HuR coordinates cytokine translation and maturation through ER-associated RNA granules.

HuR coordinates inflammatory-factor mRNA translation and ER processing by phase-separating into RNA granules that enrich inflammatory mRNAs and juxtapose them with calnexin in ER subdomains.

• Why it matters: Inflammatory mediator production requires tight coupling between mRNA translation and ER protein maturation, but how RNA-binding proteins spatially organize this process for inflammatory factors is unclear.
• What they did: HuR was shown to physically interact with calnexin (CANX), recruiting inflammatory mRNAs, the calnexin quality control complex, and the translocon into discrete ER subdomains; HuR phase separation formed membraneless RNA granules enriched for inflammatory mRNAs.
• The result: By positioning calnexin near corresponding nascent polypeptides, HuR-linked granules enable rapid recognition during ER quality control, providing molecular evidence that RBPs can spatially coordinate translation and processing via phase separation.

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