# Mechanisms of Splice Site Selection in Health and Disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2020 · $321,856

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
A key feature in the splicing of pre-mRNA is the processing step that pair splice sites during the early stages of
spliceosome assembly. Yet, major gaps remain in the knowledge of specific molecular interactions that govern
RNA splice site pairing, impeding understanding of mechanisms that regulate constitutive and alternative RNA
splicing to shape the cellular transcriptome. Importantly, little is known as to how somatic mutations in splicing
factors, including SF3A1, SRSF2, and U2AF1, mediating key decisions in the early stages of spliceosome
assembly produce myeloid malignancies. The long-term goal of the proposed project is to determine
fundamental mechanisms that maintain splicing fidelity during the initial steps of spliceosome assembly and to
identify molecular and cellular phenotypes associated with splicing gene mutations that generate myelogenous
blood cell diseases. The central hypothesis is that interactions of SF3A1, a pivotal 3¢-splice site protein that
bridges to its 5¢-splice site partner, U1 small nuclear RNA (snRNA), plays crucial roles in splice site pairing and
that mutations in SF3A1 disrupt these functions. The central hypothesis is derived from preliminary data from
the PI’s laboratory which reveal cross-intron physical cooperation between SF3A1 and stem-loop 4 (SL4) of U1
snRNA in splice site pairing and novel mediation of this interplay by RNA helicase UAP56. This hypothesis will
be tested via two specific aims: 1) Determine the molecular mechanism(s) whereby SF3A1-dependent splice
site pairing events contribute to spliceosome fidelity and generate normal mRNA profiles, and 2) Elucidate the
impact of SF3A1 mutations on its splicing functions and perform a comparative analysis of the influence of
mutations in SF3A1, U2AF1, and SRSF2 on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs).
Experiments in the first aim, will delineate relevant interactions between SF3A1 and UAP56 with U1 snRNA
and other components of the splicing machinery via reconstituted splicing methodology, in vitro, and proximity-
dependent biotin identification (BioID) technique. The action of SF3A1 and UAP56 on cellular mRNA profiles
will be assessed by siRNA knockdown followed by RNA-seq. Experiments in the second aim are designed to
discover the consequences of SF3A1 mutations on its splicing functions by reconstituted splicing assays, in
vitro, and to identify mutation-induced splicing aberrations in human HSPCs by RNA-seq. Hematopoietic
differentiation assays, ex vivo, coupled with immunophenotyping, will be employed to identify abnormal
phenotypic effects of SF3A1 mutations on human HSPCs. The strategy includes comparing the influence of
mutations in SF3A1 with those in SRSF2 and U2AF1 and is expected to reveal molecular and cellular
phenotypic defects that underlie abnormal hematopoiesis. Impact: Completion of the proposed research will
unravel the network of interactions between core spliceosomal components that govern commitm...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899259
- **Project number:** 5R01GM127464-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** Shalini Sharma
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $321,856
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899259

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899259, Mechanisms of Splice Site Selection in Health and Disease (5R01GM127464-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899259. Licensed CC0.

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