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Ronald P. Hart
Professor
Rutgers
University
Cell Biology and
Neuroscience
W. M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience
Nelson Lab
604 Allison Road
Piscataway. NJ 08854
(732) 445-1783
FAX - 2063
rhart@rci.rutgers.edu |
Functional genomics in central nervous
system injury
MicroRNA Regulation in Neural Stem Cell
The recently-described class of genes encoding microRNAs provides
a new level of regulatory control over gene expression. MicroRNAs,
short, non-coding RNAs found in the RISC complex, are believed to
inhibit translation or to destabilize target mRNAs. Using
deep-sequencing technologies we recently identified 146 new human
microRNAs expressed early in stem cell development. We predict
that these largely human- or primate-specific microRNAs will
function to stabilize differentiation pathways during early
embryonic development and that they may be exploited to help
program stem cells towards a desired cell type for therapeutic
transplant. In collaboration with colleagues at the Broad
Institute, we were recently awarded an
NIH Challenge Grant to study small RNAs as regulators of
epigenetic marking of chromatin. Our long term goal is to program
stem cells to be effective therapies for repair or regeneration of
injured spinal cord.
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