Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI) Group

10:00 – 10:30, 6/13/2014, Joshua Mendell “Novel microRNA functions in mammalian physiology and cancer”

LIVE from Kresge Auditorium @MIT

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

Key concepts captured:

• microRNA dysregulations is ubiquitous feature of human malignancies
• key components of oncogenic and tumor suppression pathways
• microRNA biogenesis mutations, germline or inherited of Dicer, rare pediatric mutation
• Dicer1 function as haploinsufficiet tumor suppressor – loss of a single allele of Dicer1 – leads to tomorgenesis
• Wilmor tumor – nephroblastoma; renal cel carcinoma
• MYCN-LIN28-let-7 pathway in Wilms tumors
• let-7 leads to DROSHA DICER1 – major enzymes
• whole exome sequencing of Wilms tumors vs germ lines
• mutations in core miRNA-processing – how DICER1 RNase IIIB mutations impact Wilmor Tumors formation – it happens by loss 5p miRNAs – preferentially down regulated
• multiple tumor type: Thyroid, kidney
• heterozygous DROSHA RNase IIIA/B mutation promote mutation in Wilman type in human kidney – it inhibits miRNA biogenesis
• DICER mutation vs DROSHA mutations: Loss of miRNA biogenesis, viability of tumor genesis
• Analysis of reduced expression of miR-143/145 in epithelial cell tumors: i.e., colonorectal
• conditions of stress: wild type mice do not tolerate stress: mesenchmyal-restricted miR-143/145 phenocopies germ line knockout
• myofibroblast morphology changed with injury no regeneration: after injury expression of lgfbp5 dramatic increased
• epithilial repair; repression of llgfbp5

10:00 – 10:30, 6/13/2014,  Joshua Mendell  “Novel microRNA functions in mammalian physiology and cancer”

@MIT – Summer Symposium 2014: RNA Biology, Cancer and Therapeutic Implications, June 13, 2014 8:30AM – 4:30PM, Kresge Auditorium @MIT

http://ki.mit.edu/news/symposium

REALTIME event coverage for the Scientific Media by Dr.  A. Lev-Ari 

in Open Access Scientific Journal of Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI)

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com

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Novel microRNA Functions in Mammalian Physiology and Cancer

Joshua Mendell, MD, PhD 
Professor of Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. Joshua Mendell attained his undergraduate degree in Biology at Cornell University in 1996 and completed an MD-PhD degree at Johns Hopkins in 2003. In 2004, Dr. Mendell established a research group at Johns Hopkins focused on the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and the roles of such pathways in normal physiology and in diseases such as cancer. In particular, the Mendell laboratory has devoted significant effort towards elucidating functions of the microRNA (miRNA) pathway. Dr. Mendell’s research group provided one of the first demonstrations that miRNAs are functional components of critical oncogenic and tumor suppressor pathways and that miRNAs represent potent and non-toxic anti-cancer therapeutic agents when delivered systemically. Dr. Mendell has been the recipient of several awards including being named the Outstanding Young Scientist in the State of Maryland in 2007 and a HHMI Early Career Scientist in 2009. In 2010, Dr. Mendell received the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research. In 2011, Dr. Mendell received a Rising Stars Award from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and relocated his laboratory to UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.