The RNA Binding Motif Protein 15B (RBM15B/OTT3) Is a Functional Competitor of Serine-Arginine (SR) Proteins and Antagonizes the Positive Effect of the CDK11p110-Cyclin L2α Complex on Splicing

Abstract Here, we report the identification of the RNA binding motif protein RBM15B/OTT3 as a new CDK11p110 binding partner that alters the effects of CDK11 on splicing. RBM15B was initially identified as a binding partner of the Epstein-Barr virus mRNA export factor and, more recently, as a cofactor of the nuclear export receptor NXF1. In this study, we found that RBM15B co-elutes with CDK11p110, cyclin L2α, and serine-arginine (SR) proteins, including SF2/ASF, in a large nuclear complex of ∼1-MDa molecular mass following size exclusion chromatography. Using co-immunoprecipitation experiments and in vitro pulldown assays, we mapped two distinct domains of RBM15B that are essential for its direct interaction with the N-terminal extension of CDK11p110, cyclin L2α, and SR proteins such as 9G8 and SF2/ASF. Finally, we established that RBM15B is a functional competitor of the SR proteins SF2/ASF and 9G8, inhibits formation of the functional spliceosomal E complex, and antagonizes the positive effect of the CDK11p110-cyclin L2α complex on splicing both in vitro and in vivo.