ZRSR1 co-operates with ZRSR2 in regulating splicing of U12-type introns in murine hematopoietic cells

Haematologica. 2022 Mar 1;107(3):680-689. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2020.260562.

Abstract

Recurrent loss-of-function mutations of spliceosome gene, ZRSR2, occur in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Mutation/loss of ZRSR2 in human myeloid cells primarily causes impaired splicing of the U12-type introns. In order to further investigate the role of this splice factor in RNA splicing and hematopoietic development, we generated mice lacking ZRSR2. Unexpectedly, Zrsr2-deficient mice developed normal hematopoiesis with no abnormalities in myeloid differentiation evident in either young or ≥1-year old knockout mice. Repopulation ability of Zrsr2-deficient hematopoietic stem cells was also unaffected in both competitive and non-competitive reconstitution assays. Myeloid progenitors lacking ZRSR2 exhibited mis-splicing of U12-type introns, however, this phenotype was moderate compared to the ZRSR2-deficient human cells. Our investigations revealed that a closely related homolog, Zrsr1, expressed in the murine hematopoietic cells, but not in human cells contributes to splicing of U12-type introns. Depletion of Zrsr1 in Zrsr2 KO myeloid cells exacerbated retention of the U12-type introns, thus highlighting a collective role of ZRSR1 and ZRSR2 in murine U12-spliceosome. We also demonstrate that aberrant retention of U12-type introns of MAPK9 and MAPK14 leads to their reduced protein expression. Overall, our findings highlight that both ZRSR1 and ZRSR2 are functional components of the murine U12-spliceosome, and depletion of both proteins is required to accurately model ZRSR2-mutant MDS in mice.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Introns
  • Mice
  • Mutation
  • Myelodysplastic Syndromes* / genetics
  • RNA Splicing*
  • Ribonucleoproteins* / genetics
  • Ribonucleoproteins* / metabolism
  • Spliceosomes / genetics
  • Splicing Factor U2AF* / genetics
  • Splicing Factor U2AF* / metabolism

Substances

  • Ribonucleoproteins
  • Splicing Factor U2AF
  • Zrsr1 protein, mouse
  • Zrsr2 protein, mouse

Grants and funding

Funding: This work was funded by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC) under its Singapore Translational Research (STaR) Investigator Award to HPK (NMRC/STaR/0021/2014), the NMRC Center Grant awarded to the National University Cancer Institute of Singapore (NMRC/CG/012/2013) and the National Research Foundation Singapore and the Singapore Ministry of Education under its Research Centers of Excellence initiatives. This research is also supported by the RNA Biology Center at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, NUS, as part of funding under the Singapore Ministry of Education’s Tier 3 grants, grant number MOE2014-T3-1-006. We thank the Melamed Family for their generous support.