Profiling of T helper cell-derived small RNAs reveals unique antisense transcripts and differential association of miRNAs with argonaute proteins 1 and 2

RNA interference mediated through antisense transcripts is a fundamentally important mechanism regulating gene expression that remains incompletely understood. Here, we have used next-generation sequencing to determine from mouse CD4+ T cells the functional implications of antisense transcripts binding to argonaute (AGO) proteins that mediate RNA interference and post-transcriptional gene silencing. This effort identified 90 new microRNAs (miRNAs) and six endogenous hairpin RNA-derived small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) mapping to distinct introns. Unexpectedly, 69 miRNAs were expressed as non-canonical isomiRs as the dominant AGO-binding transcript, with extensive 3' terminal nucleotide modifications. Furthermore, differential expression analysis between AGO1- and AGO2-bound miRNAs suggested preferential binding of isomiRs ending with 3' adenine residues to AGO1 and 3' uridine residues to AGO2. Analysis of the putative targets of all miRNAs suggested a striking preference for regulating transcription and transcription factors with additional evidence of a functional division of labor between AGO proteins in this regard. We further provide evidence that multiple mitochondrial genomic loci serve as the source of endogenous cis-natural antisense transcripts. These findings imply diversity in AGO protein function based on differential miRNA binding and indicate that RNA interference-based gene regulation is more complex than previously recognized.