title: Argonaute HITS-CLIP decodes microRNA-mRNA interaction maps.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have critical roles in the regulation of gene expression; however, as miRNA activity requires base pairing with only 6-8 nucleotides of messenger RNA, predicting target mRNAs is a major challenge. Recently, high-throughput sequencing of RNAs isolated by crosslinking immunoprecipitation (HITS-CLIP) has identified functional protein-RNA interaction sites. Here we use HITS-CLIP to covalently crosslink native argonaute (Ago, also called Eif2c) protein-RNA complexes in mouse brain. This produced two simultaneous data sets-Ago-miRNA and Ago-mRNA binding sites-that were combined with bioinformatic analysis to identify interaction sites between miRNA and target mRNA. We validated genome-wide interaction maps for miR-124, and generated additional maps for the 20 most abundant miRNAs present in P13 mouse brain. Ago HITS-CLIP provides a general platform for exploring the specificity and range of miRNA action in vivo, and identifies precise sequences for targeting clinically relevant miRNA-mRNA interactions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Neuro-Oncology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Sung Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Julie B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Zang
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Darnell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; C509207:MIRN124 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; C540079:Mirn124 microRNA, mouse