Thursday, May 27, 2021

On the important role of sugars binding to RNA

Amazing (sweet) stuff!

"Sugar molecules bound to RNA may be playing a new—and as-yet-unknown—role in controlling immune reactions ... The molecules, called glycans, were already known to bind to proteins and lipids, where they help control chemical signaling between cells (particularly immune signaling) when the sugar-tagged molecules migrate to the cell surface. But as Science reported in 2019, researchers found that glycans could also bind to strands of RNA, which normally translate genetic information into proteins and catalyze chemical reactions. The new finding, reported yesterday in Cell, suggests glycoRNAs also migrate to cell surfaces, where they may be involved in cell-to-cell communication."

"... Analysis of living cells revealed that the majority of glycoRNAs were present on the cell surface and can interact with anti-dsRNA antibodies and members of the Siglec receptor family. Collectively, these findings suggest the existence of a direct interface between RNA biology and glycobiology, and an expanded role for RNA in extracellular biology."

Sugars spice up RNA | Science | AAAS

Here is the referenced scientific article:



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