Work

Nuclear speckles: New insights into structure and function

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: Nuclear speckles are prominent biomolecular condensates enriched in RNA-processing factors. Although historically viewed as reservoirs for spliceosomal components, recent work has demonstrated that nuclear speckles actively promote splicing efficiency, especially for genes containing short guanine-cytosine (GC)-rich introns. Nuclear speckles also participate in RNA 3' end formation and mRNA export. Advances in imaging and biophysical studies further reveal that speckles are hierarchically organized heterogeneous condensates formed through multivalent protein-RNA interactions and regulated by phosphorylation-dependent signaling. These discoveries redefine nuclear speckles as central regulators of gene expression.

Source: Current Opinion in Structural Biology

DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2026.103361

Authors: André Ventura-Gomes, Rui Sousa-Luís, Maria Carmo-Fonseca

Institutions: University of Lisbon, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine

Language: English

Topic: RNA Research and Splicing

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,360

Funders: Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia