圖片來源：www.interactive-biology.com

　　近日，來自英國薩裏大學的研究人員發現了一類重要蛋白質可以執行且調節關鍵的生物過程，該研究發表於雜誌Nature Structural and Molecular Biology上；研究者表示，這些蛋白及調節過程的功能異常往往和一係列疾病直接相關，比如癌症等，該研究或可幫助開發新型有效的療法來治療人類難以治愈的疾病。

　　文章中，研究者在麵包酵母和線蟲機體中首次深入揭示了一類調節性蛋白（RNA結合蛋白）的重要作用以及其同mRNA的相互作用，由於這兩種有機體完全不同，因此研究者發現這種特殊蛋白在進化上具有一定的保守性，同時還發現了代謝性酶類的新功能，研究者認為這種功能存在幾十億年了。

　　研究者André Gerber教授說道，這是一項突破性的發現，我們所鑒別的蛋白質和關鍵調節過程在人類機體中也存在，而且和多種人類疾病直接相關聯，比如癌症和神經變性疾病等。目前我們就可以利用新型技術來檢測這種控製關鍵生物過程的新型機製可以幫助開發新型的癌症療法。

　　最後研究者指出，這或許是因為在蛋白質出現之前，RNA可以驅動這種功能的發揮，從而使其又回歸到了古老的機製階段；或者是這一類蛋白質隱藏著我們並不知道的功能。

　　doi:10.1038/nsmb.3128

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Conserved mRNA-binding proteomes in eukaryotic organisms

　　Ana M Matia-González, Emma E Laing &André P Gerber

　　RNA-bindingproteins(RBPs) are essential for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Recent high-throughput screens have dramatically increased the number of experimentally identified RBPs; however, comprehensive identification of RBPs within living organisms is elusive. Here we describe the repertoire of 765 and 594 proteins that reproducibly interact with polyadenylated mRNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans, respectively. Furthermore, we report the differential association of mRNA-binding proteins (mRPBs) upon induction of apoptosis in C. elegans L4-stage larvae. Strikingly, most proteins composing mRBPomes, including components of early metabolic pathways and the proteasome, are evolutionarily conserved between yeast and C. elegans. We speculate, on the basis of our evidence that glycolytic enzymes bind distinct glycolytic mRNAs, that enzyme-mRNA interactions relate to an ancient mechanism for post-transcriptional coordination of metabolic pathways that perhaps was established during the transition from the early 'RNA world' to the 'protein world'.