Direct role of Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins in transcriptional regulation

Cecilia Gascue, Perciliz L. Tan, Magdalena Cardenas-Rodriguez, Gabriela Libisch, Tamara Fernandez-Calero, Yangfan P. Liu, Soledad Astrada, Carlos Robello, Hugo Naya, Nicholas Katsanis, Jose L. Badano

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Primary cilia are conserved organelles that play crucial roles as mechano- and chemosensors, as well as transducing signaling cascades. Consequently, ciliary dysfunction results in a broad range of phenotypes: the ciliopathies. Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a model ciliopathy, is caused by mutations in 16 known genes. However, the biochemical functions of the BBS proteins are not fully understood. Here we show that the BBS7 protein (localized in the centrosomes, basal bodies and cilia) probably has a nuclear role by virtue of the presence of a biologically confirmed nuclear export signal. Consistent with this observation, we show that BBS7 interacts physically with the polycomb group (PcG) member RNF2 and regulate its protein levels, probably through a proteasome-mediated mechanism. In addition, our data supports a similar role for other BBS proteins. Importantly, the interaction with this PcG member is biologically relevant because loss of BBS proteins leads to the aberrant expression of endogenous RNF2 targets in vivo, including several genes that are crucial for development and for cellular and tissue homeostasis. Our data indicate a hitherto unappreciated, direct role for the BBS proteins in transcriptional regulation and potentially expand the mechanistic spectrum that underpins the development of ciliary phenotypes in patients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)362-375
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Cell Science
Volume125
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jan 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • BBS
  • Cilia
  • Polycomb group

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