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Romania
Citizenship:
Romania
Ph.D. degree award:
Mr.
Ioan-Ovidiu
Sirbu
Dr.
Professor
-
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE " VICTOR BABEŞ " TIMISOARA
Researcher | Teaching staff | Scientific reviewer
Personal public profile link.
Expertise & keywords
Developmental biology
Epigenetics
cancer biology
Microrna
Morphogenesis
Stem Cells
Differentiation
Gene regulation
Cell signaling
Projects
Publications & Patents
Entrepreneurship
Reviewer section
Transfered microRNAs as biomarkers for evaluating the impact of genetically modified organisms on the end consumer
Call name:
Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-0443
2014
-
2017
Role in this project:
Coordinating institution:
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE " VICTOR BABEŞ " TIMISOARA
Project partners:
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE " VICTOR BABEŞ " TIMISOARA (RO); SC ICA RESEARCH&DEVELOPMENT SRL( ICA R&D) (RO); UNIVERSITATEA DE STIINTE AGRICOLE SI MEDICINA VETERINARA A BANATULUI DIN TIMISOARA (RO)
Affiliation:
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE " VICTOR BABEŞ " TIMISOARA (RO)
Project website:
http://pcca0443.webs.com/
Abstract:
Food based on genetically modified organisms tends to become increasingly dominant in modern society. Despite the evident advantages of these genetically modified foods, they are insufficiently characterized regarding the impact on human health due to the lack of long term longitudinal studies and studies on the possible interaction between the transferred genetic material from plants and the host genome and transcriptome.
For a long time it was considered that DNA and RNA from food could not resist the protection mechanisms of the body and they were degraded during digestion. However, recent data have shown that both types of nucleic acids can overcome these protection barriers, being transferred into the consumer’s organism. In this respect, a special attention was paid to microRNAs due to their regulatory action on gene expression.
The proposed project aims to analyze in a qualitative and quantitative manner the microRNAs transfer from genetically modified and non modified types of soy and corn to mammals (mice) and its possible effect on the host gene expression patterns in various target tissues. The project uses a murine model including males, females and pregnant females.
In order to achieve the goals of the proposed project, a consortium was set up comprising a University of Agricultural and Food Science, a Medical University and a private company with strong research focuses on food sciences. A multidisciplinary team of researchers was constituted as part of the consortium structure, including specialists in the field of genetically modified organisms and food biosafety, experts in biochemistry, molecular biology and molecular embryology specialized in the analysis of biomarkers of gene expression, together with specialists in the field of food traceability and impact on the consumer.
Apart from the scientific contribution regarding the transfer of genetic material from plant to mammals through food, the proposed project also aims to develop a methodology for selecting and evaluating the impact of plant microRNAs that can be transferred to the consumer, by comparatively analyzing genetically modified and native (unmodified) plants.
The transfer of research results from practice to the private partner consists in the design of a patentable biomarker panel of microRNAs that could be used in biosafety expertise and the possible impact of plant based foodstuffs on the consumer. Consequently, based on food plant microRNAs expression profile and their possible effect on the consumer organism, one could evaluate the presence of these plants or byproducts in food, and perform a comparative evaluation at target the gene expression level between the impact of a genetically modified plant and its non-genetically modified correspondent.
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Retinoic Acid - Wnt signaling interactions during early morphogenetic stages of mouse embryo development
Call name:
Exploratory Research Projects - PCE-2012 call
PN-II-ID-PCE-2012-4-0575
2013
-
2016
Role in this project:
Coordinating institution:
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE " VICTOR BABEŞ " TIMISOARA
Project partners:
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE " VICTOR BABEŞ " TIMISOARA (RO)
Affiliation:
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE " VICTOR BABEŞ " TIMISOARA (RO)
Project website:
http://idei575.webs.com/
Abstract:
Retinoic Acid (RA) and Wnts are important signaling molecules for vertebrate embryogenesis. In early organogenesis stage mouse embryos, RA produced by Raldh2 in the trunk antagonizes FGF signaling from the tail bud and cardiac crescent; recent data suggest it also modulate Wnt signaling. We found that Raldh2-/- embryos show a consistent and persistent increase of Wnt signaling in the trunk but a significant decrease of Wnt signaling in the pluripotent tail bud, as assessed by using a BAT-Gal transgenic Wnt/β-catenin reporter line and a Wnt-dedicated qRT-PCR array. Genetic reduction of Wnt8a levels significantly rescued the development of Raldh2-/- embryos, suggesting that Wnt8a is a major mediator of RA signaling during early organogenesis. We also found that the expression of pluripotency associated microRNAs EEmiRC negatively correlates with the increased Wnt signaling domains in Raldh2-/- embryos. Furthermore, short-term treatment of mESCs and P19 embryocarcinoma cells with either RA or GSK3beta inhibitor BIO strongly diminished the level of EEmiRC, poiting towards a novel level of interaction between RA and Wnt signaling. By using a combination of developmental genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry techniques, the present grant proposal aims to define the contribution of Wnt(Wnt8a) signaling during RA-driven morphogenesis of the early organogenesis stage embryos and to identify and characterize in its entirety the microRNA relay between the two signaling pathways.
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FILE DESCRIPTION
DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator
List of research grants as partner team leader
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects
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