Cooperative exonization of MaLR and AluJo elements contributed an alternative promoter and novel splice variants of RNF19.
The RNF19 protein, which contains RING-finger and IBR motifs, acts as an E3 ubiquitin ligase localized to Lewy bodies. RNF19 is located on human chromosome 8q22.2, has a 4.4-kb transcript, and is ubiquitously expressed in various tissues. Here, we identified an alternative RNF19 promoter region and alternative RNF19 transcripts derived from MaLR (mammalian apparent LTR-retrotransposon) and AluJo elements. Comparative analyses indicated human-specific expression of the MaLR- and AluJo-related transcripts. From the expression analysis of 72 tissue samples including human normal, tumor, and primate tissues, three different isoforms (V1, V2, and V3) of MaLR-derived transcripts were identified. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed a dominant expression pattern of the V2 MaLR-derived transcript. A reporter gene assay for MaLR element promoter activity indicated that pGL2-RNF19/MaLR in the forward orientation is capable of driving luciferase gene expression in Cos7 and HCT116 cells. These findings suggest that RNF19 has acquired a new promoter and alternative exons via continuous retrotransposition events of MaLR and AluJo elements during mammalian and primate evolution, respectively.
Huh
Jae-Won
JW
Division of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.
Kim
Dae-Soo
DS
Ha
Hong-Seok
HS
Lee
Ja-Rang
JR
Kim
Yun-Ji
YJ
Ahn
Kung
K
Lee
Sang-Rae
SR
Chang
Kyu-Tae
KT
Kim
Heui-Soo
HS
D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D020087:Alu Elements / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019556:COS Cells; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002898:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017931:DNA Primers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000235:genetics*
D017931:DNA Primers; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA; C423571:RNF19A protein, human; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases