Basel research team discovers mini-factories in cells

Basel research team discovers mini-factories in cells Keystone-SDA

Researchers at the University of Basel have discovered tiny “folding factories” in cells. Without them, proteins such as insulin cannot be produced properly.

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Proteins perform a variety of tasks in cells, from transporting substances to digestion. In order for them to fulfil their tasks, they must be correctly folded, as the University of Basel explained in a press release published on its website on Monday.

To fold the proteins, the body has helper proteins known as chaperones. Until now, the researchers assumed that these folding helpers float around individually in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) – the part inside cells where proteins are folded.

However, the researchers have now discovered that the chaperones organise themselves independently and form droplet-like structures known as condensates. According to the university, these condensates correspond to a conveyor belt on which the machines for protein folding are optimally arranged. Proteins are folded more efficiently in them.

A game changer

“This discovery is a real game changer,” said study leader Sebastian Hiller. The research team led by Hiller and first author Anna Leder published their findings in a study published on Monday in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

According to the researchers, the starting point of the study was an observation: mutations in a specific chaperone called PDIA6 were found in several genetic diseases, including diabetes. “We asked ourselves what PDIA6 is actually important for and therefore began to investigate its function in the cell,” says Hiller.

They have now been able to show that PDIA6 ensures that several different chaperones join together. In cells with mutations in the PDIA6 chaperone, these condensates do not form.

In a further experiment, the researchers showed that cells without these mini-factories produce less insulin. This is consistent with the observations that patients with PDIA6 mutations suffer from diabetes, among other things.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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