RESUMEN
The regulation of pre-mRNA processing has important consequences for cell division and the control of cancer cell proliferation, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. We report that three splicing factors, SPF45, SR140, and CHERP, form a tight physical and functionally coherent complex that regulates a variety of alternative splicing events, frequently by repressing short exons flanked by suboptimal 3' splice sites. These comprise alternative exons embedded in genes with important functions in cell-cycle progression, including the G2/M key regulator FOXM1 and the spindle regulator SPDL1. Knockdown of either of the three factors leads to G2/M arrest and to enhanced apoptosis in HeLa cells. Promoting the changes in FOXM1 or SPDL1 splicing induced by SPF45/SR140/CHERP knockdown partially recapitulates the effects on cell growth, arguing that the complex orchestrates a program of alternative splicing necessary for efficient cell proliferation.
Asunto(s)
Empalme Alternativo , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/metabolismo , Regulación Neoplásica de la Expresión Génica , Proteínas de la Membrana/metabolismo , Factores de Empalme de ARN/metabolismo , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/metabolismo , Ribonucleoproteínas/metabolismo , Neoplasias del Cuello Uterino/patología , Apoptosis , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/genética , Proliferación Celular , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/genética , Femenino , Células HeLa , Humanos , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Factores de Empalme de ARN/genética , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/genética , Ribonucleoproteínas/genética , Neoplasias del Cuello Uterino/genética , Neoplasias del Cuello Uterino/metabolismoRESUMEN
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed and is continuously posing enormous societal and health challenges worldwide. The research community has mobilized to develop novel projects to find a cure or a vaccine, as well as to contribute to mass testing, which has been a critical measure to contain the infection in several countries. Through this article, we share our experiences and learnings as a group of volunteers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain. As members of the ORFEU project, an initiative by the Government of Catalonia to achieve mass testing of people at risk and contain the epidemic in Spain, we share our motivations, challenges and the key lessons learnt, which we feel will help better prepare the global society to address similar situations in the future.