Global analysis of RNA–protein interactions in TNF‐α induced alternative splicing in metabolic disorders

Abstract

In this report, using the database of RNA‐binding protein specificities (RBPDB) and our previously published RNA‐seq data, we analyzed RNA–RNA‐binding protein (RBP) interactions to decipher the role of alternative splicing in metabolic disorders induced by TNF‐α. We identified 13,395 unique RNA–RBP interactions, including 385 unique RNA motifs and 35 RBPs, some of which (including MBNL‐1 and 3, ZFP36, ZRANB2, and SNRPA) are transcriptionally regulated by TNF‐α. In addition to some previously reported RBPs, such as RBMX and HuR/ELAVL1, we found a few novel RBPs, such as ZRANB2 and SNRPA, to be involved in the regulation of metabolic syndrome‐associated genes that contain an enrichment of tetrameric RNA sequences (AUUU). Taken together, this study paves the way for novel RNA–protein interaction‐based therapeutics for treating metabolic syndromes.