Publications by authors named "Gema Lucena-Aguilar"

High-quality human DNA samples and associated information of individuals are necessary for biomedical research. Biobanks act as a support infrastructure for the scientific community by providing a large number of high-quality biological samples for specific downstream applications. For this purpose, biobank methods for sample preparation must ensure the usefulness and long-term functionality of the products obtained.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be important in early development and maintenance of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The miRNA miR-302-367 is specifically expressed in hESCs, and its expression decays on differentiation. We previously identified the structure of the gene coding for the human miR-302-367 cluster and characterized its promoter.

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Article Synopsis
  • LINE-1s (L1s) are non-long-terminal-repeat retrotransposons found in the human genome and can mobilize both themselves and other elements like Alu, impacting human genetic diversity and diseases.
  • * The study discovered that several Alu subfamilies are active in undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), with the youngest Alu elements being most frequently expressed.
  • * Results suggest that L1s are mainly located within genes and their expression is epigenetically controlled, indicating a higher potential for genetic variation from L1 insertions during early human development than previously thought.
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Increasing experimental evidence suggests an important role of miRNAs in embryonic stem cell (ESC) biology. The miR-302-367 cluster is exclusively expressed at high levels in ESCs but not in either somatic stem cells or adult/embryonic differentiated cells. The human miR-302-367 gene structure has been recently described and its promoter has been identified, characterized and functionally validated in human stem cells.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a central role in the regulation of multiple biological processes including the maintenance of stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency. Recently, the miRNA cluster miR302-367 was shown to be differentially expressed in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Unfortunately, very little is known about the genomic structure of miRNA-encoding genes and their transcriptional units.

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