The potential of the riboSNitch in personalized medicine. (26th June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Solem, Amanda C.; Halvorsen, Matthew; Ramos, Silvia B. V.; Laederach, Alain
• Is Part Of: Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Volume 6:Number 5(2015:Sep./Oct.)
• Page Start: 517
• Page End: 532
• Publication Date: 2015-06-26
• Subjects: RNA -- Periodicals; 572.8805
• DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1291
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-7004

Abstract

Abstract : RNA conformation plays a significant role in stability, ligand binding, transcription, and translation. Single nucleotide variants (SNVs) have the potential to disrupt specific structural elements because RNA folds in a sequence‐specific manner. A riboSNitch is an element of RNA structure with a specific function that is disrupted by an SNV or a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; or polymorphism; SNVs occur with low frequency in the population, <1%). The riboSNitch is analogous to a riboswitch, where binding of a small molecule rather than mutation alters the structure of the RNA to control gene regulation. RiboSNitches are particularly relevant to interpreting the results of genome‐wide association studies (GWAS). Often GWAS identify SNPs associated with a phenotype mapping to noncoding regions of the genome. Because a majority of the human genome is transcribed, significant subsets of GWAS SNPs are putative riboSNitches. The extent to which the transcriptome is tolerant of SNP‐induced structure change is still poorly understood. Recent advances in ultra high‐throughput structure probing begin to reveal the structural complexities of mutation‐induced structure change. This review summarizes our current understanding of SNV and SNP‐induced structure change in the human transcriptome and discusses the importance of riboSNitch discovery in interpreting GWAS results and massive sequencing projects. WIREs RNA 2015, 6:517–532. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1291 This article is categorized under: RNA Structure and Dynamics > Influence of RNA Structure in Biological Systems RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein–RNA Interactions: Functional Implications RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease