Chen Wei, Jia Qi, Song Yifan, Fu Haihui, Wei Gang, Ni Ting
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering & MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences and Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering & MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences and Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
Genomics Proteomics Bioinformatics. 2017 Oct;15(5):287-300. doi: 10.1016/j.gpb.2017.06.001. Epub 2017 Oct 12.
Alternative polyadenylation (APA), a phenomenon that RNA molecules with different 3' ends originate from distinct polyadenylation sites of a single gene, is emerging as a mechanism widely used to regulate gene expression. In the present review, we first summarized various methods prevalently adopted in APA study, mainly focused on the next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based techniques specially designed for APA identification, the related bioinformatics methods, and the strategies for APA study in single cells. Then we summarized the main findings and advances so far based on these methods, including the preferences of alternative polyA (pA) site, the biological processes involved, and the corresponding consequences. We especially categorized the APA changes discovered so far and discussed their potential functions under given conditions, along with the possible underlying molecular mechanisms. With more in-depth studies on extensive samples, more signatures and functions of APA will be revealed, and its diverse roles will gradually heave in sight.
可变聚腺苷酸化（APA）是一种现象，即具有不同3'末端的RNA分子源自单个基因的不同聚腺苷酸化位点，它正逐渐成为一种广泛用于调节基因表达的机制。在本综述中，我们首先总结了APA研究中普遍采用的各种方法，主要集中在专门为APA鉴定设计的基于新一代测序（NGS）的技术、相关的生物信息学方法以及单细胞APA研究策略。然后，我们总结了基于这些方法到目前为止的主要发现和进展，包括可变聚腺苷酸（pA）位点的偏好、涉及的生物学过程以及相应的后果。我们特别对迄今为止发现的APA变化进行了分类，并讨论了它们在特定条件下的潜在功能以及可能的潜在分子机制。随着对大量样本的更深入研究，APA的更多特征和功能将被揭示，其多样的作用也将逐渐显现。
