Spatiotemporal analysis with a genetically encoded fluorescent RNA probe reveals TERRA function around telomeres

Sci Rep. 2016 Dec 13:6:38910. doi: 10.1038/srep38910.

Abstract

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) controls the structure and length of telomeres through interactions with numerous telomere-binding proteins. However, little is known about the mechanism by which TERRA regulates the accessibility of the proteins to telomeres, mainly because of the lack of spatiotemporal information of TERRA and its-interacting proteins. We developed a fluorescent probe to visualize endogenous TERRA to investigate its dynamics in living cells. Single-particle fluorescence imaging revealed that TERRA accumulated in a telomere-neighboring region and trapped diffusive heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNPA1), thereby inhibiting hnRNPA1 localization to the telomere. These results suggest that TERRA regulates binding of hnRNPA1 to the telomere in a region surrounding the telomere, leading to a deeper understanding of the mechanism of TERRA function.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1 / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Optical Imaging / methods*
  • RNA Probes*
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / metabolism*
  • Spatio-Temporal Analysis
  • Telomere / metabolism*
  • Telomere-Binding Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1
  • RNA Probes
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • Telomere-Binding Proteins
  • hnRNPA1 protein, human