Date

Thursday 22 May 2025

Time

15:15 - 15:45

Location

BW008

Supervisor

Rene Olsthoorn

Jury

Marta Artola Perez de Azanza

GlycoRNA, a recently discovered class of glycosylated small RNAs, has significantly expanded our understanding of RNA biology, revealing RNA is subjected to much larger and more diverse modifications, once thought to occur exclusively on proteins and lipids. Moreover, this discovery has confirmed the previously ambiguous presence of RNA on the cell surface, implicating a role for RNA in processes such as immune modulation, cell differentiation and cell-cell interactions. Over the past years, significant progress has been made in uncovering the characteristics of glycoRNAs, including their biogenesis, structure, translocation, and potential functions. However, many fundamental questions remain unanswered ranging from which enzymes are involved in glycoRNA synthesis to how the glycoRNAs are stably attached to the cell surface. Additionally, discrepancies in findings across studies and the unexpected localization of glycosylated small nuclear RNAs on the cell surface, present intriguing mysteries. This review aims to summarize our current understanding of glycoRNA biology, while simultaneously highlighting some of the critical gaps or discrepancies in our knowledge that warrant further investigation.