Identification of RNAs bound to endogenous PUM2 in HCT116 cells

Purpose: PUMILIO proteins are known to repress target genes by binding to PUMILIO response elements (PREs) in target mRNAs. The goal of this study was to demonstrate binding of endogenous PUM2 to the noncoding RNA NORAD and to identify PUM2 target genes in NORAD wild-type and knockout HCT116 cells. Methods: PAR-CLIP was performed with endogenous PUM2 in HCT116 cells and isogenic NORAD knockout cells. Results: Endogenous PUM2 binds to NORAD in HCT116 cells. In addition, PUM2 target genes were identified in HCT116 cells. Conclusions: PUM2 binds to NORAD through multiple PREs on NORAD. Compared to all other PUM2 target genes in HCT116, NORAD is the preferred binding partner of endogenous PUM2. RNAs bound to endogenous PUM2 were identified in HCT116 NORAD wild-type and knockout cells using PAR-CLIP and deep sequencing using Illumina NextSeq 500.