ArrayExpress Uploader0mouse7888arrayexpress_sid6Both microRNAs and alternative pre-mRNA splicing have been implicated in the development of the nervous system (NS), but functional...E-GEOD-8498/profile/8773/arrayexpressuploader06exonnervous systemneuronproteinDec.12, 2014Falsetranscription-profiling-of-mouse-cad-cells-transfeE-GEOD-8498_A-AFFY-45Transcription profiling of mouse CAD cells transfected with miR-124a-2 reveals the microRNA miR-124 Promotes neuronal differentiation by triggering brain-specific alternative pre-mRNA splicingNov.18, 2014Both microRNAs and alternative pre-mRNA splicing have been implicated in the development of the nervous system (NS), but functional interactions between these two pathways are poorly understood. We demonstrate that the neuron-specific microRNA miR-124a directly targets PTBP1/PTB/hnRNPI mRNA, which encodes a global repressor of alternative pre-mRNA splicing in non-neuronal cells. Among the targets of PTBP1 is a critical cassette exon in the pre-mRNA of PTBP2/nPTB/brPTB, an NS-enriched PTBP1 homolog. When this exon is skipped, PTBP2 mRNA is subject to nonsense-mediated decay. During neuronal differentiation, miR-124a reduces PTBP1 levels leading to the accumulation of correctly spliced PTBP2 mRNA and a dramatic increase in PTBP2 protein. These events culminate in the transition from non-NS to NS-specific alternative splicing patterns. We also present evidence that miR-124a plays a key role in the differentiation of progenitor cells to mature neurons. Thus, miR-124a promotes NS development at least in part by regulating an intricate network of NS-specific alternative splicing. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression of CAD cells over-expressing miR-124a-2. Experiment Overall Design: Expression data from CAD cells transfected with plasmid expressing miR-124a-2.http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/experiments/E-GEOD-8498http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/experiments/E-GEOD-8498/samples/