The RNA exosome is an evolutionarily conserved, ribonuclease complex that is critical for both processing and degradation of a variety of RNAs. Cofactors that associate with the RNA exosome likely dictate substrate specificity for this complex. Recently, mutations in genes encoding both structural subunits of the RNA exosome and its cofactors have been linked to human disease. Mutations in the RNA exosome genes and cause pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 1b (PCH1b) and type 1c (PCH1c), respectively, which are similar autosomal-recessive, neurodegenerative diseases. Mutations in the RNA exosome gene cause a distinct syndrome with various tissue-specific phenotypes including retinitis pigmentosa and mild intellectual disability. Mutations in genes that encode RNA exosome cofactors also cause tissue-specific diseases with complex phenotypes. How mutations in these genes give rise to distinct, tissue-specific diseases is not clear. In this review, we discuss the role of the RNA exosome complex and its cofactors in human disease, consider the amino acid changes that have been implicated in disease, and speculate on the mechanisms by which exosome gene mutations could underlie dysfunction and disease.

Recent work has demonstrated that some actively transcribed genes closely associate with nuclear pore complexes (NPC) at the nuclear periphery. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mlp1 and Mlp2 proteins are components of the inner nuclear basket of the nuclear pore that mediate interactions with these active genes. To investigate the physical link between the NPC and active loci, we identified proteins that interact with the carboxyl-terminal globular domain of Mlp1 by tandem affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry. This analysis led to the identification of several components of the Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase (SAGA) histone acetyltransferase complex, Gcn5, Ada2, and Spt7. We utilized co-immunoprecipitation and in vitro binding assays to confirm the interaction between the Mlp proteins and SAGA components. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that Mlp1 and SAGA components associate with the same region of the GAL promoters. Critically, this Mlp-promoter interaction depends on the integrity of the SAGA complex. These results identify a physical association between SAGA and the NPC, and support previous results that relied upon visualization of GAL loci at the nuclear periphery by microscopy (Cabal, G. G. Genovesio, A., Rodriguez-Navarro, S., Zimmer, C., Gadal, O., Lesne, A., Buc, H., Feuerbach-Fournier, F., Olivo-Marin, J.-C., Hurt, E. C., and Nehrbass, U. (2006) Nature 441, 770 -773). We propose that a physical interaction between nuclear pore components and the SAGA complex can link the actively transcribed GAL genes to the nuclear pore.

Production of mature mRNAs that encode functional proteins consists of a highly complex pathway of synthesis, processing and export. Along this pathway, the mRNA transcript is scrutinized by quality control machinery at numerous steps. Such extensive RNA surveillance ensures that only correctly processed mature mRNAs are translated and precludes production of aberrant transcripts that could encode mutant or possibly deleterious proteins.

Nuclear export of mRNA requires several key mRNA-binding proteins that recognize and remodel the mRNA and target it for export via interactions with the nuclear pore complex. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the shuttling heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein, Nab2, which is essential for mRNA export, specifically recognizes poly(A) RNA and binds to the nuclear pore-associated protein, myosin-like protein 1 (Mlp1), which functions in mRNA export and quality control. Specifically, the N-terminal domain of Nab2 (Nab2-N; residues 1-97) interacts directly with the C-terminal globular domain of Mlp1 (CTMlp1: residues 1490 -1875). Recent structural and binding studies focused on Nab2-N have shown that Nab2-N contains a hydrophobic patch centered on Phe 73 that is critical for interaction with Mlp1. Engineered amino acid changes within this patch disrupt the Nab2/Mlp1 interaction in vitro. Given the importance of Nab2 and Mlp1 to mRNA export, we have examined the Nab2/Mlp1 interaction in greater detail and analyzed the functional consequences of disrupting the interaction in vivo. We find that the Nab2-binding domain of Mlp1 (Mlp1-NBD) maps to a 183-residue region (residues 1586 -1768) within CT-Mlp1, binds directly to Nab2 with micromolar affinity, and confers nuclear accumulation of poly(A) RNA. Furthermore, we show that cells expressing a Nab2 F73D mutant that cannot interact with Mlp1 exhibit nuclear accumulation of poly(A) RNA and that this nab2 F73D mutant genetically interacts with alleles of two essential mRNA export genes, MEX67 and YRA1. These data provide in vivo evidence for a model of mRNA export in which Nab2 is important for targeting mRNAs to the nuclear pore for export.Production of mature mRNA for translation is a complex multistep process involving an array of RNA-binding proteins (1-3). From its transcriptional inception in the nucleus, pre-mRNA that emerges from RNA polymerase II must be bound by processing factors for 5Ј-end capping, splicing, and 3Ј-end cleavage and polyadenylation to reach maturation (4). Alongside these processing events, maturing mRNA must be co-transcriptionally loaded with heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs), 2 mRNA export adaptors, and an mRNA export receptor to facilitate its active export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm through nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), large proteinaceous channels that perforate the nuclear membrane and mediate nucleocytoplasmic transport (1-3, 5). There are a number of nuclear quality controls that safeguard against improperly processed mRNA being exported and translated into deleterious proteins (6, 7). In particular, this quality control machinery likely monitors the state of processed mRNA by checking for the presence or absence of mRNA processing and export factors.One of the key players in mRNA export is the conserved heterodimeric mRNA export receptor, Mex67/Mtr2 (NXF1/ NXT1 or TAP/p15 in metazoans), which plays an essential role in bulk mRNA export in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster...

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 1b (PCH1b) is an autosomal recessive disorder that causes cerebellar hypoplasia and spinal motor neuron degeneration, leading to mortality in early childhood. PCH1b is caused by mutations in the RNA exosome subunit gene, EXOSC3. The RNA exosome is an evolutionarily conserved complex, consisting of nine different core subunits, and one or two 39-59 exoribonuclease subunits, that mediates several RNA degradation and processing steps. The goal of this study is to assess the functional consequences of the amino acid substitutions that have been identified in EXOSC3 in PCH1b patients. To analyze these EXOSC3 substitutions, we generated the corresponding amino acid substitutions in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ortholog of EXOSC3, Rrp40. We find that the rrp40 variants corresponding to EXOSC3-G31A and -D132A do not affect yeast function when expressed as the sole copy of the essential Rrp40 protein. In contrast, the rrp40-W195R variant, corresponding to EXOSC3-W238R in PCH1b patients, impacts cell growth and RNA exosome function when expressed as the sole copy of Rrp40. The rrp40-W195R protein is unstable, and does not associate efficiently with the RNA exosome in cells that also express wild-type Rrp40. Consistent with these findings in yeast, the levels of mouse EXOSC3 variants are reduced compared to wild-type EXOSC3 in a neuronal cell line. These data suggest that cells possess a mechanism for optimal assembly of functional RNA exosome complex that can discriminate between wildtype and variant exosome subunits. Budding yeast can therefore serve as a useful tool to understand the molecular defects in the RNA exosome caused by PCH1b-associated amino acid substitutions in EXOSC3, and potentially extending to disease-associated substitutions in other exosome subunits.KEYWORDS pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 1b; RNA exosome; EXOSC3; Rrp40; EXOSC2; RNA processing/degradation T HE RNA exosome is an evolutionarily conserved ribonuclease complex that is responsible for several essential RNA processing and degradation steps (Mitchell et al. 1997;Allmang et al. 1999;Schneider and Tollervey 2013). Major exosome substrates include mRNA, rRNA, and small RNAs. In addition to degrading aberrant and unneeded transcripts, the RNA exosome also trims precursor RNAs, including 5.8S rRNA (Mitchell et al. 1996). The RNA exosome thus plays critical roles in both RNA degradation and maturation.The subunits of the RNA exosome complex are evolutionarily conserved and many were first identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a screen for ribosomal RNA processing (rrp) mutants (Mitchell et al. 1996(Mitchell et al. , 1997Allmang et al. 1999). S. cerevisiae Rrp subunits correspond to human EXOSC subunits. The functions of the RNA exosome have been extensively characterized in budding yeast (Sloan et al. 2012), and many are conserved in humans (Schilders et al. 2005;Staals et al. 2010;Lubas et al. 2011Lubas et al. , 2015 the RNA exosome, six subunits comprise a core ring, and three putative RNA-binding sub...

RNA exosomopathies, a growing family of diseases, are linked to missense mutations in genes encoding structural subunits of the evolutionarily conserved, 10-subunit exoribonuclease complex, the RNA exosome. This complex consists of a 3-subunit cap, a 6-subunit, barrel-shaped, core and a catalytic base subunit. While a number of mutations in RNA exosome genes cause pontocerebellar hypoplasia, mutations in the cap subunit gene EXOSC2 cause an apparently distinct clinical presentation that has been defined as a novel syndrome SHRF (Short stature, Hearing loss, Retinitis pigmentosa and distinctive Facies). We generated the first in vivo model of the SHRF pathogenic amino acid substitutions using budding yeast by modeling pathogenic EXOSC2 missense mutations (p.Gly30Val and p.Gly198Asp) in the orthologous S. cerevisiae gene RRP4. The resulting rrp4 mutant cells show defects in cell growth and RNA exosome function. Consistent with altered RNA exosome function, we detect significant transcriptomic changes in both coding and non-coding RNAs in rrp4-G226D cells that model EXOSC2 p.Gly198Asp, suggesting defects in nuclear surveillance. Biochemical and genetic analyses suggest that the Rrp4 G226D variant subunit shows impaired interactions with key RNA exosome cofactors that modulate the function of the complex. These results provide the first in vivo evidence that pathogenic missense mutations present in EXOSC2 impair the function of the RNA exosome. This study also sets the stage to compare exosomopathy models to understand how defects in RNA exosome function underlie distinct pathologies.Words= 231

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, non-coding RNAs, including cryptic unstable transcripts (CUTs), are subject to degradation by the exosome. The Trf4/5-Air1/2-Mtr4 polyadenylation (TRAMP) complex in S. cerevisiae is a nuclear exosome cofactor that recruits the exosome to degrade RNAs. Trf4/5 are poly(A) polymerases, Mtr4 is an RNA helicase, and Air1/2 are putative RNA-binding proteins that contain five CCHC zinc knuckles (ZnKs). One central question is how the TRAMP complex, especially the Air1/2 protein, recognizes its RNA substrates. To characterize the function of the Air1/2 protein, we used random mutagenesis of the AIR1/2 gene to identify residues critical for Air protein function. We identified air1-C178R and air2-C167R alleles encoding air1/2 mutant proteins with a substitution in the second cysteine of ZnK5. Mutagenesis of the second cysteine in AIR1/2 ZnK1-5 reveals that Air1/2 ZnK4 and -5 are critical for Air protein function in vivo. In addition, we find that the level of CUT, NEL025c, in air1 ZnK1-5 mutants is stabilized, particularly in air1 ZnK4, suggesting a role for Air1 ZnK4 in the degradation of CUTs. We also find that Air1/2 ZnK4 and -5 are critical for Trf4 interaction and that the Air1-Trf4 interaction and Air1 level are critical for TRAMP complex integrity. We identify a conserved IWRXY motif in the Air1 ZnK4-5 linker that is important for Trf4 interaction. We also find that hZC-CHC7, a putative human orthologue of Air1 that contains the IWRXY motif, localizes to the nucleolus in human cells and interacts with both mammalian Trf4 orthologues, PAPD5 and PAPD7 (PAP-associated domain containing 5 and 7), suggesting that hZCCHC7 is the Air component of a human TRAMP complex.Production of mature RNAs in eukaryotes requires a complex set of processing steps, including 5Ј-end capping, splicing, 3Ј-end cleavage, polyadenylation, nucleolytic cleavage/trimming, and base modifications, by numerous processing components. Incorrectly processed RNAs are rapidly degraded by RNA quality control machinery to prevent deleterious effects on the cell. Processing and degradation of multiple classes of RNA are performed by RNA endo/exoribonucleases that are recruited to their RNA substrates by specific protein cofactors. These nucleases and their cofactors are highly regulated and evolutionarily conserved.In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), 2 including precursors of rRNAs, snoRNAs, and snRNAs, are processed and/or degraded by the nuclear exosome, an evolutionarily conserved ringlike riboexonuclease complex containing two active 3Ј-5Ј-riboexonucleases, Rrp44/Dis3 and Rrp6 (1-8). Hypomodified initiator tRNAs (tRNA i Met ) from cells with an impaired tRNA methyltransferase and aberrant pre-mRNAs from cells with defective 3Ј-end processing, splicing, or nuclear export factors are also degraded by the nuclear exosome (9 -13). More recently, a novel class of small (250 -300-nucleotide) intergenic RNA polymerase II transcripts, termed cryptic unstable transcripts (CUTs), was discovered in cells that lack ...

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