E-Mail
IMAGE: Image shows cells with oil droplet-like NORAD-Pumilio bodies in red and nucleus in blue. Credit: Mahmoud Elguindy view more
Credit: Mahmoud Elguindy
DALLAS - June 9, 2021 - A phenomenon in which an RNA named NORAD drives a protein named Pumilio to form liquid droplets in cells, much like oil in water, appears to tightly regulate the activity of Pumilio. A new study led by UT Southwestern scientists suggests that such RNA-driven phase separation, in turn, protects against genome instability, premature aging, and neurodegenerative diseases, and may represent a previously unrecognized way for RNAs to regulate cellular processes. It s becoming more and more clear that phase separation is an important organizing principle in cells, says Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at UTSW who led the study published online today in