Projects Archive - Foundation for Prader-Willi Research | Gene Expression

In this project we propose to use a newly-developed powerful tool to identify the specific nerve cells and genes that cause the hyperphagia in individuals with PWS and then screen for drugs to correct their functions and treat the obesity associated with PWS using the MAGEL2-null mouse model. We hypothesize that those cells showing significant...

In PWS, a cluster of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), the SNORD116 cluster, appears to be of critical importance, but the SNORD116 targets have yet to be identified. Dr. Carmichael and his team have engineered neurons that mimic naturally-occurring PWS deletions and are using them to look for alterations in gene expression and regulation. In year...

Dr. Isles and other researchers have shown that abnormal placental function can have profound consequences for brain and behavioral development in the offspring, and that abnormal signaling from the fetal placenta can also have consequences for maternal brain and behavior, which in turn may impact offspring neurodevelopment. This project examines...

Dr. Grzechnik’s lab is interested in uncovering the biological mechanisms underlying PWS. The deletion in the PWS locus affects the regulation of gene expression in neurons, but scientists are not exactly sure how this mechanism works. This current project is testing how coding and non-coding regions of the human genome are transcribed in cells...