Grant Winner Highlight

This month's grant winner highlight from our grant awards program is David Mu, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Penn State University College of Medicine. Dr. Mu is interested in understanding the roles of the microRNA network in the biology of the lung. His lab used an essential lung developmental gene called thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) as a starting point and discovered the first microRNA (miR-365) that directly regulates TTF-1 expression. While characterizing miR-365, they uncovered a series of putative targets to the little-known miR-365* species. The lab will be further characterizing miR-365* using the LightSwitch Luciferase Assay System. Read more.

Featured Publication

MicroRNAs found to regulate DNA damage response in human embryonic stem cells

The p21 mRNA is upregulated after the DNA damage response (DDR) in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), yet p21 protein is not detectable. In a recent article in Stem Cells, researchers showed that p21 protein expression is directly regulated by the microRNA pathway after DNA damage. The DDR in hESCs leads to upregulation of numerous microRNAs, including hESC-specific microRNAs such as those of the miR-302 family, miR-371-372 family, or C19MC microRNA cluster. The hESC-enriched microRNA family miR-302 directly contributes to regulation of p21 expression in hESCs, revealing a novel function for miR-302s in human embryonic stem cells. Read more.

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