Project description:Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is a special subtype of genetic human prion diseases that is caused by the D178N mutation of the prion protein gene (PRNP). In this study, global expression patterns of the thalamus and parietal cortex from three patients with FFI were analyzed by Affymetrix Human Genome U133+ 2.0 chip. We used microarrays to detail the global gene expression in tissues from normal human and FFI patients thalamus, or parietal lobe. Tissues from normal human and FFI patients' thalamus, or parietal lobe were for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.
Project description:We have sequenced miRNA libraries from human embryonic, neural and foetal mesenchymal stem cells. We report that the majority of miRNA genes encode mature isomers that vary in size by one or more bases at the 3’ and/or 5’ end of the miRNA. Northern blotting for individual miRNAs showed that the proportions of isomiRs expressed by a single miRNA gene often differ between cell and tissue types. IsomiRs were readily co-immunoprecipitated with Argonaute proteins in vivo and were active in luciferase assays, indicating that they are functional. Bioinformatics analysis predicts substantial differences in targeting between miRNAs with minor 5’ differences and in support of this we report that a 5’ isomiR-9-1 gained the ability to inhibit the expression of DNMT3B and NCAM2 but lost the ability to inhibit CDH1 in vitro. This result was confirmed by the use of isomiR-specific sponges. Our analysis of the miRGator database indicates that a small percentage of human miRNA genes express isomiRs as the dominant transcript in certain cell types and analysis of miRBase shows that 5’ isomiRs have replaced canonical miRNAs many times during evolution. This strongly indicates that isomiRs are of functional importance and have contributed to the evolution of miRNA genes
Project description:We report the high-throughput profiling of microRNAs (miRNAs) from the prefrontal cortex of controls, early and late-stages Alzheimer's disease subjects. We show miRNA expression changes between the two groups and down-regulation of miR-132-3p in the late-stages group. Deep-sequencing of microiRNAs in 6 controls/early-stages and 6 late-stages Alzheimer's disease patients
Project description:In this study, we jointly profiled mRNA and miRNA expression to determine the role of miRNAs in AD, and whether the levels of miRNAs are related to those of target mRNAs. We found a bias towards positive correlation between levels of miRNAs and those of their targets. We profiled parietal lobe tissue from 4 AD patients and 4 age-matched controls.