Banca de DEFESA: DIEGO MARQUES COELHO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : DIEGO MARQUES COELHO
DATE: 31/05/2021
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Google Meet: meet.google.com/kei-hcyh-tnj
TITLE:

FROM BULK TO SINGLE-CELL: HOW DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES ASSIST IN IDENTIFICATION OF BIOLOGICAL EVENTS MARKERS?

KEY WORDS:

transcriptomics, gene expression analysis, Alzheimer's disease, neocortex development, scRNAseq

PAGES: 151
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Biologia Geral
SUMMARY:

Large-scale messenger RNA sequencing (RNAseq) allows the evaluation of the diversity of transcripts expressed at a given moment in a biological system. Through bioinformatics, we can analyze the sequencing data to obtain quantitative information about gene expression, such as the differential expression of genes and their isoforms (alternative splices). In this thesis, we present two independent studies that used bioinformatics to obtain relevant information about different biological phenomena. In the first case, we used mRNA sequencing data in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease to study the differential expression of genes and transcripts associated with the progression of this disease. We have shown that the analysis of transcripts allows the identification of genetic changes ignored in previous studies by evaluating only the global expression of genes. Using single cell mRNA sequencing data (scRNAseq), we also map changes in gene expression in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease to specific cell types. The results of this first work contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease and pinpoints possible cell-type specific molecular mechanisms of the disease. In the second work developed in this thesis, we used the scRNAseq technique to study the diversity of progenitor cells in the early stages of the development of the neocortex. Through analysis of differential gene expression and the use of an approach using gene regulatory networks, we identified the transcription factor Sox9 as a master regulator of the behavior of different subtypes of neural progenitors. Confirming these findings from bioinformatics, genetic experiments to manipulate Sox9 expression levels in neural progenitors demonstrated the importance of this transcription factor in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. Together, the results of this thesis demonstrate the importance of transcriptomic analysis through complementary methods for a better identification of relevant gene expression changes in different biological contexts.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - MYCHAEL VINÍCIUS DA COSTA LOURENÇO
Presidente - 1674643 - MARCOS ROMUALDO COSTA
Externo à Instituição - PATRICIA PESTANA GARCEZ
Interno - 1507794 - RODRIGO JULIANI SIQUEIRA DALMOLIN
Externo ao Programa - 2183828 - TARCISO ANDRE FERREIRA VELHO