Researchers have found an entirely new class of biomolecules which are common in all forms of life in Earth.
Context
Researchers have found an entirely new class of biomolecules which are common in all forms of life in Earth.
About the new class of molecules
- Researchers discovered biomolecular pathways in the cell that are completely unknown.
- The researchers, led by biochemist Ryan Flynn now at Boston Children's Hospital, discovered that glycans could attach to non-coding RNAs.
- GlycoRNA: The team found the glycoRNA within every cell they checked, in human, mouse, hamster, and zebrafish species, which are separated by hundreds of million years of evolution.
- This suggests these molecules may have some sort of important biological function that's been preserved across life on Earth.
- Disease association: Comparing the RNA bits of glycoRNA against RNA databases, it was also discovered that some of those molecules match RNAs linked to diseases.
- Some of the RNAs modified by glycans to form glycoRNA have a sordid history of association with autoimmune diseases.
- It had previously been thought these bits of RNA were mostly inaccessible to our immune system because they were tucked safely away within our cells and only released through cell death.
- Surface structure: It is found that glycoRNAs are on the cell surface, just like proteins and lipids.
- It means that glycoRNAs can participate directly in cell-to-cell communication.
Significance
- Discovery of glycoRNAs will hopefully lead to many more answers soon, possibly about some people's troublesome immune systems.
- RNA was previously thought to function only inside cells – within their nucleus and fluid – whereas glycans are usually separated from them by membranes in a cell's little organelles or on the cell's surface.
RNA
- Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is an important biological macromolecule that is present in all biological cells.
- It is principally involved in the synthesis of proteins, carrying the messenger instructions from DNA, which itself contains the genetic instructions required for the development and maintenance of life.
- RNA nucleotides include A, G, C and uracil (U).
- While the structure of DNA is a double-helix in eukaryotic cells, RNA is typically single-stranded and comes in various forms.
- The single-stranded structure of RNA allows this molecule to fold back on itself and form various stable secondary structures as necessary.
- It is important to note that mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA all play important roles in this protein-synthesizing pathway.
Glycans
- These are chain-like structures that are composed of single sugar molecules (monosaccharides) linked together by chemical bonds.
- Monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose and galactose are most widely-known as the building blocks of dietary sugars and carbohydrates, and are the main source of fuel in most living organisms.
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