UIC Barcelona has received a competitive grant worth €106,250 from the 2024 Knowledge Generation Projects programme for the project “Evolutionary Dynamics of Structural and Functional Conservation in lncRNAs”*. Headed by the researcher and lecturer from the Department of Biomedical Sciences, project participants also include researchers Jorge Pérez and Nicolás Aira, from the same department.

The main premise of the project is that while lncRNA molecules may differ greatly in sequence from one species to another, they maintain the same biological function. “This suggests that the key to their functional role lies not in the sequence, but in their secondary structure or ‘shape’”, explains Uciel Chorosteki.

To understand the functional structure of IncRNA, “our objective is to apply and fine-tune an artificial intelligence tool that we are currently developing. This will allow us to study the evolutionary conservation of distant IncRNAs, identifying structural and functional similarities, even with sequences that bear no resemblance,” notes the researcher. “Not only will this help increase our knowledge of how RNA works, but it will also open new avenues for developing more precise therapies for diseases such as cancer.”

As part of the research project, Chorostecki’s team will combine advanced laboratory experiments with artificial intelligence models capable of directly comparing RNA structures, “a task that, up until now, proved highly complex with traditional computational methods,” indicate the researchers.

Long non-coding RNAs (IncRNAs) play a central role in regulating gene expression, and while they are known to be involved in numerous biological processes and diseases, our knowledge of their function remains highly limited due to a lack of effective tools for studying them. The project led by Chorostecki will make it possible to identify, from among thousands of IncRNAs, those which may have relevant functions for the human body.

“Of the approximately 40,000 non-coding genes in the human genome known so far, we understand the function of only a small fraction. This tool will allow us to perform a systematic screening and pinpoint those that are potentially functional,” adds the researcher.

For UIC Barcelona, the competitive grant earned for the project led by Uciel Chorostecki represents a step forward in its efforts to promote projects that combine molecular biology, artificial intelligence and translational medicine with a commitment to addressing the major challenges of global health.

*PID2024-158673NA-I00, funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the ESF+