(this seminar will be followed by a lunch from 13.00 to 14.00) 

"MicroRNA-processing and tumorigenesis"

MicroRNAs (miRs) are non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting messenger RNAs for translational repression and/or degradation. It has become apparent that miRs and molecules involved in their biogenesis contribute to tumorigenesis. Overall down-regulation of miR levels in cancer has been reported and this down-regulation, likely to be at least partly a consequence of aberrant processing of their precursor transcripts, appears to contribute significantly to the progression of the disease. To further study the role of the miR-processing machinery in cancer development, Dicer function has been genetically ablated in a mouse model of retinoblastoma (Chx10-cre;Rblox/lox; p107-/-). Our data suggest that Dicer functions as a haplo-insufficient tumor suppressor gene in retinoblastoma at least partly by compromising p53 tumor suppressor function.