@article{Sunwoo01032009, author = {Sunwoo, Hongjae and Dinger, Marcel E. and Wilusz, Jeremy E. and Amaral, Paulo P. and Mattick, John S. and Spector, David L.}, title = {MEN ε/β nuclear-retained non-coding RNAs are up-regulated upon muscle differentiation and are essential components of paraspeckles}, volume = {19}, number = {3}, pages = {347-359}, year = {2009}, doi = {10.1101/gr.087775.108}, abstract ={Studies of the transcriptional output of the human and mouse genomes have revealed that there are many more transcripts produced than can be accounted for by predicted protein-coding genes. Using a custom microarray, we have identified 184 non-coding RNAs that exhibit more than twofold up- or down-regulation upon differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts into myotubes. Here, we focus on the Men ε/β locus, which is up-regulated 3.3-fold during differentiation. Two non-coding RNA isoforms are produced from a single RNA polymerase II promoter, differing in the location of their 3′ ends. Men ε is a 3.2-kb polyadenylated RNA, whereas Men β is an ∼20-kb transcript containing a genomically encoded poly(A)-rich tract at its 3′-end. The 3′-end of Men β is generated by RNase P cleavage. The Men ε/β transcripts are localized to nuclear paraspeckles and directly interact with NONO. Knockdown of MEN ε/β expression results in the disruption of nuclear paraspeckles. Furthermore, the formation of paraspeckles, after release from transcriptional inhibition by DRB treatment, was suppressed in MEN ε/β-depleted cells. Our findings indicate that the MEN ε/β non-coding RNAs are essential structural/organizational components of paraspeckles.}, URL = {http://genome.cshlp.org/content/19/3/347.abstract}, eprint = {http://genome.cshlp.org/content/19/3/347.full.pdf+html}, journal = {Genome Research} }