Disrupting upstream translation in mRNAs is associated with human disease

David S. M. Lee, Joseph Park, Andrew Kromer, Aris Baras, Daniel J. Rader, Marylyn D. Ritchie, Louis R. Ghanem () and Yoseph Barash ()
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David S. M. Lee: University of Pennsylvania
Joseph Park: University of Pennsylvania
Andrew Kromer: University of Pennsylvania
Aris Baras: Regeneron Genetics Center, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Daniel J. Rader: University of Pennsylvania
Marylyn D. Ritchie: University of Pennsylvania
Louis R. Ghanem: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Yoseph Barash: University of Pennsylvania

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Ribosome-profiling has uncovered pervasive translation in non-canonical open reading frames, however the biological significance of this phenomenon remains unclear. Using genetic variation from 71,702 human genomes, we assess patterns of selection in translated upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in 5’UTRs. We show that uORF variants introducing new stop codons, or strengthening existing stop codons, are under strong negative selection comparable to protein-coding missense variants. Using these variants, we map and validate gene-disease associations in two independent biobanks containing exome sequencing from 10,900 and 32,268 individuals, respectively, and elucidate their impact on protein expression in human cells. Our results suggest translation disrupting mechanisms relating uORF variation to reduced protein expression, and demonstrate that translation at uORFs is genetically constrained in 50% of human genes.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21812-1

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