Center for Bionanoscience Research (CIBION) and Institute of Research in Biomedicine (IBIOBA) will share a scientific project in order to study the effects that circular RNAs could have in the nervous system. This is a triennial program that will be funded by CONICET.
CircRNAs are a family of non-coding RNAs that have recently been identified in a systematic way in sundry cells and tissues. They are particularly plentiful in the brain.
It was not until 2013 that the first clear evidence that these molecules may have specific biological functions was released, with two papers published at the same time in the journals Nature and Science.
Nevertheless, it is still unknown the functions of most of the CircRNAs that have been identified. These molecules are highly heterogeneous in their sizes and in the specific sequences that compose them. The available data suggest that, as a class, they don't have a generalizable function. Because of that, for this research, a specific type of circular RNA was selected as a proof of principle to be functionally characterized. The selected candidate is especially abundant in neurons and is present in synaptic compartments.
Objective of the project
This research aims to establish the intracellular localization of these molecules. To complete this goal it needs to combine molecular neurobiology with super-resolution microscopy technique. As a result, the scientific team will try to generate a technique to detect the location of these molecules at the intracellular level. All of this could give some clues about their function, and taking all of this into account, describe the mechanisms through which they work and the effect they produce.
About the team
The principal researcher is Dr. Sebastián Giusti, member of the Molecular Neurobiology research group at IBIOBA. Also, the co-head researcher is Dr. Fernando Stefani, director of CIBION and principal researcher of applied nanophysics group.
The working group is completed by Dr. Manuel de la Mata, who heads the microRNA metabolism and functions research laboratory at IFIBYNE UBA-CONICET; Lic. Federico Fuchs Wightman, member of the research laboratory on Functions and metabolism of microRNAs at IFIBYNE_UBA-CONICET; Dr. Juan Pablo Fededa, director of the Developmental Neurobiology Laboratory at IIBio - UNSAM/CONICET and Lic. Paula González, member of the Developmental Neurobiology laboratory at IIBio - UNSAM/CONICET.
