title: Alternative polyadenylation in a family of paralogous EPB41 genes generates protein 4.1 diversity.
abstract: Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is a step in mRNA 3'-end processing that contributes to the complexity of the transcriptome by generating isoforms that differ in either their coding sequence or their 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs). The EPB41 genes, EPB41, EPB41L2, EPB41L3 and EPB41L1, encode an impressively complex array of structural adaptor proteins (designated 4.1R, 4.1G, 4.1B and 4.1N, respectively) by using alternative transcriptional promoters and tissue-specific alternative pre-mRNA splicing. The great variety of 4.1 proteins mainly results from 5'-end and internal processing of the EPB41 pre-mRNAs. Thus, 4.1 proteins can vary in their N-terminal extensions but all contain a highly homologous C-terminal domain (CTD). Here we study a new group of EPB41-related mRNAs that originate by APA and lack the exons encoding the CTD characteristic of prototypical 4.1 proteins, thereby encoding a new type of 4.1 protein. For the EPB41 gene, this type of processing was observed in all 11 human tissues analyzed. Comparative genomic analysis of EPB41 indicates that APA is conserved in various mammals. In addition, we show that APA also functions for the EPB41L2, EPB41L3 and EPB41L1 genes, but in a more restricted manner in the case of the latter 2 than it does for the EPB41 and EPB41L2 genes. Our study shows alternative polyadenylation to be an additional mechanism for the generation of 4.1 protein diversity in the already complex EPB41-related genes. Understanding the diversity of EPB41 RNA processing is essential for a full appreciation of the many 4.1 proteins expressed in normal and pathological tissues.
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Biología Molecular , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera , Cantoblanco, Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rangel
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Biología Molecular , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera , Cantoblanco, Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lospitao
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Biología Molecular , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera , Cantoblanco, Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Sáenz
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Biología Molecular , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera , Cantoblanco, Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Biología Molecular , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera , Cantoblanco, Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Correas
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D005091:Exons; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009479:Neuropeptides; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D026723:Polyadenylation; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C028841:erythrocyte membrane band 4.1 protein; C120557:erythrocyte membrane protein band 4.1-like 1
keywords: 3′-end RNA processing; 4.1 proteins; Alternative polyadenylation; EPB41-related genes; splicing