Antigenic variation by switching inter-chromosomal interactions with an RNA splicing locus in trypanosomes

Abstract

Highly selective gene expression is a key requirement for antigenic variation in several pathogens, allowing evasion of host immune responses and maintenance of persistent infections. African trypanosomes, parasites that cause lethal diseases in humans and livestock, employ an antigenic variation mechanism that involves monogenic antigen expression from a pool of >2500 antigen coding genes. In other eukaryotes, the expression of individual genes can be enhanced by mechanisms involving the juxtaposition of otherwise distal chromosomal loci in the three-dimensional nuclear space. However, trypanosomes lack classical enhancer sequences or regulated transcription initiation and the monogenic expression mechanism has remained enigmatic. Here, we show that the single expressed antigen coding gene displays a specific inter-chromosomal interaction with a major mRNA splicing locus. Chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C), revealed a dynamic reconfiguration of this inter-chromosomal interaction upon activation of another antigen. Super-resolution microscopy showed the interaction to be heritable and splicing dependent. We find that the two genomic loci are connected by the antigen exclusion complex, whereby VEX1 associated with the splicing locus and VEX2 with the antigen coding locus. Following VEX2 depletion, loss of monogenic antigen expression was accompanied by increased interactions between previously silent antigen genes and the splicing locus. Our results reveal a novel mechanism to ensure monogenic expression, requiring the spatial integration of antigen transcription and mRNA splicing in a dedicated compartment. These findings suggest a new means of post-transcriptional gene regulation.