Regulation of pre-mRNA processing by src

BACKGROUND Changes in gene expression in response to external signals provide a key mechanisms for the regulation of higher eukaryotic cell functions. The importance of transcriptional control in the response of cells to growth factors and cytokines has been extensively documented, but gene expression has also been shown to be controlled at other levels, such as the stability of mRNA in the cytoplasm, its localization and translation. By contrast to transcriptional control, little is known of the contribution of pre-mRNA nuclear processing to the regulation of gene expression, as most of our knowledge of pre-mRNA processing in vivo is indirect, being inferred from comparisons of transcription rates and levels of mRNA accumulation. RESULTS In this study, we have used as a model the well-characterized maturation pathway of transcripts of the cytokine, tumour necrosis factor beta (TNF beta). We have used the murine TNF beta gene as a reporter for pre-mRNA processing, using a co-transfection approach to investigate whether overproduction of proteins involved in signal transduction influences the processing of TNF beta transcripts. Although transfection of both activated ras and src genes led to an increase in RNA accumulation in the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments, as expected from their transactivation of the TNF beta expression vector, only src induced a modification of RNA processing. Comparison of several modes of src activation indicated that two distinct effects of src on pre-mRNA processing can be coupled: one involves slowing down splicing and the other allows the export of partially spliced transcripts. These effects can be observed not only on the three introns of TNF beta but also on transcripts from a beta globin expression vector. DISCUSSION We have characterized how the processing of transcripts of TNF beta and beta globin is regulated by the signal transduction pathway that includes the Src protein, establishing that external signals have the capacity to regulate gene expression at a post-transcriptional level within the nucleus. Src seems to act on a general mechanism of splicing and/or mRNA transport, but its biologically relevant targets are likely to be restricted to genes for which either alternative processing pathways are in competition, or the kinetics of splicing is critical. This regulation could reflect a modulation by Src of the activity of components of the splicing and transport machineries, but could also involve RNA-binding proteins, which have been shown to interact with Src.