Source: Broad Institute
Date: June 9, 2008
Summary:
Scientists have wondered for decades how two very different types of blood cells —platelets and red blood cells — arise from the exact same precursor cell. In work described in the June issue of Developmental Cell, a team of Boston area researchers has unearthed a tiny and unexpected answer: a small snippet of nucleic acid called microRNA-150. This new methodology, called plate-based capture, allows researchers to analyze microRNAs by capturing and immobilizing them in a small plastic dish. Lu and his colleagues used this technique to monitor how microRNA levels change as MEPs mature. They observed the most dramatic change in the levels of miR-150, a surprising result because miR-150 was previously thought to be unique to immune cells. Nevertheless, the researchers’ data pointed to an important role for miR-150 in this stage of blood cell development.
