英国MRC分子生物学实验室John A. G. Briggs课题组解析了果蝇神经元Arc蛋白形成的病毒样衣壳结构。2020年1月6日，国际知名学术期刊《自然—神经科学》在线发表了这一成果。

研究人员报道了由果蝇dArc1和dArc2形成的逆转录病毒样衣壳的高分辨率结构，其具有表面尖刺和潜在的内部RNA结合域。这些数据表明，Arc的病毒样衣壳形成特性在进化上是保守的，并为理解其在细胞间通讯中的功能提供了结构基础。

据悉，Arc是一种对突触可塑性至关重要的神经元基因，起源于反转录转座子Gag基因的驯化并介导细胞间信使RNA的转移。

附：英文原文

Title: Structures of virus-like capsids formed by the Drosophila neuronal Arc proteins

Author: Simon Erlendsson, Dustin R. Morado, Harrison B. Cullen, Cedric Feschotte, Jason D. Shepherd, John A. G. Briggs

Issue&Volume: 2020-01-06

Abstract: Arc, a neuronal gene that is critical for synaptic plasticity, originated through the domestication of retrotransposon Gag genes and mediates intercellular messenger RNA transfer. We report high-resolution structures of retrovirus-like capsids formed by Drosophila dArc1 and dArc2 that have surface spikes and putative internal RNA-binding domains. These data demonstrate that virus-like capsid-forming properties of Arc are evolutionarily conserved and provide a structural basis for understanding their function in intercellular communication.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0569-y

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-019-0569-y