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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Polarization-Sensitive Two-Photon Microscopy for a Label-Free Amyloid Structural Characterization
Published on: September 8, 2023
First observation by fluorescence polarization of complexation between mRNA and the natural polysaccharide
Ryouji Karinaga1, Masami Mizu, Kazuya Koumoto
1Department of Chemical Process and Environments, The University of Kitakyushu, 1-1, Hibikino, Wakamatu-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 808-0135, Japan.
Abstract:
Schizophyllan is a natural beta-(1-->3)-D-glucan that exists as a triple helix in H(2)O and as a single chain in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or basic solution (pH >13). As we have already reported, when a homo-polynucleotide (e.g., poly(dA), poly(A), or poly(C)) is added to a schizophyllan/DMSO solution, and, subsequently, DMSO is exchanged for H(2)O, the single chain of schizophyllan forms a complex with the polynucleotide. Since eukaryotic mRNAs have poly(A) tails, we hypothesized that schizophyllan can bind to mRNA by interacting with this tail. However, we have not yet observed complexation between schizophyllan and mRNA after exchanging DMSO for H(2)O. In this report, we show that the complexation can be accelerated when the solution pH is changed from 13 to 7-8 in the presence of schizophyllan and polynucleotides. By this approach, we found that schizophyllan forms a complex with a yeast mRNA.
