Northern blotting analysis of microRNAs, their precursors and RNA interference triggers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Numerous microRNAs (miRNAs) have heterogeneous ends resulting from imprecise cleavages by processing nucleases and from various non-templated nucleotide additions. The scale of miRNA end-heterogeneity is best shown by deep sequencing data revealing not only the major miRNA variants but also those that occur in only minute amounts and are unlikely to be of functional importance. All RNA interference (RNAi) technology reagents that are expressed and processed in cells are also exposed to the same machinery generating end-heterogeneity of the released short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or miRNA mimetics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we have analyzed endogenous and exogenous RNAs in the range of 20-70 nt by high-resolution northern blotting. We have validated the results obtained with northern blotting by comparing them with data derived from miRNA deep sequencing; therefore we have demonstrated the usefulness of the northern blotting technique in the investigation of miRNA biogenesis, as well as in the characterization of RNAi technology reagents.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The conventional northern blotting enhanced to high resolution may be a useful adjunct to other miRNA discovery, detection and characterization methods. It provides quantitative data on distribution of major length variants of abundant endogenous miRNAs, as well as on length heterogeneity of RNAi technology reagents expressed in cells.</p

The Role of Dicer Protein Partners in the Processing of MicroRNA Precursors

One of the cellular functions of the ribonuclease Dicer is to process microRNA precursors (pre-miRNAs) into mature microRNAs (miRNAs). Human Dicer performs this function in cooperation with its protein partners, AGO2, PACT and TRBP. The exact role of these accessory proteins in Dicer activity is still poorly understood. In this study, we used the northern blotting technique to investigate pre-miRNA cleavage efficiency and specificity after depletion of AGO2, PACT and TRBP by RNAi. The results showed that the inhibition of either Dicer protein partner substantially affected not only miRNA levels but also pre-miRNA levels, and it had a rather minor effect on the specificity of Dicer cleavage. The analysis of the Dicer cleavage products generated in vitro revealed the presence of a cleavage intermediate when pre-miRNA was processed by recombinant Dicer alone. This intermediate was not observed during pre-miRNA cleavage by endogenous Dicer. We demonstrate that AGO2, PACT and TRBP were required for the efficient functioning of Dicer in cells, and we suggest that one of the roles of these proteins is to assure better synchronization of cleavages triggered by two RNase III domains of Dicer

Structural basis of microRNA length variety

The biogenesis of human microRNAs (miRNAs) includes two RNA cleavage steps in which the activities of the RNases Drosha and Dicer are involved. miRNAs of diverse lengths are generated from different genes, and miRNAs that are heterogeneous in length are produced from a single miRNA gene. We determined the solution structures of many miRNA precursors and analysed the structural basis of miRNA length diversity using a new measure: the weighted average length of diced RNA (WALDI). We found that asymmetrical structural motifs present in precursor hairpins are primarily responsible for the length diversity of miRNAs generated by Dicer. High-resolution northern blots of miRNAs and their precursors revealed that both Dicer and Drosha cleavages of imperfect specificity contributed to the miRNA length heterogeneity. The relevance of these findings to the dynamics of the dicing complex, mRNA regulation by miRNA, RNA interference and miRNA technologies are discussed

High-Resolution Northern Blot for a Reliable Analysis of MicroRNAs and Their Precursors

This protocol describes how to perform northern blot analyses to detect microRNAs and their precursors with single-nucleotide resolution, which is crucial for analyzing individual length variants and for evaluating relative quantities of unique microRNAs in cells. Northern blot analysis consists of resolving RNAs by gel electrophoresis, followed by transferring and fixing to nylon membranes as well as detecting by hybridization with radioactive probes. Earlier efforts to improve this method focused mainly on altering the sensitivity of short RNA detection. We have enhanced the resolution of the northern blot technique by optimizing the electrophoresis step. We have also investigated other steps of the procedure with the goal of enhancing the resolution of RNAs; herein, we present several recommendations to do so. Our protocol is applicable to analyses of all kinds of endogenous and exogenous RNAs, falling within length ranges of 20–30 and 50–70 nt, corresponding to microRNA and pre-microRNA lengths, respectively

Sequence features of Drosha and Dicer cleavage sites affect the complexity of isomiRs.

The deep-sequencing of small RNAs has revealed that different numbers and proportions of miRNA variants called isomiRs are formed from single miRNA genes and that this effect is attributable mainly to imprecise cleavage by Drosha and Dicer. Factors that influence the degree of cleavage precision of Drosha and Dicer are under investigation, and their identification may improve our understanding of the mechanisms by which cells modulate the regulatory potential of miRNAs. In this study, we focused on the sequences and structural determinants of Drosha and Dicer cleavage sites, which may explain the generation of homogeneous miRNAs (in which a single isomiR strongly predominates) as well as the generation of heterogeneous miRNAs. Using deep-sequencing data for small RNAs, we demonstrate that the generation of homogeneous miRNAs requires more sequence constraints at the cleavage sites than the formation of heterogeneous miRNAs. Additionally, our results indicate that specific Drosha cleavage sites have more sequence determinants in miRNA precursors than specific cleavage sites for Dicer and that secondary structural motifs in the miRNA precursors influence the precision of Dicer cleavage. Together, we present the sequence and structural features of Drosha and Dicer cleavage sites that influence the heterogeneity of the released miRNAs