Current Research
As RNA-binding proteins exert significant control over numerous cellular functions, they have been a popular area of investigation for many researchers. Due to its importance in the biological field, numerous discoveries regarding RNA-binding proteins' potentials have been recently unveiled.
RNA-binding protein Sam68 controls the spatial and temporal compartmentalization of RNA metabolism to attain proper synaptic function in dendrites. Loss of Sam68 results in abnormal posttranscriptional regulation and ultimately leads to neurological disorders such as fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome. Sam68 was found to interact with the mRNA encoding β-actin, which regulates the synaptic formation of the dendritic spines with its cytoskeletal components. Therefore, Sam68 plays a critical role in regulating synapse number via control of postsynaptic β-actin mRNA metabolism.
Neuron-specific CELF family RNA-binding protein UNC-75 specifically binds to the UUGUUGUGUUGU mRNA stretch via its three RNA recognition motifs for the exon 7a selection in C. elegans’ neuronal cells. As exon 7a is skipped due to its weak splice sites in non-neuronal cells, UNC-75 was found to specifically activate splicing between exon 7a and exon 8 only in the neuronal cells.
The cold inducible RNA binding protein CIRBP plays a role in controlling the cellular response upon confronting a variety of cellular stresses, including short wavelength ultraviolet light, hypoxia, and hypothermia. This research yielded potential implications for the association of disease states with inflammation.
Serine-arginine family of RNA-binding protein Slr1 was found exert control on the polarized growth in Candida albicans. Slr1 mutations in mice results in decreased filamentation and reduces damage to epithelial and endothelial cells that leads to extended survival rate compared to the Slr1 wild-type strains. Therefore, this research reveals that SR-like protein Slr1 plays a role in instigating the hyphal formation and virulence in C. albicans.
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