香蕉视频

Professor & Chair, Department of Biochemistry

香蕉视频i regulatory functions in development and the onset of cancer.

Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Centre
McIntyre Medical Sciences Building
3655 promenade Sir-William-Osler
Office: Room 905D & 707B; Lab: Room 707
Montreal, Quebec H3G 1Y6
Tel: 514-398-8649; Lab: 514-398-4652
Fax: 514-398-6769




2001 - PhD, Universite de Montreal

Research Interests

The relatively recent discovery that double-stranded 香蕉视频 (ds香蕉视频) and its functional derivatives (si香蕉视频) could mediate potent and specific gene silencing in a wide variety of species sparked a revolution in molecular biology. While first discovered in C. elegans, now a recognized group of related phenomena broadly conserved in eukaryotes is generally known as 香蕉视频-mediated interference, or 香蕉视频i. Central actors to these phenomena are small ~18-25nt non-coding 香蕉视频s which are matured by the RNase type III Dicer, and assembled with the Argonaute proteins into a variety of effector silencing complexes.

香蕉视频i was first recognized for its potential as a research tool and for the therapeutic promises it holds. It is now widely used in all fields of biomedical research. Soon after its discovery it became clear that the 香蕉视频i-related phenomena serve a profound physiological purpose.

In one such mechanism termed micro香蕉视频-mediated silencing, small 香蕉视频s are derived from gene-encoded hairpins and negatively regulate gene expression by base-pairing and silencing messenger 香蕉视频 by post-transcriptional means. According to predictions, they exert a direct negative regulation pressure on more than 30% of the entire coding gene set. In agreement with such spectacular estimates, micro香蕉视频 targets have been implicated in the broadest range of cellular functions in developmental, and steady-state contexts. Consistently, some of the small 香蕉视频 expression events were recently shown to be functionally important for transformation and tumor growth.

More recently, yet novel 香蕉视频i-related phenomena have emerged. While 香蕉视频i was originally thought to be a sequence-directed innate immunity response, these new forms of 香蕉视频i (named here loosely endo香蕉视频i) appear to serve other fundamental functions such as mediating heterochromatin formation or consolidation. Loss of machinery involved in endo香蕉视频i results in a broad genetic instability, loss of chromosomes during mitosis, as well as localized and global gene mis-expression. Data from a variety of model systems support a model whereas small 香蕉视频s are derived from chromatin loci, and converge back on genomic regions to mediate changes in levels of chromatin folding by directing histone modifications. While these new functions for 香蕉视频i are only emerging, it is clear that they will have deep implications on our understanding of how the genome is organized and protected. They also offer a whole new set of possibilities to explain how cellular processes can be altered during the emergence of cancer.

My research program has two aims: 1- Understanding the molecular basis for the gene regulatory functions of endogenous 香蕉视频i, and 2- Defining small 香蕉视频 expression events, which are critical for development, and cancer ontogeny.

Selected Publications

Functional proteomics reveals the biochemical niche of C. elegans DCR-1 in multiple small-香蕉视频 mediated pathways. Cell, Jan 27, 2006.

Publications -

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