Search

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of intellectual disability that arises from the dysfunction of a single gene-Fmr1. The main neuroanatomical correlate of FXS is elevated dendritic spine density on cortical pyramidal neurons, which has been modeled in Fmr1-/Y mice. However, the cell-autonomous contribution of Fmr1 on cortical dendritic spine density has not been assessed. Even less is known about the role of Fmr1 in heterozygous female mosaic mice, which are a putative model for human Fmr1 full mutation carriers (i.e., are heterozygous for the full Fmr1-silencing mutation). In this neuroanatomical study, spine density in cortical pyramidal neurons of Fmr1+/- and Fmr1-/Y mice was studied at multiple subcellular compartments, layers, and brain regions. Spine density in Fmr1+/- mice is higher than WT but lower than Fmr1-/Y. Not all subcellular compartments in layer V Fmr1+/- and Fmr1-/Y cortical pyramidal neurons are equally affected: the apical dendrite, a key subcellular compartment, is principally affected over basal dendrites. Within apical dendrites, spine density is differentially affected across branch orders. Finally, identification of FMRP-positive and FMRP-negative neurons within Fmr1+/- permitted the study of the cell-autonomous effect of Fmr1 on spine density. Surprisingly, layer V cortical pyramidal spine density between FMRP-positive and FMRP-negative neurons does not differ, suggesting that the regulation of the primary neuroanatomical defect of FXS-elevated spine density-is non-cell-autonomous.

Modification of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive-strand RNA genome by N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulates the viral life cycle. This life cycle takes place solely in the cytoplasm, while m6A addition on cellular mRNA takes place in the nucleus. Thus, the mechanisms by which m6A is deposited on the viral RNA have been unclear. In this work, we find that m6A modification of HCV RNA by the m6A-methyltransferase proteins methyltransferase-like 3 and 14 (METTL3 and METTL14) is regulated by Wilms' tumor 1-associating protein (WTAP). WTAP, a predominantly nuclear protein, is an essential member of the cellular mRNA m6A-methyltransferase complex and known to target METTL3 to mRNA. We found that HCV infection induces localization of WTAP to the cytoplasm. Importantly, we found that WTAP is required for both METTL3 interaction with HCV RNA and m6A modification across the viral RNA genome. Further, we found that WTAP, like METTL3 and METTL14, negatively regulates the production of infectious HCV virions, a process that we have previously shown is regulated by m6A. Excitingly, WTAP regulation of both HCV RNA m6A modification and virion production was independent of its ability to localize to the nucleus. Together, these results reveal that WTAP is critical for HCV RNA m6A modification by METTL3 and METTL14 in the cytoplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modification of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive-strand RNA genome by N6-methyladenosine (m 6 A) regulates the viral lifecycle. This lifecycle takes place solely in the cytoplasm, while m 6 A addition on cellular mRNA takes place in the nucleus. Thus, the mechanisms by which m 6 A is deposited on the viral RNA have been unclear. In this work, we find that m 6 A modification of HCV RNA by the m 6 A-methyltransferase proteins METTL3 and METTL14 is regulated by WTAP. WTAP, a predominantly nuclear protein, is an essential member of the cellular mRNA m 6 A-methyltransferase complex and known to target METTL3 to mRNA. We found that HCV infection induces localization of WTAP to the cytoplasm. Importantly, we found that WTAP is required for both METTL3 interaction with HCV RNA and for m 6 A modification across the viral RNA genome. Further, we found that WTAP, like METTL3 and METTL14, negatively regulates the production of infectious HCV virions, a process that we have previously shown is regulated by m 6 A. Excitingly, WTAP regulation of both HCV RNA m 6 A modification and virion production were independent of its ability to localize to the nucleus. Together, these results reveal that WTAP is critical for HCV RNA m 6 A modification by METTL3 and METTL14 in the cytoplasm., Importance: Positive-strand RNA viruses such as HCV represent a significant global health burden. Previous work has described how HCV RNA contains the RNA modification m 6 A and how this modification regulates viral infection. Yet, how this modification is targeted to HCV RNA has remained unclear due to the incompatibility of the nuclear cellular processes that drive m 6 A modification with the cytoplasmic HCV lifecycle. In this study, we present evidence for how m 6 A modification is targeted to HCV RNA in the cytoplasm by a mechanism in which WTAP recruits the m 6 A-methyltransferase METTL3 to HCV RNA. This targeting strategy for m 6 A modification of cytoplasmic RNA viruses is likely relevant for other m 6 A-modified positive-strand RNA viruses with cytoplasmic lifecycles such as enterovirus 71 and SARS-CoV-2 and provides an exciting new target for potential antiviral therapies.