Serna Bio’s Post

Excellent! In my opinion, #myeloid #chemotaxis as a therapeutic target for early #atherosclerosis, still has so much potential. #inflammation is more than just cytokines, #monocyte recruitment is also “inflammation”! Let’s get those atherogenic monocytes!

Blood Lipid Levels Linked to Rare Long, Non-Coding RNA Variants in TOPMed Cohort. With this whole-genome sequence data, researchers unearthed associations between blood lipid levels and dozens of rare variants in long non-coding RNAs. http://ow.ly/lAoM104WPcb

I'm happy to share our latest NAR paper in the field of drug discovery against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. We are presenting the first crystal structure of GGCCCC RNA in complex with the synthetic molecule ANP77. We determined that RNA folds into a triplex-like structure involving protonated cytosine residues, whereas ANP77 interacts directly with RNA via pseudo-canonical base pairs. These crystallographic models are rare examples demonstrating unexplored potential of cytosine-rich sequences to form complex RNA structures and provide sophisticated crystallographic templates for structure-guided approaches in the development of lead compounds for drug discovery against ALS/FTD.

This stunning image – a collaboration between Ochre's RNA chemistry and Tissue Culture teams – is a thin slice of human liver... One of hundreds of slices we are able to culture from a small piece of diseased liver. Diseased tissue culture allows us to study the effects of our siRNA therapies before moving onto whole livers. Using fluorescent dyes, the teams can track where an siRNA therapy is being delivered to. In this case, mostly to hepatocytes (yellow). At Ochre we study over 20 different types of cells in the liver, using transdisciplinary methods like this to improve how we specifically deliver our therapies to them. #TeamOchre #healthtech #biotech #genomics #liverdisease

Highly recommend this perspective on RNA structure, dynamics, and function as we all strive to enable #RNAx. https://lnkd.in/gEH5FEQ6

This paper is an excellent resource for learning how to discuss RNA effectively!

RNA granules in neuronal plasticity and disease Bauer et al. (2023) Selected RNA-binding proteins self-assemble together with their cognate RNAs in a dynamic and controlled manner into neuronal RNA granules. These RNA condensates represent membraneless organelles that undergo selective remodeling, including disassembly, in response to synaptic activation. This activity-dependent remodeling releases granule-associated transcripts from translational repression, initiating translation at the synapse. Both neuronal maturation and physiological aging change the condensation properties of neuronal RNA granules. Repeated cycles of assembly/disassembly affect the long-term properties of RNA granules, providing a molecular framework for processes occurring during synaptic plasticity. Pathological aging instead triggers increased irreversibility up to the formation of cellular inclusions.

Exciting News: Our Inaugural Paper of 2024! Unraveling the intricate world of alternative splicing, a post-transcriptional process crucial for amplifying protein diversity. The orchestration of alternative splicing is wielded by RNA binding proteins, exhibiting various control mechanisms. However, amidst the myriad of predicted RNA binding proteins, a systematic evaluation of their direct involvement in enhancing exon inclusion remains unexplored. In our latest research study, we share our systematic assessment of hundreds of both established and predicted RNA binding proteins. The focus of our study revolves around discerning their potential to directly influence exon inclusion (by tethering). This undertaking marks a step forward in clarifying the network of proteins responsible for shaping the transcriptome. As an intriguing implication, we hint at the identification of promising candidates that could be seamlessly fused with RNA-targeting proteins. We find exon suppression is relatively trivial for RNA binding proteins (many modalities here) but this fusion holds the potential to cause exon inclusion over reporter and endogenous splicing events, offering a glimpse into the future possibilities of manipulating RNA processing with higher precision. Congrats newly minted alumni Jon Schmok and others from my lab! Thank you Marko Jovanovic and Lena Street for the collaboration. #RNA #RNAbindingproteins #splicing https://lnkd.in/gyDN4e-R

Excited to share our new method, colocalization CLIP (coCLIP), which probes RNA–protein interactions within specific subcellular compartments, revealing where on a transcript and where in the cell RBPs bind 🧬➰. Great to see our work highlighted on the cover of the July issue of # RNA Journal # The RNA Society# CWRU https://lnkd.in/gnG5MNhi https://lnkd.in/gdjANE4T