Yuh-Man Sun

We use an embryonic stem (ES) differentiation model to explore NS cell formation process. To obtain the genes involved in this process, we have created a novel RNAi functional screening system, MARs (Mme I-assisted random shRNA). The obtained genes will be further investigated their biological functions in vivo. Stem cells with capabilities for self-renewal and generating a variety of tissue cells have seized people's attention. Especially, neural stem (NS) cells stand out in the crowd for their potential to treat the most intricate organ, the brain, in neurodegenerative diseases, genetic disorders, stroke, spinal injury and cancer. Progress has been made in harvesting NS cells from different sources and in transplanting NS cells to the needed regions of the central nerve system (CNS). However, the safety, effective use and limited supply of NS cells in neural repair remain as a hurdle for the therapeutic invention. The fundamental knowledge of the molecular programme directing NS cell development may bear solutions for those problems. Our project is undertaken to genome-wide screen for the genes involved in NS cell developmental process using a novel strategy. This strategy combines selective subtractive hybridisation to identify differentially expressed genes during NS cell developmental process and RNAi knockdown system to functionally screen for those genes involved in the developmental process. The understanding wholesale molecular programme responsible for NS cell formation may lead to develop drugs for NS cell survival, maintenance and proliferation.

Molecular mechanisms directing neural stem cell development.