| Talk title | The Promises and Challenges of Non-coding RNA Studies in Neurodegenerative Diseases |
| Speaker | Prof. Hermona SOREQ Department of Biological Chemistry The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel |
| Date & Time | 28 August 2018 (Tuesday) 11:00-12:00 |
| Venue | Room G004, E12 Building (University of Macau) |
| Abstract | Short and long non-coding RNAs including the molecular regulators of acetylcholine functioning are often modified under traumatic stress and neurodegenerative diseases, but the full scope of these changes is yet unknown. We combine experimental and analytic research tools to study the small microRNA genes, many of which co-evolved with their brain-expressed target genes. We identified primate-specific microRNA controllers of brain-to-body cholinergic signaling that operate via suppressing acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the inflammation-blocking nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha7 (nACHRa7) to protect brain and body from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
We discovered non-coding RNA regulators of epileptogenesis and ischemic stroke-induced cognitive damages, hyperlipidemia, pain and inflammation, and demonstrated differential responses to traumatic experiences in human carriers of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that interfere with AChE regulation by microRNAs. Our findings demonstrate experimental manipulation of these phenotypes by antisense oligonucleotides and open new venues for personalized diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. |
