Transcriptional Alterations in X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism Caused by the SVA Retrotransposon

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2022-02, Vol.23 (4), p.2231
• Main Authors: Pozojevic, Jelena, Algodon, Shela Marie, Cruz, Joseph Neos, Trinh, Joanne, Brüggemann, Norbert, Laß, Joshua, Grütz, Karen, Schaake, Susen, Tse, Ronnie, Yumiceba, Veronica, Kruse, Nathalie, Schulz, Kristin, Sreenivasan, Varun K A, Rosales, Raymond L, Jamora, Roland Dominic G, Diesta, Cid Czarina E, Matschke, Jakob, Glatzel, Markus, Seibler, Philip, Händler, Kristian, Rakovic, Aleksandar, Kirchner, Henriette, Spielmann, Malte, Kaiser, Frank J, Klein, Christine, Westenberger, Ana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Basal ganglia; Brain diseases; Central nervous system diseases; DNA methylation; DNA Methylation - genetics; Dystonia; Dystonic Disorders - genetics; Epigenetics; Female; Fibroblasts; Gene expression; Genetic Diseases, X-Linked - genetics; Histone Acetyltransferases - genetics; Histones; Humans; Introns - genetics; Male; Middle Aged; mRNA turnover; Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay; Parkinsonian Disorders - genetics; Pathogenesis; Patients; Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics; Regulatory sequences; Retention; Retroelements - genetics; RNA polymerase; Short Interspersed Nucleotide Elements - genetics; Splicing; Stem cells; TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors - genetics; Transcription; Transcription Factor TFIID - genetics; Transcription, Genetic - genetics; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms23042231

X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder that manifests as adult-onset dystonia combined with parkinsonism. A SINE-VNTR-Alu (SVA) retrotransposon inserted in an intron of the gene reduces its expression and alters splicing in XDP patient-derived cells. As a consequence, increased levels of the intron retention transcript can be found in XDP cells as compared to healthy controls. Here, we investigate the sequence of the deep intronic region included in this transcript and show that it is also present in cells from healthy individuals, albeit in lower amounts than in XDP cells, and that it undergoes degradation by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Furthermore, we investigate epigenetic marks (e.g., DNA methylation and histone modifications) present in this intronic region and the spanning sequence. Finally, we show that the SVA evinces regulatory potential, as demonstrated by its ability to repress the promoter in vitro. Our results enable a better understanding of the disease mechanisms underlying XDP and transcriptional alterations caused by SVA retrotransposons.