The TIGD5 gene located in 8q24 and frequently amplified in ovarian cancers is a tumor suppressor.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the fifth most common cancer of female cancer death and leading cause of lethal gynecological cancers. High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) is an aggressive malignancy that is rapidly fatal. Many cases of OC show amplification of the 8q24 chromosomal region, which contains the well-known oncogene MYC. Although MYC amplification is more frequently observed in OCs than in other tumor types, due to the large size of the 8q24 amplicon, the functions of the vast majority of the genes it contains are still unknown. The TIGD5 gene is located at 8q24.3 and encodes a nuclear protein with a DNA-binding motif, but its precise role is obscure. We show here that TIGD5 often co-amplifies with MYC in OCs, and that OC patients with high TIGD5 mRNA expression have a poor prognosis. However, we also found that TIGD5 overexpression in ovarian cancer cell lines unexpectedly suppressed their growth, adhesion, and invasion in vitro, and also reduced tumor growth in xenografted nude mice in vivo. Thus, our work suggests that TIGD5 may in fact operate as a tumor suppressor in OCs rather than as an oncogene.

Unusual semi-extractability as a hallmark of nuclear body-associated architectural noncoding RNAs.

NEAT1_2 long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is the molecular scaffold of paraspeckle nuclear bodies. Here, we report an improved RNA extraction method: extensive needle shearing or heating of cell lysate in RNA extraction reagent improved NEAT1_2 extraction by 20-fold (a property we term "semi-extractability"), whereas using a conventional method NEAT1_2 was trapped in the protein phase. The improved extraction method enabled us to estimate that approximately 50 NEAT1_2 molecules are present in a single paraspeckle. Another architectural lncRNA, IGS16, also exhibited similar semi-extractability. A comparison of RNA-seq data from needle-sheared and control samples revealed the existence of multiple semi-extractable RNAs, many of which were localized in subnuclear granule-like structures. The semi-extractability of NEAT1_2 correlated with its association with paraspeckle proteins and required the prion-like domain of the RNA-binding protein FUS This observation suggests that tenacious RNA-protein and protein-protein interactions, which drive nuclear body formation, are responsible for semi-extractability. Our findings provide a foundation for the discovery of the architectural RNAs that constitute nuclear bodies.

Changes to the TDP-43 and FUS Interactomes Induced by DNA Damage.

The RNA-binding proteins TDP-43 and FUS are tied as the third leading known genetic cause for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and TDP-43 proteopathies are found in nearly all ALS patients. Both the natural function and contribution to pathology for TDP-43 remain unclear. The intersection of functions between TDP-43 and FUS can focus attention for those natural functions mostly likely to be relevant to disease. Here, we compare the role played by TDP-43 and FUS, maintaining chromatin stability for dividing HEK293T cells. We also determine and compare the interactomes of TDP-43 and FUS, quantitating changes in those before and after DNA damage. Finally, selected interactions with known importance to DNA damage repair were validated by co-immunoprecipitation assays. This study uncovered TDP-43 and FUS binding to several factors important to DNA repair mechanisms that can be replication-dependent, -independent, or both. These results provide further evidence that TDP-43 has an important role in DNA stability and provide new ways that TDP-43 can bind to the machinery that guards DNA integrity in cells.

SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes function in noncoding RNA-dependent assembly of nuclear bodies.

Paraspeckles are subnuclear structures that form around nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). Recently, paraspeckles were shown to be functional nuclear bodies involved in stress responses and the development of specific organs. Paraspeckle formation is initiated by transcription of the NEAT1 chromosomal locus and proceeds in conjunction with NEAT1 lncRNA biogenesis and a subsequent assembly step involving >40 paraspeckle proteins (PSPs). In this study, subunits of SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin-remodeling complexes were identified as paraspeckle components that interact with PSPs and NEAT1 lncRNA. EM observations revealed that SWI/SNF complexes were enriched in paraspeckle subdomains depleted of chromatin. Knockdown of SWI/SNF components resulted in paraspeckle disintegration, but mutation of the ATPase domain of the catalytic subunit BRG1 did not affect paraspeckle integrity, indicating that the essential role of SWI/SNF complexes in paraspeckle formation does not require their canonical activity. Knockdown of SWI/SNF complexes barely affected the levels of known essential paraspeckle components, but markedly diminished the interactions between essential PSPs, suggesting that SWI/SNF complexes facilitate organization of the PSP interaction network required for intact paraspeckle assembly. The interactions between SWI/SNF components and essential PSPs were maintained in NEAT1-depleted cells, suggesting that SWI/SNF complexes not only facilitate interactions between PSPs, but also recruit PSPs during paraspeckle assembly. SWI/SNF complexes were also required for Satellite III lncRNA-dependent formation of nuclear stress bodies under heat-shock conditions. Our data suggest the existence of a common mechanism underlying the formation of lncRNA-dependent nuclear body architectures in mammalian cells.

Simultaneous multicolor detection of RNA and proteins using super-resolution microscopy.

A number of non-membranous cellular bodies have been identified in higher eukaryotes, and these bodies contain a specific set of proteins and RNAs that are used to fulfill their functions. The size of these RNA-containing cellular bodies is usually on a submicron scale, making it difficult to observe fine structures using optical microscopy due to the diffraction limitation of visible light. Recently, microscope companies have released super-resolution microscopes that were developed using different principles, enabling the observation of sub-micron structures not resolvable in conventional fluorescent microscopy. Here, we describe multi-color fluorescent in situ hybridization techniques optimized for the simultaneous detection of RNA and proteins using super-resolution microscopy, namely structured illumination microscopy (SIM).

Chromatin remodeling complexes in the assembly of long noncoding RNA-dependent nuclear bodies.

Paraspeckles are subnuclear structures that assemble on nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) long noncoding (lnc)RNA. Paraspeckle formation requires appropriate NEAT1 biogenesis and subsequent assembly with multiple prion-like domain (PLD) containing RNA-binding proteins. We found that SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes function as paraspeckle components that interact with paraspeckle proteins (PSPs) and NEAT1. SWI/SNF complexes play an essential role in paraspeckle formation that does not require their ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling activity. Instead, SWI/SNF complexes facilitate organization of the PSP interaction network required for intact paraspeckle assembly. SWI/SNF complexes may collectively bind multiple PSPs to recruit them onto NEAT1. SWI/SNF complexes are also required for Sat III (Satellite III) lncRNA-dependent formation of nuclear stress bodies under heat shock conditions. Organization of the lncRNA-dependent omega speckle in Drosophila also depends on the chromatin remodeling complex. These findings raise the possibility that a common mechanism controls the formation of lncRNA-dependent nuclear body architecture.

Prion-like domains in RNA binding proteins are essential for building subnuclear paraspeckles.

Prion-like domains (PLDs) are low complexity sequences found in RNA binding proteins associated with the neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Recently, PLDs have been implicated in mediating gene regulation via liquid-phase transitions that drive ribonucleoprotein granule assembly. In this paper, we report many PLDs in proteins associated with paraspeckles, subnuclear bodies that form around long noncoding RNA. We mapped the interactome network of paraspeckle proteins, finding enrichment of PLDs. We show that one protein, RBM14, connects key paraspeckle subcomplexes via interactions mediated by its PLD. We further show that the RBM14 PLD, as well as the PLD of another essential paraspeckle protein, FUS, is required to rescue paraspeckle formation in cells in which their endogenous counterpart has been knocked down. Similar to FUS, the RBM14 PLD also forms hydrogels with amyloid-like properties. These results suggest a role for PLD-mediated liquid-phase transitions in paraspeckle formation, highlighting this nuclear body as an excellent model system for understanding the perturbation of such processes in neurodegeneration.

Architectural roles of long noncoding RNAs in the intranuclear formation of functional paraspeckles.

The eukaryotic nucleus is highly compartmentalized, and this structural complexity allows the regulation of complex gene expression pathways. Some of the subnuclear structures called nuclear bodies are known to contain RNAs. Recently multiple noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been identified as products from regions covering large portions of mammalian genomes. Several abundant ncRNAs were found to localize in nuclear bodies, suggesting new roles for ncRNAs in these nuclear bodies. Paraspeckle, one of these nuclear bodies, contains specific ncRNAs, termed MEN (Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia) epsilon/beta ncRNAs, and characteristic RNA-binding proteins. Paraspeckle is ubiquitously observed in cultured cell lines but is cell type-specific in mouse tissues. Paraspeckle reportedly plays an important role in the nuclear retention of inosine-containing mRNAs and is regulated under stress conditions. Intriguingly, MEN epsilon/beta ncRNAs are prerequisite for the formation of paraspeckles, indicating architectural roles for these ncRNAs and, presumably, significant roles in the nuclear retention of mRNAs as well. This review focuses on known aspects of the paraspeckle structure and its components, and we attempt here to construct a model of the ncRNA-dependent formation of nuclear body structures.

Self-assembly of double-tail anionic surfactant having cyanobiphenyl terminal groups in water.

This study reports the interfacial properties and lyotropic liquid crystal formation of sodium 1,2-bis{6-[4-(4-cyanophenyl)phenyloxy]hexyloxycarbonyl}ethanesulfonate (SBCPHS), which is a double-tail surfactant with cyanobiphenyl terminal groups, in water. Polarized microscopic observation of water/SBCPHS mixtures revealed the presence of columnar and lamellar phases. In the lamellar phase, myelin figures representing multilamellar tubes were observed, and some of these figures had a double-helix structure. In order to examine these liquid crystal structures in detail, the bilayer thickness of the lamellar tubes and the lattice parameters of the columnar phase were measured by small-angle X-ray scattering analysis. Four scattering peaks that could be ascribed to C2/m symmetry were observed for the columnar phase. The bilayer thickness and one of the lattice parameters were smaller than twice the molecular length of SBCPHS; this showed that the liquid crystal phases had intercalated structures. Comparison of SBCPHS with a typical double-tail hydrocarbon surfactant revealed that the cyanobiphenyl terminal groups in the former helped increase the stability of the liquid crystal formed at low temperatures. The stabilizing effect of the cyanobiphenyl terminal groups on the liquid crystals could have been driven by electrostatic intermolecular interactions between the terminal groups in antiparallel arrangement of the SBCPHS molecules.