How cells feed on RNA

Scientists have discovered that cells can use RNA and its constituent uridine as alternative energy sources to sugar. For better or for worse, as shown by their publication in "Nature Metabolism ". Each cell contains the genetic material necessary for the activity of the organism. RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is an important molecule for making proteins from the instructions contained in the genes. Any food from a living being, whether plant (fruits and vegetables), animal (meat, fish) or microbial (yeast in bread) contains up to 20% RNA. Until now, no nutritional value had been attributed to RNA. However, in a study published on May 17, 2023 in the journal Nature Metabolism , the teams of Alexis Jourdain , assistant professor in the Department of Immunobiology at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine (FBM) of the University of Lausanne, and Vamsi Mootha, professor at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, showed that RNA has a nutritional value.University of Lausanne, and Vamsi Mootha, professor at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, have shown that RNA and its constituent, uridine, are used as sugar by the cells, i.e. as energy generator. The genesis of a find In the years leading up to his arrival at the University of Lausanne in 2021, Alexis Jourdain worked at the Broad Institute and at Harvard University. It was there that the metabolism specialist focused his investigations on cancer and its unique metabolism. Glucose is the preferred food of tumor cells, but what happens if they are deprived of this energy source?