The first step in the biogenesis of microRNAs is the processing of primary microRNAs (pri-miRNAs) by the microprocessor complex, composed of the RNA binding protein DGCR8 and the ribonuclease type III DROSHA1–4. This initial event requires the recognition of the junction between the stem and the flanking single-stranded RNA of the pri-miRNA hairpin by DGCR8 followed by recruitment of DROSHA, which cleaves the RNA duplex to yield the pre-miRNA product5. While the mechanisms underlying pri-miRNA processing have been elucidated, the mechanism by which DGCR8 recognizes and binds pri-miRNAs as opposed to other secondary structures present in transcripts is not understood. We find that methyltransferase like 3 (METTL3) methylates pri-miRNAs, marking them for recognition and processing by DGCR8. Consistent with this, METTL3 depletion reduced the binding of DGCR8 to pri-miRNAs and resulted in the global reduction of mature miRNAs and concomitant accumulation of unprocessed pri-miRNAs. In vitro processing reactions confirmed the sufficiency of the m6A mark in promoting pri-miRNA processing. Finally, gain-of-function experiments revealed that METTL3 is sufficient to enhance miRNA maturation in a global and non-cell-type specific manner. Our findings reveal that the m6A mark acts as a key post-transcriptional modification that promotes the initiation of miRNA biogenesis.

SUMMARY N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification of messenger RNA. While the presence of m6A on transcripts can impact alternative splicing, a nuclear reader of this mark that mediates the processing of nuclear transcripts has not been identified. We find that the RNA-binding HNRNPA2B1 protein binds m6A-bearing RNAs in vivo and in vitro and its biochemical footprint matches the m6A consensus motif. HNRNPA2B1 directly binds a set of nuclear transcripts and modulates their alternative splicing in a similar manner as the m6A ‘writer’ METTL3. Moreover, HNRNPA2B1 binds to m6A marks in a subset of primary-miRNA transcripts, interacts with the microRNA Microprocessor complex protein DGCR8, and promotes primary miRNA processing—phenocopying the effect of METTL3 depletion on the processing of these precursor transcripts. We propose HNRNPA2B1 to be a nuclear reader of the m6A mark and to mediate, in part, this mark’s effects on primary microRNA processing and alternative splicing.

SUMMARY Upon exposure to stress, tRNAs are enzymatically cleaved, yielding distinct classes of tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs). We identify a novel class of tRFs derived from tRNAGlu, tRNAAsp, tRNAGly, and tRNATyr that, upon induction, suppress the stability of multiple oncogenic transcripts in breast cancer cells by displacing their 3′UTRs from the RNA-binding protein YBX1. This mode of post-transcriptional silencing is sequence-specific, as these fragments all share a common motif that matches the YBX1 recognition sequence. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies, using antisense locked-nucleic acids (LNAs) and synthetic RNA mimetics respectively, revealed that these fragments suppress growth under serum-starvation, cancer cell invasion, and metastasis by breast cancer cells. Highly metastatic cells evade this tumor-suppressive pathway by attenuating the induction of these tRFs. Our findings reveal a tumor suppressive role for specific tRNA-derived fragments and describe a molecular mechanism for their action. This transcript displacement-based mechanism may generalize to other tRNA, ribosomal-RNA, and sno-RNA fragments.

While mutations affecting protein-coding regions have been examined across many cancers, structural variants at the genome-wide level are still poorly defined. Through integrative deep whole-genome and -transcriptome analysis of 101 castration-resistant prostate cancer metastases (109X tumor/38X normal coverage), we identified structural variants altering critical regulators of tumorigenesis and progression not detectable by exome approaches. Notably, we observed amplification of an intergenic enhancer region 624 kb upstream of the androgen receptor (AR) in 81% of patients, correlating with increased AR expression. Tandem duplication hotspots also occur near MYC, in lncRNAs associated with post-translational MYC regulation. Classes of structural variations were linked to distinct DNA repair deficiencies, suggesting their etiology, including associations of CDK12 mutation with tandem duplications, TP53 inactivation with inverted rearrangements and chromothripsis, and BRCA2 inactivation with deletions. Together, these observations provide a comprehensive view of how structural variations affect critical regulators in metastatic prostate cancer.

Microglia are resident immune cells of the CNS that are activated by infection, neuronal injury and inflammation. Here we utilize flow cytometry and deep RNA sequencing of acutely isolated spinal cord microglia to define their activation in vivo. Analysis of resting microglia identified 29 genes that distinguish microglia from other CNS cells and peripheral macrophages/monocytes. We then analyzed molecular changes in microglia during neurodegenerative disease activation using the SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS. We find that SOD1G93A microglia are not derived from infiltrating monocytes, and that both potentially neuroprotective and toxic factors are concurrently up-regulated, including Alzheimer’s disease genes. Mutant microglia differed from SOD1WT, LPS activated microglia, and M1/M2 macrophages, that define an ALS-specific phenotype. Concurrent mRNA/FACS analysis revealed post-transcriptional regulation of microglia surface receptors, and T cell-associated changes in the transcriptome. These results provide insights into microglia biology and establish a resource for future studies of neuroinflammation.