Endosome transcriptomics reveal trafficking of Cajal bodies into multivesicular bodies

All eukaryotic cells secrete exosomes, a type of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from the endocytic compartments known as multivesicular bodies (MVBs), or late endosomes (LEs). Exosomes contain a diverse range of cargo such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and small molecules but whether these contents have a biological function remains an area of intense investigation. Over the last decade, numerous studies have described the transcriptome of exosomes but very little is known about the RNA content of the MVBs, the source compartment for exosome biogenesis. Here we determine the small-RNA transcriptome of highly purified MVBs and report that various classes of nuclear small regulatory RNAs such as small-Cajal body associated RNAs (scaRNAs), small-nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and small-nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) traffic to MVBs. We show that this RNA-trafficking requires the function of ESCRT machinery but is independent of canonical LC3 lipidation mediated selective autophagy. Furthermore, blocking the activity of a PI3K Class 3 enzyme, VPS34, required for recruitment of the ESCRT machinery to the endosome, prevents the turnover of these nuclear RNAs in MVBs. Our results provide a mechanism for targeting nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs), such as Cajal bodies, for degradation and turnover by the cytoplasmic endo-lysosomal pathway.