RNA Salon #3

Wednesday 18 Feb 2026, 15:00 → 16:15 Europe/Ljubljana

Great Lecture Hall (National Institute of Chemistry)

In the third meeting of the Ljubljana RNA Salon, we will have an invited talk given by Giulia Antognolli (Institute of Stem Cell Research, Helmholtz Center München), followed by an informal discussion.

The RNA Salon will take place at the National Institute of Chemistry.

15:00 → 15:45 Invited talk

15:00 Giulia Antognolli, "The centrosome as an RNA-RBP hub in neural cells"

The centrosome is a key organelle involved in brain development, coordinating several processes, such as cell division, microtubule organization and neuronal migration. While the centrosome composition has been extensively characterized, little is known about its cell-type-specific protein-protein interactions in the brain.

To address this question, we performed affinity-purification and proteomics to identify interactors of distinct centrosomal “bait” proteins in human neural cells. We observed enrichment of RNA-related proteins in specific “baits” in both human neural stem cells and neurons, showing diverse known RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to be spatially restricted to the centrosome in a cell-type specific manner. Within these proteins, we detected well-known RBPs, exon junction complex (EJC) proteins but also components of the splicing machinery. We particularly focused on the pre-mRNA processing factor 6 (PRPF6) and its RNA target Brsk2, which encodes for a microtubule-associated kinase whose transcript and protein both localize to the centrosome in neural stem cells.

The identification of specific RBPs also prompted us to investigate their functional role and explore the RNA population at the centrosome. Using RNA-based proximity labeling approaches, we generated an initial transcriptomic characterization of the centrosome, providing a first view into how RNAs and RBPs affect its function.

15:45 → 16:15 Discussion