Designing Effective small interfering RNA for Post-Transcriptional Silencing of Human GREM1: A Comprehensive Bioinformatics Approach

Asiedu Ebenezer

Gremlin-1 is a member of the DAN (differential screening-selected gene aberrative in The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not peer-reviewed) is the . https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.23.917559 doi: bioRxiv preprint angiogenesis [5] . The physiological versatility of gremlin-1 explains why the protein is linked to several human pathologies [6] and cancer progressions [7-9]. Gremlin-1 induces fibrosis in many organs which results in progression of several pathologies including diabetic nephropathy and pulmonary hypertension [10] . Moreover, gremlin-1 mediates thrombo-inflammation in some cardiomyopathies [11] . Over the years, considerable evidence depicting gremlin-1 as an oncogenic and pro-angiogenic factor has been reported. The overexpression of gremlin-1 in tumor cells as well as their neighboring stromal cells has been observed in several carcinomas including those of the breast [12] and colon [13] . Apart from modulating BMP signaling, gremlin-1 can be involved in a BMP-independent signaling via vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) to promote angiogenesis [14] .