Direct Determination of Pseudouridine in RNA by Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Stable Isotope Labeling

Anal Chem. 2020 Aug 18;92(16):11349-11356. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c02122. Epub 2020 Jul 28.

Abstract

Pseudouridine (Ψ) is the only "mass-silent" nucleoside produced by post-transcriptional RNA modification. We developed a mass spectrometry (MS)-based technique coupled with in vivo deuterium (D) labeling of uridines for direct determination of Ψs in cellular RNA and applied it to the comprehensive analysis of post-transcriptional modifications in human ribosomal RNAs. The method utilizes human TK6/mouse FM3A cells deficient in uridine monophosphate synthase using a CRISPR-Cas9 technique to turn off de novo uridine synthesis and fully labels uridines with D at uracil positions 5 and 6 by cultivating the cells in a medium containing uridine-5,6-D2. The pseudouridylation reaction in those cells results in the exchange of the D at the C5 of uracil with hydrogen from solvent, which produces a -1 Da mass shift, thus allowing MS-based determination of RNA Ψs. We present here the experimental details of this method and show that it allows the identification of all Ψs in human major nuclear and nucleolar RNAs, including several previously unknown Ψs. Because the method allows direct determination of Ψs at the femtomole level of RNA, it will serve as a useful tool for structure/function studies of a wide variety of noncoding RNAs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Deuterium / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Isotope Labeling
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Mice
  • Multienzyme Complexes / chemistry
  • Orotate Phosphoribosyltransferase / chemistry
  • Orotidine-5'-Phosphate Decarboxylase / chemistry
  • Pseudouridine / analysis*
  • Pseudouridine / chemistry
  • RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional*
  • RNA, Ribosomal / analysis*
  • RNA, Ribosomal / chemistry
  • RNA, Ribosomal / metabolism*
  • RNA, Small Nuclear / analysis*
  • RNA, Small Nuclear / chemistry
  • RNA, Small Nuclear / metabolism*

Substances

  • Multienzyme Complexes
  • RNA, Ribosomal
  • RNA, Small Nuclear
  • Pseudouridine
  • uridine 5'-monophosphate synthase
  • Deuterium
  • Orotate Phosphoribosyltransferase
  • Orotidine-5'-Phosphate Decarboxylase