microRNAs Small Non-coding RNAs with Big Impact in Biology
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Transcript of microRNAs Small Non-coding RNAs with Big Impact in Biology
microRNAs
Small Non-coding RNAs with Big Impact in Biology
Hua-Chien Chen Ph.D
Lecture Content
• Non-coding RNAs and discovery of microRNAs
• microRNA biogenesis– Tanscription of miRNA primary transcripts– microRNA processing and maturation– microRNA action
• microRNA and target interaction
• microRNA function– Normal physiological function– miRNA and human diseases
The genetic basis of developmental complexity
• Humans (and other vertebrates) have approximately the same number of protein-coding genes (~20,000) as C. elegans, and less than those of plants (Arabidopsis ~28,000, rice ~40,000) and protozoa (30,000).
• Most of the proteins are orthologous and have similar functions from nematodes to humans, and many are common with yeast.
• Where is the information that programs our complexity?
Genome: 15Mb
Genes: 6,000
Cell: 1
Genome: 100Mb
Genes: 18,500
Cell: 1,100
Genome: 3,200Mb
Genes: 25,000
Cell: 1X1012
Yeast Warm Human
The proportion of noncoding DNA broadly increases with developmental complexity
Nature Rev. Genetics (2004) 5: 316-323
RNA
mRNAProtein-coding RNA
ncRNA: non-coding RNAsTranscribed RNA with a structural,
functional or catalytic role
rRNARibosomal RNAParticipate in
protein synthesis
tRNATransfer RNA
Interface betweenmRNA &
amino acids
snRNASmall nuclear
RNA RNA that form
part of the spliceosome
snoRNASmall nucleolar
RNA Found in nucleolus,
involved in modification
of rRNA
RNAiRNA interferenceSmall non-coding
RNA involvedin regulation
of gene expression
OtherIncluding large RNA
with roles in chromotin structure
and imprinting
siRNASmall interfering RNAActive molecules in
RNA interference
miRNAMicroRNA
Small RNA involvedin regulation
of protein-coding gene
Type of RNA molecules
Modified from Dr Morten Lindow slide
C. elegans lin-4 : first identified microRNA
V. Ambros lab
lin-4 RNA
lin-4 precursor
lin-4 RNA
“Translational repression”
target mRNA
• lin-4 encodes two small RNA molecules, a more abundant 22 nt that are processed from a rare 61 nt pre-lin-4 . These hairpin precursor is a characteristic feature of the miRNA class of regulatory RNAs.
• One of lin-4’s target genes, lin-14, encodes a novel nuclear protein and is a putative transcription factor. The lin-4 microRNA regulates lin-14 through specific sequences in the 3’ UTR of the lin-14 mRNA
• Upon lin-4 expression, lin-14 protein levels are reduced. Although transcription from the lin-14 gene still occurs, it is of no consequence. (Posttranscriptional control).
lin-4 and let-7 are funding members of microRNA
• Seven years later, let-7 (another non-coding gene) was shown to regulate development in worms
• A homolog of let-7 was identified in humans and Drosophila• Lin-4 and let-7 became founding members of a group of
endogenous small RNA molecules with regulatory functions
Lin-4: regulates heterochronic development at L1 to L2 stageLet-7: regulates heterochronic development at L4 to adult stage
Nature (2000) 403: 901-906
Let-7 sequence and gene regulation
Nature (2000) 403: 901-906
microRNAs at a glance
• Small, single-stranded forms of RNA (~22 nucleotides in length)
• generated from endogenous hairpin-shaped transcripts encoded in the genomes
• Negatively regulate protein-coding genes through translational repression or targeting mRNA for degradation
• More than 500 microRNAs encoded in human genenome constitute a largest gene family
• It has been estimate that more than 30% of protein-coding genes can be regulated by microRNAs
microRNA precursor
More than 5,000 miRNAs in public databases
• Homo sapiens (706) • Mus musculus (547)• Rattus norvegicus (286)• Drosophila melanogaster (152)• Caenorhabditis elegans (155)• Arabidopsis thaliana (187)• Epstein Barr virus (25)• Human cytomegalovirus (11)• Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (13)• Simian virus 40 (1)
From miRBase Release 13.0 (Mar 2008)
Gene regulation by transcription factors and microRNAs
Transcription factors microRNAs
microRNA Biogenesis
microRNA biogenesis
Nature Rev. Immunology (2008) 8: 120-130
Transcription
Processing
Maturation
Execution
Majority of miRNAs are transcribed by RNA polymerase II• Intronic miRNAs
– Located in the intron region of protein coding or non-coding transcripts
– Transcribed by RNA polymerase II• Extronic miRNAs
– Located in the exon region of protein-coding or non-coding transcripts
– Transcribed by RNA polymerase II• Intergenin miRNAs
– Located in the intergenic region of chromosome– Transcribed by RNA polymerase II or polymerase III
Genomic location of microRNAs
Pri-miRNAs are processed by Drosha RNase III enzyme
• Processes pri-miRNA into pre-miRNA– Leaves 2 bp 3’ overhangs on pre-
miRNA• Nuclear RNAse-III enzyme [Lee at
al., 2003]– Tandem RNAse-III domains
• How does it identify pri-miRNA?– Hairpin terminal loop size– Stem structure– Hairpin flanking sequences
• Not yet found in plants– Maybe Dicer does its job?
1,374 aa
Pro-rich RS-rich RIIIDa RIIIDb dsRBD
Multiple mechanisms for miRNA processinga) The microprocessor complex
Drosha–DGCR8 cleaves the pri-miRNA, releasing the pre-miRNA
b) Some miRNAs require additional specificity factors (for example p68 and p72) for efficient cleavage
c) Interaction of pri-miR-18a with hnRNP A1 facilitates cleavage of this specific miRNA by Drosha
d) TGF-β signalling induces SMAD binding to the miR-21 precursor and enhances its efficient processing by Drosha.
e) Splicing can replace Drosha processing if the released and debranched intron (mirtron) has the length and hairpin structure of a pre-miRNA.
Ran/Expotin 5 system for pre-miRNA export
RanGAPRan GDP
Cytoplasm
Nucleoplasm
Export cargo
Exportin
Ran GTP
NES
Export cargo
Exportin
Ran GTP
NES
Export cargo
Exportin
Ran GTP
NES
PI
Export cargo
Exportin
NES
Ran-GTP: predominantly in the nucleoplasmRan-GDP: predominantly in the cytoplasm
Exportin-5: transport pre-miRNA
• Cleaves dsRNA or pre-miRNA– Leaves 3’ overhangs and 5’ phosphat
e groups• Cytoplasmic RNAse-III enzyme• Functional domains in Dicer
– Putative helicase– PAZ domain– Tandem RNAse-III domains– dsRNA binding domain
• Multiple Dicer genes in Drosophila and plants – Functional specificity?
DEAD Helicase RIIIDa RIIIDb dsRBDPAZ
1,922 aa
Mature miRNAs are generated by Dicer
Working hypothesis of Dicer
• First contact of dsRNA– 2 nt overhang on the 3’ end of dsRNA
• Binds to the PAZ binding domain at an oligonucleotide (OB) fold
• Second contact at Platform Domain– Anti-parallel-beta sheet– Positive charged residues
• Residues interact with negative charge of RNA backbone
• A connector helix forms 65 Angstrom (24nt) distance between the PAZ holding and the RNase III cleaving domains – “ruler”
• Third contact at the 2 RNase III domains– 2 Mn cation binding sites per RNase domain– RNase III domains positioned via bridging domain– Bind to scissile phosphates of dsRNA backbone
• A cluster of Acidic residues near the Mn cation binding sites in the RNase III domains is responsible for the hydrolytic cleavage of dsRNA
• The small guide RNA is then released and incorporated into the RISC complex by the PAZ-like Argonaut protein
Mechanisms of miRNA-mediated gene silencingAGO2-mediated RNA degradation
From base pairing to gene silencing
Plant miRNA Animal miRNA
Current model for miRNA-mediated translational repression
Majority of miRNAs are binding to the 3’UTR of mRNA genes
3’UTR: regulates mRNA stability and translational efficacy
Prediction of miRNA targets
Target Prediction by TargetScan• Seed region : TargetScan defines a
seed as positions 2-7 of a mature miRNA.
• miRNA family : A miRNA family is comprised of miRNAs with the same seed region (positions 2-8 of the mature miRNA, also called seed+m8).
• 8mer : An exact match to positions 2-8 of the mature miRNA (the seed + position 8) with a downstream 'A' across from position 1 of the miRNA
• 7mer-m8 : An exact match to positions 2-8 of the mature miRNA (the seed + position 8)
• 7mer-1A : An exact match to positions 2-7 of the mature miRNA (the seed) with a downstream 'A' across from position 1 of the miRNA
Additional factors impact miRNA efficacy
1. Number of miRNA binding sites in 3’UTR
2. Closely Spaced Sites Often Act Synergistically
3. Additional Watson-Crick Pairing at Nt 12-17 Enhances miRNA Targeting
4. Effective Sites Preferentially Reside within a Locally AU-rich Context
5. Effective Sites Preferentially Reside in the 3’UTR, but Not too close to the stop codon
6. Effective Sites preferentially reside near both ends of the 3’UTR
Pathophysiological Function of microRNA
Physiological Roles of microRNA
• Organ (or tissues) development• Stem cell differentiation and maturation• Cell growth and survival• Metabolic homeostasis• Oncogenic malignancies and tumor formation• Viral infection• Epigenetic modification
Brain and spine code
Muscle
Tissue specific expression of microRNA
1. The expression of miR-124a is restricted to the brain and the spinal cord in fish and mouse or to the ventral nerve cord in the fly.
2. The expression of miR-1 is restricted to the muscles and the heart in the mouse.
3. The conserved sequence and expression of miR-1 and miR-124a suggests ancient roles in muscle and brain development.
Dev Cell (2006) 11:441
Control of skeletal muscle proliferation and differentiation by miR-1 and miR-133
MEF2: myocyte enhancer factor 2
HDAC4: histone deacetylase 4
SRF: serum response factor
No miR-1/miR-133a expression in MEF2 knockout mice
E11.5 transgenic mouse embryos
Muscle-specific microRNAs and their targets
Trend in Genetics (2008)
Tissue specific expression of miRNA
Nature Rev Genetics 2004)
microRNA networks and diseases
• The number of microRNA in human genome may over 1,000 genes (currently 570 miRNAs in miRBase database)
• Tens to hundreds of protein-coding genes are regulated by single miRNA
• Estimated that around 30% of genes are regulated by microRNA
• Almost every cellular processes are regulated by microRNA
Mutation or dysregulation of microRNA Diseases formation
Several evidences suggest that microRNAs may play an important role in tumor development
• More than 50% of microRNAs are located within the chromosome fragile sites
• Expression levels of microRNA in tumor biopsies are commonly altered
• Several microRNAs have been shown to regulate the proliferation and differentiation of cells
• micorRNAs also control the pathways of cell death (apoptosis)
miRNA frequently located at chromosome fragile sites
Examples of miRNAs located in chromosome fragile sites
D : deleted regionA : amplified region
microRNAs are commonly down regulated in tumor biopsies
Nature (2005) 435 : 834-838
C-myc induces expression of the miR-17/92 cluster
Nature (2005) 435 : 839-843
Tet-off system to induce c-myc expression in P493 cells
miR-17/92 cluster showed increase expression in B lymphoma and colon cancers
Nature (2005) 435 : 828-833
miR-17/92 clusters function as oncogenes
Nature (2005) 435 : 828-833
• Overexpression of the mir-17-19b cluster accelerates c-myc-induced lymphomagenesis in mice
• Em-myc/mir-17-19b tumors show a more disseminated phenotype compared with control tumor
miR-34 family function as tumor suppressors
Cancer Research (2007) 67: 11099-11101
• miR-34 family members are highly conserved during evolution
• miR-34a is located within chromosome 1p36 region, which is commonly deleted in human neuroblastoma
• Primary neuroblastomas and cell lines often showed low levels of miR-34a expression
• Forced expression of miR-34a in these cells inhibited proliferation and activated cell death pathways
Expression of miR-378 Promotes Tumorigenesis and Angiogenesis
Capillary formation
Tumor growth
PNAS (2007) 104: 20350-20355
U87 cells transfect with miR-378 exp. Vector tumor xenograft model
microRNAs regulate tumor angiogenesis
• Pro-angiogenic microRNAs– miR-17-92 cluster: TSP-1, CTGF– miR-378: Sufu (suppressor of fused)– Let-7f
• Anti-angiogenic microRNAs– miR-221 and miR-222: c-Kit and eNOS– miR-15 and miR-16: VEGF and Bcl-2– miR-20a and -20b: VEGF and Bcl-2
Identification of miRNA involved in cell migration and invasion
Nature Cell Biol (2007)
Migration and invasion assays
miR-373 and miR-520c promote tumor metastasis in vivo
Nature Cell Biol (2007)
Ref: 1789_8713
miR-10b is highly expressed in metastatic breast cancer cells
miR-10b induced tumor metastasis in vivo
Ref: 1789_8713
HOXD10 transcription factor is a down-stream target of miR-10b
• Genomic alteration of microRNA– Chromosome deletion, amplification, and translocation– Single nucleotide polymorphism of miRNA or miRNA targe
ts
• Alteration on the expression of levels of miRNA– Transcriptional control: transcription factor, enhancer, re
pressor– Epigenetic modification: DNA methylation, histone acetyl
ation
• Alteration on the processes of microRNA biogenesis
Potential mechanisms that link microRNA to diseases
Mechanisms that link microRNA to diseases
Change in miRNA expression levels
Change in miRNA target spectrum
Regulatory mechanism in miRNA expression
• Regulate by transcription factors– P53, c-myc, AP1, NFkB pathway ---
• Regulate epigenetic mechanisms– DNA methylation– Histone modification
• Regulate at miRNA processing
Myc regulates the expression of miR-17-92 cluster
Cancer Research (2008) 68:8191-8194
Nature Rev Cancer (2007)
Regulation of miRNA expression: DNA methylation in CpG Islands
CpG Island= CpG
Promoter
• Definition– At least 200 bases long– G+C content: > 55%– observed CpG/expected CpG ratio: >= 0.65
• There are about 29,000 such regions in the human genome
• 65% protein-coding genes contain CpG islands in promoter region
Exon 1 Exon 2
Coding region
microRNAs regulated by promoter methylation
Expression of miRNA also regulated by other epigenetic mechanisms