Understanding the molecular pathways disrupted in motor neuron diseases is urgently needed. Here, the authors employed CRISPR knockout (KO) to investigate the functions of four ALS-causative RNA/DNA binding proteins (FUS, EWSR1, TAF15 and MATR3) within the RNAP II/U1 snRNP machinery. They found that each of these structurally related proteins has distinct roles with FUS KO resulting in loss of U1 snRNP and the SMN complex, EWSR1 KO causing dissociation of the tRNA ligase complex, and TAF15 KO resulting in loss of transcription factors P-TEFb and TFIIF. However, all four ALS-causative proteins are required for association of the ASC-1 transcriptional co-activator complex with the RNAP II/U1 snRNP machinery. Of note, mutations in the ASC-1 complex are known to cause a severe form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and they show that an SMA-causative mutation in an ASC-1 component or an ALS-causative mutation in FUS disrupts association between the ASC-1 complex and the RNAP II/U1 snRNP machinery.
