Cross-talk between PRMT1-mediated methylation and ubiquitylation on RBM15 controls RNA splicing
Abstract
RBM15, an RNA binding protein, determines cell-fate specification of many tissues including blood. We demonstrate that RBM15 is methylated by protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) at residue R578 leading to its degradation via ubiquitylation by an E3 ligase (CNOT4). Overexpression of PRMT1 in acute megakaryocytic leukemia cell lines blocks megakaryocyte terminal differentiation by downregulation of RBM15 protein level. Restoring RBM15 protein level rescues megakaryocyte terminal differentiation blocked by PRMT1 overexpression. At the molecular level, RBM15 binds to pre-mRNA intronic regions of genes important for megakaryopoiesis such as GATA1, RUNX1, TAL1 and c-MPL. Furthermore, preferential binding of RBM15 to specific intronic regions recruits the splicing factor SF3B1 to the same sites for alternative splicing. Therefore, PRMT1 regulates alternative RNA splicing via reducing RBM15 protein concentration. Targeting PRMT1 may be a curative therapy to restore megakaryocyte differentiation for acute megakaryocytic leukemia.
Article and author information
Author details
Reviewing Editor
- Michael R Green, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, United States
Version history
- Received: April 4, 2015
- Accepted: November 16, 2015
- Accepted Manuscript published: November 17, 2015 (version 1)
- Accepted Manuscript updated: November 19, 2015 (version 2)
- Version of Record published: February 24, 2016 (version 3)
Copyright
© 2015, Zhang et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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