1. Academic Validation
  2. Noncoding RNA NORAD Regulates Genomic Stability by Sequestering PUMILIO Proteins

Noncoding RNA NORAD Regulates Genomic Stability by Sequestering PUMILIO Proteins

  • Cell. 2016 Jan 14;164(1-2):69-80. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.12.017.
Sungyul Lee 1 Florian Kopp 2 Tsung-Cheng Chang 2 Anupama Sataluri 2 Beibei Chen 3 Sushama Sivakumar 4 Hongtao Yu 5 Yang Xie 6 Joshua T Mendell 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Pathobiology Graduate Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
  • 2 Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.
  • 3 Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.
  • 4 Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.
  • 5 Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.
  • 6 Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.
  • 7 Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. Electronic address: Joshua.Mendell@UTSouthwestern.edu.
Abstract

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as regulators of diverse biological processes. Here, we describe the initial functional analysis of a poorly characterized human lncRNA (LINC00657) that is induced after DNA damage, which we termed "noncoding RNA activated by DNA damage", or NORAD. NORAD is highly conserved and abundant, with expression levels of approximately 500-1,000 copies per cell. Remarkably, inactivation of NORAD triggers dramatic aneuploidy in previously karyotypically stable cell lines. NORAD maintains genomic stability by sequestering PUMILIO proteins, which repress the stability and translation of mRNAs to which they bind. In the absence of NORAD, PUMILIO proteins drive chromosomal instability by hyperactively repressing mitotic, DNA repair, and DNA replication factors. These findings introduce a mechanism that regulates the activity of a deeply conserved and highly dosage-sensitive family of RNA binding proteins and reveal unanticipated roles for a lncRNA and PUMILIO proteins in the maintenance of genomic stability.

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