Liquid-liquid phase SEPARATION of an Rna-binding protein

Background

The RNA-binding motif protein 3 (RBM3) is a cold-shock protein, which is activated in the conditions of mild hypothermia i.e. 33C to 31C (LLeonart 2010). RBM3 has been shown to be a key player in hypothermia induced neuroprotection (Chip 2011). Induced hypothermia is the most effective therapy for brain damage after perinatal asphyxia, i.e. failure to breath at birth.

We have shown that RBM3 has a folded RNA-binding domain followed by disordered sequences (Roy 2021). The structure of the RNA-binding domain was solved by NMR spectroscopy (PDB: 7EB1). We have also shown that RMB3 is prone to oligomerization, which is enhanced as temperature is decreased (Roy 2021). We hypothesize that RBM3 forms phase separated liquid droplets inside the cell under the conditions of mild hypothermia, which facilitates its biological function.