Relative strength of 5' splice-site strength defines functions of SRSF2 and SRSF6 in alternative splicing of Bcl-x pre-mRNA

BMB Rep. 2021 Mar;54(3):176-181. doi: 10.5483/BMBRep.2021.54.3.170.

Abstract

Bcl-x, a member of the Bcl-2 family, plays a key role in apoptosis. Alternative splicing of Bcl-x pre-mRNA through alternative 5' splice-site selection produces an anti-apoptotic mRNA isoform that includes exon 2b and a pro-apoptotic Bcl-x mRNA isoform that excludes exon 2b. Here we used Bcl-x minigene and identified SRSF2 and SRSF6 as two regulatory factors of 5' splice-site selection of Bcl-x pre-mRNA. We selected binding clusters closer to 5' splice-sites from multiple potential binding sites of SRSF2 and SRSF6 to perform loss of functions analysis through site-directed mutagenesis. Our results demonstrated that these mutations did not abolish regulatory functions of SRSF2 or SRSF6, indicating that a single binding motif or a cluster was not a functional target of these proteins in Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing. Random deletion mutagenesis did not disrupt the role of SRSF2 and SRSF6. Importantly, mutagenesis of 5' splice-site to a conserved or a weaker score demonstrated that the weaker strength of the target 5' splice-site or higher strength of the other 5' splice-site strength limited the role of SRSF2 and SRSF6 in 5' splice-site activation. [BMB Reports 2021; 54(3): 176-181].

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing / genetics*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Mutation
  • Phosphoproteins / genetics
  • Phosphoproteins / metabolism*
  • RNA Precursors / genetics*
  • RNA Precursors / metabolism
  • RNA Splice Sites / genetics*
  • Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors / genetics
  • Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors / metabolism*
  • bcl-X Protein / genetics*
  • bcl-X Protein / metabolism

Substances

  • Phosphoproteins
  • RNA Precursors
  • RNA Splice Sites
  • SRSF6 protein, human
  • bcl-X Protein
  • SRSF2 protein, human
  • Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors