A recently discovered RNA species on the cell surface is studied by proximity ligation.
Why is RNA displayed on the surface of mammalian cells? Although there have been many reported examples of extracellular RNA1, the existence of RNAs residing on the cell surface is just beginning to be appreciated, and little is known about their biological roles. To advance this research, Ma, Guo et al.2 have now introduced a method to interrogate a class of cell-surface RNAs known as sialoglycoRNAs3 at subcellular and transcript resolution. Their approach, reported in Nature Biotechnology, succeeds in associating sialoglycoRNAs to a host of cell-surface phenomena, with implications from oncology to immunology. Considering the importance of the cell surface in cell–cell and cell–environment communication, this method for understanding the presence, abundance, distributions and other features of cell-surface glycoRNAs is well positioned to generate new functional and mechanistic hypotheses.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
24,99 € / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
209,00 € per year
only 17,42 € per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Log in
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Read our FAQs
Contact customer support
Fig. 1: Neu5Ac-binding aptamer meets an RNA sequence-specific binding probe to detect sialoglycoRNA in situ.
References
Abels, E. R. & Breakefield, X. O. Cell. Mol. Neurobiol.36, 301–312 (2016).
Article
CAS
PubMed
PubMed Central
Google Scholar
Ma, Y. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01801-z (2023).
Article
PubMed
Google Scholar
Flynn, R. A. et al. Cell184, 3109–3124.e22 (2021).
Article
CAS
PubMed
PubMed Central
Google Scholar
Weiss, L. & Mayhew, E. J. Cell. Physiol.68, 345–359 (1966).
Article
CAS
Google Scholar
Huang, N. et al. Genome Biol.21, 225 (2020).
Article
CAS
PubMed
PubMed Central
Google Scholar
Scache, J. et al. Sci. Rep.12, 22129 (2022).
Article
CAS
PubMed
PubMed Central
Google Scholar
Hemberger, H. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.26.530106 (2023).
Fredriksson, S. et al. Nat. Biotechnol.20, 473–477 (2002).
Article
CAS
PubMed
Google Scholar
Cheng, B., Tang, Q., Zhang, C. & Chen, X. Annu. Rev. Anal. Chem. (Palo Alto, Calif.)14, 363–387 (2021).
Article
CAS
PubMed
Google Scholar
Dobie, C. & Skropeta, D. Br. J. Cancer124, 76–90 (2021).
Article
CAS
PubMed
Google Scholar
Varki, N. M. & Varki, A. Lab. Invest.87, 851–857 (2007).
Article
CAS
PubMed
PubMed Central
Google Scholar
Ahlin, E. et al. Lupus21, 586–595 (2012).
Article
CAS
PubMed
Google Scholar
Download references
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Petar Hristov
Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Petar Hristov & Ryan A. Flynn
Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Ryan A. Flynn
Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Ryan A. Flynn
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
About this article
Cite this article
Hristov, P., Flynn, R.A. Imaging glycosylated RNAs at the subcellular scale.
Nat Biotechnol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-02021-1
Download citation
Published: 23 October 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-02021-1
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Nature.com – https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-023-02021-1