Binding to RNA is not enough—changing its shape is what makes a drug work, study reveals

Ribonucleic acids (RNAs) serve as messengers between DNA and protein production, and perform a wide variety of regulatory functions across different cellular processes. This makes them an interesting target for drug designers. Molecular genetics researcher Danny Incarnato (University of Groningen) studies how small-molecule drugs could interfere with RNA structure and function. In a new paper published on March 23 in the journal Nature Communications, he shows that small molecules that bind to RNA only rarely affect its function, while molecules that change RNA structure have a bigger effect.