Proteomic analysis of arginine methylation sites in human cells reveals dynamic regulation during transcriptional arrest

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The covalent attachment of methyl groups to the side-chain of arginine residues is known to play essential roles in regulation of transcription, protein function and RNA metabolism. The specific N-methylation of arginine residues is catalyzed by a small family of gene products known as protein arginine methyltransferases; however, very little is known about which arginine residues become methylated on target substrates. Here we describe a proteomics methodology that combines single-step immunoenrichment of methylated peptides with high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify endogenous arginine mono-methylation (MMA) sites. We thereby identify 1,027 site-specific MMA sites on 494 human proteins, discovering numerous novel mono-methylation targets and confirming the majority of currently known MMA substrates. Nuclear RNA-binding proteins involved in RNA processing, RNA localization, transcription, and chromatin remodeling are predominantly found modified with MMA. Despite this, MMA sites prominently are located outside RNA-binding domains as compared to the proteome-wide distribution of arginine residues. Quantification of arginine methylation in cells treated with Actinomycin D uncovers strong site-specific regulation of MMA sites during transcriptional arrest. Interestingly, several MMA sites are down-regulated after a few hours of transcriptional arrest. In contrast, the corresponding di-methylation or protein expression level is not altered in expression, confirming that MMA sites contain regulated functions on their own. Collectively, we present a site-specific MMA dataset in human cells and demonstrate for the first time that MMA is a dynamic post-translational modification regulated during transcriptional arrest by a hitherto uncharacterized arginine demethylase.
Original languageEnglish
JournalMolecular & Cellular Proteomics
Volume13
Pages (from-to)2072-2088
Number of pages17
ISSN1535-9484
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Feb 2014

ID: 101063320