The Impact of Coilin Nonsynonymous SNP Variants E121K and V145I on Cell Growth and Cajal Body Formation: the First Characterization

Coilin is the main component of Cajal body (CB), a membraneless organelle that is involved in the biogenesis of ribonucleoproteins and telomerase, cell cycle, and cell growth. The disruption of CBs is linked to neurodegenerative diseases and potentially cancers. The coilin gene (COIL) contains two nonsynonymous SNPs: rs116022828 (E121K) and rs61731978 (V145I). Here, we investigated for the first time the functional impacts of these coilin SNPs on CB formation, coilin subcellular localization, microtubule formation, cell growth, and coilin expression and protein structure. We revealed that both E121K and V145I mutants could disrupt CB formation and result in various patterns of subcellular localization with survival motor neuron protein. Noteworthy, many of the E121K cells showed nucleolar coilin accumulation. The microtubule regrowth and cell cycle assays indicated that the E121K cells appeared to be trapped in the S and G2/M phases of cell cycle, resulting in reduced cell proliferation. In silico protein structure prediction suggested that the E121K mutation caused greater destabilization on the coilin structure than the V145I mutation. Additionally, clinical bioinformatic analysis indicated that coilin expression levels could be a risk factor for cancer, depending on the cancer types and races.