Harvey Louis-Mathieu, Frédérick Pierre-Marc, Gudipati Rajani Kanth, Michaud Pascale, Houle François, Young Daniel, Desbiens Catherine, Ladouceur Shanna, Dufour Antoine, Großhans Helge, Simard Martin J
Oncology Division, CHU de Québec - Université Laval Research Center, Québec, Canada.
Université Laval Cancer Research Centre, Québec, Canada.
Nat Commun. 2025 Mar 20;16(1):2738. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58141-6.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential regulators involved in multiple biological processes. To achieve their gene repression function, they are loaded in miRNA-specific Argonautes to form the miRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC). Mammals and C. elegans possess more than one paralog of miRNA-specific Argonautes, but the dynamic between them remains unclear. Here, we report the conserved dipeptidyl peptidase DPF-3 as an interactor of the miRNA-specific Argonaute ALG-1 in C. elegans. Knockout of dpf-3 increases ALG-2 levels and miRISC formation in alg-1 loss-of-function animals, thereby compensating for ALG-1 loss and rescuing miRNA-related defects observed. DPF-3 can cleave an ALG-2 N-terminal peptide in vitro but does not appear to rely on this catalytic activity to regulate ALG-2 in vivo. This study uncovers the importance of DPF-3 in the miRNA pathway and provides insights into how multiple miRNA Argonautes contribute to achieving proper miRNA-mediated gene regulation in animals.
微小RNA(miRNA)是参与多种生物学过程的重要调节因子。为实现其基因抑制功能,它们被装载到miRNA特异性的AGO蛋白中,形成miRNA诱导沉默复合体(miRISC)。哺乳动物和秀丽隐杆线虫拥有不止一种miRNA特异性AGO蛋白的旁系同源物,但它们之间的动态关系仍不清楚。在这里,我们报道保守的二肽基肽酶DPF-3是秀丽隐杆线虫中miRNA特异性AGO蛋白ALG-1的相互作用蛋白。敲除dpf-3可增加功能缺失的alg-1动物中ALG-2的水平和miRISC的形成,从而补偿ALG-1的缺失并挽救观察到的与miRNA相关的缺陷。DPF-3可以在体外切割ALG-2的N端肽段,但在体内似乎并不依赖这种催化活性来调节ALG-2。这项研究揭示了DPF-3在miRNA途径中的重要性,并为多种miRNA AGO蛋白如何在动物中实现适当的miRNA介导的基因调控提供了见解。