0000000000740894
AUTHOR
Swonild Ilenia Genovese
Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome: A Therapeutic Approach via Adenoviral Delivery of CRISPR/cas Genome Editing System
Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a rare human genetic disease caused by mutations in the LMNA gene. LMNA codes for structural components of the nuclear lamina. Alterations of nuclear lamina lead to a very variable class of diseases known as laminopathies. In detail, HGPS manifests a severe premature ageing phenotype due to the accumulation of a dominant negative form of lamin-A called progerin. With current treatments, the life expectancy of HGPS patients does not exceed their second decade. Death is usually due to cardiovascular complications. Recently, a new technology for mammals in vivo gene editing has been developed: the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic …
The nucleosome remodeling factor ISWI functionally interacts with an evolutionarily conserved network of cellular factors
Abstract ISWI is an evolutionarily conserved ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factor playing central roles in DNA replication, RNA transcription, and chromosome organization. The variety of biological functions dependent on ISWI suggests that its activity could be highly regulated. Our group has previously isolated and characterized new cellular activities that positively regulate ISWI in Drosophila melanogaster. To identify factors that antagonize ISWI activity we developed a novel in vivo eye-based assay to screen for genetic suppressors of ISWI. Our screen revealed that ISWI interacts with an evolutionarily conserved network of cellular and nuclear factors that escaped previous genetic…
Epigenetic involvement in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome: a mini-review.
Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare human genetic disease that leads to a severe premature ageing phenotype, caused by mutations in the <i>LMNA</i> gene. The <i>LMNA</i> gene codes for lamin-A and lamin-C proteins, which are structural components of the nuclear lamina. HGPS is usually caused by a de novo <i>C1824T</i> mutation that leads to the accumulation of a dominant negative form of lamin-A called progerin. Progerin also accumulates physiologically in normal ageing cells as a rare splicing form of lamin-A transcripts. From this perspective, HGPS cells seem to be good candidates for the study of the physiological mechanisms of ageing…
A ceRNA approach may unveil unexpected contributors to deletion syndromes, the model of 5q- syndrome.
In genomic deletions, gene haploinsufficiency might directly configure a specific disease phenotype. Nevertheless, in some cases no functional association can be identified between haploinsufficient genes and the deletion-associated phenotype. Transcripts can act as microRNA sponges. The reduction of transcripts from the hemizygous region may increase the availability of specific microRNAs, which in turn may exert in-trans regulation of target genes outside the deleted region, eventually contributing to the phenotype. Here we prospect a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) approach for the identification of candidate genes target of epigenetic regulation in deletion syndromes. As a model, we an…
Competing endogenous RNA and interactome bioinformatic analyses on human telomerase.
We present a classic interactome bioinformatic analysis and a study on competing endogenous (ce) RNAs for hTERT. The hTERT gene codes for the catalytic subunit and limiting component of the human telomerase complex. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is essential for the integrity of telomeres. Telomere dysfunctions have been widely reported to be involved in aging, cancer, and cellular senescence. The hTERT gene network has been analyzed using the BioGRID interaction database (http://thebiogrid.org/) and related analysis tools such as Osprey (http://biodata.mshri.on.ca/osprey/servlet/Index) and GeneMANIA (http://genemania.org/). The network of interaction of hTERT transcripts h…