Alternative splicing events driven by altered levels of GEMIN5 undergo translation

GEMIN5 is a multifunctional protein involved in various aspects of RNA biology, including biogenesis of snRNPs and translation control. Reduced levels of GEMIN5 confer a differential translation to selective groups of mRNAs, and biallelic variants reducing protein stability or inducing structural conformational changes are associated with neurological disorders. Here, we show that upregulation of GEMIN5 can be detrimental as it modifies the steady state of mRNAs and enhances alternative splicing (AS) events of genes involved in a broad range of cellular processes. RNA-Seq identification of the mRNAs associated with polysomes in cells with high levels of GEMIN5 revealed that a significant fraction of the differential AS events undergo translation. The association of mRNAs with polysomes was dependent on the type of AS event, being more frequent in the case of exon skipping. However, there were no major differences in the percentage of genes showing open-reading frame disruption. Importantly, differential AS events in mRNAs engaged in polysomes, eventually rendering non-functional proteins, encode factors controlling cell growth. The broad range of mRNAs comprising AS events engaged in polysomes upon GEMIN5 upregulation supports the notion that this multifunctional protein has evolved as a gene expression balancer, consistent with its dual role as a member of the SMN complex and as a modulator of protein synthesis, ultimately impinging on cell homoeostasis.