Cytosolic Genomic DNA functions as a Natural Antisense

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 8551 - 12
• Main Authors: Asada, Ken, Ito, Keiya, Yui, Daishi, Tagaya, Hirokuni, Yokota, Takanori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 04.06.2018; Nature Publishing Group UK
• Subjects: Antisense DNA; Cytosol; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA biosynthesis; Exonuclease; Gene expression; Gene regulation; Genotoxicity; Interferon; Phenotypes; Ribonuclease H; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Transcription; Tumors; Ultraviolet radiation
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26487-1

Stress conditions such as UV irradiation, exposure to genotoxic agents, stalled DNA replication, and even tumors trigger the release of cytosolic genomic DNA (cgDNA). Classically, cgDNA induces interferon response via its binding to proteins such as STING. In this study, we found previously reported cgDNA (cg721) exists in the cytosol of the mouse cell lines, cultured under no stress conditions. The overexpression of cg721 suppressed the complementary RNA expression using strand selection and knockdown of DNA/RNA hybrid R-loop removing enzyme RNase H and three prime repair exonuclease 1 TREX1 increased the expression levels of cg721 and thus, inhibited the target Naa40 transcript, as well as protein expression, with a phenotypic effect. In addition, cgDNA was incorporated into extracellular vesicles (EVs), and the EV-derived cg721 inhibited gene expression of the acceptor cells. Thus, our findings suggest that cg721 functions as a natural antisense DNA and play a role in cell-to-cell gene regulation once it secreted outside the cell as EVs.