Axon guidance genes are regulated by TDP-43 and RGNEF through long-intron removal.

Autor: Abbassi Y; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Cappelli S; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Spagnolo E; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Gennari A; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Visani G; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Barattucci S; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Paron F; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Stuani C; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy., Droppelmann CA; Molecular Medicine Group, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada., Strong MJ; Molecular Medicine Group, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada., Buratti E; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology [FASEB J] 2024 Oct 15; Vol. 38 (19), pp. e70081.
DOI: 10.1096/fj.202400743RR
Abstrakt: Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (RGNEF) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) mainly involved in regulating the activity of Rho-family GTPases. It is a bi-functional protein, acting both as a guanine exchange factor and as an RNA-binding protein. RGNEF is known to act as a destabilizing factor of neurofilament light chain RNA (NEFL) and it could potentially contribute to their sequestration in nuclear cytoplasmic inclusions. Most importantly, RGNEF inclusions in the spinal motor neurons of ALS patients have been shown to co-localize with inclusions of TDP-43, the major well-known RNA-binding protein aggregating in the brain and spinal cord of human patients. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that loss-of-function of both proteins following aggregation may contribute to motor neuron death/survival in ALS patients. To further characterize their relationship, we have compared the transcriptomic profiles of neuronal cells depleted of TDP-43 and RGNEF and show that these two factors predominantly act in an antagonistic manner when regulating the expression of axon guidance genes. From a mechanistic point of view, our experiments show that the effect of these genes on the processivity of long introns can explain their mode of action. Taken together, our results show that loss-of-function of factors co-aggregating with TDP-43 can potentially affect the expression of commonly regulated neuronal genes in a very significant manner, potentially acting as disease modifiers. This finding further highlights that neurodegenerative processes at the RNA level are the result of combinatorial interactions between different RNA-binding factors that can be co-aggregated in neuronal cells. A deeper understanding of these complex scenarios may lead to a better understanding of pathogenic mechanisms occurring in patients, where more than one specific protein may be aggregating in their neurons.
(© 2024 The Author(s). The FASEB Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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