miRNAs in physiology and disease
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Group Leader Guido Bommer Contact Guido Bommer de Duve Institute and Université catholique de Louvain BCHM-GRM 7539, avenue Hippocrate 75, B-1200 Brussels phone (direct) : 32 (0)2 764 74 35 fax : 32 (0)2 764 75 98 e-mail: Guido Bommer Group members > |
Research topics
miRNAs are small non-protein-coding RNAs that can bind to mRNA transcripts of protein coding genes. Upon binding to these mRNAs, they inhibit their translation into proteins. However, each miRNA does not only recognize one target transcript, but rather numerous – in some cases several hundreds – of target transcripts. In addition, for many miRNAs, multiple different genes exist, that encode highly similar or identical mature miRNAs. The potential for combinatorial complexity and functional redundancy is therefore enormous.
Our group focuses on two main topics that are related to the role of miRNAs in cellular physiology and cancer.
1. Role of the miRNAs downstream of the tumor suppressor p53 in cancer: The p53 protein is a transcription factor that acts in the center of a signaling pathway that gets activated by different kinds of cellular stress. Depending on the cellular context, activation of p53 leads to programmed cell death (apoptosis), cell cycle arrest or cellular senescence. We are interested in the role of miRNAs in modulating these processes.
2. Role of miRNAs in intestinal differentiation: The intestine is required for the digestion and absorption of essential nutrients and water. In this process, its surface epithelium is exposed to one of the most toxic milieus of the whole body. It has to resist aggressive digestive juices, large pH changes, anaerobic bacteria and numerous toxic compounds. To resist this, its surface epithelium is completely renewed in less than 2 weeks. An intricate network of signaling pathways controls the proliferation and differentiation from intestinal stem cells to the mature cell types. We are studying the role of miRNAs in this differentiation process and how they contribute to intestinal differentiation as well as the development of colorectal cancer.
