Research group Mihaela Zavolan

The role of small RNAs in regulating gene expression

Studying the functions of very small regulatory genes that are present in our genomes, the microRNAs, under normal conditions may lead to an understanding of their aberrant expression profiles found in various diseases.

A very conserved tumor suppressor miRNA.

Although all cells in our bodies carry the same genetic material, they have widely different shape, sizes and functions, as a result of expressing different subsets of genes. Rapid and robust changes in gene expression are achieved, among others, with the help of very small regulators called microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs play an important role in development, metabolism, immune responses, and they can facilitate or hinder pathogenic processes such as infection and cancer.

Small but powerful regulators

In the recent years, it has become clear that our genomes contain a lot more information than we initially thought. We have started to decipher what is written in parts of the genome that for a long time we thought were simply "junk". For example, a whole new class of genes called miRNAs has been discovered. Although they do not encode proteins, miRNAs are essential to many processes because they regulate the expression of protein-coding genes. Our group aims to discover such miRNAs, their targets, and the mechanism underlying their involvement in development and cancers.

High-throughput data combined with computational models

Powerful technologies are available today for probing the expression of essentially all genes at the same time. Taking advantage of these, we obtain high-throughput data from cell cultures that we combine with computational models to understand how and to what extent miRNAs regulate the expression of target genes.

Two sides of the same coin

Our work is carried out at the basic molecular biology level. However, understanding how miRNAs function under normal conditions will enable us to understand the consequences of their aberrant expression that occurs in various diseases.