Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37355703›Full record

ArticleNature communications2023

An unnatural enzyme with endonuclease activity towards small non-coding RNAs.

Noreen Ahmed, Nadine Ahmed, Didier A Bilodeau, John Paul Pezacki

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Design of a halogen bond catalyzed DNA endonuclease.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Noreen AhmedDepartment of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada.
Nadine AhmedDepartment of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada.
Didier A BilodeauDepartment of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada.
John Paul PezackiDepartment of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada. john.pezacki@uottawa.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4233-8945
University of Ottawa · CA

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Endonucleases are enzymes that cleave internal phosphodiester bonds within double-stranded DNA or RNA and are essential for biological functions. Herein, we use genetic code expansion to create an unnatural endonuclease that cleaves non-coding RNAs including short interfering RNA (siRNA) and microRNAs (miRNAs), a function that does not exist in nature. We introduce a metal-chelating unnatural amino acid, (2,2'-bipyridin-5-yl)alanine (BpyAla) to impart endonuclease activity to the viral suppressor of RNA silencing protein p19. Upon binding of copper, the mutant p19-T111BpyAla displays catalytic site-specific cleavage of siRNA and human miRNAs. Catalysis is confirmed using fluorescence polarization and fluorescence turn-on. Global miRNA profiling reveals that the engineered enzyme cleaves miRNAs in a human cell line. The therapeutic potential is demonstrated by targeting miR-122, a critical host factor for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Unnatural endonuclease function is shown to deplete miR-122 levels with similar effects to an antagomir that reduces HCV levels therapeutically.

Indexed as

MicroRNAsAlanineAmino AcidsEndonucleasesHumansRNA, Small InterferingAlanineAmino AcidsEndonucleasesMicroRNAsRNA, Small Interfering

Identifiers

PMID37355703
PMCPMC10290691
OpenAlexW4381855704

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.