Poster abstracts

Poster number 29 submitted by Lalith Gunawardane

Analysis of the “interactome” of a long non-coding RNA

Lalith S. Gunawardane (Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA), Bing Zhang (Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA), Farshad Niazi (Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA), Saba Valadkhan (Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA)

Abstract:
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are a novel and highly understudied class of regulatory factors and their potential role in various biological aspects has unknown. To gain insight into the relationship between the function of a long non-coding RNA and the complement of cellular factors with which it interacts, we have taken a combined in vivo mutagenesis-pull down approach. We have shown that overexpression of a long non-coding RNA in mesenchymal cells leads to their differentiation into neurons. Using a battery of truncation mutants, we have been able to determine the regions in the RNA which are dispensable for its reprogramming ability versus those which are absolutely required for its function. Analysis of the complement of proteins which interact with each mutant in vivo will enable us to define the contribution of each observed interaction to the reprogramming function of the lncRNA and ultimately, define the minimal functional motifs which mediate its function.

Keywords: Long non-coding RNA