RNA
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Carnegie Institution and UMASS Medical School granted broad US Patent related to RNA interference
Oct 16, Biology/Biotechnology The Carnegie Institution for Science and the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have been granted United States Patent 8,283,329, entitled, "Genetic inhibition of double-stranded RNA." The patent, issued on October 9, 2012, is broadly directed to the use of RNA interference (RNAi) to inhibit expression of a target gene in animal cells, including mammalian cells.New screening method may lead to more efficient RNA drug development
Published on October 10, 2012 at 4:28 AM Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a new method of screening more than three million combinations of interactions between RNA and small molecules to identify the best targets on RNA as well as the most promising potential drug compounds. This novel technology may lead to more efficient drug development. The study was published in the October 9, 2012 issue of the journal Nature Communications . RNA has multiple biological functions, including encoding and translating proteins from genes and regulating the amount of protein expressed under various cellular conditions.
Screening method aids RNA drug development research
Oct. 9, 2012 — Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a new method of screening more than three million combinations of interactions between RNA and small molecules to identify the best targets on RNA as well as the most promising potential drug compounds. This novel technology may lead to more efficient drug development. The study was published in the October 9, 2012 issue of the journal Nature Communications .
Scientists devise screening method to aid RNA drug development research
Oct 09, Biology/Biotechnology (Phys.org)—Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a new method of screening more than three million combinations of interactions between RNA and small molecules to identify the best targets on RNA as well as the most promising potential drug compounds. This novel technology may lead to more efficient drug development. The study was published in the October 9, 2012 issue of the journal Nature Communications . RNA has multiple biological functions, including encoding and translating proteins from genes and regulating the amount of protein expressed under various cellular conditions. Recent studies have identified RNA as a " molecular switch " that controls cellular events such as gene expression , making RNA an attractive target for small molecules that serve as chemical genetics probes, analytical tools or potential drugs.
Researchers discover smallest and fastest-known RNA switches
A University of Michigan biophysical chemist and his colleagues have discovered the smallest and fastest-known molecular switches made of RNA , the chemical cousin of DNA . The researchers say these rare, fleeting structures are prime targets for the development of new antiviral and antibiotic drugs. Once believed to merely store and relay genetic information, RNA is now known to be a cellular Swiss Army knife of sorts, performing a wide variety of tasks and morphing into myriad shapes. Over the past decade, researchers have determined that most of the DNA in our cells is used to make RNA molecules, that RNA plays a central role in regulating gene expression , and that these macromolecules act as switches that detect cellular signals and then change shape to send an appropriate response to other biomolecules in the cell.Oct. 7, 2012 — A University of Michigan biophysical chemist and his colleagues have discovered the smallest and fastest-known molecular switches made of RNA, the chemical cousin of DNA. The researchers say these rare, fleeting structures are prime targets for the development of new antiviral and antibiotic drugs. Once believed to merely store and relay genetic information, RNA is now known to be a cellular Swiss Army knife of sorts, performing a wide variety of tasks and morphing into myriad shapes. Over the past decade, researchers have determined that most of the DNA in our cells is used to make RNA molecules, that RNA plays a central role in regulating gene expression, and that these macromolecules act as switches that detect cellular signals and then change shape to send an appropriate response to other biomolecules in the cell.
Smallest and fastest-known RNA switches provide new drug targets
Smallest, fastest-known RNA switches provide new drug targets
Oct 07, Biology/Cell & Microbiology Credit: Hashim Al-Hashimi (Phys.org)—A University of Michigan biophysical chemist and his colleagues have discovered the smallest and fastest-known molecular switches made of RNA, the chemical cousin of DNA. The researchers say these rare, fleeting structures are prime targets for the development of new antiviral and antibiotic drugs. Once believed to merely store and relay genetic information , RNA is now known to be a cellular Swiss Army knife of sorts, performing a wide variety of tasks and morphing into myriad shapes. Over the past decade, researchers have determined that most of the DNA in our cells is used to make RNA molecules , that RNA plays a central role in regulating gene expression , and that these macromolecules act as switches that detect cellular signals and then change shape to send an appropriate response to other biomolecules in the cell.Opening up the RNA-chromatin network
In eukaryotic nuclei, DNA is coiled around histone proteins to form nucleosomes. The pattern by which nucleosomes are compacted into higher-order structures determines the accessibility of chromatin and hence it’s transcriptional activity. Many different factors, including the linker histone H1, histone modifications, chromatin remodelling enzymes and non-histone proteins play important roles in structuring chromatin. Various classes of RNA have also been implicated in regulating the higher-order structure of chromatin.
Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, shows that a common pathway links them. The discovery reveals a small set of target genes that could be used to measure the health of motor neurons, and provides a useful tool for development of new pharmaceuticals to treat the devastating disorder, which currently has no treatment or cure. Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the study will be published in the advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience on September 30. ALS is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder characterized by premature degeneration of motor neurons, resulting in a progressive, fatal paralysis in patients.
Common RNA pathway links frontotemporal lobar dementia with ALS
Eukaryotic genomes are extensively transcribed, forming both messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). ncRNAs made by RNA polymerase II often initiate from bidirectional promoters (nucleosome-depleted chromatin) that synthesize mRNA and ncRNA in opposite directions. We demonstrate that, by adopting a gene-loop conformation, actively transcribed mRNA encoding genes restrict divergent transcription of ncRNAs. Because gene-loop formation depends on a protein factor (Ssu72) that coassociates with both the promoter and the terminator, the inactivation of Ssu72 leads to increased synthesis of promoter-associated divergent ncRNAs, referred to as Ssu72-restricted transcripts (SRTs). Similarly, inactivation of individual gene loops by gene mutation enhances SRT synthesis.
Gene Loops Enhance Transcriptional Directionality
Cardiac stress, for example a heart attack or high blood pressure , frequently leads to pathological heart growth and subsequently to heart failure . Two tiny RNA molecules play a key role in this detrimental development in mice, as researchers at the Hannover Medical School and the Göttingen Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry have now discovered. When they inhibited one of those two specific molecules, they were able to protect the rodent against pathological heart growth and failure. With these findings, the scientists hope to be able to develop therapeutic approaches that can protect humans against heart failure. Respiratory distress, fatigue, and attenuated performance are symptoms that can accompany heart failure.
Two tiny RNA molecules play a key role in pathological heart growth and failure
Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) today introduced TruSeq Stranded mRNA and Total RNA Sample Preparation Kits for RNA sequencing. The new reagent kits enable researchers to quickly and easily conduct gene expression studies that provide a complete view of the transcriptome, even from low-quality RNA samples, such as formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. The Total RNA Sample Preparation Kit efficiently removes ribosomal RNA and other high abundance transcripts using Epicentre's proven Ribo-Zero™ ribosomal RNA reduction chemistry, with an improved workflow optimized for high-throughput studies.
Illumina launches new RNA sequencing kits
From vitro to vivo: Fully automated design of synthetic RNA circuits in living cells
Sep 14, Biology/Cell & Microbiology Schemes of methodology and designs. (A) Thermodynamic scheme of RNA interaction, showing the different free energies at play and the progression of the reaction. We define the reaction coordinate as the size of intermolecular pairs (d). (B) Optimization scheme followed to design the RNA devices. (C) Secondary structures specified for the single species to obtain different RNA devices.The central dogma of molecular biology suggests that biological information is stored in DNA then flows via RNA into proteins, which execute the functions dictated by DNA. DNA is thought to be the “molecule of life”. With the discovery that ribonucleic acid (RNA) can store genetic information and execute catalytic and regulatory functions, the central dogma is now being challenged. RNA might be at the centre of life, at its origin, driving evolution and regulating cellular activities until today. The RNA world theory proposes that an RNA-based life predated today’s DNA and proteins dominated cellular metabolism. I will present the current knowledge on the many functions RNA molecules have in controlling cellular metabolism.
The many roles of RNAs in Life: „The RNA world” / Svet RNA in molekulska evolucija
RNA researcher to receive 2012 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize from The Rockefeller University
Joan A. Steitz, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of RNA biology whose discoveries involved patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases , will be awarded the 2012 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize from The Rockefeller University. The prize, which honors female scientists who have made extraordinary contributions to biomedical science and carries an honorarium of $100,000, will be presented at a ceremony on Thursday, November 29 at Rockefeller University's Caspary Auditorium. The Pearl Meister Greengard Prize was established by Paul Greengard, Ph.D., Vincent Astor Professor at Rockefeller University and head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, and his wife, sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard. Dr.archive8
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