fragmentsRNA-Movil, which until recently were known as the stages of breaking down the RNA-movil on the way to their elimination from the body, were discovered in a new study led by Prof. Hermona Sorek from the Hebrew University, as molecules of great importance for preventing the collapse of the immune system following a stroke, the risk of which increases in corona patients
One of the main causes of mortality and disability in old age is stroke, obstructive or hemorrhagic. This is a very common disease, and it is considered a major problem in all medical systems in the Western world because it causes a huge financial expense of long-term care for millions of patients who remain severely disabled. The main treatment today for obstructive stroke is the administration of blood thinners whose role is to dissolve the blood clot so that the blood flow in the area is renewed, but the treatment is limited to patients whose time elapsed from the onset of stroke symptoms is shorter than four and a half hours.
Recently, it was discovered that young people who came to emergency rooms after having a stroke, most of them at ages that were not expected to be affected by blood clots in the brain, and at least half of them were diagnosed with Corona. Many doctors and researchers today note that there has been an increase in stroke cases especially in people with COVID-19, and some refer to this as one of the results of the virus' damage to the respiratory system. A stroke may even cause a significant worsening of the condition of corona patients who undergo a stroke, this is because their immune system suffers from acute immune suppression and susceptibility to pneumonia.
In an international scientific study recently published in the journal "PNAS", which was led by Prof. Hermona Sorek, a neuroscientist from the Institute of Life Sciences and the Edmond and Lili Safra Neuroscience Center (ELSC) at the Hebrew University and one of the world's leading researchers in her field, it was found for the first time that during distress the brain is carried out in blood cells "Change of shifts" to prevent the immune system from collapsing. Under normal conditions, blood cells express micro-RNA molecules, products of tiny genes, which are known to work in routine situations quickly and efficiently to help the body monitor and balance many processes. The new study discovered that in an emergency situation, an alternative team of transfer RNA fragments (guide RNA fragments) "wake up", which until recently were considered as stages of degradation of the guide RNA on the way to their elimination, but now they have been discovered as active molecules that mobilize to influence other genes.
In stroke situations, these fragments work to balance the blocking of the immune system to prevent damage to the brain, and at the same time to reduce the risk of developing pneumonia, which may endanger the patient's life during this period of the outbreak of the corona virus.
An international researcher at the Center for Brain Research at the Hebrew University, Dr. Katrina Vink, discovered together with Dr. Sebastian Lobentanzer from the University of Frankfurt, a sharp decrease in microRNA levels in the blood of stroke victims and, at the same time, an increase in the level of Transfer RNA fragments. The new research therefore revealed that fragments of carrier RNA are the supreme emergency team that is activated in the event of a stroke, the "projector of the body" - similar to the corona crisis, when a new team was established to treat the epidemic to focus the fight against the disease.
Guide RNA is used to transport amino acids to build protein chains. In a normal state, dozens of types of messenger RNA are produced in the cell nucleus and exit from it to the cytoplasm, where it transports amino acids to the ribosomes that translate messenger RNA into protein. For each amino acid there are different types of RNA-carrier molecules. Upon completion of its function in the cell, various mechanisms in the cell break down the RNA leading to fragments. "In every cell there is always a carrier RNA, many of its molecules are active at all times and it is impossible to exist without it," explains Prof. Sorek. "In our research, we were able to discover that those fragments of guide RNA molecules act similarly to micro RNA. We studied them and discovered their importance in emergency situations for the brain."
The study combined an in-depth molecular investigation of gene expression in the blood of patients, was carried out With the support of the Einstein Foundation for cooperation between Prof. Shurk and Prof. Andreas Meisel from Berlin and included blood samples from 484 acute ischemic stroke patients, compared to healthy people of the same age group. The subjects underwent general daily tests, which also includes the detection of pneumonia, dysphagia and other diseases, with the clinical results recorded up to three months after the stroke. The significant discovery is, as mentioned, that the micro-RNA gives way in the blood to guide-RNA fragments. But the research did not end here and the researchers tried to check if treating the cells with synthetic fragments of guide RNA could improve the cellular response in the blood, and enhance the protection against the brain damage caused by the stroke.
To their delight, they found that inserting chains that mimicked the guide RNA fragments into cells in culture allowed the blood cells to control many genes that are different from those controlled by the microRNA, and which are expressed in the cells of the immune system in the new situation faced by stroke victims. "Our research actually proves that the changing of the shifts in the blood, from micro RNA to Transfer RNA fragments is not only an automatic and fast operation, but also a very effective process whose encouragement can contribute to changing the condition of the patient who is undergoing a stroke and prevent its damage. It is possible that our research opens a window to new anti-stroke drugs that science does not know about, and perhaps also help those stroke victims during the Corona period," explains Prof. Sorek.
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