Identification of a novel antisense RNA GHR-AS that regulates the expression of GHR in chichen

Authors: LIN, SHUDAI - South China Agricultural University; ZHANG, ZIHAO - South China Agricultural University; XIE, TINGTING - South China Agricultural University; HU, BOWEN - South China Agricultural University; RUAN, ZHUOHAO - South China Agricultural University; ZHANG, LI - South China Agricultural University; Li, Congjun - Cj; Li, Charles; NIE, QINGHUA - South China Agricultural University; ZHANG, XIQUAN - South China Agricultural University

Submitted to: RNA Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/17/2019
Publication Date: 2/14/2019
Citation: Lin, S., Zhang, Z., Xie, T., Hu, B., Ruan, Z., Zhang, L., Li, C., Li, C.C., Nie, Q., Zhang, X. 2019. Identification of a novel antisense RNA GHR-AS that regulates the expression of GHR in chichen. RNA Biology. 14:1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15476286.2019.1572440.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15476286.2019.1572440

Interpretive Summary: Natural antisense RNAs are widely present in mammalian genomes and act as important regulatory molecules to control gene expression. We identified a novel antisense RNA, designated GHR-AS-EST, from the growth hormone receptor locus (GHR) in the chicken genome, which is a well-known regulatory molecule of muscle development and fat deposition. We predict that our findings of this new antisense RNA for a regulatory gene associated with cell proliferation might further our understanding of the molecular regulation of both muscle development and fat deposition.

Technical Abstract: Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are widely present in mammalian genomes and act as pivotal regulator molecules to control gene expression. However, studies on the NATs of chicken are relatively rare. Here, we identified a novel antisense transcript, designated GHR-AS-EST, transcribed from the growth hormone receptor locus (GHR) in the chicken genome, which is a well-known regulatory molecule of muscle development and fat deposition. GHR-AS-EST was dominantly expressed in chicken liver and muscle tissues but has a weak sequence conservation among different vertebrates. GHR-AS-EST was also shown to form an RNA–RNA duplex with GHBP to increase its stability, and regulate the expression of GHR sense transcripts at both the mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, GHR-AS-EST could promote cell proliferation by stimulating the expression of signaling factors in JAK2/STAT, and contribute to fat deposition via upregulating the expression of signalling factors in JAK2/SOCS pathway in LMH cells. We envision that our findings of a NAT for a regulatory gene associated with cell proliferation and lipolysis might further our understanding of the molecular regulation of both muscle development and fat deposition.