Liver disease is a significant burden on society, accounting for more than 2 million deaths worldwide. miRNAs can exert causal roles, being pro- or anti-inflammatory, as well as pro- or antifibrotic mediators or being oncogenes as well as tumour suppressor genes. In this project we will identify novel miRNAs that play a role in the progression and development of liver disease and delineate the mechanisms utilised by these miRNAs using cell and mouse models of disease.
The overall aims of this project are to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in the liver and serum of mouse models of liver disease, to examine the expression of differentially expressed miRNAs in liver at different stages of liver disease and to delineate the functions of novel miRNAs using cell and mice models of liver disease.
miRNA sequencing will be performed on liver and serum samples from mouse models of disease available in the laboratory. The student will then perform bioinformatic analyses on the data generated from this experiment. These miRNA changes will then be validated in mice at different stages of liver disease to examine the role of these miRNAs in liver disease progression. We will then identify the mechanistic functions of these miRNAs in cell and mouse models using classical and new cell and molecular biology techniques.
Expected outcomes will be the identification of miRNA which can be used to treat and diagnose liver disease. The next stage will be analysis in pre-clinical studies and if successful, clinical studies.