Chandrama Mukherjee

RNA capping at the 5’ end of any RNA polymerase II transcribed transcript is the first post-transcriptional event that takes place in the nucleus. The cap structure regulates every step of RNA processing from its birth to decay. Loss of cap or decapping was thought to be an irreversible process until the discovery of cytoplasmic pool of mRNA capping enzyme. The concept of cytoplasmic capping is quite new and it starts to gain attention in last decade. Cytoplasmic capping impacts the transcriptome at the post-transcriptional level with addition of a cap at the 5’ end of uncapped RNA. Our group has shown mRNA capping enzyme exports to the cytoplasm and localizes to stress granules under sodium arsenite induced oxidative stress. We also showed cytoplasmic capping enzyme can regulate the stability of both mRNAs and long non coding RNAs (lncRNA). Our recent studies have identified the protective role of cytoplasmic capping enzyme on its target mRNAs and lncRNAs under various stress conditions. Presently, we study the fate of these recapped transcripts in cellular recovery from stress. We also study the impact of recapping in gene expression regulation in mammalian cells.