Genetic 911: cells’ emergency systems revealed How cells exploit gene sequences to cope with toxic stress

wildcat2030:

Researchers at MIT and the University at Albany have developed a molecular emergency-response system that shifts the cell into damage-control mode and helps it survive attacks from toxic chemicals by rapidly producing proteins that counteract the harm. Peter Dedon, a professor of biological engineering at MIT, and colleagues had previously shown that when cells are treated with poisons such as arsenic, the functions of molecules known as transfer RNA (tRNA), which deliver protein building blocks within a cell, are altered. The researchers found that toxic stresses reprogram the tRNA modifications to turn on a system that diverts the cell’s protein-building machinery away from its routine activities to emergency action. “In the end, a stepwise mechanism leads to selective expression of proteins that you need to survive,” says Dedon, senior author of the Nature Communications paper. The findings offer insight into not only cells’ response to toxins, but also their reactions to all kinds of stimuli, such as nutrients or hormones, Dedon says. “We’re proposing that any time there’s a stimulus, you’re going to have a reprogramming [of tRNA] that causes selective translation of proteins you need for the next step in whatever you’re going to do,” he says. (via Genetic 911: cells’ emergency systems revealed | KurzweilAI)

Tags: MIT, RNA, poisons, protein, tRNA, toxic-chemicals

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Comment by Logos Tartaros on July 7, 2012 at 1:38pm: Protein-building machinery - 1, toxins - 0. For now...

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Genetic 911: cells’ emergency systems revealed How cells exploit gene sequences to cope with toxic stress

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