Sequences enriched in Alu repeats drive nuclear localization of long RNAs in human cells

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as key parts of multiple cellular pathways(1), but their modes of action and how these are dictated by sequence remain unclear. lncRNAs tend to be enriched in the nuclear fraction, whereas most mRNAs are overtly cytoplasmic(2), although several studies have found that hundreds of mRNAs in various cell types are retained in the nucleus(3,4). It is thus conceivable that some mechanisms that promote nuclear enrichment are shared between lncRNAs and mRNAs. Here, to identify elements in lncRNAs and mRNAs that can force nuclear localization, we screened libraries of short fragments tiled across nuclear RNAs, which were cloned into the untranslated regions of an efficiently exported mRNA. The screen identified a short sequence derived from Alu elements and bound by HNRNPK that increased nuclear accumulation. Binding of HNRNPK to C-rich motifs outside Alu elements is also associated with nuclear enrichment in both lncRNAs and mRNAs, and this mechanism is conserved across species. Our results thus identify a pathway for regulation of RNA accumulation and subcellular localization that has been co-opted to regulate the fate of transcripts with integrated Alu elements.