Human SAFB2 blocking peptide

Many microRNAs (miRNAs) are generated from primary transcripts containing multiple clustered stem-loop structures that are thought to be recognized and cleaved by the Microprocessor complex as independent units. Here, we uncover an unexpected mode of processing of the bicistronic miR-15a-16-1 cluster. We find that the primary miR-15a stem-loop is not processed on its own but that the presence of the neighboring primary miR-16-1 stem-loop on the same transcript can compensate for this deficiency in cis. Using a CRISPR/Cas9 screen, we identify SAFB2 (scaffold attachment factor B2) as an essential co-factor in this miR-16-1-assisted pri-miR-15 cleavage and describe SAFB2 as an accessory protein of the Microprocessor. Notably, SAFB2-mediated cleavage expands to other clustered pri-miRNAs, indicating a generalmechanism. Together, our study reveals an unrecognized function of SAFB2 in miRNA processing and suggests a scenario in which SAFB2 enables the binding and processing of suboptimal Microprocessor substrates in clustered primary miRNA transcripts.

Protein phosphorylation plays a key role in vasopressin signaling in the renal-collecting duct. Large-scale identification and quantification of phosphorylation events triggered by vasopressin is desirable to gain a comprehensive systems-level understanding of this process. We carried out phosphoproteomic analysis of rat inner medullary collecting duct cells by using a combination of phosphopeptide enrichment by immobilized metal affinity chromatography and phosphorylation site identification by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(n) neutral loss scanning. A total of 714 phosphorylation sites on 223 unique phosphoproteins were identified from inner medullary collecting duct samples treated short-term with either calyculin A or vasopressin. A number of proteins involved in cytoskeletal reorganization, vesicle trafficking, and transcriptional regulation were identified. Previously unidentified phosphorylation sites were found for membrane proteins essential to collecting duct physiology, including eight sites among aquaporin-2 (AQP2), aquaporin-4, and urea transporter isoforms A1 and A3. Through label-free quantification of phosphopeptides, we identified a number of proteins that significantly changed phosphorylation state in response to short-term vasopressin treatment: AQP2, Bclaf1, LRRC47, Rgl3, and SAFB2. In the presence of vasopressin, AQP2 monophosphorylated at 5256 and diphosphorylated AQP2 (pS256/261) increased in abundance, whereas AQP2 monophosphorylated at 5261 decreased, raising the possibility that both sites are involved in vasopressin-dependent AQP2 trafficking. This study reveals the practicality of liquid chromotography-mass spectrometry" neutral loss scanning for large-scale identification and quantification of protein phosphorylation in the analysis of cell signaling in a native mammalian system.