New paper from Professor Baralle's lab

Ayala, Y.M., De Conti, L., Avendaño-Vázquez, S.E., Dhir, A., Romano, M., D’Ambrogio, A., Tollervey, J., Ule, J., Baralle, M., Buratti, E., Baralle, F.E. TDP-43 regulates its mRNA levels through a negative feedback loop. 2010. EMBO J. (in press)

doi: 10.1038/emboj.2010.310

Abstract: TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) is an evolutionarily conserved heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) involved in RNA processing, whose abnormal cellular distribution and post-translational modification are key markers of certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. We generated human cell lines expressing tagged forms of wild-type and mutant TDP-43 and observed that TDP-43 controls its own expression through a negative feedback loop. The RNA-binding properties of TDP-43 are essential for the autoregulatory activity through binding to 3′ UTR sequences in its own mRNA. Our analysis indicated that the C-terminal region of TDP-43, which mediates TDP-43–hnRNP interactions, is also required for self-regulation. TDP-43 binding to its 3′ UTR does not significantly change the pre-mRNA splicing pattern but promotes RNA instability. Moreover, blocking exosome-mediated degradation partially recovers TDP-43 levels. Our findings demonstrate that cellular TDP-43 levels are under tight control and it is likely that disease-associated TDP-43 aggregates disrupt TDP-43 self-regulation, thus contributing to pathogenesis.