Regulation of alternative splicing by a novel BRR2 interactor C9ORF78

The RNA helicase BRR2 (SNRNP200) is one of the key remodeling factors of the spliceosome. Here we show its direct interaction with C9ORF78, a poorly characterized protein predicted to be largely intrinsically disordered. We present cryo-EM structures showing how C9ORF78 and the spliceosomal B-complex protein FBP21 wrap around the C-terminal helicase cassette of BRR2 and that binding of the two proteins is mutually exclusive. C9ORF78 associates with the spliceosome, as we confirm via proteomics and RNA UV-crosslinking. An siRNA mediated C9ORF78 knockdown reveals changes in alternative splicing of specific target pre-mRNAs, which in part depend on its interaction with BRR2. In particular, C9ORF78 regulates a substantial number of alternative 3’ splice sites, which might be facilitated through an additional interaction with human PRP22 (DHX8). Identification of C9orf78 RNA targets with FLASH, using GFP as a negative control