Life Sciences Commons^™

Mechanosensitive Epithelial Cell Scattering And Migration On Layered Matrices, Christopher Michael Walter

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Epithelial cells form multi-layered tissue scaffolding that makes up every organ in the body. Along with epithelial cells, the basement membrane (BM) and connective tissue are composed of various proteins that sculpt the organs and protect them from foreign macromolecules. Epithelial cells respond to various cues, both chemical and mechanical, from their surrounding matrices to aid in maintenance and repair of these layers through degradation and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. In cancer progression, epithelial cells lose their normal function of supporting tissue structure and instead adopt more aggressive behaviors through an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of their cellular traits. …

The Role Of Ifrd1 In The Recruitment And Function Of Reserve Stem Cells In Regeneration And Cancer, Mark Anthony Lewis

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mature cells can reprogram into a proliferative, progenitor-like state to repair tissue following injury and inflammation. Differentiated cells in diverse tissues can become proliferative via a dedicated, evolutionarily conserved program we termed paligenosis. We detailed how paligenosis occurs, in both gastric chief and pancreatic acinar cells, in a step-wise manner that involves: 1) autodegradation of mature cell components; 2) re-expression of progenitor genes; 3) re-entry into the cell cycle. This process is governed by mTORC1, a fundamental cellular energy sensor and regulator of protein translation. Blocking mTORC1 permitted autophagy and metaplastic gene induction but blocked cell cycle re-entry at S-phase. …

Development Of Novel Tumor-Targeted Compounds For Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Micah John Luderer

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents the most common primary brain tumor among adults. Despite surgical resection and aggressive chemoradiotherapy regimens, the current 2- and 5-year survival rates are only 27% and 9.8%, respectively. The low survival stems from the poor response to conventional therapy and underscores the critical need to develop new therapeutic approaches for GBM treatment. The high recurrence rate observed in GBM is in part attributed to the hypoxic (poorly oxygenated) tumor microenvironment. Hypoxic tumor conditions have been shown to increase metastasis, promote angiogenesis, and confer resistance to chemotherapy and radiation.

Hypoxic tissues are inherently radiation resistant due to …