Following transcription, RNA molecules can undergo modifications. For example, nucleotides may be inserted, deleted, or changed. One of the most common edits, which new research shows plays an important role in the onset of inflammatory disease, is the transformation of the nucleotide adenosine into inosine within a double-stranded RNA. A study published Wednesday (August 3) in Nature reveals that genetic variants that dampen this specific modification are associated with an increased risk of autoimmune and immune-mediated inflammatory disorders such as psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and type 1 diabetes. The authors propose that a sensor protein likely mistakes these less-edited RNAs for foreign molecules, triggering an inflammatory response.
“I think it’s really a major breakthrough,” says Mary A. O’Connell, a molecular biologist at the Central European Institute of Technology at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic who did not participate in this study but has previously collaborated with some of the ...
