Paul Anderson

Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Smith Building Room 652C

One Jimmy Fund Way
Boston, MA 02115
Tel: (617) 525-1202
Fax: (617) 525-1310
Email: panderson@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
Web Page: The Anderson Lab Page

Messenger RNA is in constant flux between different locations and states-- the nucleus and cytoplasm, activation and silencing, translation and decay. Classical nuclear bodies such as nucleoli and nuclear speckles are self-generated RNA structures whose morphology and function are inextricably linked: altered morphology reflects altered function. Cytoplasmic RNA structures such as stress granules (SGs) and processing bodies (PBs) have been revealed as functional byproducts of mRNA metabolism. Stress granules (SGs) and processing bodies (PBs) share substrate mRNA, dynamic properties and many proteins, but also house separate components and independent functions. Each can exist without the other, but when coordinately induced they are often tethered together in a cytosolic dance. Work in the laboratory is focused on understanding the role of subcellular localization in the control of mRNA translation/decay.

References:

• Anderson P, Kedersha N. Stress granules: the Tao of RNA triage.Trends Biochem Sci. 2008, 33:141.
• Anderson P. Post-transcriptional control of cytokine production.Nature Immunol. 2008, 9:353.
• Stoecklin G, Tenenbaum SA, Mayo T, Chittur SV, George AD, Baronni TE, Blackshear PJ, Anderson P. Genome-wide analysis identifies IL10 mRNA as target of tristetraprolin. J. Biol. Chem. 2008. 283: 11689
• Ohn T, Kedersha N, Hickman T, Tisdale S, Anderson P. A functional RNAi screen links O-GlcNAc modification of ribosomal proteins to stress granule and processing body assembly. Nature Cell Biol 2008 (in press).