Poster #: 107
Analyzing Neural Gene Expression in Cri-du-Chat Syndrome Using RT-qPCR
Mentors: Breann Benitez; PI: Dr. Ping Zhou, PhD
Cri-du-chat syndrome (CdCS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by a deletion on the short arm of chromosome 5 (5p), leading to difficulties in cognitive and motor development. Our research aims to analyze how specific genes may contribute to these neurological symptoms of CdCS. Using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from both CdCS patients and healthy controls, we differentiate them into neural stem cells and neurons for analysis. With preliminary RNA-seq data from Dr. Ping Zhou, we analyzed gene expression patterns and selected a set of candidate genes for validation. My project focuses on validating these candidates through reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to compare and measure the gene expression differences between CdCS and control neural cells.