Affiliations: [a] Department of Biochemistry, Medical School, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China | [b] Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education and Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, P.R. China | [c] Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, USA
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Wei Qian, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China. Tel.: +86 513 85051813; Fax: +86 513 85511585; E-mail: weiqian@ntu.edu.cn and Fei Liu, Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, 1050 Forest Hill Road, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA. Tel.: +1 718 494 5263; Fax: +1 718 494 1080; E-mail: feiliu63@hotmail.com.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: Approximately equal amounts of 3R-tau and 4R-tau resulting from alternative splicing of tau exon 10 is necessary to maintain normal brain function. Dysregulation of alternative splicing of tau exon 10 and the imbalance of 3R-tau/4R-tau have been seen in inherited and sporadic tauopathies. Splicing factor SC35 (also name as SRSF2) plays an important role in promoting tau exon 10 inclusion. SC35 is post-translationally modified by phosphorylation and acetylation, but the role of acetylation in SC35-medicated tau exon 10 inclusion is unknown. Sirtuin type 1 (SIRT1) is an enzyme that deacetylates proteins and associates with age-related disease such as Alzheimer’s disease. In the present study, we determined the role of SIRT1 in SC35 acetylation and in the alternative splicing of tau exon 10. We found that SIRT1 interacts with and deacetylates SC35, and inhibits SC35-promoted tau exon 10 inclusion. Substituting K52 residue of SC35 by arginine impairs the role of SC35 in tau exon 10 inclusion. These results suggest that SIRT1 may serve as a therapeutic target for tauopathy by regulating SC35-mediated tau exon 10 splicing.
Keywords: alternative splicing, deacetylation, SC35, SIRT1, tau exon 10
