Nanosatellite shows the way to RNA medicine of the future

The RNA molecule is commonly recognized as messenger between DNA and protein, but it can also be folded into intricate molecular machines. An example of a naturally occurring RNA machine is the ribosome, that functions as a protein factory in all cells.

Inspired by natural RNA machines, researchers at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) have developed a method called "RNA origami," which makes it possible to design artificial RNA nanostructures that fold from a single stand of RNA. The method is inspired by the Japanese paper folding art, origami, where a single piece of paper can be folded into a given shape, such as a paper bird.

To demonstrate the formation of complex shapes, the researchers combined RNA rectangles and cylinders to create a multi-domain "nanosatellite" shape, inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope.

"I designed the nanosatellite as a symbol of how RNA design allows us to explore folding space (possibility space of folding) and intracellular space, since the nanosatellite can be expressed in cells," says Cody Geary, assistant professor at iNANO, who originally developed the RNA-origami method.

However, the satellite proved difficult to characterize by cryo-EM due to its flexible properties, so the sample was sent to a laboratory in the U.S., where they specialize in determining the 3D structure of individual particles by electron tomography, the so-called IPET-method.

Image source: Cody Geary, Aarhus University.