Molecular Biology|
Molecular Biology & Genetic engineering Molecular Biology & Genetic engineering Department started its scientific activity by establishment of Stem Cell Technology Company in 2005.The main aims of our department are molecular biology studying and gene manipulation of stem cells along with providing molecular techniques required for other departments of the company. For these purposes, this department not only has extensively made use of young genius researchers but also has benefited from invaluable consultations with experts in stem cell biology. 1. microRNA detection and quantification: 2. Design and construction of tissue specific vector 3. MicroRNA profiling of mouse tissues and stem cells during aging 4. Differentiation of stem cells through genetic manipulation MicroRNA profiling technique MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (21–23 nucleotides) sequence-specific regulatory molecules found in all multi-cellular organisms. Over the last few years, several hundred conserved and nonconserved miRNAs have been identified and characterized in animals and plants using cloning and prediction strategies. Recent evidence indicates that they play important roles in a wide range of biological processes including developmental timing, differentiation, and growth control.Once identified, the temporal and spatial regulation of miRNA expression is generally investigated to better understand their biological function in vivo. To this end, numerous techniques for detecting miRNAs and other small RNAs have been developed including a variety of microarray-based and PCR-based approaches, rolling circle amplification, an ELISA-based assay, bead-based assays, single molecule detection, and the use of signal amplifying ribozymes. Many of these techniques require specialized and expensive equipment, and others involve multiple steps and an amplification reaction. To date, the most straightforward and widely used assay for small RNA detection has been traditional Northern blotting. Nevertheless, even with improvements in sensitivity provided by LNA substituted probes, Northern blotting requires relatively large amounts of starting material and involves multiple, timeconsuming handling steps. Therefore, we sought to develop an assay for small RNA detection that retained the simplicity of Northern blotting but eliminated its disadvantages. The developed assay takes advantage of liquid hybridization kinetics and circumvents the transfer, prehybridization, and washing steps required for Northern blotting. Tissue specific reporter vectors for stem cell studiesTissue specific expression vectors have several important applications both for research purposes and clinical use. In the field of stem cell biology tissue specific vectors expressing a reporter gene such as green fluorescent protein (GFP) could be used in monitoring of the differentiation processes. They have also many applications in controlled gene expression for therapeutic purposes in both cell and gene therapeutic procedures. Design and construction of tissue specific reporter vectors with several applications in stem cell research is the main goal of our research team. Our current project is construction of neuron specific reporter vectors for real time monitoring of the differentiation of both embryonic and adult stem cells into mature neurons. For designing our neuron specific reporter constructs, we have used the regulative elements in the promoter region of the well-known neuron specific genes. The resulting constructs are also applicable in development of brain targeting vectors for use in cancer gene therapy. Development of the Stem State Specific Reporter Vectors is the future direction of our research team. These vectors are very important research tools in studies and optimization of the conditions for stem cell isolation, culture and maintenance and in research studies for simulating the microenvironment of the stem cell’s niches. Arefian Ehsan Head of Molecular Biology & Genetic Engineering Reserch Group Ph.D. Student of Molecular Virology M.Sc. in Molecular Virology e.arefian@stemcellstech.com Faridani Omidreza Pourasgari Farzaneh Rahimpour Azam Mobarra Zahra Dehghanizadeh S Khoddami V Jafarnejad Seyed Mahdi Kiani Jafar Aghaee bakhtiari Seyed Hamid Jamshidi Fatemeh
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