Nucleic Acids and Protein Folding: How RNA Help Keep Proteins Healthy
Official title: Nucleic Acids Roles in Protein Folding and Aggregation
Funded at University of Denver (Colorado Seminary) · NIH-11330528 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This NIH grant explores how RNA structures called G-quadruplexes help proteins fold correctly and how stress can turn them into a risk for protein misfolding diseases.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Denver (Colorado Seminary) NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Denver, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2021 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $407,497 |
| NIH project number | 2R35GM142442-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11330528 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with protein misfolding diseases or related proteostasis disorders may benefit from future therapies emerging from this research.
✕Less likely to help
No direct benefit is guaranteed for any individual participant during basic mechanistic studies.
What this research studies
Over the next five years, researchers will study how RNA influences protein folding and misfolding at the amino-acid level, focusing on G-quadruplexes as powerful molecular chaperones. They will examine how these RNA structures assist folding and how chronic stress might shift them toward promoting aggregation. The project also aims to explore how G-quadruplexes function inside higher organisms’ ribosomes and to develop a new framework for understanding RNA-to-protein evolution in proteostasis. This work could reveal new targets for therapies aimed at protein misfolding diseases.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could guide development of RNA- or chaperone-based strategies to prevent or treat protein misfolding diseases.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has shown that RNA structures can influence protein folding, suggesting the approach has promise but remains an active area of discovery.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Denver (Colorado Seminary)
Denver, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Horowitz, Scott Andrew — University of Denver (Colorado Seminary)
- Study coordinator: Horowitz, Scott Andrew
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.