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Imprint
Analysis of the effects of developmental toxins from consumer products on microRNA (miRNA) expression during differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Identification of novel molecular endpoints and studies on the role of miRNAs in developmental toxicity
Project
Project code: BfR-TOX-08-1322-458
Contract period: 01.04.2010
- 31.12.2010
Purpose of research: Applied research
Studying chemical disturbances during differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells (ESC) has been established at ZEBET as an alternative in vitro testing approach for identification and classification of embryotoxic compounds. In particular, the expression of specific marker genes demarcating the formation of neural cell types is used as a molecular endpoint to measure embryotoxicity. miRNAs have recently been discovered and represent a class of small regulatory RNA molecules, which bind to target mRNAs thereby repressing their translation. Many studies have shown an essential role of miRNAs in posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression during development and ESC differentiation. Neural differentiation of ESC is a well established in vitro system that allows to investigate the role of miRNAs in developmental toxicity. miRNA profiling opens the possibility to discover new molecular endpoints that might facilitate the classification of compounds according to their embryotoxic/teratogenic potential. It was shown that different miRNAs specifically regulate the translation of a range of different mRNAs. Therefore, the investigation of miRNA expression and their disregulation upon exposure to embryotoxic compounds will contribute to a further understanding of chemical mediated developmental toxicity.
Section overview
Subjects
- Food Chemistry
- Toxicology
Framework programme
Funding programme
Excutive institution
BfR - Department 9: Experimental Toxicology and ZEBET (BfR - TOX)
