PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

2-way traffic enables proteins to get where needed, avoid disease

2013-11-26
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Toni Baker
tbaker@gru.edu
706-721-4421
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University
2-way traffic enables proteins to get where needed, avoid disease

Augusta, Ga. - It turns out that your messenger RNA may catch more than one ride to get where it's going.

Scientists have found that mRNA may travel one way down a cell, then board another, aptly named motor protein, and head in the opposite direction to get where it ultimately needs to be.

It's a pretty important journey, because mRNA determines which proteins a cell expresses, differentiating a brain cell from, say, a muscle cell, said Dr. Graydon B. Gonsalvez, cell biologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

"It used to be thought there was a relatively simple scenario where if a cargo needs to go here, it gets on one track and it goes that way," said Gonsalvez, corresponding author of the study in the journal PLOS ONE.

But like a motorist on a backed-up interstate, scientists at MCG and the University of Cambridge, have found that mRNA needs the flexibility to maneuver around potentially numerous obstacles in its path to ultimately arrive at the right spot.

"The ability to reverse their tracks is important to their ability to eventually get where they need to go," Gonsalvez said. And location is really everything, because the proteins need to be expressed in a specific location to function correctly.

While too much misdirection is incompatible with life, a little is OK and maybe even normal. But at levels in between, the health consequences can include Alzheimer's, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and Fragile X syndrome, which can produce mild to severe intellectual deficits as well as physical characteristics such as flat feet and an elongated face. "Most human diseases come from not a loss of a process, but a compromise to the process," Gonsalvez said.

The scientists suspected the bidirectional ability because they could see the two motor proteins that would head in opposite directions parked side-by-side in the cell. When they removed the then-idle motor that could go in the opposite direction, delivery, or localization, of the cargo mRNA already en-route was compromised.

"What we have seen is that there are many things that can reverse that track," Gonsalvez said. "If they can only go in one direction, they can bump into something, like a stray organelle, and get stuck."

Motor proteins have long been known to haul mRNA up and down the cell's cytoskeleton, which essentially functions as an internal roadway for the cell. Gonsalvez recently received a $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fill in other important knowledge gaps about the journey, like how the motor proteins know which mRNA to transport, because not all mRNA needs to be localized.

He likens the routing system to a ZIP code and thinks proteins are again key, but in this case, they are bound to the mRNA, flagging it for travel. "Something is telling the cell that this message is different," he said.

In the case of Fragile X syndrome, for example, he suspects that one or more proteins that should be bound to mRNA are missing so the cell can't tell the messenger it needs to be moved.

Another question Gonsalvez wants to answer is how mRNA holds on for the ride since the motor protein won't bind with it directly.

"These are not easy questions but the thought is once we understand the answers, we will understand why, when you have a defect in this process, you have a disease pathology," Gonsalvez said.

He notes that transportation of mRNA occurs lifelong, since proteins have a limited life and are constantly being replaced.

His research model is the comparatively simple fruit fly in which the technology is available to selectively knock out motor proteins in specific cells. His published research was funded by the American Cancer Society and the NIH.



INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

When the living and the deceased don't agree on organ donation

2013-11-26
When the living and the deceased don't agree on organ donation All 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the 2006 Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) or enacted similar legislation giving individuals the "First Person Authorization" ...

Lowering stand density reduces mortality of ponderosa pine stands

2013-11-26
Lowering stand density reduces mortality of ponderosa pine stands REDDING, Calif.—As trees grow larger in even-aged stands, competition develops among them. Competition weakens trees, as they contend for soil moisture, ...

Electronic cigarettes: New route to smoking addiction for adolescents

2013-11-26
Electronic cigarettes: New route to smoking addiction for adolescents E-cigarettes have been widely promoted as a way for people to quit smoking conventional cigarettes. Now, in the first study of its kind, UC San Francisco researchers ...

Unhappy meals? Majority of very young children in California eat fast food at least once a week

2013-11-26
Unhappy meals? Majority of very young children in California eat fast food at least once a week A surprisingly large percentage of very young children in California, including 70 percent of Latino children, eat fast food regularly, according to ...

Polymer gel, heal thyself: University of Pittsburgh engineering team proposes new composites that can regenerate when damaged

2013-11-26
Polymer gel, heal thyself: University of Pittsburgh engineering team proposes new composites that can regenerate when damaged PITTSBURGH (November 25, 2013) … When a chair leg breaks or a cell phone shatters, either must be repaired or replaced. But what if these materials ...

Large study shows pollution impact on coral reefs -- and offers solution

2013-11-26
Large study shows pollution impact on coral reefs -- and offers solution CORVALLIS, Ore. – One of the largest and longest experiments ever done to test the impact of nutrient loading on coral reefs today confirmed what scientists have long ...

ADHD linked to social and economic disadvantage

2013-11-26
ADHD linked to social and economic disadvantage Scientists have found evidence of a link between social and economic status and childhood attention deficit disorder in the UK Scientists have found evidence of a link between social and economic status and ...

Implantable slimming aid

2013-11-26
Implantable slimming aid Gene network regulates blood-fat levels Humankind has a weight problem – and not only in the industrialised nations, either: the growing prosperity in many Asian or Latin American countries goes hand in hand with a way of life that ...

Seahorse heads have a 'no wake zone' that's made for catching prey

2013-11-26
Seahorse heads have a 'no wake zone' that's made for catching prey

A gene mutation for excessive alcohol drinking found

2013-11-26
A gene mutation for excessive alcohol drinking found UK researchers have discovered a gene that regulates alcohol consumption and when faulty can cause excessive drinking. They have also identified the mechanism underlying this phenomenon. The study showed ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Ohio State scientists advance focus on nuclear propulsion

New study reveals a hidden risk after cervical cancer

Environment: Indigenous Amazon territories benefit human health

Zoology: Octopuses put their best arm forward for every task

New research reveals wild octopus arms in action

NEW STUDY: Across eight Amazon countries, forests on Indigenous lands reduce spread of 27 diseases – From respiratory ailments to illnesses spread by insects, animals

How many ways can an octopus flex its supple arms? Now we know

Analysis of ‘magic mushroom’ edibles finds no psilocybin but many undisclosed active ingredients

Modifiable parental factors and adolescent sleep during early adolescence

Excess HIV infections and costs associated with reductions in HIV prevention services in the us

Clocks created from random events can probe ‘quantumness’ of universe

Schaeffer Center white paper outlines FDA reforms to boost pharmaceutical innovation and expand access 

Michael Welsh, MD, wins Lasker Award for cystic fibrosis research

The metals reveal: The Bronze Age was more connected than we previously thought

Portable light-based brain monitor shows promise for dementia diagnosis

AI tools uncover new link between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and aging

Researchers revive the pinhole camera for next-gen infrared imaging

Gender gap in Africa’s water leadership undermines fair policymaking

City of Hope Research Spotlight, August 2025

NIH funds study of type 1 diabetes development

Preventing recidivism after imprisonment

Mass General Brigham’s Kraft Center announces winner and finalists of the 2025 Kraft Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Community Health

Researchers develop novel approach for experimentally measuring the Unruh effect with high accuracy

Americans’ knowledge of civics increases, Annenberg survey finds

Multifaceted benefits of ginseng and its extracts: a brief review of immunomodulation, quality of life improvement, and antitumor potential

Korea University study reveals hidden complexity in recurrent brain tumors

How an immune cell receptor dampens the fight against fungal infection

SeoulTech researchers uncover high PAHs in common foods

Precision in the pancreas: New test transforms hereditary pancreatitis diagnosis and care

Peer-reviewed study validates Mentavi’s online ADHD diagnostic evaluation in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

[Press-News.org] 2-way traffic enables proteins to get where needed, avoid disease