Role of NF1 in the expression of genes regulated by cellular stress
Project leader: KatarĂna Luciaková
Project duration: 2011 - 2014
During the development of an organism, its cells need to proliferate, differentiate, rest and die. Most cells in an organism remain in a reversible resting state, the quiescent (G0) state. Depending on the external signals, these quiescent cells may reenter the cell cycle, may differentiate, may become senescent and eventually die. Higher eukaryotes have evolved multiple check point mechanisms to monitor and respond to the signaling. Errors in any of these control mechanisms are detrimental to the integrity of the genome and may promote cancer development. However, the explicit definition of the cancer cause remains unknown. This proposal is a continuation of our efforts to understand the mechanisms of gene transcription in general. Specific aims of our studies shall focus on the molecular mechanisms of stress related expression of model genes (p21 and ANT2); how the transcription factor NF1 affects the expression; and how the stress regulated transcription is integrated into existing signaling pathways.
