Exon identity established through differential antagonism between exonic splicing silencer-bound hnRNP A1 and enhancer-bound SR proteins.

SR proteins recognize exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) elements and promote exon use, whereas certain hnRNP proteins bind to exonic splicing silencer (ESS) elements and block exon recognition. We investigated how ESS3 in HIV-1 tat exon 3 blocks splicing promoted by one SR protein (SC35) but not another (SF2/ASF). hnRNP A1 mediates silencing by binding initially to a required high-affinity site in ESS3, which then promotes further hnRNP A1 association with the upstream region of the exon. Both SC35 and SF2/ASF recognize upstream ESE motifs, but only SF2/ASF prevents secondary hnRNP A1 binding, presumably by blocking its cooperative propagation along the exon. The differential antagonism between a negative and two positive regulators exemplifies how inclusion of an alternative exon can be modulated.     

Distribution of SR protein exonic splicing enhancer motifs in human protein-coding genes

Exonic splicing enhancers (ESEs) are pre-mRNA cis-acting elements required for splice-site recognition. We previously developed a web-based program called ESEfinder that scores any sequence for the presence of ESE motifs recognized by the human SR proteins SF2/ASF, SRp40, SRp55 and SC35 (http://rulai.cshl.edu/tools/ESE/). Using ESEfinder, we have undertaken a large-scale analysis of ESE motif distribution in human protein-coding genes. Significantly higher frequencies of ESE motifs were observed in constitutive internal protein-coding exons, compared with both their flanking intronic regions and with pseudo exons. Statistical analysis of ESE motif frequency distributions revealed a complex relationship between splice-site strength and increased or decreased frequencies of particular SR protein motifs. Comparison of constitutively and alternatively spliced exons demonstrated slightly weaker splice-site scores, as well as significantly fewer ESE motifs, in the alternatively spliced group. Our results underline the importance of ESE-mediated SR protein function in the process of exon definition, in the context of both constitutive splicing and regulated alternative splicing.     

Alternative splicing of CD200 is regulated by an exonic splicing enhancer and SF2/ASF

CD200, a type I membrane glycoprotein, plays an important role in prevention of inflammatory disorders, graft rejection, autoimmune diseases and spontaneous fetal loss. It also regulates tumor immunity. A truncated CD200 (CD200_tr) resulting from alternative splicing has been identified and characterized as a functional antagonist to full-length CD200. Thus, it is important to explore the mechanism(s) controlling alternative splicing of CD200. In this study, we identified an exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) located in exon 2, which is a putative binding site for a splicing regulatory protein SF2/ASF. Deletion or mutation of the ESE site decreased expression of the full-length CD200. Direct binding of SF2/ASF to the ESE site was confirmed by RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Knockdown of expression of SF2/ASF resulted in the same splicing pattern as seen after deletion or mutation of the ESE, whereas overexpression of SF2/ASF increased expression of the full-length CD200. In vivo studies showed that viral infection reversed the alternative splicing pattern of CD200 with increased expression of SF2/ASF and the full-length CD200. Taken together, our data suggest for the first time that SF2/ASF regulates the function of CD200 by controlling CD200 alternative splicing, through direct binding to an ESE located in exon 2 of CD200.     

The splicing factor-associated protein, p32, regulates RNA splicing by inhibiting ASF/SF2 RNA binding and phosphorylation

The cellular protein p32 was isolated originally as a protein tightly associated with the essential splicing factor ASF/SF2 during its purification from HeLa cells. ASF/SF2 is a member of the SR family of splicing factors, which stimulate constitutive splicing and regulate alternative RNA splicing in a positive or negative fashion, depending on where on the pre-mRNA they bind. Here we present evidence that p32 interacts with ASF/SF2 and SRp30c, another member of the SR protein family. We further show that p32 inhibits ASF/SF2 function as both a splicing enhancer and splicing repressor protein by preventing stable ASF/SF2 interaction with RNA, but p32 does not block SRp30c function. ASF/SF2 is highly phosphorylated in vivo, a modification required for stable RNA binding and protein-protein interaction during spliceosome formation, and this phosphorylation, either through HeLa nuclear extracts or through specific SR protein kinases, is inhibited by p32. Our results suggest that p32 functions as an ASF/SF2 inhibitory factor, regulating ASF/SF2 RNA binding and phosphorylation. These findings place p32 into a new group of proteins that control RNA splicing by sequestering an essential RNA splicing factor into an inhibitory complex.     

Factors associated with a purine-rich exonic splicing enhancer sequence in Xenopus oocyte nucleus

Purine-rich exonic splicing enhancers (ESEs) stimulate splicing of the adjacent introns with suboptimal splice sites. To elucidate the mechanism regarding ESEs, factors specifically associated with ESEs in HeLa cell nuclear extracts were previously investigated, and shown to include SR (serine/arginine-rich) proteins. However, factors associated with ESEs in vivo have not yet been explored. Here we show that a GAA repeat RNA sequence, a typical ESE, is associated in Xenopus oocyte nuclei with at least one SR protein, SF2/ASF, as was expected. Moreover, components of SF3a/b complexes, U2 snRNA, and U2AF(65) were also found to be associated with the ESE in the nucleus. Since SF3a/b complexes are the constituents of the 17S U2 snRNP, these results suggest that the 17S U2 snRNP is associated with the ESE in the nucleus, probably through bridging interactions of U2AF and SR proteins. The identified factors may represent a functional splicing enhancer complex in vivo.     

A unique glutamic acid-lysine (EK) domain acts as a splicing inhibitor

SRrp86 is a unique member of the SR protein superfamily of splicing factors containing one RNA recognition motif and two serine-arginine (SR)-rich domains separated by an unusual glutamic acid-lysine (EK) rich region. Previously, we showed that SRrp86 could regulate alternative splicing by both positively and negatively modulating the activity of other SR proteins as long as the entire region encompassing the RS-EK-RS domains was intact. To further investigate the function and domains of SRrp86, we generated a series of chimeric proteins by swapping the RNA recognition motif and RS domains between SRrp86 and two canonical members of the SR superfamily, ASF/SF2 and SRp75. Although domain swaps between SRrp86 and ASF/SF2 showed that the RRMs primarily determined splicing activity, swaps between SRrp86 and SRp75 demonstrated that the RS domains could also determine activity. Because SRp75 also has two RS domains but lacks the EK domain, we further investigated the role of the EK domain and found that it acts to repress splicing and splice-site selection, both in vitro and in vivo. Incubation of extracts with peptides encompassing the EK-rich region inactivated splicing and insertion of the EK region into SRp75 abolished its ability to activate splicing. Thus, the unique EK domain of SRrp86 plays a modulatory role controlling RS domain function.     

ESEfinder: A web resource to identify exonic splicing enhancers

Point mutations frequently cause genetic diseases by disrupting the correct pattern of pre-mRNA splicing. The effect of a point mutation within a coding sequence is traditionally attributed to the deduced change in the corresponding amino acid. However, some point mutations can have much more severe effects on the structure of the encoded protein, for example when they inactivate an exonic splicing enhancer (ESE), thereby resulting in exon skipping. ESEs also appear to be especially important in exons that normally undergo alternative splicing. Different classes of ESE consensus motifs have been described, but they are not always easily identified. ESEfinder (http://exon.cshl.edu/ESE/) is a web-based resource that facilitates rapid analysis of exon sequences to identify putative ESEs responsive to the human SR proteins SF2/ASF, SC35, SRp40 and SRp55, and to predict whether exonic mutations disrupt such elements.     

The subcellular localization of SF2/ASF is regulated by direct interaction with SR protein kinases (SRPKs)

Serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins play an important role in constitutive and alternative pre-mRNA splicing. The C-terminal arginine-serine domain of these proteins, such as SF2/ASF, mediates protein-protein interactions and is phosphorylated in vivo. Using glutathione S-transferase (GST)-SF2/ASF-affinity chromatography, the SF2/ASF kinase activity was co-purified from HeLa cells with a 95-kDa protein, which was recognized by an anti-SR protein kinase (SRPK) 1 monoclonal antibody. Recombinant SRPK1 and SRPK2 bound to and phosphorylated GST-SF2/ASF in vitro. Phosphopeptide mapping showed that identical sites were phosphorylated in the pull-down kinase reaction with HeLa extracts and by recombinant SRPKs. Epitope-tagged SF2/ASF transiently expressed in COS7 cells co-immunoprecipitated with SRPKs. Deletion analysis mapped the phosphorylation sites to a region containing an (Arg-Ser)8 repeat beginning at residue 204, and far-Western analysis showed that the region is required for binding of SRPKs to SF2/ASF. Further binding studies showed that SRPKs bound unphosphorylated SF2/ASF but did not bind phosphorylated SF2/ASF. Expression of an SRPK2 kinase-inactive mutant caused accumulation of SF2/ASF in the cytoplasm. These results suggest that the formation of complexes between SF2/ASF and SRPKs, which is influenced by the phosphorylation state of SF2/ASF, may have regulatory roles in the assembly and localization of this splicing factor.     

Deletion of the N-terminus of SF2/ASF permits RS-domain-independent pre-mRNA splicing

Serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins are essential splicing factors with one or two RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs) and a C-terminal arginine- and serine-rich (RS) domain. SR proteins bind to exonic splicing enhancers via their RRM(s), and from this position are thought to promote splicing by antagonizing splicing silencers, recruiting other components of the splicing machinery through RS-RS domain interactions, and/or promoting RNA base-pairing through their RS domains. An RS domain tethered at an exonic splicing enhancer can function as a splicing activator, and RS domains play prominent roles in current models of SR protein functions. However, we previously reported that the RS domain of the SR protein SF2/ASF is dispensable for in vitro splicing of some pre-mRNAs. We have now extended these findings via the identification of a short inhibitory domain at the SF2/ASF N-terminus; deletion of this segment permits splicing in the absence of this SR protein's RS domain of an IgM pre-mRNA substrate previously classified as RS-domain-dependent. Deletion of the N-terminal inhibitory domain increases the splicing activity of SF2/ASF lacking its RS domain, and enhances its ability to bind pre-mRNA. Splicing of the IgM pre-mRNA in S100 complementation with SF2/ASF lacking its RS domain still requires an exonic splicing enhancer, suggesting that an SR protein RS domain is not always required for ESE-dependent splicing activation. Our data provide additional evidence that the SF2/ASF RS domain is not strictly required for constitutive splicing in vitro, contrary to prevailing models for how the domains of SR proteins function to promote splicing.     

Regulation of SRp20 exon 4 splicing

SR proteins are essential splicing factors involved in the use of both constitutive and alternative exons. We previously showed that the SR proteins SRp20 and ASF/SF2 have antagonistic activities on SRp20 pre-mRNA splicing. SRp20 activates exon 4 recognition in its pre-mRNA, whereas ASF/SF2 inhibits this recognition. In experiments aimed at testing the specificity of SRp20 and ASF/SF2 for exon 4 splicing regulation, we show here that this specificity lies in the RNA binding domains of SRp20 and ASF/SF2 and not in the RS domains. Surprisingly, a deletion of 14 amino acids at the end of ASF/SF2-RBD2 converts ASF/SF2 from an inhibitor to an activator of exon 4 splicing. We found that ASF3 also inhibits exon 4 recognition, thus acting similarly to ASF/SF2, while SC35 activates a cryptic 5' splice site downstream of exon 3 and, in doing so, represses exon 4 use. In contrast, Tra2 and the SR proteins 9G8 and SRp40 do not appear to affect exon 4 splicing.