Patterns of RNA editing in the Human Nervous system

RNA editing plays a critical role in the physiological development and functional plasticity of the human nervous system. The most common editing transition is adenosine (A) to guanine (G) substitution catalyzed by adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes. ADAR expression is in part controlled by interferon stimulated response elements (ISRE), thus linking expression with innate immune response against viral infection. The most studied ADAR sites are in the coding region for glutamate receptors which are involved in both development and plasticity of nervous cells. The role of dysregulated ratios of RNA editing sites in the disease pathogenesis requires a clearer understanding of the role of RNA editing in normal neuronal development and healthy tissues. Here we begin to delineate the normal RNA-editing patterns seen throughout neural development as well as in different areas of the brain in adult samples. Relevant RNA-seq data samples were collected from the SRA database and analyzed using AIDD pipeline, designed in our lab for exploring transcriptome diversity. ADAR isoform expression as well as many other transcripts involved in neural developmental pathways are highlighted. In addition to isoform differential expression, RNA editing sites will be identified in all datasets. This compilation of RNA editing patterns across multiple RNA-seq datasets from nervous tissues at various stages of development will help highlight new protein targets for future studies.