PXL: a nucleic acid-binding module of the promyelocytic leukemia protein.

PML-1 contains a unique nucleic acid-binding domain, PXL, that specifically binds G-rich oligonucleotides and polyUG RNA, influencing nuclear functions.

• Why it matters: Understanding PML's molecular functions is crucial because it is involved in tumor suppression, antiviral defense, and genome stability, but its nucleic acid interactions are not well characterized.
• What they did: Researchers identified and characterized the PXL domain within PML-1 through structural, biochemical, mutational, and cellular analyses, focusing on its nucleic acid-binding properties.
• The result: Deletion of PXL reduces PML colocalization with G-quadruplexes, downregulates genome maintenance pathways, and alters gene expression, highlighting PXL's role in nucleic acid-related PML functions.