Research Projects

MicroRNAs (MiRNAs) are small regulatory RNA molecules have been implicated in regulating variety of biological processes that include embryonic development, neuronal cell fate, apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation, hematopoiesis, cancer etc. Recently, miRNAs also have been implicated to play a role in metabolic processes linked to development of insulin resistance. A pancreatic islet-specific mi-RNA, miR-375, is found to negatively regulate insulin secretion and thereby regulate blood glucose levels. It appears that miRNAs are important post-transcriptional modulators of various key biological processes including glucose homeostasis and obesity. In this proposal we aim to profile the miRNAs by NGS-based deep sequencing from hitherto uncharacterized novel models of obesity and insulin resistance (WNIN-ob and WNIN-GR-Ob) developed at our Institute in order to understand their role in the pathophysiology of obesity and diabetes. The proposed study may lead us to identification of novel miRNAs dysregulated during obesity and diabetes and understanding the molecular mechanisms and identification of their target genes. The findings eventually may help us in identifying novel therapeutic targets for treatment of obesity and diabetes and also development of miRNA-based early diagnostic markers for these disorders.