SRSF1 suppresses selection of intron-distal 5' splice site of DOK7 intron 4 to generate functional full-length Dok-7 protein

Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 5;7(1):10446. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11036-z.

Abstract

Dok-7 is a non-catalytic adaptor protein that facilitates agrin-induced clustering of acetylcholine receptors (AChR) at the neuromuscular junction. Alternative selection of 5' splice sites (SSs) of DOK7 intron 4 generates canonical and frame-shifted transcripts. We found that the canonical full-length Dok-7 enhanced AChR clustering, whereas the truncated Dok-7 did not. We identified a splicing cis-element close to the 3' end of exon 4 by block-scanning mutagenesis. RNA affinity purification and mass spectrometry revealed that SRSF1 binds to the cis-element. Knocking down of SRSF1 enhanced selection of the intron-distal 5' SS of DOK7 intron 4, whereas MS2-mediated artificial tethering of SRSF1 to the identified cis-element suppressed it. Isolation of an early spliceosomal complex revealed that SRSF1 inhibited association of U1 snRNP to the intron-distal 5' SS, and rather enhanced association of U1 snRNP to the intron-proximal 5' SS, which led to upregulation of the canonical DOK7 transcript. Integrated global analysis of CLIP-seq and RNA-seq also indicated that binding of SRSF1 immediately upstream to two competing 5' SSs suppresses selection of the intron-distal 5' SS in hundreds of human genes. We demonstrate that SRSF1 critically regulates alternative selection of adjacently placed 5' SSs by modulating binding of U1 snRNP.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing*
  • Animals
  • Binding Sites
  • Exons*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Humans
  • Introns*
  • Models, Biological
  • Muscle Proteins / genetics*
  • Muscle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • RNA Splice Sites*
  • Rats
  • Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional
  • Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors / metabolism*

Substances

  • DOK7 protein, human
  • Muscle Proteins
  • RNA Splice Sites
  • SRSF1 protein, human
  • Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors