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Alternative splicing (AS) is a fundamental step in eukaryotic mRNA biogenesis. Here, we develop an efficient and reproducible pipeline for the discovery of genetic variants that affect AS (splicing QTLs, sQTLs). We use it to analyze the GTEx dataset, generating a comprehensive catalog of sQTLs in the human genome. Downstream analysis of this catalog provides insight into the mechanisms underlying splicing regulation. We report that a core set of sQTLs is shared across multiple tissues. sQTLs often target the global splicing pattern of genes, rather than individual splicing events. Many also affect the expression of the same or other genes, uncovering regulatory loci that act through different mechanisms. sQTLs tend to be located in post-transcriptionally spliced introns, which would function as hotspots for splicing regulation. While many variants affect splicing patterns by altering the sequence of splice sites, many more modify the binding sites of RNA-binding proteins. Genetic variants affecting splicing can have a stronger phenotypic impact than those affecting gene expression.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20578-2 | DOI Listing |
EMBO J
September 2025
Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
During a critical period of postnatal brain development, neural circuits undergo significant refinement coincident with widespread alternative splicing of hundreds of genes, which undergo altered splice site selection for the generation of isoforms essential for synaptic plasticity. Here, we reveal that neuronal activity-dependent phosphorylation of paxillin at its serine 119 (p-paxillin) acts as a molecular switch in the nucleus for the control of alternative splicing during this period. We show that following NMDA receptor activation, nuclear p-paxillin is recruited to nuclear speckles, where it interacts with splicing factors, such as U2AFs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEMBO Mol Med
September 2025
Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Medical Innovation Center and State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Diseases, Shanghai East Hospital, National Stem Cell Translational Resource Center & Ministry of Education Stem Cell Resource Center, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Li
Primary microcephaly, a rare congenital condition characterized by reduced brain size, occurs due to impaired neurogenesis during brain development. Through whole-exome sequencing, we identified compound heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in CENTRIN 3 (CETN3) in a 5-year-old patient with primary microcephaly. As CETN3 has not been previously linked to microcephaly, we investigated its potential function in neurodevelopment in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cerebral organoids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSignal Transduct Target Ther
September 2025
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology & Department of Medical Oncology & Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), an aggressive neuroendocrine tumor strongly associated with exposure to tobacco carcinogens, is characterized by early dissemination and dismal prognosis with a five-year overall survival of less than 7%. High-frequency gain-of-function mutations in oncogenes are rarely reported, and intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) remains to be determined in SCLC. Here, via multiomics analyses of 314 SCLCs, we found that the ASCL1/MKI67 and ASCL1/CRIP2 clusters accounted for 74.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysiol Plant
September 2025
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Several genes in the mitochondria of angiosperms are interrupted by introns, and their posttranscriptional excision involves numerous nucleus-encoded auxiliary factors. Most of these factors are of eukaryotic origin, among them members of the pentatricopeptide-repeat (PPR) family of RNA-binding proteins. This family divides into the PLS and P classes, with PLS-class proteins typically participating in C-to-U mRNA editing and P-class members contributing to transcript stabilization and intron splicing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Hum Genet
September 2025
Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, the Netherlands.
Microtubule-actin cross-linking factor 1 (MACF1) is a large protein of the spectraplakin family, which is essential for brain development. MACF1 interacts with microtubules through the growth arrest-specific 2 (Gas2)-related (GAR) domain. Heterozygous MACF1 missense variants affecting the zinc-binding residues in this domain result in a distinctive cortical and brain stem malformation.
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