The extent, regulation and enzymatic basis of RNA editing by cytidine deamination are incompletely understood. Here we show that transcripts of hundreds of genes undergo site-specific C>U RNA editing in macrophages during M1 polarization and in monocytes in response to hypoxia and interferons. This editing alters the amino acid sequences for scores of proteins, including many that are involved in pathogenesis of viral diseases. APOBEC3A, which is known to deaminate cytidines of single-stranded DNA and to inhibit viruses and retrotransposons, mediates this RNA editing. Amino acid residues of APOBEC3A that are known to be required for its DNA deamination and anti-retrotransposition activities were also found to affect its RNA deamination activity. Our study demonstrates the cellular RNA editing activity of a member of the APOBEC3 family of innate restriction factors and expands the understanding of C>U RNA editing in mammals.

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Prognostic markers that can predict the relapse of localized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have yet to be defined. We surveyed expression profiles of microRNA (miRNA) in stage I NSCLC to identify patterns that might predict recurrence after surgical resection of this common deadly cancer. Small RNAs extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues were hybridized to locked nucleic acid probes against 752 human miRNAs (representing 82% of the miRNAs in the miRBase 13.0 database) to obtain expression profiles for 37 cases with recurrence and 40 cases without recurrence (with clinical follow-up for at least 32 months). Differential expression between the two case groups was detected for 49% of the miRNAs (Wilcoxon rank sum test; P < 0.01). The performance of expression profiles at differentiating the two case groups was assessed by leave-one-out and Monte Carlo cross-validations. In leave-one-out cross-validation using support vector machines-or top-scoring gene pair classifier methods, which looked for six-or two-miRNA-based classifiers, the identified miRNA expression pattern predicted recurrence with an accuracy of 70% and 83%, and hazard ratio of 3.6 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.8-7.1] and 9.0 (95% CI, 4.4-18.2), respectively. Mean accuracy in Monte Carlo cross-validation using 1,000 random 60-17 splits was 69% (95% CI, 68-70) and 72% (95% CI, 71-72), respectively. The specific miRNAs mir-200b*, mir-30c-1*, mir-510, mir-630, mir-657, and mir146b-3p and mir-124*, mir-585, and mir-708, respectively, represented most commonly among the 1,000 classifiers identified in Monte Carlo cross-validation by the two methods. MiRNAs mir-488, mir-503, and mir-647 were identified as potential reference miRNAs for future studies, based on the stability of their expression patterns across the 77 cases and the two case-groups. Our findings reinforce efforts to profile miRNA expression patterns for better prognostication of stage I NSCLC. Cancer Res; 70(1); 36-45. ©2010 AACR.

In this report, we analyze data assembled in the Blood Group Antigen Gene Mutation Database (www.bioc.aecom.yu.edu/bgmut/index.htm), which describes sequence information on human genes associated with expression of the various serologically-determined blood group phenotypes. The database documents 38 genetic loci and a total of 624 alleles that together encode a large repertoire of proteins and constitute 27 serologically-defined blood group systems. Analysis of sequence variation patterns across alleles of a number of genes is focused on their molecular profiles, including mutational sites and recurrence, patterns of gene rearrangements in duplicated gene families, correlation of predicted location of epitopes in extracellular loops with sites of alterations, and effects of mutations on protein expression. That information, and the relative ease of identifying individuals bearing variant alleles, has led to the proposal that genes encoding blood group antigens are an important and unique resource for studies of human DNA variation. Another focus is on mutations in regions that encode the antigenic epitopes and on their occurrence in world populations. These mutations may be viewed as coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (cSNPs). We propose that one group of these cSNPs, which are known to occur with significant frequency in all world populations, could serve as well-validated genetic markers. In addition, specific mutations in a number of "low incidence" and rare alleles could serve as cSNPs specific for a given population. The allelic frequencies of these mutations and knowledge of their world-wide occurrence add a valuable dataset to the existing cSNP pools documented in SNP databases.

APOBEC3G is a cytidine deaminase with two homologous domains and restricts retroelements and HIV-1. APOBEC3G deaminates single-stranded DNAs via its C-terminal domain, whereas the N-terminal domain is considered non-catalytic. Although APOBEC3G is known to bind RNAs, APOBEC3G-mediated RNA editing has not been observed. We recently discovered RNA editing by the single-domain enzyme APOBEC3A in innate immune cells. To determine if APOBEC3G is capable of RNA editing, we transiently expressed APOBEC3G in the HEK293T cell line and performed transcriptome-wide RNA sequencing. We show that APOBEC3G causes site-specific C-to-U editing of mRNAs from over 600 genes. The edited cytidines are often flanked by inverted repeats, but are largely distinct from those deaminated by APOBEC3A. We verified protein-recoding RNA editing of selected genes including several that are known to be involved in HIV-1 infectivity. APOBEC3G co-purifies with highly edited mRNA substrates. We find that conserved catalytic residues in both cytidine deaminase domains are required for RNA editing. Our findings demonstrate the novel RNA editing function of APOBEC3G and suggest a role for the N-terminal domain in RNA editing.

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Analogous to human leukocyte antigens, blood group antigens are surface markers on the erythrocyte cell membrane whose structures differ among individuals and which can be serologically identified. The Blood Group Antigen Gene Mutation Database (BGMUT) is an online repository of allelic variations in genes that determine the antigens of various human blood group systems. The database is manually curated with allelic information collated from scientific literature and from direct submissions from research laboratories. Currently, the database documents sequence variations of a total of 1251 alleles of all 40 gene loci that together are known to affect antigens of 30 human blood group systems. When available, information on the geographic or ethnic prevalence of an allele is also provided. The BGMUT website also has general information on the human blood group systems and the genes responsible for them. BGMUT is a part of the dbRBC resource of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, USA, and is available online at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gv/rbc/xslcgi.fcgi?cmd=bgmut. The database should be of use to members of the transfusion medicine community, those interested in studies of genetic variation and related topics such as human migrations, and students as well as members of the general public.