternative Splicing↗

Equine infectious anemia virus trans-regulatory protein Rev controls viral mRNA stability, accumulation, and alternative splicing.

The cis- and trans-acting components of the Rev regulatory pathway employed by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) to regulate and coordinate viral gene expression were examined in complementation experiments. Viral protein expression and mRNA expression were compared in cells transiently transfected with wild-type or mutant proviruses in combination with Rev expression plasmids. Mutation of the predicted rev gene abolished Gag protein synthesis, and this defect was complemented, in trans, by Rev. Analysis of viral mRNAs from transfected cells confirmed that EIAV expresses five major mRNAs: the full-length and singly spliced mRNAs contain introns and encode viral structural proteins while the three fully spliced mRNAs, encoding nonstructural genes, are generated by alternative splicing. Compared to cells transfected with the wild-type provirus, the intron-containing mRNAs produced from the rev-minus mutant were present at reduced levels in the nuclear RNA fraction and were not detected in the cytoplasm. This pattern of viral mRNA synthesis was restored to the wild-type pattern by providing Rev in trans. In contrast to the intron-containing mRNAs, cytoplasmic accumulation of the multiply spliced class of mRNAs was independent of Rev. Closer examination of the multiply spliced class of viral mRNAs by reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis revealed a Rev-dependent alternative splicing phenomenon. In the absence of Rev, proviruses expressed a four-exon mRNA at high levels; the addition of Rev caused both a decrease in the levels of the four-exon mRNA and the appearance of a related mRNA lacking exon 3. The cis-acting RNA elements that mediate Rev responsiveness were studied with deleted proviruses, which revealed that EIAV contains at least two elements located near the ends of envelope gene. Unlike the Rev-responsive elements in other retroviruses, the cis-acting regions of EIAV do not appear to form complex secondary structures.

Alternative Splicing↗

Temperature-modulated alternative splicing and promoter use in the Circadian clock gene frequency.

The expression of FREQUENCY, a central component of the circadian clock in Neurospora crassa, shows daily cycles that are exquisitely sensitive to the environment. Two forms of FRQ that differ in length by 99 amino acids, LFRQ and SFRQ, are synthesized from alternative initiation codons and the change in their ratio as a function of temperature contributes to robust rhythmicity across a range of temperatures. We have found frq expression to be surprisingly complex, despite our earlier prediction of a simple transcription unit based on limited cDNA sequencing. Two distinct environmentally regulated major promoters drive primary transcripts whose environmentally influenced alternative splicing gives rise to six different major mRNA species as well as minor forms. Temperature-sensitive alternative splicing determines AUG choice and, as a consequence, the ratio of LFRQ to SFRQ. Four of the six upstream ORFs are spliced out of the vast majority of frq mRNA species. Alternative splice site choice in the 5' UTR and relative use of two major promoters are also influenced by temperature, and the two promoters are differentially regulated by light. Evolutionary comparisons with the Sordariaceae reveal conservation of 5' UTR sequences, as well as significant conservation of the alternative splicing events, supporting their relevance to proper regulation of clock function.

Alternative Splicing↗

Identification of alternative splicing and negative splicing activity of a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus, Borna disease virus.

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus that belongs to the Mononegavirales. Unlike other animal viruses of this order, BDV replicates and transcribes in the nucleus of infected cells. Previous studies have shown that BDV uses RNA splicing machinery for its mRNA expression. In the present study, we identified spliced RNAs that use an alternative 3' splice site, SA3, in BDV-infected cell lines as well as infected animal brain cells. Transient transfection analysis of cDNA clones of BDV RNA revealed that although SA3 is a favorable splice site in mammalian cells, utilization of SA3 is negatively regulated in infected cells. This negative splicing activity of the SA3 site is regulated by a putative cis-acting region, the exon splicing suppressor (ESS), within the polymerase exon of BDV. The BDV ESS contains similar motifs to other known ESSs present in viral and cellular genes. Furthermore, our results indicated that a functional polyadenylation signal just upstream of the BDV ESS is also involved in the regulation of alternative splicing of BDV. These observations represent the first documentation of complex RNA splicing in animal RNA viruses and also provide new insight into the mechanism of regulation of alternative splicing in animal viruses.

Alternative Splicing↗

Cloning and characterization of alternatively spliced isoforms of Dp71.

Dp71, a C-terminal isoform of dystrophin, has been identified as the major DMD gene product in many nonmuscle tissues. In this report, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to clone and characterize four alternatively spliced Dp71 transcripts from cultured human amniocytes. The cDNAs encoding these Dp71 transcripts were shown to be alternatively spliced for exons 71 and/or 78. RT-PCR analysis also revealed that Dp71 transcripts alternatively spliced for exons 71 and/or 78 were expressed at varying levels in a number of adult human tissues, including muscle, heart, brain, kidney, lung, testis and liver. To investigate size heterogeneity at the translational level, Dp71 cDNAs isolated from amniocytes were expressed in E.coli to generate recombinant Dp71 fusion proteins. These fusion proteins were identified on immunoblots using antibodies specific for the C-terminal sequences of dystrophin that either included (antibody 1461) or excluded exon 78 (antibody 462B). The molecular masses of the Dp71 fusion proteins ranged from 71-75 kDa on SDS-PAGE, consistent with their predicted values. Immunoblot analysis using antibodies 1461 and 462B identified multiple Dp71 isoforms of approximately 70-75 kDa on SDS-PAGE in total protein lysates from amniocytes and various adult human tissues. This variation in molecular mass is consistent with the expression of Dp71 isoforms derived from transcripts alternatively spliced for exons 71 and/or 78. Total protein lysates from normal skeletal muscle, DMD muscle, amniocytes and brain were shown to contain beta-dystroglycan, a component of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex (DGC).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Modification of alternative splicing pathways as a potential approach to chemotherapy.

Many cancer-associated genes are alternatively spliced; their expression leads to the production of multiple splice variants. Although the functions of most of these variants are not well-defined, some have antagonistic activities related to regulated cell death mechanisms. In a number of cancers and cancer cell lines, the ratio of the splice variants is frequently shifted so that the anti-apoptotic splice variant predominates. This observation suggests that modification of splicing, which restores the proper ratio of alternatively spliced gene products, may reverse the malignant phenotype of the cells and offer a gene-specific form of anticancer chemotherapy. Our laboratory has extensively investigated the use of antisense oligonucleotides for shifting the splicing patterns of several genes. Potential application of this method for treatment of cancers, as well as of certain genetic disorders, is discussed.

Alternative Splicing↗

Conservation of human alternative splice events in mouse.

Human and mouse genomes share similar long-range sequence organization, and have most of their genes being homologous. As alternative splicing is a frequent and important aspect of gene regulation, it is of interest to assess the level of conservation of alternative splicing. We examined mouse transcript data sets (EST and mRNA) for the presence of transcripts that both make spliced-alignment with the draft mouse genome sequence and demonstrate conservation of human transcript-confirmed alternative and constitutive splice junctions. This revealed 15% of alternative and 67% of constitutive splice junctions as conserved; however, these numbers are patently dependent on the extent of transcript coverage. Transcript coverage of conserved splice patterns is found to correlate well between human and mouse. A model, which extrapolates from observed levels of conservation at increasing levels of transcript support, estimates overall conservation of 61% of alternative and 74% of constitutive splice junctions, albeit with broad confidence intervals. Observed numbers of conserved alternative splicing events agreed with those expected on the basis of the model. Thus, it is apparent that many, and probably most, alternative splicing events are conserved between human and mouse. This, combined with the preservation of alternative frame stop codons in conserved frame breaking events, indicates a high level of commonality in patterns of gene expression between these two species.

Alternative Splicing↗

[Alternative splicing of the FMR1 gene in human fetal tissues].

OBJECTIVE: To gain more insight into biological role of the alternative splicing of the FMR1 gene, isoforms of the FMR1 mRNA from human fetal heart, spleen, liver and kidney were analyzed. METHODS: RNAs were isolated from the tissues of an abortion fetus (approximately 6 months postconception). Alternative splicing patterns of the FMR1 mRNA were analyzed by RT-PCR and cloning strategy. RESULTS: One isoform of the FMR1 mRNA was found to be dominant in all of the four tissues. The major isoform was as same as the dominant one in the fetal cortex but was different from the major isoform in adult brain. The difference between the major isoforms in the fetal tissues and adult brain was the splicing out or retaining the peptide encoded by exon 12 and exon 17. CONCLUSION: This result suggested a developmental switch of alternative splicing of the FMR1 gene. The difference between the major isoforms in the fetal tissues and adult brain suggested the two peptides may have special roles in related developmental stages.

Alternative Splicing↗

Smooth muscle alternative splicing induced in fibroblasts by heterologous expression of a regulatory gene.

Alternative splicing is a common mechanism for regulating gene expression in different cell types. In order to understand this important process, the trans-acting factors that enforce the choice of particular splicing pathways in different environments must be identified. We have used the rat alpha-tropomyosin gene as a model system of tissue-specific alternative splicing. Exon 3 of alpha-tropomyosin is specifically inhibited in smooth muscle cells allowing the alternative inclusion of exon 2. We have used a novel gene transfer and selection strategy to detect a gene whose expression in fibroblasts is sufficient to switch them to smooth muscle-specific splicing of alpha-tropomyosin and also alpha-actinin. Extracts from the regulating fibroblasts contain an apparently novel 55 kDa protein which binds to RNA elements required for regulation of tropomyosin splicing. This protein is not detected in extracts of non-regulating cells and is therefore a strong candidate cell-specific splicing regulator. These experiments advance our understanding of smooth muscle splicing regulation as well as establishing a means for direct cloning of tissue-specific splicing regulators which have so far been refractory to biochemical analysis.

Actinin↗

Alternative splicing as a novel of means of regulating the expression of therapeutic genes.

In order to determine the potential of alternative splicing as a means of targeting the expression of therapeutic genes to tumor cells in vivo, a series of episomal plasmid-based "splice-activated gene expression" (pSAGE) vectors was generated, which contain minigene cassettes composed of various combinations of the three alternatively spliced exons present in the differentially expressed adhesion protein CD44R1 (v8, v9, and v10) with or without their corresponding intronic sequences, positioned in-frame between the CD44 leader sequence and a "leaderless" human liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase (ALP) cDNA. Because both the v8-v9 and v9-v10 introns contain multiple in-frame stop codons, the expression and enzymatic activity of ALP are dependent upon the accurate removal of intronic sequences from the pre-mRNA transcripts encoded by these constructs. The various pSAGE constructs were introduced into CD44H-positive (T24) and CD44R1-positive (PC3) target cells by electroporation and transfectants selected in hygromycin B. ALP expression was determined by staining with the ALP substrate, BCIP/INT, and the transfected cells tested for their sensitivity to the inactive prodrug, etoposide phosphate. ALP-mediated dephosphorylation of etoposide phosphate generates the potent topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide. The data obtained indicate that whereas the v8-v9 intron is spliced in both CD44H- and CD44R1-positive cells, the v9-v10 intron is efficiently and accurately removed only in CD44R1-positive cells. Furthermore, only CD44R1-positive cells were sensitized to etoposide phosphate when transfected with the v9-v10.ALP construct. These data emphasize the potential usefulness of alternative splicing as a novel means of targeting gene expression to tumor cells in vivo.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

RNA interference knockdown of hU2AF35 impairs cell cycle progression and modulates alternative splicing of Cdc25 transcripts.

U2AF is a heterodimeric splicing factor composed of a large (U2AF65) and a small (U2AF35) subunit. In humans, alternative splicing generates two U2AF35 variants, U2AF35a and U2AF35b. Here, we used RNA interference to specifically ablate the expression of each isoform in HeLa cells. Our results show that knockdown of the major U2AF35a isoform reduced cell viability and impaired mitotic progression, leading to accumulation of cells in prometaphase. Microarray analysis revealed that knockdown of U2AF35a affected the expression level of approximately 500 mRNAs, from which >90% were underrepresented relative to the control. Among mRNAs underrepresented in U2AF35a-depleted cells we identified an essential cell cycle gene, Cdc27, for which there was an increase in the ratio between unspliced and spliced RNA and a significant reduction in protein level. Furthermore, we show that depletion of either U2AF35a or U2AF35b altered the ratios of alternatively spliced isoforms of Cdc25B and Cdc25C transcripts. Taken together our results demonstrate that U2AF35a is essential for HeLa cell division and suggest a novel role for both U2AF35 protein isoforms as regulators of alternative splicing of a specific subset of genes.

Alternative Splicing↗