Splicing regulatory network of master regulator RNA Binding Protein Multiple Splicing (RBPMS) in human Embryonic stem cell derived Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

We report the splicing and gene expression regulation by RBPMS In hES-VSMCs. We have used a Doxycycline inducible over-expression system to examine the splicing networks controlled by RBPMS in VSMCs; a protein that is highly expressed in native arterial tissue VSMCs. Previously, we have described its splicing regulatory functions in rat VSMCs (Nakagaki-SIlva et al, 2019). Here we report human VSMC specific interactions using VSMCs differentiated from human ES cells via a neural crest lineage. These cells do not endogenously express RBPMS; however, over-expression drives splicing patterns characteristic of mature tissue VSMCs evenin the in vitro differentiated cells.