[FRIAM] Arc gene transports mRNA's across synapses

[Marcus Daniels]

< That said, wouldn't it be grand if authors of papers like this would embed in the summary a link to a sidebar showing "Here's how we did this." i.e. how does one render "Purified Arc capsids"? >

The Cell paper explains in terse "you should know this" language.  I agree it would be nice if publishers would add value by providing link modes in the browser to reference not just prior work, but also textbook explanations for technical terms and techniques.  That would make topics like this understandable to a larger (motivated) audience.  Not every topic should expect a reader to unfold references back in time indefinitely.

Marcus

________________________________
From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> on behalf of Tom Johnson <tom at jtjohnson.com>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2018 2:12:21 PM
To: Friam at redfish. com
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Arc gene transports mRNA's across synapses

Roger:
I really appreciate your sending this along.  That said, wouldn't it be grand if authors of papers like this would embed in the summary a link to a sidebar showing "Here's how we did this." i.e. how does one render "Purified Arc capsids"?
TJ

On Jan 15, 2018 12:19 PM, "Barry MacKichan" <barry.mackichan at mackichan.com<mailto:barry.mackichan at mackichan.com>> wrote:

Object-oriented programming in the cell, with encapsulated code!

--Barry


On 13 Jan 2018, at 17:47, Roger Critchlow wrote:

In case you thought you understood the general molecular biology of life, here's another curve ball for you:

http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)31504-0

Summary

The neuronal gene Arc is essential for long-lasting information storage in the mammalian brain, mediates various forms of synaptic plasticity, and has been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. However, little is known about Arc’s molecular function and evolutionary origins. Here, we show that Arc self-assembles into virus-like capsids that encapsulate RNA. Endogenous Arc protein is released from neurons in extracellular vesicles that mediate the transfer of Arc mRNA into new target cells, where it can undergo activity-dependent translation. Purified Arc capsids are endocytosed and are able to transfer Arc mRNA into the cytoplasm of neurons. These results show that Arc exhibits similar molecular properties to retroviral Gag proteins. Evolutionary analysis indicates that Arc is derived from a vertebrate lineage of Ty3/gypsy retrotransposons, which are also ancestors to retroviruses. These findings suggest that Gag retroelements have been repurposed during evolution to mediate intercellular communication in the nervous system.

-- rec --

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