Start Date / Time | May 17, 2016 at 10:00 AM |
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End Date / Time | May 17, 2016 at 10:55 AM |
Duration | 55 minutes |
Location | 512 Light Hall |
Presenter Name | Christian Meyer and David Wooten (VQuaranta’s lab) |
Presentation Title | Engineering Endocrine Transdifferentiation: A Systems Approach |
Status | This meeting has already occurred |
Understanding how cellular identity emerges from underlying gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is challenging, yet recent studies have demonstrated that cellular identity can be controlled by targeted activation or silencing of a subset of key transcription factors (TFs). However, identifying these key TFs remains challenging because of the number of possible combinations of network perturbations. Here we propose a method which leverages the global-topology information of an endocrine-specific GRN to come up with computationally predicted and unsuspected methods for engineering alpha to beta cell transdifferentiation. Preliminary analysis predicts that aberrant expression/knockdown of three critical TFs: PAX4, MAFB, and cJUN, will induce alpha to beta cell conversion in the murine model.