A detailed protocol for applying the click chemistry-assisted RNA-interactome capture (CARIC) strategy to identify proteins binding to both coding and noncoding RNAs is presented.
Method Article
* These authors contributed equally
A detailed protocol for applying the click chemistry-assisted RNA-interactome capture (CARIC) strategy to identify proteins binding to both coding and noncoding RNAs is presented.
A comprehensive identification of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) is key to understanding the posttranscriptional regulatory network in cells. A widely used strategy for RBP capture exploits the polyadenylation [poly(A)] of target RNAs, which mostly occurs on eukaryotic mature mRNAs, leaving most binding proteins of non-poly(A) RNAs unidentified. Here we describe the detailed procedures of a recently reported method termed click chemistry-assisted RNA-interactome capture (CARIC), which enables the transcriptome-wide capture of both poly(A) and non-poly(A) RBPs by combining the metabolic labeling of RNAs, in vivo UV cross-linking, and bioorthogonal tagging.
The human genome is transcribed into various types of coding and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including mRNAs, rRNAs, tRNAs, small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)1. Most of these RNAs possess clothing of RBPs and function as ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs)2. Therefore, a comprehensive identification of RBPs is a prerequisite for understanding the regulatory network between RNAs and RBPs, which is implicated in various human diseases3,4,5.
The past few years have witnessed a great boost of RBPs discovered in various eukaryotic systems2,6, including human7,8,9,10,11, mouse12,13,14, yeast9,15,16, zebrafish17, Drosophila melanogaster18,19, Caenorhabditis elegans16, Arabidopsis thaliana20,21,22, and human parasites23,24,25. These advances have been facilitated by an RBP capture strategy developed by Castello et al.7 and Baltz et al.8 in 2012, which combines in vivo UV cross-linking of RNA and its interacting proteins, oligo(dT) capture of poly(A) RNAs, and mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic profiling. However, given the fact that poly(A) mostly exists on mature mRNAs, which account for only ~3% - 5% of the eukaryotic transcriptome26, this widely used strategy is not capable of capturing RBPs interacting with non-poly(A) RNAs, including most ncRNAs and pre-mRNAs.
Here, we report the detailed procedures of a recently developed strategy for the transcriptome-wide capture of both poly(A) and non-poly(A) RBPs27. Termed CARIC, this strategy combines in vivo UV cross-linking and metabolic labeling of RNAs with photoactivatable and "clickable" nucleoside analogs (which contain a bioorthogonal functional group that can participate in click reaction), 4-thiouridine (4SU), and 5-ethynyluridine (EU). Steps that are key to get ideal results with the CARIC strategy are efficient metabolic labeling, UV cross-linking and click reaction, and the maintenance of RNA integrity. Because Cu(I) used as the catalyst in click reaction can cause the fragmentation of RNAs, a Cu(I) ligand that can reduce RNA fragmentation is essential. We describe how to perform efficient click reactions in cell lysates without causing severe RNA degradation.
Although RBP capture and identification in HeLa cells only is described in this protocol, the CARIC strategy can be applied to various cell types and possibly to living organisms. Besides RBP capture, this protocol also provides streamlined step-by-step procedures for MS sample preparation and protein identification and quantification, which can be helpful for those who are not familiar with proteomic experiments.
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CAUTION: When applicable, the reagents used should be purchased in the form of RNase-free, or dissolved in RNase-free, solvents (for most cases, in diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC)-treated water). When handling RNA samples and RNase-free reagents, always wear gloves and masks, and change them frequently to avoid RNase contamination.
1. Preparation of Lysate of Metabolically Labeled and UV Cross-linked Cells
2. Preparation of Samples for RNA-interactome Capture
3. RNA-interactome Capture
4. Quality Control
5. Preparation of the Samples for MS
6. Performance of the MS and Data Analysis
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The representative results of quality control steps are presented. The results include figures of the in-gel fluorescence analysis described in step 2.3.2 (Figure 1), the western blot analysis described in step 4.1.3 (Figure 2A), and the silver-staining analysis described in step 4.2.2 (Figure 2B). The quality control steps are critical for the optimization of CARIC protocols. Always include quality ...
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The maintenance of fair RNA integrity is one of the keys to successful CARIC experiments. With appropriate ligands of Cu(I) and careful operation, RNA degradation can be significantly reduced, although partial degradation was observed. The substitution ratios of EU and 4SU in experimental samples are 1.18% and 0.46%, respectively (data not shown). For intact RNAs with a length of 2,000 nt, ~90% of RNAs contain at least one EU and one 4SU. For partially degraded RNAs with a length of 1,000 nt, ~70% of RNAs contain at leas...
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The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants 91753206, 21425204, and 21521003 and by the National Key Research and Development Project 2016YFA0501500.
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| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| HeLa | ATCC | ||
| DMEM (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 11995065 | |
| FBS (Fetal Bovine Serum) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 10099141 | |
| Penicillin & Streptomycin | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 15140122 | |
| EU (5-ethynyl uridine) | Wuhu Huaren Co. | CAS:69075-42-9 | |
| 4SU (4-thiouridine) | Sigma Aldrich | T4509 | |
| 10×PBS (Phosphate-Buffered Saline) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | AM9625 | |
| UV cross-linker | UVP | CL-1000 | Equiped with 365-nm UV lamp |
| DEPC (Diethyl pyrocarbonate) | Sigma Aldrich | D5758 | To treat water. Highly toxic! |
| Tris·HCl, pH 7.5 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 15567027 | |
| LiCl | Sigma Aldrich | 62476 | |
| Nonidet P-40 | Biodee | 74385 | |
| EDTA-free protease inhibitor cocktail | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 88265 | One tablet for 50 mL lysis buffer. |
| LDS (Lithium dodecyl sulfate) | Sigma Aldrich | L9781 | |
| 15-mL ultrafiltration tube (10 kDa cutoff) | Millipore | UFC901024 | |
| 0.5-mL ultrafiltration tube (10 kDa cutoff) | Millipore | UFC501096 | |
| Streptavidin magnetic beads | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 88816 | |
| DMSO (Dimethyl sulfoxide) | Sigma Aldrich | 41639 | |
| Azide-biotin | Click Chemistry Tools | AZ104 | |
| Copper(II) sulfate | Sigma Aldrich | C1297 | |
| THPTA [Tris(3-hydroxypropyltriazolylmethyl)amine] | Sigma Aldrich | 762342 | |
| Sodium ascorbate | Sigma Aldrich | 11140 | |
| Azide-Cy5 | Click Chemistry Tools | AZ118 | |
| LDS sample buffer (4×) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | NP0008 | |
| 10% bis-Tris gel | Thermo Fisher Scientific | NP0301BOX | |
| EDTA | Thermo Fisher Scientific | AM9260G | |
| RNase A | Sigma Aldrich | R6513 | |
| SDS (Sodium dodecyl sulfate) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 15525017 | |
| NaCl | Sigma Aldrich | S3014 | |
| Brij-97 [Polyoxyethylene (20) oleyl ether] | J&K | 315442 | |
| Triethanolamine | Sigma Aldrich | V900257 | |
| Streptavidin agarose | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 20353 | |
| Urea | Sigma Aldrich | U5378 | |
| Sarkosyl (N-Lauroylsarcosine sodium salt) | Sigma Aldrich | 61743 | |
| Biotin | Sigma Aldrich | B4501 | |
| Sodium deoxycholate | Sigma Aldrich | 30970 | |
| MaxQuant | Version: 1.5.5.1 |
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