| Developmental Genomics and Aging Section |
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Minoru S.H. Ko, M.D., Ph.D., Chief
Senior Investigator |
| Overview: The long-term goal is to understand the fundamental mechanisms for the maintenance of self-renewal, immortality, and pluripotency of early mouse embryos and stem cells. Replicative senescence has been an important focus of aging research for many years, though studies have concentrated on the senescence of cells already committed to mortality; here we rather concentrate on the critical distinction between immortal early embryonic cells and mortal differentiating derivative cells. Studies will utilize the potential of a systematic genomic approach - "embryogenomics" - to analyze global gene expression regulations. The approach includes the construction of cDNA libraries from a small number of cells followed by large-scale cDNA sequencing, in situ hybridization to mouse embryonic and fetal preparations, and simultaneous gene expression analyses by DNA chip/microarray technologies. We believe that such global studies will provide greater understanding of mechanisms that will aid in the adaptation of stem cells to replacement therapy for aging and dysfunctional cells and organs. We focus on three complementary research programs. |
| 1. Mouse Embryonic cDNA Clones and Microarrays |
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2. Preimplantation Mouse Development
3. Embryonic and Adult Stem Cells |
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| Selected Recent Publications: |
- Sharov AA, Piao Y, Matoba R, et al. (2003). Transcriptome analysis of mouse stem cells and early embryos. PLoS Biol. 1: 410-419.
- Hamatani T, Carter MG, Sharov AA, and Ko MSH. (2004). Dynamics of global gene expression changes during mouse preimplantation development. Dev. Cell. 6: 117-131.
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