Domestic researchers develop a new technology that stores messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) containing proteins or genetic information inside cells, which can be retrieved at the desired time when light is applied. The photo shows an enzyme (blue) that unwinds a DNA strand (purple) to produce an mRNA strand (red)./Courtesy of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Domestic researchers have developed a new technology that allows messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which contains proteins or genetic information, to be stored in cells and retrieved at the desired moment when light is shone on it. This technology is expected to be useful in various fields such as brain research, gene therapy, and new drug development by activating proteins or precisely regulating genetic information only when drugs are needed.

KAIST announced on the 23rd that a research team led by Chair Professor Huh Won-do of the Department of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with Chair Professor Park Yong-geun of the Department of Physics, has developed a technology called "RELISR" that stores proteins and mRNA inside cells and releases them with light. RELISR means "to store with light and then retrieve again." The results of this research were published in the international journal "Nature Communications" on the 7th.

Although there have been technologies to control biomolecules with light in the past, there were limitations in precisely handling only the desired ones due to the mixture of various proteins and RNA inside the cells. The KAIST research team created a system that selectively stores only proteins or mRNA by using a protein complex that can capture only the necessary molecules, and confirmed that this technology works well in cell and animal experiments.

Overview of the Relaxed Condensate System (RELISR)

The research team succeeded in using this technology to change cell shapes or to control in real-time when specific proteins would operate within nerve cells. It was also found that the timing of the conversion from mRNA to protein could be controlled by light, and this capability was verified in actual mice.

Previously, only technologies existed that "trapped" proteins or mRNA within cells, but this research allowed those molecules to be immediately "pulled out" and function when exposed to light.

This research involved Dr. Lee Chae-yeon of the KAIST Institute of Biological Sciences as the first author, with contributions from Professor Huh Won-do, Professor Park Yong-geun, and Dr. Yoo Da-seul, among others. Notably, Professor Park Yong-geun's team analyzed how this technology operates within cells through imaging, enhancing the precision and reliability of the experiments.

Professor Huh Won-do noted, "The RELISR technology we developed this time is a versatile tool that can retrieve proteins or mRNA at the desired time and place using light," adding, "It can be used in various ways for studying nerve cells in the brain or developing cell therapies and new drugs." He further stated, "If combined with gene editing technology or methods to deliver drugs only to specific tissues in the future, it could develop into a much more precise treatment method."

KAIST Professor Heo Won-do, first author KAIST Postdoctoral Researcher Lee Chae-yeon./Courtesy of KAIST

References

Nature Communications (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61322-y

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