Two proteins come together to protect and stabilize RNA as it carries muscle-forming code through the cell. Further understanding this RNA-stabilizing complex may have implications for influencing muscle recovery and disease treatment.

RNA, a fragile molecule, acts as a go-between that carries genetic code copied from DNA into protein-making factories in the cell, where the code is translated to form the various tiny components that, together, make us who we are.

“But RNA is no longer merely seen as a passive intermediate conduit,” says biochemist Brenda Janice Sánchez of the KAUST Smart-Health Initiative. “It acts as a regulatory checkpoint, essential to the normal function of all biological processes.”

Click here to read the full story. ​​

Image: A protein complex that is crucial for messenger RNA stability during muscle-fiber formation has been identified by KAUST bioscientists.
© 2023 KAUST; Anastasia Serin.