mRNA Biology

mRNA regulation LightON mRNA Biology Community

Decoding mRNA biology has been our focus and passion for over a decade. Our expertise is shared through our industry leading initiative LightON mRNA, the masterclass webinar series with a community of thousands of mRNA biology experts and enthusiasts from industry and the academy.

Our mRNA Lightning imaging technologies enable comprehensive visualization of the entire mRNA life cycle along with the underlying mRNA regulatory pathways that distinguish between healthy and diseased cells. By using these technologies, we have created the world’s largest dataset of over 2 billion mRNA biology images. This visual drug-mine is used to train our mRNA image neural network that decodes the underlying mRNA biology in any given disease. The resulting analysis subsequently feeds our mRNA biology knowledge graph for comprehensive data integration.

The target space we explore includes proteins with specific biological roles in coordinating and regulating individual mRNA fate, as well as the pathways that regulate it. This exploration enables the discovery of novel targets in mRNA biology and the development of small molecules that selectively modulate the mRNA fate of almost any protein of interest. Our approach can be extended to any application that can leverage the visualization and decoding of mRNA biology, such as the optimization of mRNA vaccines or RNA-based drugs where we visualize key mRNA biology events of design variants to assess efficiency and compare delivery methods.

  • Transcription
    We visualize transcription sites as distinct circular spots in the nucleus, measuring their number, intensity, size, and shape.
  • Splicing /
    Alternative splicing
    We monitor splicing variants within cells, tracking changes in their abundance and localization.
  • Capping
    Visualizing capping reveals insights into the process's efficiency and mRNA protection from degradation.
  • Polyadenylation
    Imaging of polyadenylation patterns highlights changes in cell decisions that impact gene expression and translation efficiency.
  • Modification
    We visualize changes in mRNA modifications, providing spatial and temporal information crucial for understanding impacts on the mRNA life cycle.
  • Nuclear Export
    Our visualization techniques allow us to detect mRNA nuclear accumulation, offering explanations for low protein synthesis levels.
  • Transport
    We observe the co-localization of mRNAs with the cytoskeleton, enhancing our understanding of mRNA's journey to its cellular destination.
  • Localization
    Analyzing mRNA localization in response to stimuli provides key insights into protein amount changes at the endpoint.
  • Stability/Decay
    By visualizing mRNA localization, we gain insights into the regulation of mRNA stability and decay rates, which vary across cell compartments.
  • Translation
    We monitor translation in living cells, providing dynamic observations of this process and enabling the detection of translational regulation.