whereRU: Aresty Poster 102 - Roles of Nkx6.1 in Regulating Notch1 Expression by Aresty Posters 2009

Title: Roles of Nkx6.1 in Regulating Notch1 Expression During Early Development

Abstract:
Deciphering the function of Nkx-6.1 in regulating Notch1 expression during nerve development may prove useful in the development of therapies for the treatment of nervous system-related health conditions. NKX-6.1’s gene product, the protein Nkx-6.1, is a 367 amino acid transcription factor that contains a 60 amino acid DNA-binding domain, which is thought to interact with Notch1 gene during early development. In this study, we establish Nkx6-1 as a key regulator for Notch1 expression through a novel enhancer by verifying the binding of Nkx-6.1 to the Notch1-Conserved Region 2 (Notch1-CR2) using electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. Furthermore, to show the role of Nkx-6.1 in cell fate determination of neural stem cells through its regulation of Notch1, Nkx-6.1 was both over and under-expressed in chick embryo to gain insight on the protein’s specific function both spatially and temporally. These alternations in the expression pattern seem to clearly convey the importance of Nkx-6.1 in regulating the Notch1 expression and thereby determining stem cell differentiation. Our findings will help decode developmental mechanisms that will provide a basis for the development of potential stem cell treatments or therapeutic transplants for diseases ranging from neural degeneration disease to spinal cord injury.

Contact Information:
Tapan Patel, Evangeline Tzatzalos, Jennifer Forino, Sung Tae Doh, and Li Cai
Rutgers, Biomedical Engineering

Primary Contact:
Tapan Patel
tdvpatel@eden.rutgers.edu