Nuclear 2′- <i>O</i> -methylation regulates RNA splicing through its binding protein FUBP1
2'-<i>O</i>-methylation (N<sub>m</sub>) is an abundant RNA modification exists on different mammalian RNA species. However, potential N<sub>m</sub> recognition by proteins has not been extensively explored. Here, we used RNA affinity purification, followed by mass spectrometry to identify N<sub>m</sub>-binding proteins. The N<sub>m</sub>-binding protein candidates exhibit enriched binding at known N<sub>m</sub> sites. Some candidates display nuclear localization and functions. We focused on the splicing factor FUBP1. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay validated preference of FUBP1 to N<sub>m</sub>-modified RNA. As FUBP1 predominantly binds intronic regions, we profiled N<sub>m</sub> sites in chromatin-associated RNA (caRNA) and found N<sub>m</sub> enrichment within introns. Depletion of N<sub>m</sub> led to skipped exons, suggesting N<sub>m</sub>-dependent splicing regulation. The caRNA N<sub>m</sub> sites overlap with FUBP1-binding sites, and N<sub>m</sub> depletion reduced FUBP1 occupancy on modified regions. Furthermore, <i>FUBP1</i> depletion induced exon skipping in N<sub>m</sub>-modified genes, supporting its role in mediating N<sub>m</sub>-dependent splicing regulation. Overall, our findings identify FUBP1 as an N<sub>m</sub>-binding protein and uncover previously unrecognized nuclear functions for RNA N<sub>m</sub> modification.
Authors
- Li Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1394-2406)
- Zhongyu Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7152-5435)
- Boyang Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6956-1450)
- Wanglong Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1233-9921)
- Bochen Jiang
- Chuan He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4319-7424)
- Bei Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2155-2974)
- Lisheng Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1856)
Institutions
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK)
- University of Chicago (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2025-10-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady3894
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- RNA modifications and cancer
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81