RNA: The landmark in health and disease
Nearly 98 % of our genome leads to ncRNAs. Recent reports provide compelling evidence on the regulatory role of ncRNAs, challenging existing perception on the role of proteins as master regulators of cellular processes. ncRNAs have diverse functions in eukaryotic cell and developmental biology with an emerging contribution to the development of human disease. This has triggered great interest in the pharmaceutical and clinical fields towards the development of RNA-based drugs for the treatment of many diseases. The scope of the EU-funded RNA_REGULOMICS (The role of non coding RNA in human health and disease) project was to investigate the role of ncRNAs in health and disease and in particular on thyroid development, physiology and pathology. Apart from unravelling the role of ncRNA and RNA-binding proteins, researchers set out to determine how thyroid hormones regulate the transcriptome of osteoblasts derived from adipose stem cells. Their work focused on the novel long ncRNA Thyroid bud enriched 1 in the thyroid gland, and a previously uncharacterised RNA-binding protein, DnajC17. The latter was identified as a putative factor that predisposes to hypothyroidism. Furthermore, they screened circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) to determine if they could serve as biomarkers for heart disease. They discovered that the ratio between circulating miRNA-122-5p and miRNA-133b is a new prognostic biomarker in acute myocardial infarction. A significant part of the project was dedicated to collaborative training of European and Brazilian researchers with workshops, advanced practical courses and exchange visits. The last greatly enhanced future joint research initiatives in the field. Collectively, the results of the RNA_REGULOMICS project expand our knowledge on ncRNA molecules and hence their applicability in biomedical research.
Keywords
RNA, health, disease, ncRNA, RNA_REGULOMICS, thyroid bud enriched 1, DnajC17
