RNA Editing: Modulating Gene Expression Precision: RBPs Modified by RNA Editing

Currently an EMBL-Marie Curie Fellow at the European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL-EBI) in Cambridgeshire, UK, a biochemist with extensive research experience in RNA biology across multiple global institutions. His work focuses on RNA-binding proteins in the contexts of signalling, translation control, and gene expression regulation, utilising proteomics, proteogenomics, and interactome analysis to explore mechanisms relevant to both health and disease.   RBPs, as highlighted in the manuscript, occupy a crucial position in the intricate network of gene expression regulation. Through their dynamic interactions with RNA molecules, RBPs play essential roles in diverse cellular processes, including mRNA splicing, transport, stability, and translation. Dysregulation of RBPs has been implicated in various diseases, ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders, underscoring their significance in maintaining cellular homeostasis. The book delves into recent evidence suggesting that RBPs are not only targets of post-transcriptional RNA editing but also actively participate in the editing process. Specifically, the book explores the prevalence of A-to-I RNA editing events within transcripts encoding RBPs, mediated by double-stranded RNA-binding proteins (dsRBPs) with Adenosine Deaminase Acting on double-stranded (ds)RNA (ADAR) enzymatic activity. This observation challenges conventional notions of RNA editing primarily occurring in non-coding regions and underscores the importance of considering coding region editing events in the context of RBPs. Functional consequences of RNA editing on RBPs are described, including alterations in protein isoforms, amino acid sequence modifications, and changes in protein-protein interactions. A comprehensive analysis of high-throughput datasets and a prototype proteogenomic approach, provide insights into the impact of RNA editing on the recoded proteome and its implications in potential disease development. Of particular interest are the identification of disease-associated RNA editing events within transcripts encoding RBPs, highlighting the potential role of RNA.