Regulation of alternative splicing within the supraspliceosome

Alternative splicing is a fundamental feature in regulating the eukaryotic transcriptome, as ∼95% of multi-exon human Pol II transcripts are subject to this process. Regulated splicing operates through the combinatorial interplay of positive and negative regulatory signals present in the pre-mRNA, which are recognized by trans-acting factors. All these RNA and protein components are assembled in a gigantic, 21 MDa, ribonucleoprotein splicing machine – the supraspliceosome. Because most alternatively spliced mRNA isoforms vary between different cell and tissue types, the ability to perform alternative splicing is expected to be an integral part of the supraspliceosome, which constitutes the splicing machine in vivo. Here we show that both the constitutively and alternatively spliced mRNAs of the endogenous human pol II transcripts: hnRNP A/B, survival of motor neuron (SMN) and ADAR2 are predominantly found in supraspliceosomes. This finding is consistent with our observations that the splicing regulators hnRNP G as well as all phosphorylated SR proteins are predominantly associated with supraspliceosomes. We further show that changes in alternative splicing of hnRNP A/B, affected by up regulation of SRSF5 (SRp40) or by treatment with C6-ceramide, occur within supraspliceosomes. These observations support the proposed role of the supraspliceosome in splicing regulation and alternative splicing.