Molecular Biology Commons^™

Cell Edge Features Affected By Microtubule Inhibitor Combinations, Sonal Uppal, Nancy Boudreau, Elizabeth Wendt, Carol Heckman

Applied Statistics and Operations Research Faculty Publications

The tumor promoter, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), enhances tumor yield through an epigenetic mechanism. PMA, like another promoter, phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid, works by maintaining proteins in a phosphorylated state. In order to identify chemicals with promoter and antipromoter effects, this laboratory has developed a standard curve of morphogenetic changes using data from precancerous cell lines that eventually became neoplastic. Using the curve as a basis of comparison, we defined the “signature” phenotype as that adopted when a cell line became neoplastic. The results of solving for signature type disclosed that the microtubule-depolymerizing compound, colchicine, had a promoter-like effect [2]. …