利用RT-PCR技术验证基于小鼠外显子芯片发现的缺血相关基因的表达

目的:利用RT-PCR技术验证并确认基于小鼠外显子芯片发现的部分缺血相关基因的表达,以鉴定候选基因的外显子是否发生可变剪接,从而实现对外显子芯片结果的鉴定。方法:根据生物信息学分析结果,选取小鼠外显子芯片中的3个基因(Ube3c,6330439K17Rik,Atp7a),在预测发生可变剪接的外显子两侧设计上下游引物,PCR后进行凝胶回收,再克隆到载体中进行测序。结果:RT-PCR及测序结果表明,Ube3c基因在6号外显子、6330439K17Rik基因在12号外显子、Atp7a基因在3号外显子发生可变剪接,与芯片预测结果一致。结论:RT-PCR技术可针对外显子芯片的结果进行可靠性验证,为可变剪接基因表达研究提供了一种有效手段。     

大鼠Mocs2基因跳跃型外显子可变剪接保留率的检测

可变剪接是真核生物基因表达调控的一种重要方式,它通过剪接位点调控ORFs (Open reading frames)区域外显子或内含子的表达,产生不同的mRNA剪接体,进一步翻译成具有相同或不同功能的蛋白质,从而对诸如发育、疾病、环境响应等生物学过程产生重要影响.已有文献报道,人类Mocs2基因exon 1a与exon 1b外显子发生互斥型可变剪接,产生的两个剪接体分别编码钼喋呤合酶的大小亚基,参与钼辅因子生物的合成过程.基于本课题组前期大鼠肺部组织RNA-seq测序的结果,发现Mocs2基因2号外显子转录后可被剪接或保留,产生两个不同的剪接体.为验证测序结果的准确性,本研究利用半定量PCR与实时荧光定量PCR两种方法检测大鼠脑、海马、肺组织中Mocs2基因2号外显子的保留率.半定量PCR方法检测大鼠肺、海马、大脑组织中Mocs2基因的保留率分别为(88.28±3.09)％、(99.44±0.24)％、(99.54±0.19)％.实时荧光定量PCR检测的保留率分别为(66.76±20.47)％、(75.60±12.44)％、(87.28±16.4)％.实验结果表明,Mocs2基因2号外显子在大鼠中存在可变剪接现象,且不同组织具有一定差异.本工作进一步验证了两种PCR方法检测前体mRNA可变剪接保留率的可行性.     

真核基因可变剪接研究现状与展望

mRNA前体(pre-mRNA)的可变剪接是控制基因表达和产生蛋白质多样性的重要机制,是功能基因组时代的研究重点之一。生物信息学在识别可变剪接基因及其结构、分析可变剪接的功能和调控方式等方面具有重要作用。除了耗时的实验研究,识别可变剪接基因及其结构主要通过EST、mRNA等转录数据与基因组序列进行比对,获得同一基因的不同结构方式。分析蛋白质产物可对可变剪接的功能进行预测;潜在调控元件的统计分析则可为可变剪接调控机制的研究提供必要的数据。转录数据的时空信息以及比较基因组学对理解可变剪接信息的精确调控将提供重要资料。可变剪接及其调控机制的深入研究将为基因组和蛋白质组之间的对接提供重要的桥梁。     

Srsf1敲低对GT1-7细胞基因表达谱的影响

目的:本研究通过RNA-seq技术分析Srsf1基因表达敲低的GT1-7细胞(knock down, KD)和野生型GT1-7细胞(wide type,WT)的表达谱和可变剪接事件,研究Srsf1敲低对GT1-7细胞基因表达谱的影响。方法:利用实验室现有的Srsf1基因表达敲低的GT1-7细胞(SRSF1-KD)和野生型GT1-7细胞分别抽提RNA,做RNA-seq数据分析,利用r MATS软件分析两株细胞内可变剪接事件的变化,确定Srsf1调控的下游关键基因。结果:结果显示共有875个基因表达存在显著性差异,对这些基因进行KEGG通路分析,发现γ-氨基丁酸能突触、PI3K-Akt信号通路、MAPK信号通路等与性发育相关的通路均受到影响。此外,P53通路也受到Srsf1敲低的影响。利用r MATS软件进行可变剪接事件分析,显示共发生839个可变剪接事件,涉及719个基因,进行KEGG通路分析发现与性发育相关的MAPK信号通路受到影响。结论:成功检测了GT1-7细胞和Srsf1基因敲低的GT1-7细胞表达谱,通过分析基因表达差异以及可变剪接事件,证明了Srsf1对于PI3K-Akt信号通路、MAPK信号通路、γ-氨基丁酸能突触信号通路、p53通路的调控作用,并且这些信号通路提示我们Srsf1可能更多的通过非可变剪接方式影响性发育相关基因的表达,而非可变剪接方式,从而为更深入的性发育研究提供了理论基础。     

黑曲霉木质纤维素降解酶基因的可变剪接分析及验证

黑曲霉Aspergillus niger因能够产生大量的木质纤维素降解酶而在木质纤维素资源利用中发挥重要作用。目前,有关黑曲霉基因组中与木质纤维素降解相关的基因是否存在可变剪接的情况尚不清楚。本研究以黑曲霉CBS513.88菌株为研究对象,采用rMATS和ABLas两种方法对黑曲霉在葡萄糖为唯一碳源(G组)和小麦秸秆为唯一碳源(WS组)下的56个木质纤维素降解酶基因的可变剪接事件进行分析,并通过RT-PCR扩增和内含子特异性扩增对3个典型基因的可变剪接体进行了验证。结果表明,ABLas可变剪接分析算法相较于rMATS分析算法更为准确,ABLas分析算法显示G组和WS组共有21个木质纤维素降解酶基因出现了可变剪接,可变剪接类型以内含子保留(IR)为主,占所有可变剪接事件的82.85%。另外,G组和WS组发生可变剪接的木质纤维素降解酶基因也有所不同：G组发生可变剪接的基因为13个,WS组发生可变剪接的基因为14个,两组都发生可变剪接的基因为6个,这表明黑曲霉木质纤维素降解酶基因的可变剪接在不同生长条件下存在差异,另一方面,黑曲霉中众多可变剪接体的存在也为开发新型的木质纤维素降解酶资源提供基础。     

miR-505-3p在小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞中抑制可变剪接因子以调控运动神经元存活基因可变剪接

目的探究微小RNA 505-3p(miR-505-3p)对于运动神经元存活基因(survival motor neuron gene,SMN)可变剪接的影响。方法利用生物信息学数据库预测miR-505-3p靶基因,构建双荧光素酶报告载体,在小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞(mouse embryonic fibroblast,MEF)中验证靶基因为可变剪接因子(alternative splicing factor,ASF)基因,运用免疫印迹和免疫荧光染色验证miR-505-3p对ASF的抑制效果,利用实时定量PCR技术检测miR-505-3p对具有正常功能的全长SMN(SMN-FL)以及含有毒性的第7号外显子缺失的SMN(SMN-D7)表达量的影响及ASF在其中的作用。结果 miR-505-3P直接结合ASF3'端调控区并抑制ASF mRNA及蛋白表达量,抑制ASF蛋白在细胞核中的表达和分布。过表达miR-505-3p促进SMN-FL向SMND7的转化,而过表达靶基因ASF或者抑制miR-505-3p促进SMN-FL的保留。结论 ASF对SMN基因正常剪接形成SMNFL是必需的,miR-505-3p通过抑制ASF,从而干扰ASF对于SMN可变剪接的调控,导致正常的SMN-FL向毒性的SMN-D7转化。     

鉴定9个新的RHD基因mRNA可变剪接体

为了研究各种RHD基因mRNA可变剪接体的基因结构, 应用逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)检测正常人脐血样本RHD mRNA, 对RHD cDNA进行TA克隆和序列分析, 对各可变剪接体的剪接位点进行DNA序列分析, 并将RHD mRNA进行表达序列标签(ESTs)分析。结果在28个阳性克隆中, 除全长RHD cDNA外, 共检测到12种(包括9种新的)RHD可变剪接体, 发现外显子遗漏、5′和3′剪接位点变异3种剪接形式, 涉及外显子2~9, 其中6种新的剪接体同时存在RHD和RHCE基因同源杂交现象。ESTs分析还检索到内含子保留形式的剪接体。研究表明, RHD基因mRNA存在复杂的可变剪接机制, 除已报道的剪接体外, 检测到9种新的RHD可变剪接体, 并发现了可变剪接和同源杂交并存现象。     

中华猕猴桃基因组可变剪接事件鉴定及分析

可变剪接使一个基因能产生多种m RNA成熟体,极大地增加蛋白多样性.采用中华猕猴桃基因组数据做参考数据,利用中华猕猴桃叶片和果实3个不同发育时期(未成熟、半成熟和成熟期)的转录组数据,从中华猕猴桃基因组(39040个基因)中共鉴定出11651个基因(占总基因数的29%)对应的32180个可变剪接事件.在可变剪接不同类型中,内含子保留类型的发生频率最高,占50%以上;3′可变位点类型频率约为5′端可变类型的2倍.GO富集分析结果表明,可变剪接的基因主要富集于酶调控及核苷酸结合相关功能的GO类别中,而组织特有可变剪接基因功能富集热点与组织的重要功能关联,叶片多为肌动蛋白及微管相关;未成熟果实与双组分信号系统相关;半成熟果实多与磷脂合成过程相关;成熟果实多与信号传递过程相关.另外,55.6%的维生素合成相关基因发生可变剪接事件,显著高于基因组水平的29.6%,暗示着可变剪接参与维生素合成相关基因代谢过程中的重要作用.通过对中华猕猴桃全基因组可变剪接的分析,为解析中华猕猴桃基因组及进一步开展相关分子育种工作提供依据.     

秀丽隐杆线虫肠发育过程中的基因表达和可变剪接动态时序分析

本工作从NCBI数据库(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)获取了秀丽隐杆线虫(Caenorhabditis elegans)自胚胎分离的120 min到分离后480 min共5个时序点(T0、T1、T2、T3、T4)的10个肠组织样本的RNA-seq测序数据,质控后平均读段数1.3×10⁷;构建了秀丽隐杆线虫肠组织发育过程中的基因表达矩阵(20191/基因数×10/样本数),识别了不同时序点间的差异表达基因;建立了每个时序点的可变剪接图谱,并识别了不同时序点间的差异可变剪接事件。结果表明,随着原肠形成的进行,源于内胚层的肠组织中大量基因的表达量上调,保证了原肠运动过程中细胞大量增殖的精准调控。可变3′在肠组织5个时序点中的平均占比最高,外显子跳跃、可变5′、内含子保留的平均占比相近。相较其他4个时序点,T1时序点的可变剪接丰度最大,表明可变剪接在原肠运动起始阶段有着重要的调控作用。肠组织增殖期的起始阶段(T0)与增殖期后期(T3)和型态形成期(T4)间的差异可变剪接事件丰度较高,表明部分基因通过形成不同的异构体参与秀丽隐杆线虫肠发育调控。...     

嗜热四膜虫可变剪接基因鉴定及功能分析

可变剪接是产生蛋白质组多样性和调节基因表达的重要机制,相关研究在高等真核生物中开展较多,而在单细胞真核生物中则较少,尤其是单细胞原生动物纤毛虫中,仅有少量报道。本文基于单细胞模式原生动物嗜热四膜虫种大量转录组数据,对其可变剪接基因进行了鉴定及分析。在嗜热四膜虫中共鉴定到2 894个可变剪接位点,涉及到2 698个可变剪接基因,可分为四类。考虑到转录本拼接的准确性,选择了其中464个与基因组预测模型完全一致的可变剪接基因进行深入分析,其中生长(growth)时期、饥饿(starvation)时期、接合生殖(conjugation)时期特异性的可变剪接基因分别为49个、79个和135个。对可变剪接基因的功能进行分析表明其涉及的功能广泛且显著富集于蛋白激酶过程,提示可变剪接基因在嗜热四膜虫蛋白磷酸化和信号传导中具有重要作用。     

Genome wide identification and classification of alternative splicing based on EST data

MOTIVATION: Alternative splicing is currently seen to explain the vast disparity between the number of predicted genes in the human genome and the highly diverse proteome. The mapping of expressed sequences tag (EST) consensus sequences derived from the GeneNest database onto the genome provides an efficient way of predicting exon-intron boundaries, gene structure and alternative splicing events. However, the alternative splicing events are obscured by a large number of putatively artificial exon boundaries arising due to genomic contamination or alignment errors. The current work describes a methodology to associate quality values to the predicted exon-intron boundaries. High quality exon-intron boundaries are used to predict constitutive and alternative splicing ranked by confidence values, aiming to facilitate large-scale analysis of alternative splicing and splicing in general. RESULTS: Applying the current methodology, constitutive splicing is observed in 33,270 EST clusters, out of which 45% are alternatively spliced. The classification derived from the computed confidence values for 17 of these splice events frequently correlate (15/17) with RT-PCR experiments performed for 40 different tissue samples. As an application of the confidence measure, an evaluation of distribution of alternative splicing revealed that majority of variants correspond to the coding regions of the genes. However, still a significant fraction maps to non-coding regions, thereby indicating a functional relevance of alternative splicing in untranslated regions. AVAILABILITY: The predicted alternative splice variants are visualized in the SpliceNest database at http://splicenest.molgen.mpg.de     

Alternative splicing in colon, bladder, and prostate cancer identified by exon array analysis

Alternative splicing enhances proteome diversity and modulates cancer-associated proteins. To identify tissue- and tumor-specific alternative splicing, we used the GeneChip Human Exon 1.0 ST Array to measure whole-genome exon expression in 102 normal and cancer tissue samples of different stages from colon, urinary bladder, and prostate. We identified 2069 candidate alternative splicing events between normal tissue samples from colon, bladder, and prostate and selected 15 splicing events for RT-PCR validation, 10 of which were successfully validated by RT-PCR and sequencing. Furthermore 23, 19, and 18 candidate tumor-specific splicing alterations in colon, bladder, and prostate, respectively, were selected for RT-PCR validation on an independent set of 81 normal and tumor tissue samples. In total, seven genes with tumor-specific splice variants were identified (ACTN1, CALD1, COL6A3, LRRFIP2, PIK4CB, TPM1, and VCL). The validated tumor-specific splicing alterations were highly consistent, enabling clear separation of normal and cancer samples and in some cases even of different tumor stages. A subset of the tumor-specific splicing alterations (ACTN1, CALD1, and VCL) was found in all three organs and may represent general cancer-related splicing events. In silico protein predictions suggest that the identified cancer-specific splice variants encode proteins with potentially altered functions, indicating that they may be involved in pathogenesis and hence represent novel therapeutic targets. In conclusion, we identified and validated alternative splicing between normal tissue samples from colon, bladder, and prostate in addition to cancer-specific splicing events in colon, bladder, and prostate cancer that may have diagnostic and prognostic implications.     

CD72几种新的剪切形式的发现及它们在红斑狼疮模型鼠中的差异表达

CD72是一个重要的B细胞特异性受体,它以多种选择性剪切形式存在.在小鼠脾细胞中发现并鉴定了8种新的CD72选择性剪切形式,这些剪切形式中包含有2种独特的插入片段,一种选择性剪切保留了一个内含子(intron1),而这个内含子被翻译成氨基酸序列后并没有改变前后外显子的读码框,另一种使用了一个位于内含子之内的3′剪切位点,从而产生移码,提前终止了蛋白质的开放读码框,称为3′AS(3′alternative splicingsite).比较了CD72所有剪切形式在BALB/C小鼠和NZB/W小鼠中的差异表达,发现:a.含有3′AS的剪切形式的表达都很少;b.WT, In1, In1-Ex3和-Ex3的表达在BLAB/C小鼠中比在NZB/W小鼠中高;c.没有ITIM2的-Ex2-Ex3剪切形式在NZB/W小鼠中有特异性高表达.这些结果提示,CD72的多种选择性剪切形式在调控B细胞受体信号转导过程中可能发挥着不同的作用,并与系统性红斑狼疮的发病密切相关.     

Alternative isoforms of myelin/oligodendrocyte glycoprotein with variable cytoplasmic domains are expressed in human brain

The human myelin/oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) gene is encoded by 10 exons that exhibit a complex pattern of alternative splicing. This report demonstrates that several MOG-specific alternative splice variants are indeed expressed in human oligodendrocytes (OLs) and myelin during perinatal development and are retained through adulthood. While all forms possess the common extracellular Ig-like domain, these alternative MOG structures differ significantly in their respective cytoplasmic domains. Peptide-specific antibodies were generated to facilitate detection of these different MOG moieties. The fidelity of these antibodies is shown using N20 OLs expressing individual MOG variants. These antibodies also only co-localize with another well-characterized marker of OLs and myelin--PLP/DM20 proteins. Among the human tissue samples tested, very limited expression occurred by 36 weeks gestation for 2-3 MOG variants, and the remaining MOG isoforms were not evident until shortly after birth. This study represents the first evidence of alternative translation products from the MOG gene. To date, it is believed that alternative splicing of MOG is limited to primates. Recent completion of various genome projects has revealed that alternative splicing is much more prevalent than originally estimated, and species-specific alternative splicing is now being shown to be highly relevant to expanding proteomic diversity.