MicroRNAs are short RNA molecules composed of 20-22 nucleotides. They highly
accurately indicate cell identity and hence they are useful in labeling cells and tacking
lineage commitment. However, this requires accurate microRNA profiling of cells in
individual developmental stages. Since microRNAs are important negative regulators
of eukaryotic gene expression, microRNA profiling allows better understanding of
molecular regulatory networks of important cellular events, such as adult neurogenesis.
Adult neurogenesis is the process in which neurons, as well as glia, are generated from
neural stem cells. It was found to be responsible for brain regeneration, olfactory
discrimination, memory formation and learning. Depression was suggested to be
related to dysregulation of neurogenesis. Thus, knowledge in cellular and molecular
mechanisms of adult neurogenesis will lay solid foundation to develop therapies to
regenerate neural cells after injuries or onsets of neurodegenerative diseases and to
understand the cognitive ability, memory formation and learning of the brain. In spite
of its importance, investigation into the miRNA profiles and functions in neurogenesis
is still infant. This project aimed to establish a preliminary microRNA profile on
neurogenesis. Although this was not completed, the project could be extended to a
large-scale microRNA profiling in neurogenesis. This would enable future workers to
track the lineage commitment, the migration, and the distribution of NSCs and their
derived cells accurately by in situ hybridization. Also, the future workers may construct
a 2D representation of the changes in miRNA profiles and this may lead to discovery of
previously unknown molecular and cellular differences among cells of same cell
identity. / published_or_final_version / Anatomy / Master / Master of Medical Sciences
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/174501 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Wong, Kwong-kwan., 黃廣堃. |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Source | http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B47770533 |
| Rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works., Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
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