Functional expression of XRN2 and PAPD4 in spinal cord development, function and injury

• Grant number: 13/12928-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date until: December 01, 2013
• End date until: November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Alexandre Hiroaki Kihara
• Grantee: Vera Paschon
• Host Institution: Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição (CMCC). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/55210-1 - Cell coupling in the arc of life: development, adaptation and degeneration of the nervous system, AP.JP

Abstract

The enzymes 5'-3 'exoribonuclease 2 (XRN2) and poly (A) RNA polymerase D4 (PAPD4) are responsible for maintaining the balance between the degradation and the stability of miRNAs, constituting an essential process in the regulation of transcriptomy. The role of miRNAs in many developmental processes, such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and synaptogenesis, as well as the maintenance of homeostasis or in response to lesions, have been described. Considering the functions of the miRNAs in the nervous system, the objective of this study is to analyze the functional regulation of XRN2 and PAPD4 in the spinal cord during development, in the physiological activity and in response to the spinal cord injury. To accomplish this project, we will use wistar rats with different postnatal ages (P0, P5, P15 and P60) and adults (P60), in addition to a treadmill training model and a model of spinal cord injury by transection. Cellular and molecular biology methods, such as real-time PCR, western blot, single and double immunofluorescence, will be employed for determining the protein level and distribution in different cell types of the spinal cord. Our results on the regulation of the XRN2 and PAPD4 genes in the spinal cord could support the complex performance of miRNAs in fundamental processes such as development, adaptation and degeneration of the nervous system.