New paper! How do RNAs "know" where to go inside a cell? We dug into the sequence elements that route RNAs to the right place. It turns out that, in mammals, they're surprisingly massive (>200 nt), multipartite, and wonderfully complicated. 🧵
Max Koppers
@maxkoppers.bsky.social
Axonal mRNA trafficking and local translation | Group leader FGA/CNCR/VU Amsterdam | father of two
Come and join our team @humantechnopole.bsky.social! We are recruiting a Senior Technician. You will be part of a collaborative and diverse team working on human stem cell biology, precise genome-engineering, and virology. More info: careers.humantechnopole.it/job/Senior-T... Please share.
Cells come in many shapes and sizes, with diverse physiological functions. But how do #organelles and their interaction networks remodel during #differentiation of stem cells into different cell types? Here’s what we discovered about neuronal differentiation: 1/13
bioRxiv Cell Biology@biorxiv-cellbio.bsky.social · 8mo agoOrganelle communication networks rewire to support lipid metabolism during neuronal differentiation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.10.704675v1
Active transport of tRNAs facilitates distributed protein synthesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.26.698744v1
Very happy to share our new paper in #ScienceSignaling revealing that importin β1 isn’t just important for nuclear transport or neuronal growth. We now show it is key for presynaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, local translation, and memory! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Subcellular depletion of importin β1 impairs presynaptic local translation and spatial memory
Axonal localization of importin β1 is required for presynaptic functions that support spatial memory tasks.
science.org
New preprint from my lab!!! We took advantage of the MitoTag mouse line to study what mRNAs associate with mitochondria in axons in vivo, and we were in for a surprise! Other than our favorite Pink1, mainly cytoskeletal mRNAs hitch a ride and pave the way for axon growth. shorturl.at/rYe1U
Mitochondrial hitch-hiking of Mapt mRNA maintains Tau levels in axons
Hitch-hiking of transcripts on organelles, including mitochondria, has emerged as a common pathway to transport mRNAs into the axon to enable their local translation. However, the extent of mitochondr...
shorturl.at
Dynamic subtype- and context-specific subcellular RNA regulation in growth cones of developing neurons in the cerebral cortex. rdcu.be/eXuwg
Dynamic subtype- and context-specific subcellular RNA regulation in growth cones of developing neurons of the cerebral cortex
Nature Neuroscience - Distinct neuron subtypes compartmentalize specific functions by differentially localizing and translating specific RNAs. This work identifies dynamic subtype- and...
rdcu.be
Secretome translation shaped by lysosomes and lunapark-marked ER junctions www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Secretome translation shaped by lysosomes and lunapark-marked ER junctions - Nature
Live-cell imaging of mRNA encoding secretome proteins and translated nascent peptide markers show that secretome translation occurs at endoplasmic reticulum junctions near lysosomes, requires lun...
nature.com
Neuronal compartmentalization results in impoverished axonal mitochondria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.27.684882v1
I am thrilled to share our latest story led by the incredibly talented Brooke D’Arcy and Camila Musso. We discover a rich world of local gene expression in radial glia, essential neural and glial precursors, and develop a new method for sub-cellular mRNA manipulation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🚀 Our new paper is out @natmethods.nature.com! Kuffer & Marzilli engineered conditionally stable MS2 & PP7 coat proteins (dMCP & dPCP) that degrade unless bound to RNA, enabling ultra–low-background, single-mRNA imaging in live cells. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧬 www.addgene.org/John_Ngo/
Wow, this paper provides crucial understanding of local translation and processing of transmembrane proteins in axons, one of the big mysteries that have haunted the field for a long time!!!!!!!! Fantastic!!!!!!!! Nguyen et al., 2025, bioRxiv 2025.09.09.674816ff. -- doi.org/10.1101/2025...
✨ Post-doc opportunity in axon biology, funded by #ATIP-Avenir! 👀 We are looking for an enthusiastic post-doc to join our team at @ibdm.bsky.social to explore translation dynamics in axon regrowth, using live imaging approaches. Apply at: emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/U... Thank you for sharing! 👋 🙏
Portail Emploi CNRS - Offre d'emploi - Post-doctoral researcher in axon biology (M/F)
emploi.cnrs.fr
Excited to share our preprint, now available online on BioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... We uncovered the coupling of translation and secretion machineries at the #axonalER to promote local delivery of axonal transmembrane proteins (TMPs) to the plasma membrane.
I'm thrilled to share our work from @weissmanlab.bsky.social (www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...). We developed LOCL-TL, an optogenetic approach for monitoring localized translation in mammalian cells. LOCL-TL revealed two distinct strategies for mitochondrially localized translation.
Cryo-EM structures of Egl-BicD-RNA complexes reveal how diverse mRNAs are selected for subcellular localization https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.02.668268v1
If you’ve ever wondered how cells tune positioning of organelles in response to cell shape change, and what happens when this goes wrong, please check out our new manuscript – mRNA trafficking controls cell-size-scaled organelle dynamics! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
mRNA trafficking directs cell-size-scaling of mitochondria distribution and function - Nature Communications
How mitochondria positioning dynamically adapts to changes in cell shape is poorly understood. Here, Bradbury et al. show that cell-size-dependent trafficking of TRAK2 mRNA underpins the cell-size-sca...
nature.com
RNA can control cell migration by acting at focal adhesions www.lifescienceeditors.com/2025/06/24/r...
RNA can control cell migration by acting at focal adhesions - Scientific editing and writing experts - Life Science Editors
Scientific editing and writing experts for manuscripts and grants
lifescienceeditors.com
📢 For all HaloTag lovers💙💚💛❤️💜🩶 we are excited to share that our work, in which we developed a new biotin-HaloTag ligand, is now published in @jcb.org! Full link here: rupress.org/jcb/article-...
Online Now: FMRP drives mRNP targets into translationally silenced complexes Online now:
FMRP drives mRNP targets into translationally silenced complexes
Translational repression by FMRP has been attributed primarily to ribosome stalling. We show that FMRP sequesters its target mRNAs from translation initiation. FMRP binds not only to the transcript body but also directly to cap-bound eIF4E and poly(A)-tail-bound PABPC1. Through binding these two proteins, FMRP protects its target mRNAs from translation and decay.
dlvr.it
Kicking off the lab BlueSky with this picture of a happy hairy growing #axon! Looking forward to connecting with science chats and to growing research ideas 🧠🔬✨
Optogenetic storage and release of protein and mRNA in live cells and animals | Nature Communications share.google/gz8nYXZ3hUVh... #spatialbiology #imagingtools #fluorescencemicroscopy
Optogenetic storage and release of protein and mRNA in live cells and animals - Nature Communications
Spatiotemporal control of biomolecules is a key challenge in cell biology. Here, authors introduce RELISR, an optogenetic condensate system enabling reversible, light-dependent sequestration and relea...
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Hello! Ever wonder what's "talking to" your favorite transcript, but were too scared to ask? In our review in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social, @mardakheh.bsky.social and I highlight new RNA-focused tools for discovering RNA interactions across organizational scales. Checkit! tinyurl.com/ydn6e3ac
Researchers have found that turning down a single gene, EMC10, can boost memory and brain function in mice with a genetic condition linked to #schizophrenia. The findings offer hope for future treatments for 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.
Targeting 22q11.2 deletion syndrome
Gene-targeting molecules known as antisense oligonucleotides help improve cognitive function in mouse models of a severe chromosomal disorder.
buff.ly
Neuronal potassium channel activity triggers initiation of mRNA translation through binding of translation regulators. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Neuronal potassium channel activity triggers initiation of mRNA translation through binding of translation regulators
Activated Slack potassium channels bind translation regulators to stimulate translation of cortical β-actin mRNA.
science.org
Programmable control of spatial transcriptome in live cells and neurons. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Programmable control of spatial transcriptome in live cells and neurons - Nature
CRISPR-TO, a system for programmable control of spatial localization of cellular RNAs, is presented and enables functional investigation of endogenous RNA localization in diverse living cells.
nature.com
Murphy et al. @amsterdamumc.bsky.social show that MUNC13 is essential for dense core vesicle secretion, while RIM prevents MUNC13 degradation. Key membrane-binding domains of RIM & MUNC13 play differing roles, revealing distinct mechanisms from synaptic vesicle release. rupress.org/jcb/article/...
