MicroRNA Regulation of the HIV Restricting Human APOBEC3 Enzymes
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
2-4-2019 10:00 AM
End Date
2-4-2019 11:30 AM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Allison Land
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
The human APOBEC3 family of enzymes is composed of seven members that are encoded in tandem on chromosome 22 of the human genome and likely arose by gene duplication in a primate ancestor. There are therefore large similarities among the family members, both in the coding and the non-coding/regulatory regions of the genes. Despite these similarities, the APOBEC3 enzymes have distinct expression profiles and functions. Four of the APOBEC3 enzymes: APOBEC3D, APOBEC3F, APOBEC3G, and APOBEC3H have been demonstrated to restrict HIV-1 replication in human T lymphocytes, each with widely varying levels of expression. We are interested in investigating the role of microRNAs in controlling the expression levels of these APOBEC3 enzymes. MicroRNAs are short regulatory RNAs that can lead to the silencing of transcripts by binding to their 3' UTR (untranslated region). The binding site is only ~ 20 nucleotides of the mRNA, and only a few base changes within the 20 nucleotides are required to abolish binding and prevent silencing. We hypothesize that small differences in nucleotide sequence among the APOBEC3 mRNAs will result in differential interaction with expressed microRNAs, leading to the observed distinctive APOBEC3 expression profiles. We have tested this hypothesis by cloning the 3'UTRs of these four APOBEC3 enzymes into the psiCheck2 expression vector. We are now cloning candidate microRNAs to express in coordination with and quantify the level of silencing within the psiCheck2 expression vector. Our resulting data will characterize the microRNA-mediated regulation of these HIV-restricting APOBEC3 enzymes.
MicroRNA Regulation of the HIV Restricting Human APOBEC3 Enzymes
CSU Ballroom
The human APOBEC3 family of enzymes is composed of seven members that are encoded in tandem on chromosome 22 of the human genome and likely arose by gene duplication in a primate ancestor. There are therefore large similarities among the family members, both in the coding and the non-coding/regulatory regions of the genes. Despite these similarities, the APOBEC3 enzymes have distinct expression profiles and functions. Four of the APOBEC3 enzymes: APOBEC3D, APOBEC3F, APOBEC3G, and APOBEC3H have been demonstrated to restrict HIV-1 replication in human T lymphocytes, each with widely varying levels of expression. We are interested in investigating the role of microRNAs in controlling the expression levels of these APOBEC3 enzymes. MicroRNAs are short regulatory RNAs that can lead to the silencing of transcripts by binding to their 3' UTR (untranslated region). The binding site is only ~ 20 nucleotides of the mRNA, and only a few base changes within the 20 nucleotides are required to abolish binding and prevent silencing. We hypothesize that small differences in nucleotide sequence among the APOBEC3 mRNAs will result in differential interaction with expressed microRNAs, leading to the observed distinctive APOBEC3 expression profiles. We have tested this hypothesis by cloning the 3'UTRs of these four APOBEC3 enzymes into the psiCheck2 expression vector. We are now cloning candidate microRNAs to express in coordination with and quantify the level of silencing within the psiCheck2 expression vector. Our resulting data will characterize the microRNA-mediated regulation of these HIV-restricting APOBEC3 enzymes.
Recommended Citation
Herber, Hunter; Madeleine Kennedy; and Joelle Anderson. "MicroRNA Regulation of the HIV Restricting Human APOBEC3 Enzymes." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 2, 2019.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2019/poster-session-A/7
