--- title: Preventing Misfolding by Preventing Folding | daily.dev description: A new Cell paper reveals that 3'UTRs (untranslated regions) on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins act as molecular chaperones during translation.... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/preventing-misfolding-by-preventing-folding-xeolvnsi5 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Preventing Misfolding by Preventing Folding | daily.dev og:description: A new Cell paper reveals that 3'UTRs (untranslated regions) on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins act as molecular chaperones during translation.... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/preventing-misfolding-by-preventing-folding-xeolvnsi5 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/XeolVnSi5.png og:image:alt: Preventing Misfolding by Preventing Folding og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Preventing Misfolding by Preventing Folding **[Hacker News](https://daily.dev/sources/hn)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A new Cell paper reveals that 3'UTRs (untranslated regions) on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins act as molecular chaperones during translation. Rather than helping proteins fold correctly, these conserved 3'UTR sequences prevent disordered proteins from misfolding or aggregating as they emerge from the ribosome. They appear to form mesh-like condensate structures that sequester the developing protein sequence, particularly targeting proteins with hydrophobic residue clusters and RNA-binding activity. This challenges Anfinsen's Dogma — the principle that a protein's sequence determines its native structure — suggesting it may only apply to smaller, simpler proteins, not the broader protein world. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the function of 3'UTRs on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins? 3'UTRs on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins act as molecular chaperones during translation, preventing misfolding and aggregation rather than assisting with folding. They form mesh-like condensate structures that sequester the developing protein sequence, particularly protecting proteins with clusters of hydrophobic residues. This function explains the high degree of sequence conservation observed in these 3'UTRs, and has been demonstrated for disordered proteins including Myc, Utx, and Jmjd3. _Researchers tracking developments in protein biology and RNA biology find relevant papers like this surfacing on daily.dev._ ### Does Anfinsen's Dogma apply to intrinsically disordered proteins? Anfinsen's Dogma — that a protein's native structure is determined solely by its amino acid sequence — likely does not apply to intrinsically disordered proteins or those with intrinsically disordered regions. Evidence from 3'UTR chaperone activity shows that external RNA-based mechanisms are needed to prevent misfolding during translation of such proteins, suggesting the dogma may only hold for smaller, less complex proteins rather than the majority of the protein world. _Molecular biologists revisiting foundational assumptions like Anfinsen's Dogma keep up with emerging research on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [New insights into a hidden process that protects cells from harmful mutations](https://daily.dev/posts/new-insights-into-a-hidden-process-that-protects-cells-from-harmful-mutations-ba3jd8gza) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Team uses AlphaFold AI to redesign gene-editing proteins to make them safer](https://daily.dev/posts/team-uses-alphafold-ai-to-redesign-gene-editing-proteins-to-make-them-safer-ms2jkbjld) · Ars Technica · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Proteins: A Mosaic Pattern to Rule Them All?](https://daily.dev/posts/proteins-a-mosaic-pattern-to-rule-them-all--wpczyhgc3) · Towards Data Science · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Study reveals “two-factor authentication” system that controls microRNA destruction](https://daily.dev/posts/study-reveals-two-factor-authentication-system-that-controls-microrna-destruction-j8kcliswt) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Why AlphaFold Didn't Solve Protein Folding — Pushmeet Kohli, Google DeepMind & Sal Candido, Biohub](https://daily.dev/posts/why-alphafold-didn-t-solve-protein-folding-pushmeet-kohli-google-deepmind-sal-candido-biohub-4s7gtspvz) · Latent Space · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/preventing-misfolding-by-preventing-folding-xeolvnsi5) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Preventing Misfolding by Preventing Folding","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/preventing-misfolding-by-preventing-folding-xeolvnsi5","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/preventing-misfolding-by-preventing-folding-xeolvnsi5"},"datePublished":"2026-08-09T04:29:06.927Z","dateModified":"2026-08-09T04:29:34.804Z","description":"A new Cell paper reveals that 3'UTRs (untranslated regions) on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins act as molecular chaperones during translation....","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/711536da374c8a4d5696aeffd7ae5159?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/711536da374c8a4d5696aeffd7ae5159?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Hacker News","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Hacker News","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/hn","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/hn"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/preventing-misfolding-by-preventing-folding-xeolvnsi5","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hacker News","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/hn"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Preventing Misfolding by Preventing Folding"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/preventing-misfolding-by-preventing-folding-xeolvnsi5#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the function of 3'UTRs on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"3'UTRs on mRNAs encoding intrinsically disordered proteins act as molecular chaperones during translation, preventing misfolding and aggregation rather than assisting with folding. They form mesh-like condensate structures that sequester the developing protein sequence, particularly protecting proteins with clusters of hydrophobic residues. This function explains the high degree of sequence conservation observed in these 3'UTRs, and has been demonstrated for disordered proteins including Myc, Utx, and Jmjd3. Researchers tracking developments in protein biology and RNA biology find relevant papers like this surfacing on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does Anfinsen's Dogma apply to intrinsically disordered proteins?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Anfinsen's Dogma — that a protein's native structure is determined solely by its amino acid sequence — likely does not apply to intrinsically disordered proteins or those with intrinsically disordered regions. Evidence from 3'UTR chaperone activity shows that external RNA-based mechanisms are needed to prevent misfolding during translation of such proteins, suggesting the dogma may only hold for smaller, less complex proteins rather than the majority of the protein world. Molecular biologists revisiting foundational assumptions like Anfinsen's Dogma keep up with emerging research on daily.dev."}}]} ```