Splicing News and Research

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Study uncovers a subset of human short introns spliced out by a distinct mechanism

The interrupted non-coding regions in pre-mRNAs, termed “introns,” are excised by “splicing” to generate mature coding mRNAs that are translated into proteins.

13 Aug 2021

Potential new treatment for mast cell cancers reduces tumor size and prevents organ infiltration

A potential new treatment for mast cell cancers reduces the number of mast cells by "mutating" the messenger RNA (mRNA) before it can deliver instructions for manufacturing the gene responsible for cell proliferation.

10 Aug 2021

Next-generation CRISPR tools and therapies improved by modified RNA guides

A new type of gene-editing tool, CRISPR-Cas13, has shown promise in RNA targeting. Previous studies have shown the tool as a potential treatment method for viral diseases, including coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

3 Aug 2021

Mount Sinai researchers use cerebral organoids to study frontotemporal dementia

Frontotemporal dementias are a group of fatal and debilitating brain disorders for which there are no cures.

26 Jul 2021

Researchers study the role of subnuclear NSrp70 in T cell-mediated adaptive immunity

T cells are components of the body’s immune system. The ability of T cells to recognize diverse pathogens and mount a defense against them stems from the way proteins are spliced during their development and maturation.

15 Jul 2021

Researchers gain new insights into the pathology of Usher syndrome

Human Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common form of hereditary deaf-blindness. Sufferers can be deaf from birth, suffer from balance disorders, and eventually lose their eyesight as the disease progresses.

12 Jul 2021

Study explores the effects of SARS-CoV-2 (and other betacoronaviruses) on cellular mRNA processing

A new study has been released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, which deals with a comprehensive survey on alternative splicing concerning SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study has also included two other betacoronavirurses (SARS-CoV and MERS), a control set of unrelated viruses, and a bacterium, namely, Streptococcus pneumonia. The study findings suggest that several cellular parameters are affected owing to a betacoronavirus infection, which in turn affects some genes and invariably various biological functions.

6 Jul 2021

New components for oligonucleotide drugs show safety, efficacy in treating spinal muscular atrophy

Skoltech researchers and their colleagues from Russia and the UK investigated the safety and efficacy of new chemistry in antisense oligonucleotides used to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a debilitating genetic disease.

29 Jun 2021

Researchers demonstrate a potentially powerful strategy for treating cystic fibrosis

UNC School of Medicine scientists led a collaboration of researchers to demonstrate a potentially powerful new strategy for treating cystic fibrosis (CF) and potentially a wide range of other diseases.

16 Jun 2021

Leducq Foundation provides $7 million to support Cardiac Splicing as a Therapeutic Target project

Diverse messenger RNAs are produced in cells by “alternative splicing.” The Leducq Foundation is now supporting a transatlantic network dedicated to investigating this process in heart muscle cells and how changes in this process contribute to disease. Professor Michael Gotthardt of the MDC and Professor Leslie Leinwand of the University of Colorado Boulder are coordinating the project.

14 Jun 2021

New bioengineered reporter system allows to follow protein isoform expression over time in live cells

Our proteome is much bigger than our genome because one gene produces several variants of proteins called protein isoforms, whose disbalance is implicated in many diseases. c

5 Jun 2021

Could CRISPR be used as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral?

The potential of using this gene manipulation technology as a SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor or prophylactic is investigated in a review recently uploaded to the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine (April 25th, 2021) by Arnab Banerjee and colleagues.

2 May 2021

Researchers identify potential therapeutic target to prevent neurodegeneration after a stroke

Researchers with the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern have identified a new protein implicated in cell death that provides a potential therapeutic target that could prevent or delay the progress of neurodegenerative diseases following a stroke.

27 Apr 2021

RNA secondary structures can contribute strongly to gene regulation, research shows

A team of scientists from Russia studied the role of double-stranded fragments of the maturing RNA and showed that the interaction between distant parts of the RNA can regulate gene expression. The research was published in Nature Communications.

22 Apr 2021

Novel CRISPR-based technology may lead to powerful epigenetic therapies

Scientists have figured out how to modify CRISPR's basic architecture to extend its reach beyond the genome and into what's known as the epigenome -- proteins and small molecules that latch onto DNA and control when and where genes are switched on or off.

17 Apr 2021

Study sheds light on how tau aggregates promote Alzheimer’s disease

Look deep inside the brain of someone with Alzheimer's disease, most forms of dementia or the concussion-related syndrome known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and you'll find a common suspected culprit: stringy, hairball-like tangles of a protein called tau.

17 Apr 2021

Cell receptor neuropilin-1 offers a promising anti-tumor strategy

Cancer is an insidious disease that, despite being around for centuries, is still very difficult to diagnose and treat. Thus, cancer has been the focus much research in the biomedical fields.

16 Apr 2021

Researchers examine circRNAs encoded by MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2

New research published in Briefings in Bioinformaticsm has identified thousands of circRNAs in Betacoronaviruses, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2, from the RNA-sequencing data of viral infections. These coronaviruses have a similar genomic structure with a diverse circRNA coding ability. Researchers have also systematically characterized circRNAs in coronaviruses, with regard to their size, sequence feature, expressions, genome, location preference, and functions. This opens the door to further explore and understand the mode of action of individual circRNAs in coronaviruses.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers examine SARS-CoV-2 RNA interactome

A new study focuses on the identification of RNA-binding protein by mass spectrometry (ChIRP-M/S) approach. This study develops a global map that contains the complete set of host proteins that involve the SARS-CoV-2 genome during infection. This study has successfully identified new SARS-CoV-2 host dependency factors by merging proteomics data with gene silencing experiments. Such a discovery has paved new roads to develop more antiviral therapies.

25 Mar 2021

Researchers identify the trigger of key cellular change in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL have identified the trigger of a key cellular change in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a type of motor neurons disease.

4 Mar 2021