Understanding how the assembly of nascent mRNA into a ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) influences R-loop homeostasis is crucial for gaining insight into the cellular mechanisms that prevent genome instability. Here, we identify three RNA-binding proteins, Rie1, Rim4 and She2, whose expression levels are important to limit R-loop accumulation and, thus, to prevent DNA damage. Interestingly, Rim4 and She2 are overrepresented in CBP80-containing mRNPs formed in the absence of THO. In addition, we found that an excess of the RNA exosome component Dis3 impairs its function, promoting R-loops, particularly from non-coding RNAs, which cause genomic instability. Our results indicate that changes in the availability of different RBPs or RNAs, causes R-loop-mediated DNA damage in the cell. These results may help to understand the mechanism that promotes cancer, as several RBPs are overexpressed in different types of tumors.
Copyright: © 2025 Mérida-Cerro et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.