How RNAs Called SINEUPs Upregulate Translation
The recently discovered long noncoding RNAs seem to boost the production of specific proteins in the cell by interacting with RNA-binding proteins, researchers find.
Jan 1, 2021
ABOVE: A synthetic SINEUP (blue) and its target mRNA (red) colocalize in the cytoplasm as part of a process that appears to help upregulate that mRNA s translation.
NAOKO TOKI
The paper
N. Toki et al., “SINEUP long non-coding RNA acts via PTBP1 and HNRNPK to promote translational initiation assemblies,”
A few years ago, Piero Carninci of the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan and colleagues discovered a novel type of RNA. These long, noncoding RNAs contain repetitive sequences called short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), and they upregulate the translation of specific mRNAs with complementary base sequences. Carninci and colleagues called the RNAs SINEUPs.