In silico study on RNA structures of intronic mutations of beta-globin gene

Abstract

Background: Mutation of the beta-globin gene (HBB) interferes with primary mRNA transcription, leading to beta-thalassemia disease. The IVS1nt1 and IVS1nt5 mutations were reported as two of the most prevalent intronic mutations associated with beta-thalassemia major. These mutations may affect the mRNA structure of the human beta-globin (HBB) gene. However, the mechanism by which variation in HBB alters the mRNA structure remains unclear. The objective of this study was to unveil the secondary and tertiary conformation difference of the mutants compared to the wildtype using in silico analysis. Methods: The sequence of HBB was obtained from Ensemble database and mutated manually at nucleotides 143 (IVS1nt1G>T) and 147 (IVS1nt5G>C). The RNA secondary and tertiary structure were performed by ViennaRNA Web Services and 3dRNA v2.0, respectively. Results and Discussion: The results revealed the unique folding characteristics of each mutations for the secondary and tertiary structures. Based on the structure, unwanted folding occurred in the IVS1nt1G>T and IVS1nt5G>C mRNA structures compared to the wild-type structure. This finding was supported by the results of centroid-based analysis and RNA structure analysis, indicating that the larger loops in IVS1nt1 and IVS1nt5 result in an unstable structure. Our study found that intronic mutations affect the mRNA structure of HBB by altering its folding mechanism.

Determination of IL-6 Gene Promoter Polymorphism in Patients with Hepatitis C and Its Impact on RNA Secondary Structure

“…Similarly, a computer-based study by Sumantri et al (2020) on changes within the beta-globin gene also supports our findings. This method shows how using computers can help predict what happens when certain changes occur in genes [ 26 ].…”