Silencing of Parkinson's disease-associated genes with artificial mirtron mimics of miR-1224.
Author(s)
Sibley, CR
Seow, Y
Curtis, H
Weinberg, MS
Wood, MJ
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Mirtrons are a recently described category of microRNA (miRNA) relying on splicing rather than processing by the microprocessor complex to generate pre-miRNA precursors of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Their discovery and subsequent verification provides important information about a distinct class of miRNA and inherent advantages that could be exploited to silence genes of interest. These include micro-processor-independent biogenesis, pol-II-dependent transcription, accurate species generation and the delivery of multiple artificial mirtrons as introns within a single host transcript. Here we determined the sequence motifs required for correct processing of the mmu-miR-1224 mirtron and incorporated these into artificial mirtrons targeting Parkinson's disease-associated LRRK2 and α-synuclein genes. By incorporating these rules associated with processing and splicing, artificial mirtrons could be designed and made to silence complementary targets either at the mRNA or protein level. We further demonstrate with a LRRK2 targeting artificial mirtron that neuronal-specific silencing can be directed under the control of the human synapsin promoter. Finally, multiple mirtrons were co-delivered within a single host transcript, an eGFP reporter, to allow simultaneous targeting of two or more targets in a combinatorial approach. Thus, the unique characteristics of artificial mirtrons make this an attractive approach for future RNAi applications.
Date Issued
2012-07-30
Date Acceptance
2012-06-30
Citation
Nucleic Acids Research, 2012, 40 (19), pp.9863-9875
ISSN
1362-4962
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Start Page
9863
End Page
9875
Journal / Book Title
Nucleic Acids Research
Volume
40
Issue
19
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Identifier
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22848108
PII: gks712
Subjects
Cell Line
Humans
MicroRNAs
Molecular Mimicry
Neurons
Parkinson Disease
Promoter Regions, Genetic
Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases
RNA Interference
RNA Splicing
RNA, Messenger
alpha-Synuclein
Developmental Biology
05 Environmental Sciences
06 Biological Sciences
08 Information And Computing Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England