Small molecule control of pre-mRNA splicing

SR proteins regulate alternative splicing by binding to exonic sequences where, via an arginine/serine-rich splicing activation domain, they enhance the binding of the spliceosome to the adjacent splice sites. Here, a system is described in which a nontoxic derivative of the small molecule rapamycin is used to control pre-mRNA splicing in vitro. This involves the rapamycin-dependent recruitment of a splicing activation domain located on one protein to a second protein bound to the pre-mRNA. These results provide a new approach to explore for regulating gene expression in vivo with small molecules by controlling pre-mRNA splicing.