mRNA cap regulation of gene expression, cell function and fate

Humans contain hundreds of different cell types, whose function depends on their proteins. Each human cell contains over 25,000 genes which are the instructions for making proteins. We want to understand how cells control which proteins are made and how this process changes in different types of cell.

We discovered that a structure called the mRNA cap controls which proteins are selected for production in the cell. When cells develop, we found that the way the mRNA cap is made changes and this alters which proteins are made. We aim to discover how the mRNA cap controls which proteins are made in a cell. When cells develop, we will investigate how changes in the cap influence which proteins are made and how this helps produce new types of cell.

This project will indicate potential ways that we could influence which proteins are made in cells in medical therapies.