Difference between revisions of "Team:UMaryland/Practices"
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<p style="font-size:18px;text-align:justify;">We met with a researcher who studies the causes of AMD, Dr. Noriko Esumi. She currently studies retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and how it relates to AMD. After giving her an explanation of what iGEM is and why we were choosing to study lutein production, she told us that, while her experience with lutein itself was limited, she was well informed about retinal health and some of the causes of macular degeneration. | <p style="font-size:18px;text-align:justify;">We met with a researcher who studies the causes of AMD, Dr. Noriko Esumi. She currently studies retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and how it relates to AMD. After giving her an explanation of what iGEM is and why we were choosing to study lutein production, she told us that, while her experience with lutein itself was limited, she was well informed about retinal health and some of the causes of macular degeneration. | ||
− | + | From our conversation, we learned that age-related macular degeneration can be attributed to a few factors: smoking, immune responses based on bacterial infections, genetics, and, as its name suggests, aging. | |
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Dr. Esumi works on studying the RPE and its specialization. She studies the genes unique to the RPE and the transcription factors associated to help answer the question of why are these unique genes only expressed in the RPE and nowhere else in the body? | Dr. Esumi works on studying the RPE and its specialization. She studies the genes unique to the RPE and the transcription factors associated to help answer the question of why are these unique genes only expressed in the RPE and nowhere else in the body? | ||
She also focuses mainly on the aging process of cells. Without aging AMD will not develop, she argued. | She also focuses mainly on the aging process of cells. Without aging AMD will not develop, she argued. | ||
However, she also shared that she agrees that lutein is an effective vitamin supplement to help maintain and improve ocular health. | However, she also shared that she agrees that lutein is an effective vitamin supplement to help maintain and improve ocular health. | ||
− | She shared with us a study where a group of scientists tested a variety of cells in hope of finding a common gene that could be attributed to aging. While this gene was not found, the did find a common sequence in the promoter region of these cells, | + | She shared with us a study where a group of scientists tested a variety of cells in hope of finding a common gene that could be attributed to aging. While this gene was not found, the did find a common sequence in the promoter region of these cells, NFκB. A certain transcription factor related to inflammation loves this sequence as a binding site. |
Drawing from this study, Dr. Esumi experiments with mice. She allows transgenic mice, and naturally-aging mice to age for two years and studies AMD development in them. She also uses these mice to study inflammation patterns and whether exposure to oxidative stress (smoking) increases risk of AMD. | Drawing from this study, Dr. Esumi experiments with mice. She allows transgenic mice, and naturally-aging mice to age for two years and studies AMD development in them. She also uses these mice to study inflammation patterns and whether exposure to oxidative stress (smoking) increases risk of AMD. | ||
Revision as of 16:39, 17 September 2015