Polypyrimidine tract binding proteins PTBP1 and PTBP2 interact with distinct proteins under splicing conditions

PLoS One. 2022 Feb 3;17(2):e0263287. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263287. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

RNA binding proteins play an important role in regulating alternative pre-mRNA splicing and in turn cellular gene expression. Polypyrimidine tract binding proteins, PTBP1 and PTBP2, are paralogous RNA binding proteins that play a critical role in the process of neuronal differentiation and maturation; changes in the concentration of PTBP proteins during neuronal development direct splicing changes in many transcripts that code for proteins critical for neuronal differentiation. How the two related proteins regulate different sets of neuronal exons is unclear. The distinct splicing activities of PTBP1 and PTBP2 can be recapitulated in an in vitro splicing system with the differentially regulated N1 exon of the c-src pre-mRNA. Here, we conducted experiments under these in vitro splicing conditions to identify PTBP1 and PTBP2 interacting partner proteins. Our results highlight that both PTBPs interact with proteins that participate in chromatin remodeling and transcription regulation. Our data reveal that PTBP1 interacts with many proteins involved in mRNA processing including splicing regulation while PTBP2 does not. Our results also highlight enzymes that can serve as potential "writers" and "erasers" in adding chemical modifications to the PTB proteins. Overall, our study highlights important differences in protein-protein interactions between the PTBP proteins under splicing conditions and supports a role for post-translational modifications in dictating their distinct splicing activities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Exons
  • HeLa Cells
  • Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Polypyrimidine Tract-Binding Protein / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • RNA Precursors / genetics
  • RNA Splicing*
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / chemistry*

Substances

  • Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • PTBP1 protein, human
  • PTBP2 protein, human
  • RNA Precursors
  • RNA, Messenger
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • Polypyrimidine Tract-Binding Protein