濡木研公開ラボセミナー
Molecular dissection of novel regulators of embryonic stem cell state and developmental pathways
Debojyoti Chakraborty PhD（Senior Scientist, CSIR Insitute of Genomics and Integrative Biology）
2019年11月28日(木) 17:00-18:00 理学部1号館東棟 380号室
Embryonic stem cell pluripotency is a tightly controlled process that requires a multitude of proteins acting in a coordinated manner to control transcriptional programmes. We and others have shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are distinct players in this process and they modulate the activity of protein coding genes in diverse ways either in cis or trans. Our studies have revealed the role of a novel uncharacterized protein called Transient Octamer Binding Factor 1 (TOBF1) which in association with the lncRNA Panct1 is recruited in a cell-cycle specific manner to the promoters of pluripotency genes. Using loss and gain of function
studies, we have uncovered distinct aspects of TOBF1 that establish it as an early factor during cell division which associates with chromatin and results in transcriptional changes necessary to maintain the stem cell state.
My lab is using induced pluripotent stem cells to understand how the human brain develops and the role of lncRNAs in the process. To this end, we are growing cerebral organoids (mini brains) that recapitulate several aspects of development and using a combination of light sheet microscopy and CRISPR based perturbations to identify modulators of neuronal activity.
