Structural mechanism of angiogenin activation by the ribosome. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38718836/)

These scientists wanted to understand how a protein called angiogenin works in our cells. Angiogenin is important because it helps create new blood vessels in our bodies and has been linked to diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. When our cells are stressed, angiogenin becomes active and cuts up a type of molecule called tRNA, which helps in making proteins in our cells. However, angiogenin doesn't work very well on its own, so the scientists wanted to figure out how it gets activated and how it knows which tRNA to cut.

To do this, the scientists used special techniques to study angiogenin and the ribosome, which is a structure in our cells that helps make proteins. They found that the ribosome is the key to activating angiogenin. By looking at detailed images of the ribosome and angiogenin together, they discovered that the ribosome helps change the shape of angiogenin so it can work much better at cutting tRNA. They also saw how the ribosome guides the tRNA to the right spot for angiogenin to cut.

Overall, this study helps us understand more about how angiogenin works in our cells and could lead to new treatments for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases in the future.

Loveland AB., Koh CS., Ganesan R., Jacobson A., Korostelev AA. Structural mechanism of angiogenin activation by the ribosome. Nature. 2024 May 8. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07508-8.