Alternative pre-mRNA processing greatly increases the coding capacity of the human genome and regulatory factors involved in RNA processing play critical roles in tissue development and maintenance. Indeed, abnormal functions of RNA processing factors have been associated with a wide range of human diseases from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders. While many studies have emphasized the importance of alternative splicing (AS), recent high-throughput sequencing efforts have also allowed global surveys of alternative polyadenylation (APA). For the majority of pre-mRNAs, as well as some non-coding transcripts such as lncRNAs, APA selects different 3'-ends and thus modulates the availability of regulatory sites recognized by trans-acting regulatory effectors, including miRs and RNA binding proteins (RBPs). Here, we compare the available technologies for assessing global polyadenylation patterns, summarize the roles of auxiliary factors on APA, and discuss the impact of differential polyA site (pA) selection in the determination of cell fate, transformation and disease.
Keywords: 3′ UTR, 3′-untranslated region; APA, Alternative polyadenylation; AS, Alternative splicing; DM, Myotonic dystrophy; HITS-CLIP, High-throughput sequencing coupled with crosslinking and immunoprecipitation; KD, Knockdown; KO, Knockout; MBNL; PolyA-seq; RBP, RNA binding protein; RNA processing; alternative polyadenylation; microsatellites; myotonic dystrophy; neurological disease; pA, Polyadenylation site.