Conserved RNA structural elements mediate WDR5 recognition of the long non-coding RNA UMLILO

Full-length UMLILO binds WDR5 through multiple conserved RNA stem-loops, and engages multiple WDR5 surface sites, enabling increased WDR5 recruitment into in vitro condensates.

• Why it matters: The molecular rules for how the lncRNA UMLILO recognizes WDR5 were unknown, limiting understanding of how UMLILO regulates epigenetic programming of innate immune genes.
• What they did: The team mapped UMLILO secondary structure using chemical probing, then measured RNA–protein binding and used NMR chemical shift perturbation to identify multiple WDR5 binding sites.
• The result: A mammal-conserved stem-loop was identified, and multivalent RNA stem-loop engagement was linked to enhanced WDR5 recruitment into in vitro condensates, supporting a role for IPLs in gene expression.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.