Investigating the Functional Potential of lncRNA and Protein Encoded by U90926, a Negative Regulator of Adipogenesis
Varnum, Stella
Varnum, Stella
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Abstract
Contemporary genetic research has found that gene expression often takes place by a diverse array of novel mechanisms which contradict canon established by biology’s central dogma. Recognition that non-protein molecules also participate in execution of phenotype has led to the identification of genes which carry out regulatory function in unique and convoluted ways. Among these is the mouse gene U90926, a negative regulator of adipogenesis previously characterized as a long, non-coding RNA. Here, we use an epitope-tag system to identify production of a small U90926 secretory protein and investigate the functional potential of this molecule in mouse macrophages and preadipocytes. In addition, we present methodology to determine a lncRNA-based, protein-based, or bi-faceted mechanism of action for U90926 as a regulator of adipogenic differentiation. Further characterization of U90926 may inform understanding of inflammatory signaling within fat tissue, a process critically important to the genesis of obesity, diabetes, and many other complex diseases.
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Undergraduate
Date
2021-01-01