◆ Assistant Professor Takuma Higuchi of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences in the School of Medicine received the “Outstanding Presentation Award (Young Researchers)” at the 65th Regular Meeting of the Chugoku-Shikoku Branch of the Japanese Biochemical Society.

Release Date:

　Assistant Professor Takuma Higuchi of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences in the School of Medicine delivered an oral presentation titled “Regulation of m6A Modification by Inhibitors of Tumor Suppressor miRNA Biosynthesis” at the 65th Regular Meeting of the Chugoku-Shikoku Branch of the Japanese Society for Biochemistry, held at Shimane University’s Matsue Campus on June 1–2, 2024, and received the Outstanding Presentation Award (Young Researchers).

　This award is selected by a vote of the meeting attendees and is presented to one researcher under the age of 40 who is not a student.

　Adenine m6A modification (methylation), a type of RNA modification, is catalyzed by the methyltransferase METTL3/14. Furthermore, it has been reported that the initial transcripts of microRNA (miRNA)*¹—a functional small non-coding RNA—undergo enhanced processing upon methylation, leading to increased miRNA production.In this study, we newly discovered that, under in vitro conditions*², the double-stranded RNA-binding protein complex NF90-NF45 reduces the methylation activity of the methyltransferase METTL3/14 toward miRNA primary transcripts.

　The research team to which the awardee belongs has previously discovered that this protein complex negatively regulates the biosynthetic pathway of "tumor-suppressing miRNAs" (tumor-suppressing miRNAs), and these findings are expected to contribute to elucidating the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis mediated by tumor-suppressing miRNAs.

20240601-02 65th Regular Meeting of the Chugoku-Shikoku Branch of the Japanese Society for Biochemistry – Outstanding Presentation Award (Young Researchers) – Certificate.JPG

(*1) microRNA (miRNA): A non-coding RNA that regulates biological processes by degrading or inhibiting the translation of its target messenger RNA

(*2) In vitro conditions: conditions created in an artificial environment, such as a test tube

The website for the Experimental Equipment Facility/RI Experimental Facility, Division of Life and Functional Materials, Kochi University Research Center, is here here

The website for the Department of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Function Analysis, Division of Life and Functional Materials, Comprehensive Research Center, Kochi University is here here