Training ASR models by Generation of Contextual Information

Supervised ASR models have reached unprecedented levels of accuracy, thanks in part to ever-increasing amounts of labelled training data. However, in many applications and locales, only moderate amounts of data are available, which has led to a surge in semi- and weakly-supervised learning research. In this paper, we conduct a large-scale study evaluating the effectiveness of weakly-supervised learning for speech recognition by using loosely related contextual information as a surrogate for ground-truth labels. For weakly supervised training, we use 50k hours of public English social media videos along with their respective titles and post text to train an encoder-decoder transformer model. Our best encoder-decoder models achieve an average of 20.8% WER reduction over a 1000 hours supervised baseline, and an average of 13.4% WER reduction when using only the weakly supervised encoder for CTC fine-tuning. Our results show that our setup for weak supervision improved both the encoder acoustic representations as well as the decoder language generation abilities

SAMMSON fosters cancer cell fitness by concertedly enhancing mitochondrial and cytosolic translation

Synchronization of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic translation rates is critical for the maintenance of cellular fitness, with cancer cells being especially vulnerable to translational uncoupling. Although alterations of cytosolic protein synthesis are common in human cancer, compensating mechanisms in mitochondrial translation remain elusive. Here we show that the malignant long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SAMMSON promotes a balanced increase in ribosomal RNA (rRNA) maturation and protein synthesis in the cytosol and mitochondria by modulating the localization of CARF, an RNA-binding protein that sequesters the exo-ribonuclease XRN2 in the nucleoplasm, which under normal circumstances limits nucleolar rRNA maturation. SAMMSON interferes with XRN2 binding to CARF in the nucleus by favoring the formation of an aberrant cytoplasmic RNA-protein complex containing CARF and p32, a mitochondrial protein required for the processing of the mitochondrial rRNAs. These data highlight how a single oncogenic lncRNA can simultaneously modulate RNA-protein complex formation in two distinct cellular compartments to promote cell growth

Functional characterization of the connections between translation and ribosome biogenesis

Ribosomes are cellular nanomachines responsible for protein production in all living cells. When ribosome biogenesis is compromised, or ribosome function unfaithful, it causes diseases called ribosomopathies. The primary goal of my PhD was to understand the consequences of ribosome biogenesis dysfunction on translation. I have contributed to this understanding through four different projects which were aimed to understand how ribosome function affects the different steps of protein translation in the cell. In my first project, we tested if a ribosomal RNA sugar methylation present on the large ribosomal subunit plays a role in translation. We found that the loss of the modification does not grossly inhibit ribosome production or growth. However, these mutants are resistance towards G418, and make fewer decoding errors as compared to the control cells. In my second project, I studied a methyltransferase called Mtq2, which methylates the translation termination release factor eRF1. We found that Mtq2 is directly involved in late steps of large ribosomal subunit maturation and that the catalytic activity of Mtq2 is required for efficient 60S subunit production and for pre-60S export. In project 3, I studied a natural, plant-derived alkaloid called haemanthamine (HAE). We showed that HAE binds the peptidyl transferase center of the large subunit of the eukaryotic ribosome, where it interacts with the 25S rRNA. We also showed that HAE inhibit early stages of pre-rRNA processing and elicit nucleolar stress response in the cells. In project 4, I studied a long non-coding RNA called SAMMSON. SAMMSON plays a crucial role in melanoma survival. We found that depletion of SAMMSON adversely affects ribosome biogenesis. We also demonstrated that by modulating the binding affinity of a single protein, namely CARF, SAMMSON rewires the RNA-protein network and promotes a synchronized increase in rRNA maturation both in the cytosol and mitochondria, thereby boosting translation in both the cellular compartments.Les ribosomes sont des nanomachines cellulaires responsables de la production de protéines dans toutes les cellules vivantes. Lorsque la biogenèse des ribosomes est compromise ou que la fonction des ribosomes est infidèle, elle provoque des maladies appelées ribosomopathies. L'objectif principal de ma thèse était de comprendre les conséquences du dysfonctionnement de la biogenèse des ribosomes sur la traduction. J'ai contribué à cette compréhension par le biais de quatre projets différents visant à comprendre comment la fonction des ribosomes affecte les différentes étapes de la traduction des protéines dans la cellule. Dans mon premier projet, nous avons voulu determiner si une méthylation sur l’ARN ribosomique d’un sucre présente sur la grande sous-unité ribosomique joue un rôle dans la traduction. Nous avons constaté que la perte de cette modification n'inhibait pas grossièrement la production ou la croissance des ribosomes. Cependant, ces mutants sont résistants à G418 et font moins d’erreurs de décodage par rapport aux cellules contrôles. Dans mon deuxième projet, j'ai étudié une méthyltransférase appelée Mtq2, qui méthyle le facteur de libération de la terminaison de la traduction, eRF1. Nous avons constaté que Mtq2 est directement impliqué dans les dernières étapes de la maturation des grandes sous-unités ribosomiques et que l'activité catalytique de Mtq2 est nécessaire pour une production efficace de sous-unités 60S et pour une exportation antérieure à 60S. Dans le cadre du projet 3, j'ai étudié un alcaloïde naturel d'origine végétale appelé hémanthamine (HAE). Nous avons montré que HAE lie le centre de la peptidyl transférase de la grande sous-unité du ribosome eucaryote, où il interagit avec l'ARNr 25S. Nous avons également montré que HAE inhibe les stades précoces du traitement pré-ARNr et induit une réponse au stress nucléolaire dans les cellules. Dans le projet 4, j'ai étudié un long ARN non codant appelé SAMMSON. SAMMSON joue un rôle crucial dans la survie du mélanome. Nous avons constaté que sa perte d’expression affecte négativement la biogenèse des ribosomes. Nous avons également démontré qu'en modulant l'affinité de liaison d'une protéine unique, à savoir CARF, SAMMSON réarme le réseau ARN-protéine et favorise une augmentation synchronisée de la maturation de l'ARNr à la fois dans le cytosol et les mitochondries, renforçant ainsi la traduction dans les deux compartiments cellulaires.Doctorat en Sciencesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

The catalytic activity of the translation termination factor methyltransferase Mtq2-Trm112 complex is required for large ribosomal subunit biogenesis

International audienceThe Mtq2-Trm112 methyltransferase modifies the eukaryotic translation termination factor eRF1 on the glutamine side chain of a universally conserved GGQ motif that is essential for release of newly synthesized peptides. Although this modification is found in the three domains of life, its exact role in eukaryotes remains unknown. As the deletion of MTQ2 leads to severe growth impairment in yeast, we have investigated its role further and tested its putative involvement in ribosome biogenesis. We found that Mtq2 is associated with nuclear 60S subunit precursors, and we demonstrate that its catalytic activity is required for nucleolar release of pre-60S and for efficient production of mature 5.8S and 25S rRNAs. Thus, we identify Mtq2 as a novel ribosome assembly factor important for large ribosomal subunit formation. We propose that Mtq2-Trm112 might modify eRF1 in the nucleus as part of a quality control mechanism aimed at proof-reading the peptidyl transferase center, where it will subsequently bind during translation termination

The Amaryllidaceae Alkaloid Haemanthamine Binds the Eukaryotic Ribosome to Repress Cancer Cell Growth

International audienceAlkaloids isolated from the Amaryllidaceae plants have potential as therapeutics for treating human diseases. Haemanthamine has been studied as a novel anticancer agent due to its ability to overcome cancer cell resistance to apoptosis. Biochemical experiments have suggested that hemanthamine targets the ribosome. However, a structural characterization of its mechanism has been missing. Here we present the 3.1 Å resolution X-ray structure of haemanthamine bound to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae 80S ribosome. This structure reveals that haemanthamine targets the A-site cleft on the large ribosomal subunit rearranging rRNA to halt the elongation phase of translation. Furthermore, we provide evidence that haemanthamine and other Amaryllidaceae alkaloids also inhibit specifically ribosome biogenesis, triggering nucleolar stress response and leading to p53 stabilization in cancer cells. Together with a computer-aided interpretation of existing structure-activity relationships of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids congeners, we provide a rationale for designing molecules with enhanced potencies and reduced toxicities

Druggable epigenetic suppression of interferon-induced chemokine expression linked to MYCN amplification in neuroblastoma

Background Amplification of the MYCN oncogene is a molecular hallmark of aggressive neuroblastoma (NB), a childhood cancer of the sympathetic nervous system. There is evidence that MYCN promotes a non-inflamed and T-cell infiltration-poor (‘cold’) tumor microenvironment (TME) by suppressing interferon signaling. This may explain, at least in part, why patients with NB seem to have little benefit from single-agent immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Targeting MYCN or its effectors could be a strategy to convert a cold TME into a ‘hot’ (inflamed) TME and improve the efficacy of ICB therapy.Methods NB transcriptome analyses were used to identify epigenetic drivers of a T-cell infiltration-poor TME. Biological and molecular responses of NB cells to epigenetic drugs and interferon (IFN)-γ exposure were assessed by proliferation assays, immunoblotting, ELISA, qRT-PCR, RNA-seq and ChIP-qPCR as well as co-culture assays with T cells.Results We identified H3K9 euchromatic histone-lysine methyltransferases EHMT2 and EHMT1, also known as G9a and GLP, as epigenetic effectors of the MYCN-driven malignant phenotype and repressors of IFN-γ transcriptional responses in NB cells. EHMT inhibitors enhanced IFN-γ-induced expression of the Th1-type chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10, key factors of T-cell recruitment into the TME. In MYCN-amplified NB cells, co-inhibition of EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homologue 2), a H3K27 histone methyltransferase cooperating with EHMTs, was needed for strong transcriptional responses to IFN-γ, in line with histone mark changes at CXCL9 and CXCL10 chemokine gene loci. EHMT and EZH2 inhibitor response gene signatures from NB cells were established as surrogate measures and revealed high EHMT and EZH2 activity in MYCN-amplified high-risk NBs with a cold immune phenotype.Conclusion Our results delineate a strategy for targeted epigenetic immunomodulation of high-risk NBs, whereby EHMT inhibitors alone or in combination with EZH2 inhibitors (in particular, MYCN-amplified NBs) could promote a T-cell-infiltrated TME via enhanced Th1-type chemokine expression

SAMMSON fosters cancer cell fitness by concertedly enhancing mitochondrial and cytosolic translation

Synchronization of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic translation rates is critical for the maintenance of cellular fitness, with cancer cells being especially vulnerable to translational uncoupling. Although alterations of cytosolic protein synthesis are common in human cancer, compensating mechanisms in mitochondrial translation remain elusive. Here we show that the malignant long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SAMMSON promotes a balanced increase in ribosomal RNA (rRNA) maturation and protein synthesis in the cytosol and mitochondria by modulating the localization of CARF, an RNA-binding protein that sequesters the exo-ribonuclease XRN2 in the nucleoplasm, which under normal circumstances limits nucleolar rRNA maturation. SAMMSON interferes with XRN2 binding to CARF in the nucleus by favoring the formation of an aberrant cytoplasmic RNA-protein complex containing CARF and p32, a mitochondrial protein required for the processing of the mitochondrial rRNAs. These data highlight how a single oncogenic lncRNA can simultaneously modulate RNA-protein complex formation in two distinct cellular compartments to promote cell growth.status: publishe