Evaluate the expression of pluripontecy markers on embrionic stem cells lineages expressing different levels of STI1 protein

• Grant number: 12/21848-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Cytology and Cell Biology
• Principal Investigator: Marilene Hohmuth Lopes
• Grantee: Felipe Pozetti de Melo Faria
• 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

Studies have demonstrated that the protein Stress inducible protein 1 (STI1) participates in processes related to neural plasticity and fetal development, such as self-renewal and fetal neural stem-cells proliferation. The secretable form of STI1 is capable to associate with the cellular prion protein (PrPc) on the plasma membrane, modulating a series of biological phenomena related to neural plasticity. Our group has observed that the deletion of STI1 in homozygosis is lethal, since embryos develop until the tenth day of embryonic development (E10.5), suggesting that this protein has an important role in embryogenesis. Literature data indicate that this protein could be involved in the regulation of pluripotency of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), which molecular mechanisms have not been efficiently elucidated yet. Hence, the most appropriate approach for the functional study of STI1 on embryogenesis is the culture of pluripotent ESCs, because it mimics the in vitro epiblast development with the capacity to contribute to all cell types of the fetal tissue, including germinal lineage. Based on literature data, which shows that the undifferentiated state of ESCs is orchestrated by a combination of a series of transcription factors, including Oct4 (Pou5f1), Nanog, Sox2, Klf4, and c-myc, the evaluation of the pluripotency markers expression in the ESCs expressing different STI1 levels, become the main objective of this project.(AU)