Reversible 2'-OH acylation enhances RNA stability

Abstract

The presence of a hydroxyl group at the 2'-position in its ribose makes RNA susceptible to hydrolysis. Stabilization of RNAs for storage, transport and biological application thus remains a serious challenge, particularly for larger RNAs that are not accessible by chemical synthesis. Here we present reversible 2'-OH acylation as a general strategy to preserve RNA of any length or origin. High-yield polyacylation of 2'-hydroxyls ('cloaking') by readily accessible acylimidazole reagents effectively shields RNAs from both thermal and enzymatic degradation. Subsequent treatment with water-soluble nucleophilic reagents removes acylation adducts quantitatively ('uncloaking') and recovers a remarkably broad range of RNA functions, including reverse transcription, translation and gene editing. Furthermore, we show that certain α-dimethylamino- and α-alkoxy- acyl adducts are spontaneously removed in human cells, restoring messenger RNA translation with extended functional half-lives. These findings support the potential of reversible 2'-acylation as a simple and general molecular solution for enhancing RNA stability and provide mechanistic insights for stabilizing RNA regardless of length or origin.