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TRAFFICKING

RNA granules take a ride on lysosomes

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 20, page 662 (2019)Cite this article

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Localized protein synthesis requires intracellular RNA transport, whereby mRNAs are trafficked within RNA granules — membraneless organelles that form through liquid–liquid phase separation. The mechanisms involved in this transport are poorly understood. Liao et al. now show that in mammalian cells, RNA granules are trafficked by ‘hitchhiking’ on lysosomes.

In U2OS cells ANXA11 partitioned to RNA granules in a manner dependent on the N-terminal low-complexity region, which mediates its liquid–liquid phase separation. The interaction with the lysosome, in turn, depended on the C-terminal annexin domains of ANXA11, which bind — in a calcium-dependent manner — to endolysosomal phosphoinositides.

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References

Original article

  • Liao, Y.-C. et al. RNA granules hitchhike on lysosomes for long-distance transport, using annexin A11 as a molecular tether. Cell 179, 147–164 (2019)

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  1. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology http://www.nature.com/nrm/

    Paulina Strzyz

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  1. Paulina Strzyz
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Correspondence to Paulina Strzyz.

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Strzyz, P. RNA granules take a ride on lysosomes. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 20, 662 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-019-0181-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-019-0181-8

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