mRNA isoform balance in neuronal development and disease.

Geneva R LaForce, Polyxeni Philippidou, Ashleigh E Schaffer

Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. RNA 2023 May-Jun

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Balanced mRNA isoform diversity and abundance are spatially and temporally regulated throughout cellular differentiation. The proportion of expressed isoforms contributes to cell type specification and determines key properties of the differentiated cells. Neurons are unique cell types with intricate developmental programs, characteristic cellular morphologies, and electrophysiological potential. Neuron-specific gene expression programs establish these distinctive cellular characteristics and drive diversity among neuronal subtypes. Genes with neuron-specific alternative processing are enriched in key neuronal functions, including synaptic proteins, adhesion molecules, and scaffold proteins. Despite the similarity of neuronal gene expression programs, each neuronal subclass can be distinguished by unique alternative mRNA processing events. Alternative processing of developmentally important transcripts alters coding and regulatory information, including interaction domains, transcript stability, subcellular localization, and targeting by RNA binding proteins. Fine-tuning of mRNA processing is essential for neuronal activity and maintenance. Thus, the focus of neuronal RNA biology research is to dissect the transcriptomic mechanisms that underlie neuronal homeostasis, and consequently, predispose neuronal subtypes to disease. This article is categorized under: RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Development. © 2022 The Authors. WIREs RNA published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Citation

Geneva R LaForce, Polyxeni Philippidou, Ashleigh E Schaffer. mRNA isoform balance in neuronal development and disease. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. RNA. 2023 May-Jun;14(3):e1762