Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Regulation Of Immediate Early And Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Genes Expression By Adipocytokines In The Female Reproductive Tract, Zhufeng Yang

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Individuals who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for cancer. However, the mechanistic link between obesity and cancer is poorly defined. Adipose tissue produces hormones and pro-inflammatory cytokines with mitogenic properties. Many of these hormones and cytokines are altered in obese individuals and may lead to disruption of the normal balance between cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine how adipocyte-derived factors regulate the expression of genes that contribute to cell proliferation and migration. To compare immediate early gene (cell proliferation) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (cell migration) gene expression between untreated and …