Neuron: The role of the family gene in epilepsy.

August 28, 2020 /--- molecules called metastatic RNA or "tRNA" play an important role in RNA translation.
, tRNAs are plenty of tRNAs, just in case something doesn't go wrong, there are hundreds of tRNA genes and enough spare copies in mammalian cells.
, however, their importance in the course of disease is largely ignored because of the large number.
Recently, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, studied tRNAs in mice and now found that mutations in the tRNA gene called n-Tr20, expressed only in the brain, can damage the surface of entire cells, causing a chain reaction that eventually alters brain function and behavior.
results were published August 26 in the journal Neuron.
, lead author of the study at www.pixabay.com, said n-Tr20 played a role in the delicate balance of excitability and inhibitory nerve transfer in the brain.
this balance is associated with many neurological disorders, including epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders.
TRNA is often overlooked when looking for genetic causes of disease, but recent genome-wide sequencing projects have shown that there are many variations in tRNA sequences in populations," Kapur said.
our study shows that tRNA has an important effect on promoting disease development and esolysal differences.
" researchers found that the absence of n-Tr20, a member of the tRNA family, made mice resistant to seizures.
kapur says part of the reason tRNA is overlooked in disease research is that researchers often focus on mutations in unique genes.
members of large families like n-Tr20 are often thrown into "garbage bins" because they are so similar to each other.
we never knew that mutations in multi-copy tRNA genes had this effect, " he said.
findings lead us to consider the possible role of such neglected genes in disease.
Bioon.com Source: Mastered 'housekeeping' gene plays unexpected role in the original source: Mridu Kapur et al, Expression of the Neuronal tRNA n-Tr20 Regulators Synaptic Transmission and Rescen Susceptibility, Neuron (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.07.023.