Robert Silvers
Florida State University, FL·Biophysics
Cells control how much protein they make not only by switching genes on and off, but also by deciding what happens to each messenger RNA (mRNA): whether it is translated into protein, stored, or destroyed. La-related proteins (LARPs) are a family of RNA-binding proteins that help make these decisions in the cytoplasm.
- Fields
Biophysics
Biochemistry
Chemistry
- Topics
La-related proteins
La-module
RNA-binding proteins
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Map how individual elements of the hLARP6 La-module contribute to the specificity and strength of its binding to the 5' stem-loop of type I collagen mRNAs, using solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy.
- Determine how binding of the poly(A) tail to the hLARP1 La-module triggers structural and dynamic changes that allow it to then bind the 5'TOP motif, using NMR combined with biophysical approaches.
- Compare hLARP6 and hLARP1 to uncover how co-evolution of La-module elements gives each LARP its specific RNA targets, linking structural flexibility to functional diversity.
More about the research
Many LARPs are linked to cancers and to fibroproliferative diseases, conditions marked by excess scar tissue. Drug development has been held back because little is known about how LARPs recognize their RNA targets at the molecular level. All LARPs share a common RNA-binding unit called the La-module. The puzzle is how this shared unit has evolved in each family member to recognize different RNAs and carry out distinct jobs.
Why it matters
Because LARPs control the production of collagen and proteins tied to cell growth, a detailed molecular picture of how they grip their target RNAs could provide a framework for designing therapies against fibroproliferative diseases, such as tissue scarring disorders, and against cancers in which hLARP1 is overactive.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Galia Debelouchina
University of California-San Diego, CA·Biophysics
Determine how heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), a protein family central to gene silencing, interacts with itself, with chromatin and with partner proteins to set the material properties of heterochromatin compartments.
Chad Rienstra
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Biophysics
Develop micro-rotor packing and sample handling tools for ultra-fast magic-angle spinning (MAS), above 100 kHz in rotors under 1 mm wide, and benchmark NMR performed under magnetic field gradients.
Angus M Macnicol
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, AR·Physiology
Determine how the RNA-binding protein Musashi selectively controls the translation of distinct target mRNAs in hormone-producing cells of the adult anterior pituitary.
The school
Florida State University: 15 labs on PI Pages, $461M a year on research, 481 research doctorates a year.
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