The anti-cancer drug 5-fluorouracil affects cell cycle regulators and potential regulatory long non-coding RNAs in yeast

ABSTRACT5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was isolated as an inhibitor of thymidylate synthase, which is important for DNA synthesis. The drug was later found to also affect the conserved 3ʹ-5ʹ exoribonuclease EXOSC10/Rrp6, a catalytic subunit of the RNA exosome that degrades and processes protein-coding and non-coding transcripts. Work on 5-FU’s cytotoxicity has been focused on mRNAs and non-coding transcripts such as rRNAs, tRNAs and snoRNAs. However, the effect of 5-FU on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which include regulatory transcripts important for cell growth and differentiation, is poorly understood. RNA profiling of synchronized 5-FU treated yeast cells and protein assays reveal that the drug specifically inhibits a set of cell cycle regulated genes involved in mitotic division, by decreasing levels of the paralogous Swi5 and Ace2 transcriptional activators. We also observe widespread accumulation of different lncRNA types in treated cells, which are typically present at high levels in a strain lacking EXO...