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Full-Text Articles in Biology

Glutamine Antagonist 6-Diazo-5-Oxo-L-Norleucine, A Hyaluronan Synthesis Inhibitor, Slows Triple Negative Breast Cancer Growth, Le Gia Cat Pham May 2020

Glutamine Antagonist 6-Diazo-5-Oxo-L-Norleucine, A Hyaluronan Synthesis Inhibitor, Slows Triple Negative Breast Cancer Growth, Le Gia Cat Pham

Biological Sciences

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer with few treatment options and poor outcomes. TNBCs are characterized by elevations in hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP) enzyme expression, hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) expression and hyaluronan (HA) production. Glutamine is an important substrate for HA production via the HBP. 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) is a well-known glutamine antagonist with validated antitumoral efficacy. This project examined the effects of DON on HA production and energy metabolism in TNBC cells. We examined the effect of DON treatment on Hs578T cells, which represent the mesenchymal stem-like subtype of TNBC. We specifically analyzed the …


Sensing Ribonuclease H Activity With Dna Nanoswitches, Ruju Trivedi May 2020

Sensing Ribonuclease H Activity With Dna Nanoswitches, Ruju Trivedi

Biological Sciences

Ribonuclease H (RNase H) is a damage-repair protein and ribonuclease that specifically catalyzes the hydrolysis of RNA in an RNA/DNA duplex and breaks down RNA/DNA junctions. It plays an important role in a variety of biological processes including DNA replication, DNA repair, and transcription. It is also pivotal in anti-HIV drug development and the analysis of cellular processes and has been shown to be a potential therapeutic target for various neoplastic diseases. This thesis discusses a unique assay based on DNA nanoswitches to detect RNase H levels and activity. The assay is based on conformational changes of DNA nanoswitches in …