Life Sciences Commons^™

Circrev1 Expression In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Meagan P. Horton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) comprises only 24% of breast cancer cases, yet is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women due to its aggressive nature (1). This increase in mortality is due to the lack of receptors for three targetable growth factors (HER2, progesterone, and estrogen receptors). Our previous studies have indicated that these cancers are highly dysregulated in respect to alternative splicing. Hence, we undertook a study aimed at identifying circular RNAs (circRNAs) generated from back-splicing events which were dysregulated in TNBC. We have identified a novel circRNA transcript, circular REV1 (circREV1), which is upregulated in our …

Transcriptome Studies On The Toxicity Of Silica Nanoparticles, Shih-Yi Hsu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanotechnology enables more precise harmony in health condition via reducing the dosage amount, improving the delivery of hydrophobic drugs, more specific targeting to the cancerous sites, and so on. Nevertheless, issues regarding the toxicity of nanotechnology have begun to call for attention several decades later after the innovation of nanotechnology. Tools about risk management of nanotechnology have been developed, but recently not much evidence recognizes the toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) except for some animal studies, which demonstrated organ damage after the exposure to NPs. Toxicogenomic approach refers to the method utilizing gene expression to evaluate the chemical toxicity. Databases as …

Mass Spectrometry Discovery-Based Proteomics To Examine Anti-Aging Effects Of The Nutraceutical Nt-020 In Rat Serum, Samantha M. Portis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aging is a complex physiological process that leads to the deterioration of all cells and tissues throughout the body. Aging is a major risk factor for the onset of many degenerative diseases in both the central nervous system (CNS) and the periphery, but even nonpathological aging (“normal” aging) is associated with chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and decreased stem cell proliferation and regenerative capacity. This decreased regenerative capacity in stem cell niches is thought to be a key component underlying the aging process and many disease states associated with aging.

While the exact biological mechanisms underlying impaired stem cell proliferation and …

Contribution Of Retrotransposons To Breast Cancer Malignancy, Isaac D. Raplee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The components contributing to cancer progression, especially the transition from early to invasive are unknown. Consequently, the biological reasons are unclear as to why some patients diagnosed with atypia and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) never progress into invasive breast cancer. The “one gene at a time” approach does not sufficiently predict progression. To elucidate the early stage progression to invasive ductal cancer, expression signature of transcripts and transposable elements in micropunched samples of formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue was conducted. A bioinformatics pipeline to analyze poor quality, short reads (>36 nts) from RNA-Seq data was created to compare …

A Systems Chemical Biology Approach For Dissecting Differential Molecular Mechanisms Of Action Of Clinical Kinase Inhibitors In Lung Cancer, Natalia Junqueira Sumi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer type and is associated with high mortality rates. The survival rate for lung cancer patients has increased slowly in the last decade mainly as the result of the development of novel targeted and immune therapies. However, non-small cell lung cancer patients lacking known or actionable driver mutations and small cell lung cancer patients with recurrent disease are still in urgent need of new therapies. Drug repurposing is an efficient way to identify new therapies since it uses clinically relevant small molecule drugs. Determination of off-targets of small molecules is a novel approach …

Diversity And Distribution Of Diatom Endosymbionts In Amphistegina Spp. (Foraminifera) Based On Molecular And Morphological Techniques, Kwasi H. Barnes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diatoms associated with foraminifers of the genus Amphistegina were assessed using a combination of morphological and molecular techniques. These included: 1) microscopic identification of diatoms cultured from the host, 2) sequencing of portions of the small subunit of the ribosomal RNA gene (18S) and the large subunit of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase [i.e., RubisCO] gene (rbcL) from DNA extracted directly from the Amphistegina hosts and also from diatoms cultured from these hosts, and 3) denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles of rbcL and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) PCR amplicons from DNA extracted directly from …