TY - JOUR
T1 - Regulation of translation by upstream translation initiation codons of surfactant protein A1 splice variants
AU - Tsotakos, Nikolaos
AU - Silveyra, Patricia
AU - Lin, Zhenwu
AU - Thomas, Neal
AU - Vaid, Mudit
AU - Floros, Joanna
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The American physiological society.
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Surfactant protein A (SP-A), a molecule with roles in lung innate immunity and surfactant-related functions, is encoded by two genes in humans: SFTPA1 (SP-A1) and SFTPA2 (SP-A2). The mRNAs from these genes differ in their 5=-untranslated regions (5=-UTR) due to differential splicing. The 5=-UTR variant ACD= is exclusively found in transcripts of SP-A1, but not in those of SP-A2. Its unique exon C contains two upstream AUG codons (uAUGs) that may affect SP-A1 translation efficiency. The first uAUG (u1) is in frame with the primary start codon (p), but the second one (u2) is not. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of uAUGs on SP-A1 expression. We employed RT-qPCR to determine the presence of exon C-containing SP-A1 transcripts in human RNA samples. We also used in vitro techniques including mutagenesis, reporter assays, and toeprinting analysis, as well as in silico analyses to determine the role of uAUGs. Exon C-containing mRNA is present in most human lung tissue samples and its expression can, under certain conditions, be regulated by factors such as dexamethasone or endotoxin. Mutating uAUGs resulted in increased luciferase activity. The mature protein size was not affected by the uAUGs, as shown by a combination of toeprint and in silico analysis for Kozak sequence, secondary structure, and signal peptide and in vitro translation in the presence of microsomes. In conclusion, alternative splicing may introduce uAUGs in SP-A1 transcripts, which in turn negatively affect SP-A1 translation, possibly affecting SP-A1/ SP-A2 ratio, with potential for clinical implication.
AB - Surfactant protein A (SP-A), a molecule with roles in lung innate immunity and surfactant-related functions, is encoded by two genes in humans: SFTPA1 (SP-A1) and SFTPA2 (SP-A2). The mRNAs from these genes differ in their 5=-untranslated regions (5=-UTR) due to differential splicing. The 5=-UTR variant ACD= is exclusively found in transcripts of SP-A1, but not in those of SP-A2. Its unique exon C contains two upstream AUG codons (uAUGs) that may affect SP-A1 translation efficiency. The first uAUG (u1) is in frame with the primary start codon (p), but the second one (u2) is not. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of uAUGs on SP-A1 expression. We employed RT-qPCR to determine the presence of exon C-containing SP-A1 transcripts in human RNA samples. We also used in vitro techniques including mutagenesis, reporter assays, and toeprinting analysis, as well as in silico analyses to determine the role of uAUGs. Exon C-containing mRNA is present in most human lung tissue samples and its expression can, under certain conditions, be regulated by factors such as dexamethasone or endotoxin. Mutating uAUGs resulted in increased luciferase activity. The mature protein size was not affected by the uAUGs, as shown by a combination of toeprint and in silico analysis for Kozak sequence, secondary structure, and signal peptide and in vitro translation in the presence of microsomes. In conclusion, alternative splicing may introduce uAUGs in SP-A1 transcripts, which in turn negatively affect SP-A1 translation, possibly affecting SP-A1/ SP-A2 ratio, with potential for clinical implication.
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U2 - 10.1152/ajplung.00058.2014
DO - 10.1152/ajplung.00058.2014
M3 - Article
C2 - 25326576
AN - SCOPUS:84920270694
SN - 1040-0605
VL - 308
SP - L58-L75
JO - American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
JF - American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
IS - 1
ER -