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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
Exploring Biological Heterogeneity And Its Consequences At Tissue And Cellular Scales Through Mathematical And Computational Modeling, Romica Kerketta
Exploring Biological Heterogeneity And Its Consequences At Tissue And Cellular Scales Through Mathematical And Computational Modeling, Romica Kerketta
Biomedical Sciences ETDs
This dissertation explores the effects of heterogeneity across different biological scales in cancer as well as normal cells. At the tissue scale, we investigated the variability present in the tumor microenvironment and its effect on patient chemotherapeutic outcomes using a mathematical model of drug transport. We found that parameters such as tumor blood perfusion and radius of blood vessel had an impact on the tumor cytotoxicity. This indicated that the physical microenvironment of the tumor is an important regulator of the tumor response to chemotherapy. At the cellular scale, we investigated the heterogeneity present on the membrane landscape of ErbB2 …
Validation Of The Pre-B Cell Receptor As A Therapeutic Target In B Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Michael F. Erasmus
Validation Of The Pre-B Cell Receptor As A Therapeutic Target In B Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Michael F. Erasmus
Biomedical Sciences ETDs
This dissertation is built upon the fundamental idea that the pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR) is important to leukemia cell survival and a logical therapeutic target in B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). The pre-BCR is expressed early at a specific stage during B cell development where it plays a central role in survival of healthy B lymphocytes. This receptor is composed of the membrane heavy chain (mIgμ) associated with surrogate light chain components, 5 and VpreB. Through the use of advanced imaging modalities, in particular two-color single particle tracking (SPT), we showed that pre-BCRs formed transient, homotypic interactions. These …