Polypyrimdine tract binding protein (PTB) is a regulator of alternative splicing, mRNA 3' end formation, mRNA stability and localization, and IRES-mediated translation. Transient overexpression of PTB can influence alternative splicing, sometimes resulting in nonphysiological splicing patterns. Here, we show that alternative skipping of PTB exon 11 leads to an mRNA that is removed by NMD and that this pathway consumes at least 20% of the PTB mRNA in HeLa cells. We also show that exon 11 skipping is itself promoted by PTB in a negative feedback loop. This autoregulation may serve both to prevent disruptively high levels of PTB expression and to restore nuclear levels when PTB is mobilized to the cytoplasm. Our findings suggest that alternative splicing can act not only to generate protein isoform diversity but also to quantitatively control gene expression and complement recent bioinformatic analyses, indicating a high prevalence of human alternative splicing leading to NMD.

Polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) is an RNA-binding protein that regulates splicing by repressing specific splicing events. It also has roles in 39-end processing, internal initiation of translation, and RNA localization. PTB exists in three alternatively spliced isoforms, PTB1, PTB2, and PTB4, which differ by the insertion of 19 or 26 amino acids, respectively, between the second and third RNA recognition motif domains. Here we show that the PTB isoforms have distinct activities upon a-tropomyosin (TM) alternative splicing. PTB1 reduced the repression of TM exon 3 in transfected smooth muscle cells, whereas PTB4 enhanced TM exon 3 skipping in vivo and in vitro. PTB2 had an intermediate effect. The PTB4 . PTB2 . PTB1 repressive hierarchy was observed in all in vivo and in vitro assays with TM, but the isoforms were equally active in inducing skipping of a-actinin exons and showed the opposite hierarchy of activity when tested for activation of IRES-driven translation. These findings establish that the ratio of PTB isoforms could form part of a cellular code that in turn controls the splicing of various other pre-mRNAs.

SummaryLong mammalian introns make it challenging for the RNA processing machinery to identify exons accurately. We find that LINE-derived sequences (LINEs) contribute to this selection by recruiting dozens of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to introns. This includes MATR3, which promotes binding of PTBP1 to multivalent binding sites within LINEs. Both RBPs repress splicing and 3′ end processing within and around LINEs. Notably, repressive RBPs preferentially bind to evolutionarily young LINEs, which are located far from exons. These RBPs insulate the LINEs and the surrounding intronic regions from RNA processing. Upon evolutionary divergence, changes in RNA motifs within LINEs lead to gradual loss of their insulation. Hence, older LINEs are located closer to exons, are a common source of tissue-specific exons, and increasingly bind to RBPs that enhance RNA processing. Thus, LINEs are hubs for the assembly of repressive RBPs and also contribute to the evolution of new, lineage-specific transcripts in mammals.Video Abstract

The smooth muscle (SM) and nonmuscle (NM) isoforms of ␣-actinin are produced by mutually exclusive splicing of an upstream NM exon and a downstream SM-specific exon. A rat ␣-actinin genomic clone encompassing the mutually exclusive exons was isolated and sequenced. The SM exon was found to utilize two branch points located 382 and 386 nucleotides (nt) upstream of the 3 splice site, while the NM exon used a single branch point 191 nt upstream. Mutually exclusive splicing arises from the proximity of the SM branch points to the NM 5 splice site, and this steric repression could be relieved in part by the insertion of spacer elements. In addition, the SM exon is repressed in non-SM cells and extracts. In vitro splicing of spacercontaining transcripts could be activated by (i) truncation of the transcript between the SM polypyrimidine tract and exon, (ii) addition of competitor RNAs containing the 3 end of the actinin intron or regulatory sequences from ␣-tropomyosin (TM), and (iii) depletion of the splicing extract by using biotinylated ␣-TM RNAs. A number of lines of evidence point to polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) as the trans-acting factor responsible for repression. PTB was the only nuclear protein observed to cross-link to the actinin RNA, and the ability of various competitor RNAs to activate splicing correlated with their ability to bind PTB. Furthermore, repression of ␣-actinin splicing in the nuclear extracts depleted of PTB by using biotinylated RNA could be specifically restored by the addition of recombinant PTB. Thus, ␣-actinin mutually exclusive splicing is enforced by the unusual location of the SM branch point, while constitutive repression of the SM exon is conferred by regulatory elements between the branch point and 3 splice site and by PTB.Many eukaryotic genes employ alternative splicing as a means of generating protein diversity. This differential incorporation of exons into the mature RNA is often under developmental and/or tissue-specific control and enables the cell to tailor the protein to suit its own particular requirements (61, 67). The basic splicing mechanism involves a two-step process which takes place in a ribonucleoprotein complex called a spliceosome and results in adjacent exons being joined together with the intron between released in the form of a lariat (reviewed in references 1 and 57). There is a further level of complexity in alternative splicing in that different combinations of 5Ј and 3Ј splice sites are ligated. The mechanisms that determine which splice sites are utilized and how this is regulated in different cell types or developmental stages have still not been precisely defined. Much progress has been made in identifying the cis-acting elements involved in alternative splicing, and the roles of some general factors have been demonstrated (1, 67). cis-Acting determinants that influence competing splicing pathways include the relative strengths of the competing 5Ј splice sites (e.g., 9, 78), branch point sequences (e.g., 53, 79), and polypyrimidine tracts...

Exons 2 and 3 of alpha‐tropomyosin are spliced in a strict mutually exclusive manner. Exon 3 is a default choice, being selected in almost all cell types where the gene is expressed. The default selection arises from a competition between the two exons, in which the stronger branch point/pyrimidine tract elements of exon 3 win. Exon 2 is selected predominantly or exclusively only in smooth muscle cells. We show here that the basis for the smooth muscle‐specific switching of exon selection is inhibition of exon 3. Exon 3 is still skipped with smooth muscle specificity, even in the absence of exon 2. We have defined two conserved sequence elements, one in each of the introns flanking exon 3, that are essential for this regulation. Mutation of either element severely impairs regulated suppression of exon 3. No other exon or intron sequences appear to be necessary for regulation. We have also demonstrated skipping of exon 3 that is dependent upon both regulatory elements in an in vitro splicing assay. We further show that both splice sites of exon 3 must be inhibited in a concerted fashion to switch to selection of exon 2. This may relate to the requirement for negative elements on both sides of the exon.

Production of mRNA in eukaryotic cells involves not only transcription but also various processing reactions such as splicing. Recent experiments have indicated that there are direct physical connections between components of the transcription and processing machinery, supporting previous suggestions that pre-mRNA splicing occurs co-transcriptionally. Here we have used a novel functional approach to demonstrate co-transcriptional regulation of alternative splicing. Exon 3 of the alpha-tropomyosin gene is specifically repressed in smooth muscle cells. By delaying synthesis of an essential downstream inhibitory element, we show that the decision to splice or repress exon 3 occurs during a limited window of opportunity following transcription, indicating that splice site selection proceeds rapidly after transcription.

Polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) is a regulatory splicing repressor. Raver1 acts as a PTB corepressor for splicing of alpha-tropomyosin (Tpm1) exon 3. Here we define a minimal region of Raver1 that acts as a repressor domain when recruited to RNA. A conserved [S/G][I/L]LGxxP motif is essential for splicing repressor activity and sufficient for interaction with PTB. An adjacent proline-rich region is also essential for repressor activity but not for PTB interaction. NMR analysis shows that LLGxxP peptides interact with a hydrophobic groove on the dorsal surface of the RRM2 domain of PTB, which constitutes part of the minimal repressor region of PTB. The requirement for the PTB-Raver1 interaction that we have characterized may serve to bring the additional repressor regions of both proteins into a configuration that allows them to synergistically effect exon skipping.

Regulated switching of the mutually exclusive exons 2 and 3 of alpha-tropomyosin (TM) involves repression of exon 3 in smooth muscle cells. Polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) is necessary but not sufficient for regulation of TM splicing. Raver1 was identified in two-hybrid screens by its interactions with the cytoskeletal proteins actinin and vinculin, and was also found to interact with PTB. Consistent with these interactions raver1 can be localized in either the nucleus or cytoplasm. Here we show that raver1 is able to promote the smooth muscle-specific alternative splicing of TM by enhancing PTB-mediated repression of exon 3. This activity of raver1 is dependent upon characterized PTB-binding regulatory elements and upon a region of raver1 necessary for interaction with PTB. Heterologous recruitment of raver1, or just its C-terminus, induced very high levels of exon 3 skipping, bypassing the usual need for PTB binding sites downstream of exon 3. This suggests a novel mechanism for PTB-mediated splicing repression involving recruitment of raver1 as a potent splicing co-repressor.