Upregulation of Haploinsufficient Gene Expression in the Brain by Targeting a Long Non-coding RNA Improves Seizure Phenotype in a Model of Dravet Syndrome

AbstractDravet syndrome is a devastating genetic brain disorder caused by heterozygous loss-of-function mutation in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene SCN1A. There are currently no treatments, but the upregulation of SCN1A healthy allele represents an appealing therapeutic strategy. In this study we identified a novel, evolutionary conserved mechanism controlling the expression of SCN1A that is mediated by an antisense non-coding RNA (SCN1ANAT). Using oligonucleotide-based compounds (AntagoNATs) targeting SCN1ANAT we were able to induce specific upregulation of SCN1A both in vitro and in vivo, in the brain of Dravet knock-in mouse model and a non-human primate. AntagoNAT-mediated upregulation of Scn1a in postnatal Dravet mice led to significant improvements in seizure phenotype and excitability of hippocampal interneurons. These results further elucidate the pathophysiology of Dravet syndrome and outline a possible new approach for the treatment of this and other genetic disorders with similar etiology

A coding and non-coding transcriptomic perspective on the genomics of human metabolic disease

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), relying on hundreds of thousands of individuals, have revealed > 200 genomic loci linked to metabolic disease (MD). Loss of insulin sensitivity (IS) is a key component of MD and we hypothesized that discovery of a robust IS transcriptome would help reveal the underlying genomic structure of MD. Using 1,012 human skeletal muscle samples, detailed physiology and a tissue-optimized approach for the quantification of coding (> 18,000) and non-coding (> 15,000) RNA (ncRNA), we identified 332 fasting IS-related genes (CORE-IS). Over 200 had a proven role in the biochemistry of insulin and/or metabolism or were located at GWAS MD loci. Over 50% of the CORE-IS genes responded to clinical treatment; 16 quantitatively tracking changes in IS across four independent studies (P = 0.0000053: negatively: AGL, G0S2, KPNA2, PGM2, RND3 and TSPAN9 and positively: ALDH6A1, DHTKD1, ECHDC3, MCCC1, OARD1, PCYT2, PRRX1, SGCG, SLC43A1 and SMIM8). A network of ncRNA positively related to IS and interacted with RNA coding for viral response proteins (P < 1 × 10−48), while reduced amino acid catabolic gene expression occurred without a change in expression of oxidative-phosphorylation genes. We illustrate that combining in-depth physiological phenotyping with robust RNA profiling methods, identifies molecular networks which are highly consistent with the genetics and biochemistry of human metabolic disease

A Novel RNA Transcript with Antiapoptotic Function Is Silenced in Fragile X Syndrome

Several genome-wide transcriptomics efforts have shown that a large percentage of the mammalian genome is transcribed into RNAs, however, only a small percentage (1–2%) of these RNAs is translated into proteins. Currently there is an intense interest in characterizing the function of the different classes of noncoding RNAs and their relevance to human disease. Using genomic approaches we discovered FMR4, a primate-specific noncoding RNA transcript (2.4 kb) that resides upstream and likely shares a bidirectional promoter with FMR1. FMR4 is a product of RNA polymerase II and has a similar half-life to FMR1. The CGG expansion in the 5′ UTR of FMR1 appears to affect transcription in both directions as we found FMR4, similar to FMR1, to be silenced in fragile X patients and up-regulated in premutation carriers. Knockdown of FMR4 by several siRNAs did not affect FMR1 expression, nor vice versa, suggesting that FMR4 is not a direct regulatory transcript for FMR1. However, FMR4 markedly affected human cell proliferation in vitro; siRNAs knockdown of FMR4 resulted in alterations in the cell cycle and increased apoptosis, while the overexpression of FMR4 caused an increase in cell proliferation. Collectively, our results demonstrate an antiapoptotic function of FMR4 and provide evidence that a well-studied genomic locus can show unexpected functional complexity. It cannot be excluded that altered FMR4 expression might contribute to aspects of the clinical presentation of fragile X syndrome and/or related disorders

Central neuropeptide Y receptors are involved in 3(rd )ventricular ghrelin induced alteration of colonic transit time in conscious fed rats

BACKGROUND: Feeding related peptides have been shown to be additionally involved in the central autonomic control of gastrointestinal functions. Recent studies have shown that ghrelin, a stomach-derived orexigenic peptide, is involved in the autonomic regulation of GI function besides feeding behavior. Pharmacological evidence indicates that ghrelin effects on food intake are mediated by neuropeptide Y in the central nervous system. METHODS: In the present study we examine the role of ghrelin in the central autonomic control of GI motility using intracerobroventricular and IP microinjections in a freely moving conscious rat model. Further the hypothesis that a functional relationship between NPY and ghrelin within the CNS exists was addressed. RESULTS: ICV injections of ghrelin (0.03 nmol, 0.3 nmol and 3.0 nmol/5 μl and saline controls) decreased the colonic transit time up to 43%. IP injections of ghrelin (0.3 nmol – 3.0 nmol kg(-1 )BW and saline controls) decreased colonic transit time dose related. Central administration of the NPY(1 )receptor antagonist, BIBP-3226, prior to centrally or peripherally administration of ghrelin antagonized the ghrelin induced stimulation of colonic transit. On the contrary ICV-pretreatment with the NPY(2 )receptor antagonist, BIIE-0246, failed to modulate the ghrelin induced stimulation of colonic motility. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that ghrelin acts in the central nervous system to modulate gastrointestinal motor function utilizing NPY(1 )receptor dependent mechanisms

Evidence for natural antisense transcript-mediated inhibition of microRNA function

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have the potential to regulate diverse sets of mRNA targets. In addition, mammalian genomes contain numerous natural antisense transcripts, most of which appear to be non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). We have recently identified and characterized a highly conserved non-coding antisense transcript for beta-secretase-1 (BACE1), a critical enzyme in Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology. The BACE1-antisense transcript is markedly up-regulated in brain samples from Alzheimer's disease patients and promotes the stability of the (sense) BACE1 transcript. We report here that BACE1-antisense prevents miRNA-induced repression of BACE1 mRNA by masking the binding site for miR-485-5p. Indeed, miR-485-5p and BACE1-antisense compete for binding within the same region in the open reading frame of the BACE1 mRNA. We observed opposing effects of BACE1-antisense and miR-485-5p on BACE1 protein in vitro and showed that Locked Nucleic Acid-antimiR mediated knockdown of miR-485-5p as well as BACE1-antisense over-expression can prevent the miRNA-induced BACE1 suppression. We found that the expression of BACE1-antisense as well as miR-485-5p are dysregulated in RNA samples from Alzheimer's disease subjects compared to control individuals. Our data demonstrate an interface between two distinct groups of regulatory RNAs in the computation of BACE1 gene expression. Moreover, bioinformatics analyses revealed a theoretical basis for many other potential interactions between natural antisense transcripts and miRNAs at the binding sites of the latter

Identification of antisense long noncoding RNAs that function as SINEUPs in human cells

Mammalian genomes encode numerous natural antisense long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that regulate gene expression. Recently, an antisense lncRNA to mouse Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (Uchl1) was reported to increase UCHL1 protein synthesis, representing a new functional class of lncRNAs, designated as SINEUPs, for SINE element-containing translation UP-regulators. Here, we show that an antisense lncRNA to the human protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 12A (PPP1R12A), named as R12A-AS1, which overlaps with the 5' UTR and first coding exon of the PPP1R12A mRNA, functions as a SINEUP, increasing PPP1R12A protein translation in human cells. The SINEUP activity depends on the aforementioned sense-antisense interaction and a free right Alu monomer repeat element at the 3' end of R12A-AS1. In addition, we identify another human antisense lncRNA with SINEUP activity. Our results demonstrate for the first time that human natural antisense lncRNAs can up-regulate protein translation, suggesting that endogenous SINEUPs may be widespread and present in many mammalian species

Designing stem-cell-based dopamine cell replacement trials for Parkinson's disease

Clinical studies of Parkinson’s disease (PD) using a dopamine cell replacment strategy have been tried for more than 30 years. The outcomes following transplantation of human fetal ventral mesencephalic tissue (hfVM) have been variable, with some patients coming off their anti-PD treatment for many years and others not responding and/or developing significant side effects, including graft-induced dyskinesia. This led to a re-appraisal of the best way to do such trials, which resulted in a new European-Union-funded allograft trial with fetal dopamine cells across several centers in Europe. This new trial, TRANSEURO (NCT01898390), is an open-label study in which some individuals in a large observational cohort of patients with mild PD who were undergoing identical assessments were randomly selected to receive transplants of hfVM. The TRANSEURO trial is currently ongoing as researchers have completed both recruitment into a large multicenter observational study of younger onset early-stage PD and transplantation of hfVM in 11 patients. While completion of TRANSEURO is not expected until 2021, we feel that sharing the rationale for the design of TRANSEURO, along with the lessons we have learned along the way, can help inform researchers and facilitate planning of transplants of dopamine-producing cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells for future clinical trials

Apoptosis resistance downstream of eIF4E: posttranscriptional activation of an anti-apoptotic transcript carrying a consensus hairpin structure

Aberrant activation of the translation initiation machinery is a common property of malignant cells, and is essential for breast carcinoma cells to manifest a malignant phenotype. How does sustained activation of the rate limiting step in protein synthesis so fundamentally alter a cell? In this report, we test the post transcriptional operon theory as a possible mechanism, employing a model system in which apoptosis resistance is conferred on NIH 3T3 cells by ectopic expression of eIF4E. We show (i) there is a set of 255 transcripts that manifest an increase in translational efficiency during eIF4E-mediated escape from apoptosis; (ii) there is a novel prototype 55 nt RNA consensus hairpin structure that is overrepresented in the 5′-untranslated region of translationally activated transcripts; (iii) the identified consensus hairpin structure is sufficient to target a reporter mRNA for translational activation under pro-apoptotic stress, but only when eIF4E is deregulated; and (iv) that osteopontin, one of the translationally activated transcripts harboring the identified consensus hairpin structure functions as one mediator of the apoptosis resistance seen in our model. Our findings offer genome-wide insights into the mechanism of eIF4E-mediated apoptosis resistance and provide a paradigm for the systematic study of posttranscriptional control in normal biology and disease

Gene Characterization Index: Assessing the Depth of Gene Annotation

We introduce the Gene Characterization Index, a bioinformatics method for scoring the extent to which a protein-encoding gene is functionally described. Inherently a reflection of human perception, the Gene Characterization Index is applied for assessing the characterization status of individual genes, thus serving the advancement of both genome annotation and applied genomics research by rapid and unbiased identification of groups of uncharacterized genes for diverse applications such as directed functional studies and delineation of novel drug targets.The scoring procedure is based on a global survey of researchers, who assigned characterization scores from 1 (poor) to 10 (extensive) for a sample of genes based on major online resources. By evaluating the survey as training data, we developed a bioinformatics procedure to assign gene characterization scores to all genes in the human genome. We analyzed snapshots of functional genome annotation over a period of 6 years to assess temporal changes reflected by the increase of the average Gene Characterization Index. Applying the Gene Characterization Index to genes within pharmaceutically relevant classes, we confirmed known drug targets as high-scoring genes and revealed potentially interesting novel targets with low characterization indexes. Removing known drug targets and genes linked to sequence-related patent filings from the entirety of indexed genes, we identified sets of low-scoring genes particularly suited for further experimental investigation.The Gene Characterization Index is intended to serve as a tool to the scientific community and granting agencies for focusing resources and efforts on unexplored areas of the genome. The Gene Characterization Index is available from http://cisreg.ca/gci/