Detalle de: Defective histone supply causes changes in RNA polymerase II elongation rate and cotranscriptional pre-mRNA splicing

Significance The study of the role of histones in transcription in mammals has been hindered by the existence of large gene families encoding every histone subunit. Here we reduce the level of canonical histones in a human cell line by silencing stem-loop–binding protein, a histone mRNA regulatory factor. We show that canonical histone depletion increases the RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) elongation rate and temporally separates transcription and splicing. Furthermore, histone depletion also causes several pre-mRNA splicing defects, including skipping of alternative exons and intron retention. Thus we demonstrate that the correct histone supply is required to control the RNAPII elongation rate and pre-mRNA splicing.