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What makes a neuron a neuron? Sibling proteins have the same origins and are similar in many ways, but the presumption is they produce unique outcomes in a cell. Focusing on the sibling RNA-binding proteins - PTBP1 and PTBP2 in the nervous system — a team of University of Southern California researchers found both induce unique functions when neural stem cells change into neurons. Neuronal cells process and transmit information through the exchange of electrical and chemical signals.
The research has implications for fine-tuning stem cell therapy strategies for neurologic disorders such as stroke, ALS, and Parkinson's disease. It appeared Dec. 6 in Cell Reports. "Understanding at the molecular level how these proteins work and how neurons acquire their building blocks can help us speed up the differentiation process and make it more efficient," Zheng explains, as in humans it normally takes months to differentiate a stem cell into a neuron.
"One can imagine that both [siblings] like music and sometimes perform a piece in the same way," Zheng adds. "But at other times they interpret and play the music differently, for example, with different styles and instruments, they give the same score different meanings and emotions. In this analogy, the musical scores are primitive genetic messages or premature RNA in a cell." Premature RNA is unprocessed RNA — a molecule "copied" from a DNA template within the cell nucleus. Premature RNA undergoes extensive modification with the aid of RNA binding proteins, to produce mature RNA genetic messages. Depending on how that modification is conducted, the same premature RNA can be differently processed and create variations on an RNA genetic message.
Abstract Highlights Other Authors: Zheng was joined in the research by John K. Vuong, a graduate student, and Min Zhang, a postdoctoral scholar, who work in his lab; Chia-Ho Lin and Douglas Black at UCLA; and Liang Chen at the University of Southern California. The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. The University of California, Riverside (http://www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment is now nearly 23,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion. A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS. |
Dec 15, 2016 Fetal Timeline Maternal Timeline News News Archive ![]() (F ) Co-staining of FLAG-PTBP1 and neuron marker NeuN in the neocortex
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