A Primate lncRNA Mediates Notch Signaling During Neuronal Development by Sequestering miRNA [SHSY5Y cells]

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a diverse category of transcripts with poor conservation and have expanded greatly in primates, particularly in their brain. We identified a lncRNA, which has acquired 16 microRNA response elements (MREs) for miR-143-3p in the Catarrhini branch of primates. This lncRNA termed LncND (neuro-development) gets expressed in neural progenitor cells and then declines in mature neurons. Binding and release of miR-143-3p, by LncND, can control the expression of Notch. Its expression is highest in radial glia cells in the ventricular and outer subventricular zones of human fetal brain. Down-regulation of LncND in neuroblastoma cells reduced cell proliferation and induced neuronal differentiation, an effect phenocopied by miR-143-3p over-expression and supported by RNA-seq analysis. These findings support a role for LncND in miRNA-mediated regulation of Notch signaling in the expansion of the neural progenitor pool of primates and hence contributing to the rapid growth of the cerebral cortex. SHSY5Y cells treated either with miR-143-3p mimic or 100 nM of siRNA specific for LncND were sequenced on NextSeq500 platform. Scrambled siRNA or miRNA sequences were used as a negative control.