Bidirectional photoriboswitch for translational regulation in mammalian cells.

Yaxin Hu, Cheuk Yin Li, Lala Fu, Yiang Sun, Mingji Zhang, Tak Marx Yau, Chuxiao Xiong, Peng Shi, Yi Kuang

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Yaxin HuDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Cheuk Yin LiDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Lala FuDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Yiang SunDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Mingji ZhangDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Tak Marx YauDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Chuxiao XiongDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Peng ShiDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Yi KuangDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Photoriboswitches are invaluable tools for synthetic biology because they provide direct, precise, and on-demand control of translation. While most existing photoriboswitches are predominantly one-directional, this study presents a bidirectional photoriboswitch platform capable of mimicking the orthogonal RNA-binding protein-mediated up-/downregulation of multiple mRNAs. Inspired by intein-based split protein reconstitution and light-induced protein dimerization, we first engineered a Light-OFF system that uses photodimerization to block intein reconstitution. We then validated that this Light-OFF system can function orthogonally with a Light-ON system that reconstitutes a different split intein pair under light. Together, a bidirectional photoriboswitch is generated, which senses light to orthogonally reconstitute RNA-binding proteins to tune the translation of their respective target mRNAs. We have demonstrated that the photoriboswitch produces bidirectional translation regulation. Importantly, the functional modules of the photoriboswitch can be easily altered to adapt for different purposes, allowing the bidirectional photoriboswitch to serve as a versatile tool for translation regulation.

Indexed as

bidirectional regulationphotodimerizationphotoriboswitchRNA-binding protein

Identifiers

PMID42840230

DOI10.1016/j.isci.2026.117671

PMCPMC13639096

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.