N-glycosylated molecules act as a co-precipitant in RNA purification

Abstract

A recent ground-breaking study suggested that small RNA from mammalian cells can undergo N-glycan modifications (termed glycoRNA). The discovery relied upon a metabolic glycan labeling strategy in combination with commonly used phase-separation-based RNA isolation. Following the reported procedure, we likewise identified an N-glycosylated species in the RNA fraction. However, our results suggest that the reported RNase sensitivity of the glycosylated species depends on the specific RNA purification method. This suggests the possibility of co-purifying unexpected RNase-insensitive N-glycoconjugates during glycoRNA isolation, hinting at the complex biochemical nature of glycoRNA. Our study underscores the need for further research to elucidate the structural and biochemical properties of glycoRNA.