Which proteins determine the correct function of artery cells?

Master post-transcriptional gene expression regulators in vascular smooth muscle cells

Professor Christopher Smith and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge are studying a group of proteins that help to determine the correct function of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) that line arteries. DNA is a chemical code that, through a second molecule called RNA, dictates what proteins are made in the body. However, a single bit of DNA can code for more than one type of protein through the manipulation of the corresponding RNA, a process known as ‘alternative RNA splicing’. Professor Smith has shortlisted ten new and two known proteins by criteria that include their ability to bind to RNA, their location within the cell and whether they are found in active VSMC. He thinks the shortlisted proteins control what types of other proteins are made to allow healthy development of the smooth muscle cells. In this project, he will screen these 12 shortlisted proteins to find out if they can switch on alternative RNA splicing. Also, using human stem cells, which can develop into any type of cell in the body, he will then switch off the shortlisted proteins and try to make VSMCs. This experiment will indicate whether the shortlisted proteins can affect the behaviour of VSMC. This research will help us to understand how proteins are made in normal healthy blood vessel smooth muscle cells, and what goes wrong in heart disease.