Identification of an RNA element for specific coordination of A-to-I RNA editing on HTR2C pre-mRNA

Adenosine-to-Inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is an intracellular mechanism in which inosine is specifically substituted against adenosine by the action of adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs). Serotonin 2C receptor (HTR2C) is encoded through combinatorial A-to-I RNA editing at recoding sites (A - E site) on its pre-mRNA. Although the efficiency of RNA editing at particular sites is known to be critical for modulating the serotonin signaling, the mechanistic details of site-specific editing on HTR2C pre-mRNA are not fully understood. Toward complete understanding of this mechanism, we discovered an RNA element, which coordinates site-specific RNA editing on HTR2C pre-mRNA by an in vitro editing assay and secondary structural analysis of mutant HTR2C RNA fragments. Our results showed that HTR2C pre-mRNA forms a characteristic structure, which was restricted by the internal loop and Watson-Crick base-pair interaction on site E, for intrinsic editing. We suggest that the internal loop would contribute toward adjusting the relative distance and/or geometry between the editing sites and the scaffold for ADAR.