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RBFox1-mediated RNA splicing regulates cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure
Chen Gao, … , Jau-Nian Chen, Yibin Wang
Chen Gao, … , Jau-Nian Chen, Yibin Wang
Published November 30, 2015
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2016;126(1):195-206. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI84015.
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Research Article Cardiology

RBFox1-mediated RNA splicing regulates cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure

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Abstract

RNA splicing is a major contributor to total transcriptome complexity; however, the functional role and regulation of splicing in heart failure remain poorly understood. Here, we used a total transcriptome profiling and bioinformatic analysis approach and identified a muscle-specific isoform of an RNA splicing regulator, RBFox1 (also known as A2BP1), as a prominent regulator of alternative RNA splicing during heart failure. Evaluation of developing murine and zebrafish hearts revealed that RBFox1 is induced during postnatal cardiac maturation. However, we found that RBFox1 is markedly diminished in failing human and mouse hearts. In a mouse model, RBFox1 deficiency in the heart promoted pressure overload–induced heart failure. We determined that RBFox1 is a potent regulator of RNA splicing and is required for a conserved splicing process of transcription factor MEF2 family members that yields different MEF2 isoforms with differential effects on cardiac hypertrophic gene expression. Finally, induction of RBFox1 expression in murine pressure overload models substantially attenuated cardiac hypertrophy and pathological manifestations. Together, this study identifies regulation of RNA splicing by RBFox1 as an important player in transcriptome reprogramming during heart failure that influence pathogenesis of the disease.

Authors

Chen Gao, Shuxun Ren, Jae-Hyung Lee, Jinsong Qiu, Douglas J. Chapski, Christoph D. Rau, Yu Zhou, Maha Abdellatif, Astushi Nakano, Thomas M. Vondriska, Xinshu Xiao, Xiang-Dong Fu, Jau-Nian Chen, Yibin Wang

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Figure 1

RBFox1 is a key splicing regulator repressed in failing hearts.

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RBFox1 is a key splicing regulator repressed in failing hearts.
(A) Sche...
(A) Schematic of de novo motif discovery from alternative splicing events. A total of five regions — exon; upstream first 250 bp (Upln 1st); upstream second 250 bp (Upln 2nd); downstream first 250 bp (Dnln 1st); and downstream second 250 bp (Dnln 2nd) — were analyzed. The enriched and conserved motif were indicated with their binding protein. (B) Relative mRNA levels of 6 enriched splicing regulators in sham hearts and hearts after TAC (HF) (n = 3 from each group). Data in both C and D were normalized to GAPDH. Western Blot analysis of RBFox1 and RBFox2 expression levels in normal (Sham) and TAC-induced failing hearts (HF) (n = 3 each sample). (E and F) Quantification of protein expression levels of (E) RBFox1 and (F) RBFox2 in sham-operated hearts compared with those in TAC-induced failing hearts based on Western blot shown in C and D. (G and H) Real-time PCR was performed in TAC- and sham-operated mouse hearts using primers (see Supplemental Table 3) designed specifically targeting either (G) cardiac or (H) neuron Rbfox1 splicing variants (n = 3 each sample). (I) RNA polymerase II occupation on the mouse Rbfox1 gene in sham-operated hearts compared with that in hearts 4 days after TAC. A fragment density of 25 is shown throughout. (J) Heatmap depicting sample-scaled expression of 132 exons significantly changed in the RBFox1-expressing NRVMs identified by RNA-seq and RASL-seq. The blue line in the key is a histogram of the values plotted in the heatmap. (K) Quantification of RBFOX1 mRNA expression in nonfailing (NF) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) human heart samples (n = 4 from each group). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, Student’s t test (B, E, G, and K).

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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

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