Digital Commons Network^™

Magnetic Softness Tuned Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles For Highly Efficient Cancer Theranostics, Jie Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided magnetic nanofluid hyperthermia (MNFH) using iron oxide based superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPNPs) has recently attracted considerable attention as a treatment modality for cancer theranostics, because MRI-guided MNFH can allow for diagnosis, therapeutics, and prognosis simultaneously using the same administrated magnetic nanofluid agent. However, several primary limiting factors: (1) insufficient AC magnetic heating induction (specific loss power/intrinsic loss power, SLP/ILP) at the biologically safe and physically tolerable range of AC magnetic field (H_AC,safe: f_appl × H_appl < 3.0 ~ 5.0×10⁹ A·m^-1·s^-1), (2) low _r2- relaxivity directly related to the low resolution of …

Long Non-Coding Rna Pvt1 – An Exploratory Study In Ovarian And Endometrial Cancer, Kevin Tabury

Theses and Dissertations

Gynecological cancers, ovarian and endometrial cancer, are still leading causes of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Early detection methods as well as treatment resistance remain a challenge. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as therapeutic targets with diagnostic and prognostic potential with lncRNA PVT1 being one of them.

Here I test and demonstrate the role of PVT1 in ovarian cancer growth and metastasis. PVT1 is amplified and overexpressed in ovarian cancer and has predictive value for survival and response to targeted therapeutics. We find that expression of PVT1 is regulated by tumor cells in response to cellular stress, particularly loss …

Interrogating The Role Of Ing4 In Hematopoietic Stem Cells And Cancer, Zanshé Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

We recently identified the tumor suppressor, Ing4, as a critical regulator of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homeostasis. The mis-regulation of Ing4 in human cancers has also been shown to lend malignant cells specific advantages that support carcinogenesis and tumor progression. This activity is, in part, due to Ing4 mediated regulation of overlapping signaling pathways that regulate stem cell activity and cancer cells, including NF-B and c-Myc. In a two-part study, we have investigated the role of Ing4 in murine hematopoiesis and human malignancies. While the specific mechanisms of stem cell self-renewal, maintenance, and differentiation are poorly characterized, we have determined …

Cis-Resveratrol Upregulates Tyrosyl-Trna Synthetase And Inhibits The Proliferation Of Select Breast Cancer Cell Lines, Marion Cone Hope Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancers in women. 70% of breast cancer patients express ERα and are treated with tamoxifen (Tam), a drug that is used to directly target ERα. However, 20-30% of cancer patients develop a resistance to Tam. This resistance leads to a worse prognosis and other treatments such as DNA damaging drugs or radiation to eliminate these cells. Resveratrol (RSV) is a polyphenolic- compound found in plants such as grapes and hellebore and is known to evoke anti-cancer effects. While natural resveratrol exists as a mixture of both cis- and trans- isomers, so …

The Use Of Natural Anthraquinone Emodin As A Primary And Complementary Therapeutic In The Treatment Of Colorectal Cancer, Alexander-Jacques Theodore Sougiannis

Theses and Dissertations

5 Fluorouracil (5FU) chemotherapy is widely used in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), and has been the first-choice chemotherapy drug for CRC for many years. However, nearly 10% of patients receiving chemotherapy die during the first 30 days of treatment. Further, it is estimated that 70% of surviving patients will develop non-specific toxicities as a result of chemotherapy treatment. We characterize these toxicities in an animal model of chemotherapy treatment and show that perturbations in the gut microbiome might be exacerbate the prolonged effects of chemotherapy. A compound that could attenuate the multiple non-selective toxicities associated with chemotherapy could …

The Use Of Multi-Targeting Natural Products For The Treatment Of Cancer, Wesley Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The paradigm shift in cancer treatments from traditional chemotherapeutics to targeted therapies has rapidly improved prognoses for patients for whom cancer was once a death sentence. This is especially true in the case of targeted immune therapies which activate the body’s own natural defense system to fight cancer. Despite these advances, however, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States. The promise of targeted therapeutics has faced significant hurdles in providing effective cancer treatments, namely the limited percentage of susceptible cancers for each treatment, high cost burden, high toxicities, and significant risk of treatment induced resistance. …

A Three-Dimensional-Engineered Matrix To Study The Microenvironment Of Cancer Stem Cells, Samaneh Kamali Sarvestani

Theses and Dissertations

Maintenance of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is regulated by their microenvironment. As cancer cells are affected by many factors in their microenvironment, a major challenge is to isolate the effect of a specific factor on CSCs while keeping other factors unchanged. We developed a synthetic inert 3D Poly Ethylene Glycol Di-Acrylate (PEGDA) gel culture system as a unique tool to study the effect of microenvironmental factors on CSCs response. Synthetic hydrogels provide the flexibility to design three-dimensional (3D) matrices to isolate and study individual factors in the tumor microenvironment. The first objective of this work was to investigate the effect …