Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

The Role Of Apkcs And Apkc Inhibitors In Cell Proliferation And Invasion In Breast And Ovarian Cancer, Tracess B. Smalley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that the atypical protein kinase C-zeta (PKC-ζ) is a component of many dysregulated pathways in breast and ovarian cancer, including cellular proliferation, survival, and cell cycle upregulation. Breast and ovarian cancers affect women every day and are second and fifth leading cause of cancer death. Women who seek treatments are commonly met with invasive surgeries or chemotherapy. Protein kinase C (PKC) is a family of serine and threonine phosphorylating kinases that have been shown to modulate and transduce signaling cascades that play roles in the development and survival of cancers. Atypical PKC (aPKC), have been heavily suggested …

Regulation Of The Tumor Suppresser P53 And Survivin By Ras And Ral Gtpases:Implications For Malignant Transformation, Awet G. Tecleab

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Although the critical role of the small GTPases Ras and Ral in oncogenesis has been well documented, much remains to be investigated about the molecular mechanism by which these GTPases regulate malignant transformation. The work under this thesis made two major contributions to this field. The first is the discovery that K-Ras, RalA and/or RalB are required for the maintenance of the high levels of the anti-apoptotic protein survivin in some human cancer cells, and the second is the demonstration that down regulation of K-Ras, RalA and/or RalB, but not Raf-1 or Akt1/2, stabilizes the tumor suppressor p53 and …