Objective
"miRNAs are small RNAs that guide the RNA-induced silencing complex to
mRNA targets, destabilizing them and inhibiting their
translation. Much has been learned about their involvement in organism
development and function, yet some striking puzzles remain. On the one
hand it has been shown that miRNAs are essential for development, and
the preferential targeting of transcription factors (TFs) by miRNAs
suggests that miRNAs and TFs ""coordinate"" to regulate gene
expression. Furthermore, studies in the past year concluded that, on
their own or in combination with TFs, miRNAs can induce reprogramming
of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). On the
other hand, high-throughput measurements of mRNA and protein level
changes upon miRNA transfections suggest that miRNAs have largely a
""fine-tuning"" function. These small effects on individual genes must,
however, confer a substantial selective advantage, because many target
sites remain conserved over long evolutionary distances. Here I first
propose to investigate the hypothesis that instead of primarily
affecting the average levels of target genes, miRNAs reduce the
cell-to-cell variation in gene expression, affecting
precisely the steps that determine the intrinsic noise. I will then
use miRNA-mediated reprogramming of somatic cells into iPSCs as a
model system to directly investigate the ""coordination"" between miRNAs
and TFs in determining cell identity and differentiation. Through
determination of miRNA targets with Argonaute crosslinking and
immunoprecipitation, mRNA sequencing and methylated DNA
immunoprecipitation I attempt to retrace the regulatory interactions
that lead from induction of a few miRNAs, through perturbation of TF
activities, to the activation of ""stemness"" genes. Finally, following
up on preliminary results obtained in my lab, I will investigate the
function of miRNA targeting in the nucleus, that potentially couples
transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation more directly."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-StG_20111109
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
4051 Basel
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.