November 3, 2021
Scientists have begun to solve the mysterious function of tiny human “microproteins,” identifying one such gene – NBDY, which was completely unknown before 2017 – as a master regulator of RNA stability in cells. Published by the Slavoff Lab (Institute of Biomolecular Design & Discovery) in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the findings show for the first time how a microprotein plays a key role in the formation of processing bodies, or P-bodies, which alter the biophysical properties and metabolism of RNA. Microprotiens could play an important role in cancer cell signaling pathways.
Read the Journal of the American Chemical Society publication.