Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Honey Targets Ribosome Biogenesis Process In Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells To Inhibit Their Growth And Metastatic Phenotypes, Aun A. Bangash, Muhammad Bangash, Haider Ahsan, Shiza Khan, Mudassier Ahmad, Dae Joon Kim, Sahir Alvi, Bilal B. B. Hafeez

Research Symposium

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is the fourth deadliest cancer worldwide and is expected to become the second deadliest cancer by 2030. In the USA, the National Cancer Institute put forth a grim prediction stating that there will be 64,050 new cases in 2023 alone and about 50,000 of these patients will die. Existing therapeutic regimens against PanCa are not that effective and show unacceptable toxicities. Therefore, developing highly effective new agents with less toxicity is urgently required, which could be used as a monotherapy or as an adjuvant to treat PanCa patients. Honey is known for its tremendous health benefits …

An Evaluation Of The Combination Of Metformin And Y15 For The Treatment Of Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Manuel A. Duarte, Krystal Garcia, Marco A. Arriaga, Arkene Levy, Sue Anne Chew

Research Symposium

Background: Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality among women. This high mortality rate is linked to the development of resistance to first-line chemotherapy with platinum compounds which has been attributed in part to increased activity of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). The anti-diabetic drug Metformin was previously shown to inhibit the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells and thus, the combination of a FAK inhibitor, Y15, and Metformin may be a promising treatment for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the combination of Y15 and Metformin on PROC cell viability …

Stress-Induced Changes In Carf Expression Determine Growth Arrest, Apoptosis, Or Malignant Transformation In Cultured Human Cells: Molecular Evidence And Its Application, Mallika Khurana, Rajkumar Singh Kalra, Anupama Chaudhary, Amr Omar, Xiaoshuai Li, Sunil C. Kaul, Renu Wadhwa

Research Symposium

Background: CARF (Collaborator of ARF)/CDKN2AIP is an essential protein, first cloned as a binding partner of ARF. It was subsequently shown to interact with p53, HDM2 proteins and regulate growth arrest and apoptosis by its multimodal mechanism of action. Over-expression of CARF caused senescence like growth arrest of cells, its knock-down triggered apoptosis. Intriguingly, malignantly transformed cells showed high level of CARF expression. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that level of CARF expression may be a key determinant of cell proliferation fates; where an increase in its levels causes growth arrest/senescence, but beyond a threshold it activates carcinogenesis.

Methods: …

Piperine Encourages Apoptosis In Human Cervical Adenocarcinoma Cells Through Ros Generation, Dna Fragmentation, Caspase-3 Activation And Cell Cycle Arrest, Asif Jafri, Juhi Rais, Sudhir Kumar, Md Arshad

Research Symposium

Background: Cancer is one of the most common destructive diseases and the second leading cause of death in humans. Among cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women globally. Thus, there is a continuous need to search for chemotherapeutic chemicals or naturally occurring drugs to resolve this global health problem. Piperine (1-piperoylpeperdine) is present in the fruits of black pepper (Piper nigrum Linn.) and long pepper (Piper longum Linn.). It possesses several pharmacological properties and in the present study we have evaluated its anti-cancer potential on human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells.

Methods: The anti-proliferative effect …

Cyclophosphamide And Epirubicin Induce Apoptotic Cell Death In Microglia Cells, Rafael De La Hoz-Camacho

Research Symposium

Background. Chemotherapy Related Cognitive Impairment’s (CRCI), diminish patient’s quality life, being breast cancer (BC) patients the most affected. Microglia is described to play a major role in CRCI; hence, the aim of this research was to describe the cytotoxicity of cyclophosphamide (CTX) and Epirubicin (EPI), on microglia (SIM-A9), compared to BC cells (4T1).

Methods. We assessed cell viability (Resazurin) and cell death (AnnV), as well as nuclear damage with γ-H2AX, p53, p16 and cell cycle analysis (PI staining) by flow cytometry (FC). Furthermore, we evaluated ΔΨm (DIOC6), ROS (DCFDA) and NO (DAF-FM) production. Finally, caspase activation (TF2-VAD-FMK) and autophagy (CYTO-ID). …

Molecular Event In Hrp Apoptosis, Laura Valdez

Research Symposium

Background: Human retinal pericytes (HRP) are contractile cells adjacent to and provide support for endothelial cells (EC) of capillaries, which are essential in the regulation of retinal vasculature. Early stages of DR are characterized by the loss of HRP, which leads to the development of advanced-stage pathology including angiogenesis. Although much is known about the etiology of DR, the apoptotic pathway that incites HRP loss remains unclear. Our preliminary studies reveal that monocyte-derived macrophages secrete TGF-β1, which induces the expression and secretion of a TGF-β1-Induced, pro-apoptotic BIGH3 protein (TGF-β–Induced Gene Human Clone 3) leading to apoptosis of HRP Eye, 30(12), …

High Energy Blue Light Induces Oxidative Stress And Retinal Cell Apoptosis, Jessica Malinsky

Capstone Showcase

Blue light (BL) is a high energy, short wavelength spanning 400 to 500 nm. Found in technological and environmental forms, BL has been shown to induce photochemical damage of the retina by reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Excess ROS leads to oxidative stress, which disrupts retinal mitochondrial structure and function. As mitochondria amply occupy photoreceptors, they also contribute to oxidative stress due to their selectively significant absorption of BL at 400 to 500 nm. ROS generation that induces oxidative stress subsequently promotes retinal mitochondrial apoptosis. BL filtering and preventative mechanisms have been suggested to improve or repair BL-induced retinal damage, …

Modeling The Role Of Cyclin C In Connecting Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Fission To Apoptosis, Steven J. Doyle, Randy Strich

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

For normal cell function, exogenous signals must be correctly interpreted, and the proper response executed. The mitochondria are key regulatory nodes of cellular fate. For example, mitochondria undergo fission and fusion cycles depending on the energetic needs of the cell. Additionally, regulated cell death pathways also function at the mitochondria. Cyclin C is a transcriptional regulator of stress response and growth control genes. Following stress, a portion of cyclin C translocates to the cytoplasm, where it interacts with both the mitochondrial fission and apoptotic machinery. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that Cyclin C represents a key mediator linking transcription …

The Effect Of Luteolin On Human Glioblastoma, David M. Anson, Samson Amos, Robert L. Paris, Denise S. Simpson

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is widely recognized as the most common and lethal of the malignant gliomas. Few effective therapeutic treatments are available as five-year survival rates of diagnosed individuals are less than five percent. Luteolin, a common flavonoid found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, has demonstrated significant promise in combating cancers of the breast, colon, liver, lung, and bone. In this study, we investigated the effects of luteolin on glioblastoma multiforme cell lines U-251, U-87, and U-1242. Cell viability was assessed using cell count with trypan blue exclusion and MTT assays. Results revealed that luteolin reduces GBM cell …

Validation Of Humanized Mouse Antibodies, Meiling G. Norfolk, Rocco J. Rotello

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Antibody therapy is being developed and tested as one of the most promising agents for treatment of various human diseases. As of March 2016, 350 antibody candidates are in clinical trials. Many of these antibodies have been taken from animals and “humanized” by genetic modification. Our experiment tests monoclonal antibodies that have been harvested from mouse hybridoma (spleen-derived) cells and cloned until the heavy and light chains of the antibody can be recognized by human cells. Because of this “humanization” procedure, basic antibody assays are needed to demonstrate that the binding, specificity and functional parameters of the antibodies are not …

Are Cell Death Proteins/Antigens Found On Interdigital Cells Dying During Limb Development Expressed In A Simple Organism Such As Tetrahymena?, Rocco J. Rotello, Jessica A. Ward, Samuel Franklin, Jenna G. Lawhead

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Numerous studies have been published that describe the genes and proteins that control cell death in various biological systems including normal embryonic development and in disease such as cancer. We describe attempts to look at a possible conserved cell death antigen in the simple organism Tetrahymena, using a unique monoclonal antibody that recognizes only dying cells in the chick limb. The main impetus for the research is to answer the question; does the cell death process have key proteins that exist in the dying process that can be modulated prior to the completion of the cell death process? Using various …

Changes In Expression Of Genes Associated With Autophagy And Apoptosis In Neuronal Cells Infected With Hsv-1may Suggest Infection-Induced Mechanisms Of Neurodegeneration, Alexis Mark, Fiora D. Zoga, Brian J. Balin Phd, Denah M. Appelt Phd, Susan T. Hingley

Research Day

Background:This study investigates the potential role of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), by exploring changes in gene expression related to antiviral immunity and the autophagic pathway. Autophagy is a process that recycles organelles and proteins to create more energy for the cell. This pathway has been linked to neurodegeneration, as malfunctions in the completion of this process lead to a decline in overall cellular health and function. Interestingly, HSV-1 has been shown to block the completion of autophagy, which would potentially contribute to the cytopathic changes observed …