FUNCTIONAL STUDY OF THE CO-CHAPERONE STI1 IN MURINE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL BIOLOGY

• Grant number: 12/15014-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2012
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biology
• Principal Investigator: Marilene Hohmuth Lopes
• Grantee: Jenny Andrea Arévalo Romero
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/13906-2 - Contribution of the co-chaperone STI1 in mouse development: embryonic stem cell as approach, AP.JP

Abstract

STI1 (Stress inducible protein 1) is a co-chaperone that have wide functional versatility mediating important neuronal functions as differentiation and proliferation in astrocytes, neuroprotection and memory consolidation acting independently or in partnership with other molecules. Recent studies demonstrate a central role for STI1 in control of proliferation and self-renewal of neural stem cells and in the regulation of nuclear translocation of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) in embryonic stem cells, suggesting the involvement of STI1 in the pluripotency status. In fact, the group demonstrated a fundamental role of STI1 in mammalian development through the construction of a constitutive knockout animal for STI1, which was developed until the tenth day of embryonic life. Given this data, the study of embryonic stem cells derived from mice with genotypes like wild-type genotype (STI1wt/wt), heterozygous genotype (STI1wt/ko) and deficient genotype for STI1 (STI1ko/ko) becomes the most appropriate experimental model to evaluate the functions performed by STI1 in mammalian developmental biology.