Tag Archives: MicroRNA

Detecting Gene Doping in Sports: MicroRNA biomarker sought

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Nicole Kelesoglu

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has committed $50 million US dollars to research since 2001 (see their grant applications & projects here).  Since 2007, some of those research funds have gone to the emerging problem of gene doping. Read about the first public evidence of gene doping, from the trial of the German track coach Thomas Springstein., in the NYT article Outlaw DNA. So what is gene doping? WADA defines it as “the transfer of nucleic acids or nucleic acid sequences’ and/or ‘the use of normal or genetically modified cells with the intention to enhance sports performance.” Gene doping is based on a vector containing a therapeutic gene coupled with a regulatory element, delivered to somatic cells either in, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Models, Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Transcriptome, microRNA | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Viral MicroRNA Mimicing Cellular MicroRNA? and a New Dual-Fluuorescent Reporter System

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Nicole Kelesoglu

A team out of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has reported both a new dual-fluorescent reporter system, and an insight on a suspected general phenomenon of functionally matched viral and cellular microRNA in viral-host interactions. You X, Zhang Z, Fan J, Cui Z, Zhang X-E (2012) Functionally Orthologous Viral and Cellular MicroRNAs Studied by a Novel Dual-Fluorescent Reporter System. PLoS ONE 7(4): e36157. Now for context, the gist of what’s known about microRNAs (miRNA) is that they can be thought of as epigenetic post-transcriptional volume control. Modulating…fine tuning…dialling gene expression up or down.   MicroRNAs are ~18-24 nucleotide molecules that are processed from long, highly evolutionarily conserved sequences in organisms and viruses. Such pre-miRNA sequences are located at protein gene introns, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomarkers, Cellular Biology, Imaging, Immunology, Leukemia, Microbial Epigenetics, New Lab Methods, Non-coding RNA, Oncogenes, Virology, microRNA | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment