This Discovery Offers a New Way of Defence Against RNA Viruses in Humans

Richard Stefl from CEITEC Masaryk University (MU) and Petr Svoboda from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IMG CAS) and their colleagues have revealed the unique mechanism of action of mammalian Dicer. Dicer is an RNA-cutting enzyme that is essential for the regulation of gene activities in cells. The research team described how Dicer could be reactivated to serve as an antiviral enzyme. This discovery provides previously unexploited opportunities for the design of new defence mechanisms against RNA viruses in humans. The research results were published on 3 November 2022 in the prestigious scientific journal Molecular Cell.

Publication: David Zapletal, et al., Structural and functional basis of mammalian microRNA biogenesis by Dicer, Molecular Cell (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.10.010

Original Story Source: Czech Academy of Sciences