Biophysical and biochemical analytical methods developed over the past 60 years have driven discoveries in biology and in the last 20 years especially in RNA biology. Only 2% of the genome codes specifically for proteins, meanwhile a vast amount of RNAs (ca. 290.000) are produced that exert a function in the cell by interacting with proteins. With only 25% of proteins known to be druggable, RNA is the logical next drug target. ProteRNA constitutes a platform for studying RNA-protein interactions and is therefore timely but also has a great potential to contribute substantially in the endeavour to understand the RNA-protein interactome and its role in disease. The most commonly used methods fulfil the scope of isolating RBPs, however they involve extensive laboratory and manual operation to complete the task. The current state of art permits the isolation of only a limited (mRNA) subset of protein-RNA complexes, which are formed via chemical RNA modification and rely on laborious procedures, including RNA internalisation and its photochemical reaction with RBPs followed by isolation of covalently bound RNA-RBP constructs. The consortium have identified an opportunity to address the gaps in the state of the art and thus improve the understanding of the functional and regulatory aspects of the RNA-binding protein (RBP) interactome, which would lead to the development of novel therapies and diagnostics. We have therefore identified an opportunity to develop and prove the concept for an analytical platform which can allow i) the rapid validation of specific RNA-RBP interactions and ii) elucidate the nature of those interactions, leading to mapping of specific RNA-RBP interactomes in a fast and general way.
EU economic growth and the sustainability of world-class companies and academic institutions will be directly impacted by the quality of research being performed in this project. In turn, this depends upon excellent and long lasting intra- & inter-sectoral and international collaboration. In bringing KelAda from the commercial sector, together with AUTh and CEITEC-MU from academia, ProteRNA will play a significant role in bettering the integration of European science and thus yielding a long-term economic impact. By leveraging the inherent and differentiating benefits of the ProteRNA RNA-ligand analysis platform, we will significantly add to Europe’s competitiveness in drug development/pharmaceutical research and to maintain a leading global position in the areas of drug and diagnostic research & development.
