Antisense-mediated regulation of exon usage in the elastic spring region of Titin modulates sarcomere function.

Background: Alternative splicing of Titin (TTN) I-band exons produce protein isoforms with variable size and elasticity, but the mechanisms whereby TTN splice factors regulate exon usage and thereby determining cardiomyocyte passive stiffness and diastolic function, is not well understood. Non-coding RNA transcripts from the antisense strand of protein-coding genes have been shown to regulate alternative splicing of the sense gene. The TTN gene locus harbours >80 natural antisense transcripts (NATs) with unknown function in the human heart.