Grant: Project Grant

Proteins are thought to be the main regulator of gene expression in the nucleus. Recently RNA molecules that do not make protein have been shown to enter the nucleus and regulate gene expression. The rules that regulate this process are poorly understood. However, discovery of the rules that regulate gene expression by RNA hold exciting promise in the generation of needed cell types for regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine seeks to generate tissue and cells in the laboratory for transplantation into people to cure disease and injury. RNA could be a novel tool to direct cells to develop into desired tissues without genetic modification or elaborate multiple step processes that dependent on expensive reagents. In my proposed project I will characterize the differences in RNAs that are found in the nucleus with the DNA of the genome and those that are found outside of the nucleus. I will find sequences that regulate where in the cell's RNA can localize. I will find sequences that regulate how the RNA in the nucleus interacts with target sequences. Using these rules it will be possible to design RNA molecules to specifically regulate different genes to make cell types for regenerative medicine.