Digital Commons Network^™

Therapeutic Intervention Using Autologous Exosomes For Treatment Of Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer, Saini Setua, Poornima Devi Shaji, Swathi Holla, Vincent P. Diego, Stephen W. Behrman, Murali M. Yallapu, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Sheema Khan

Research Symposium

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is the third deadliest cancer in United States with a poor survival rate. Despite extensive research efforts, there is not any substantial progress in cancer therapeutics; major challenges lie with inherent drug toxicity, ineffectiveness, and resistance due to impediments against intracellular drug delivery. From a therapeutic delivery standpoint, novel delivery vehicles are required that are both biocompatible and non-immunogenic for a patient in order to maximize the chances of cure. This is possible by utilizing an autologous biological material, which can be applied as a personalized medicine to match the individual circumstances and molecular profile …

Therapeutic Efficacy Of Ormeloxifene Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Mohammed Sikander, M. Vela, Shabnam Malik, A. Rodriguez, A. Lopez, Daniel Zubieta, Fathi T. Halaweish, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Severe toxicity and drug resistance to available chemotherapeutic agents display ineffective clinical response. Therefore, drug repurposing is gaining attention owing to their known biological activities and excellent safety profiles. Ormeloxifene (ORM), non-steroidal, selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), and exhibit diverse pharmacological activities. The aim of this study is to assess the therapeutic activity of ORM and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism against hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic activity of ormeloxifene in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Methodology: MTT and …

The Role Of Zinc In Psd-95 Palmitoyl Modification, Luis F. Acosta, Lili Guerra, Safiya Syed, Ivonn Ruvalcaba, Yonghong Zhang, Xiaoqian Fang

Research Symposium

Postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) is a membrane-associated guanylate kinase that mediates localization of receptors in the excitatory postsynaptic density. It has been reported that PSD-95 mediates postsynaptic localization of NMDA receptors and anchors postsynaptic AMPAR receptors mainly through its postsynaptic membrane targeting by its N-terminal palmitoylation. Recent studies have shown that Ca2+/calmodulin blocks palmitoylation of PSD-95 by binding at the N-terminus of PSD-95, which promotes dissociation of PSD-95 from the postsynaptic membrane and causes loss of surface AMPARs in cultured neurons. Another metal ion zinc is found in various areas of the brain. As an endogenous neuromodulator, zinc plays a role …

The Impact Of Biological Sex On Motor Function And Responses To Novel Environments In The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica), Esperanza I. Alaniz, Ismael Perez, Sasawan Heingraj, Katelynn Renteria, Cristian M. Botello, Joseph C. Cantu, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

Background: Understanding the different stress reactions in different environments can help us understand stress factors. Studying animal behavior is important for translational research for mental health improvement.

Previous literature has shown that stress is a risk factor for higher cancer incidence and poorer cancer survival. (Klejbor & Turlejski., 2012), as well as mental health outcomes. Understanding of how stress is related to cancer can help improve therapeutic outcomes as preventive measures (Glaser et al., 1987).

Methods: Using the Rota Rod apparatus, 12 animals (3 males, 9 females) were tested at 36 rpm for a maximum of 400 seconds (Madroñal et …

Tc-Ptp Overexpression Attenuates Skin Cancer Formation During Environmental Skin Carcinogenesis, Zahidur Rahmann, Carson Bogatto, Serena Olivarez, Dae Joon Kim

Research Symposium

Background: T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TC-PTP), encoded by Ptpn2, has been shown to function as a tumor suppressor during skin carcinogenesis.

Methods: we generated a novel epidermal specific TC-PTP-overexpressing (K5HA.Ptpn2) mouse model to show that TC-PTP contributes to the attenuation of chemically induced skin carcinogenesis through the synergistic regulation of STAT1, STAT3, STAT5, and PI3K/AKT signaling.

Results: We found overexpression of TC-PTP increased epidermal sensitivity to DMBA-induced apoptosis and it decreased TPA-mediated hyperproliferation, coinciding with reduced epidermal thickness. Inhibition of STAT1, STAT3, STAT5 or AKT reversed the effects of TC-PTP overexpression on epidermal survival and proliferation. Mice overexpressing TC-PTP in …

Stress Induced Lncrna Malat1 In Colorectal Cancer Health Disparity, Justin L. Wendel, Kyle Doxtater, Kristopher L. Ezell, Samantha Lopez, Adithya Anilkumar, Sophia Leslie, Vijian Dhevan, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Background: Health disparities in the lower Rio Grande Valley are well documented and can play a critical role in cancer prognosis. Chronic stress, arguably exacerbated by these disparities, can also lead to a poor outcome after diagnosis through dysregulation of molecular markers known to be involved in cancer progression, resistance, and recurrence. lncRNA have been a relatively recent point of interest in the field of cancer research and play a role in cancer initiation and progression across tissue types. We have found that lncRNA MALAT1 is stress induced through transcription factor NFATc1. Here, we propose to investigate the association of …

Stem Cell Technology For Age Related Macular Degeneration Intervention, Laura Valdez

Research Symposium

Retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells are located between the choroid and photoreceptors within the eye and are essential to provide nutrients from blood to rods and cones, as well retinoids of the visual cycle. Vision loss and various ocular diseases are attributable to the degeneration or dysfunction of the RPE cells, leading to blindness.One of the major ocular problem from RPE dysfunction is macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be frequently diagnosed in patients over the age of 60. In the early stages of AMD, some symptoms may not be noticeable but will lead to vision loss in both …

Standardization Of A Technique For Obtaining Dna From Footprints, Gibrán Galindo-Martinez, Karla Villarreal-Sotelo, Cynthia Marisol Vargas-Orozco, Ernesto Leal-Sotelo, Ignacio Hernandez-Rodriguez, José Francisco Flores-Gómez, Esperanza Milagros Garcia-Oropesa

Research Symposium

Currently our country has high numbers of missing persons, Tamaulipas being one of the states with the highest rate of disappearances. The identification of people has become more important thanks to the development of molecular techniques. However, the limitations are very high, because it is necessary to compare the genetic pattern of the disappeared with the parents. Therefore, the objective of this research is to standardize a genomic DNA extraction technique from contact surfaces for its subsequent implementation in the identification of disappeared, allowing the comparison of the genetic pattern with the disappeared itself. For this, genomic DNA extraction was …

Role Of Pote-2 In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression., Samantha Lopez, Kyle Doxtater, Adithya Anilkumar, Sudhir Kotnala, Vijian Dhevan, Subhash C. Chuahan, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 85-90% of primary liver cancers. The Hispanic population had an incidence of 21.2 per 100,000 in Texas. Particularly, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) is an underserved area facing disparities that increase risk factors of HCC and thus, yielding higher incidence and mortality. Therefore, early, faster, and inexpensive diagnostic biomarkers and methods are crucial to under-resourced areas such as the RGV. Recently, we have identified an extracellular cancer antigen, POTE-2. Preliminary data indicates high POTE-2 expression in HCC tumors. In this study, we will discuss the role of POTE-2 in HCC progression and its associated …

Rational Design For The Recombinant Expression Of The Receptor Binding Domain Of Sars-Cov-2 Spike Glycoprotein, Luis Mario Rodriguez, Mario Alberto Rodriguez, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña, Rocio Marisol Martinez, Daniela Rodriguez

Research Symposium

Background: COVID-19 represents a significant threat to global human health. SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic viral agent, needs to be under-covered at the structural biology level to facilitate the rational design of diagnostic tests and vaccine candidates. SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain of Spike protein (RBD-S) acts as the key to open the gate, to enter the cells during infection. Thus, it is a stronger candidate for designing effective antigens for vaccines and diagnostics. Here, we relied on the viral DNA codifying to RBD-S to use synthetic biology for optimizing the recombinant expression of this (rRBD-S) as a proof of concept of rational …

Production Of Codon Optimized Polyomavirus Small T Antigen In Escherichia Coli., Luis Mario Rodriguez, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña, James A. Decaprio

Research Symposium

Background: Hauzen et al., went against the dogma that cancer only develops by genetic factors and postulated oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) as the etiological agent of cervical cancer (2008). The eleven new human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) identified have been shown to infect humans subclinically from an early age. The small t-antigen (tAg) proteins of polyomaviruses control cellular phosphorylation mechanisms leading to uncontrolled replication cycles and cancer. Mechanisms of transformation and progression to tumor cells, and cellular tropism of the new HPyVs, remain unknown. Availability of recombinant tAg (rtAg) can contribute to understanding them.

Methods: tAg coding sequences derived from Merkel cell …

Precise Method To Identify Kinase Drug Targets In Complex Diseases: The First Step Towards Sustainable And Effective Treatment, Hasbanny Irisson, Marzieh Ayati

Research Symposium

Background: Kinases are enzymes that have proven to be important drug targets due to their role in critical biological mechanisms such as phosphorylation. Phosphorylation happens when a kinase catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group to a protein in a phosphorylated site, which then becomes known as the substrate of the kinase. Any dysregulation of protein phosphorylation causes a wide range of complex diseases including cancer. Thus, discovering the links between kinases and their substrates (i.e. predicting kinase-substrate associations (KSAs)) is crucial in developing effective and sustainable treatments. Presently, less than 5% of phosphorylated sites have an associated kinase, and …

Performing A High-Throughput Virtual Screening (Hvts) To Identify Potential Therapeutic Targets Of Yb-1 Protein, Omar Karkoutly, Anupam Dhasmana, Kristopher Ezell, Kyle Doxtater, Vijian Dhevan, Subhash C. Chauhan, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Background: Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) is a primary malignancy of the liver. Hispanic-Texans have several risk factors and disparities that compound the risk of HCC diagnosis and treatment. The most used chemotherapeutic drug against HCC is sorafenib, but many liver cancers have developed a resistance to this drug. The knockdown of Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) has been shown to greatly increase sensitivity to sorafenib. In this study, we will discuss identification of potential YB-1 inhibitors, which can lead to re-sensitization of liver cancer cells to sorafenib.

Methodology: The RCSB protein data bank (pdb) was used to retrieve the crystal structure of …

Novel Nanoparticle Formulation Of Sabizabulin (Veru-111) For Pancreatic Cancer Treatment, Vivek K. Kashyap, Godwin P. Darkwah, Neeraj Chauhan, Prashanth Kb Nagesh, Anupam Dhasmana, Swati Dhasmana, Qinghui Wang, Duane D. Miller, Wei Li, Bilal B. B. Hafeez, Murali M. Yallapu, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in the United States due to very limited therapeutic options. Thus, developing novel therapeutic strategies will help for the management of this disease. We recently identified VERU-111, a novel synthetic molecule which showed potent anti-cancer effect against PanCa via targeting clinically important βIII and βIV tubulin isoforms. In this study, we synthesized and characterized its novel nanoformulation (MNP-VERU) and evaluated its therapeutic effects in vitro and xenograft mouse model.

Methods: MNPs were prepared by chemical precipitation method and loaded with VERU-111 using diffusion method. This formulation was …

Natural Remedies To Combat Aberrant Hallmark Signatures Including Altered Glycosylation In Oral Carcinoma, Kruti A. Mehta, Jayendra B. Patel, Prabhudas S. Patel

Research Symposium

Background: Tobacco associated oral cancers remain a major concern in India with higher incidence and mortality making it an Indian-centric burning issue. To combat this dreadful disease, we investigated effects of certain natural compounds on the hallmark signatures including glycosylation transcripts levels in oral carcinoma.

Methods: The tongue carcinoma cells- SAS cells were treated with tobacco compounds, natural compounds and Cisplatin. RNA was isolated from the cells and converted to cDNA. RT-qPCR was performed to evaluate expression levels of various genes.

Results: The treatment of tobacco compounds resulted in similar pattern of altered makers (ST3GAL1, NEU3, FUT5, FUT6, MMP2, BCL2) …

Multiple Rsv Strains Infecting Hep-2 And A549 Cells Reveal Cell Line-Dependent Differences In Resistance To Rsv Infection, Anubama Rajan, Felipe-Andres Piedra, Letisha Aideyan, Trevor Mcbride, Matthew Robertson, Hannah L. Johnson, Gina Marie Aloisio, David Henke, Cristian Coarfa, Fabio Stossi, Vipin Kumar Menon, Harshavardhan Doddapaneni, Donna Marie Muzny, Sara Joan Javornik Cregeen, Kristi Louise Hoffman, Joseph Petrosino, Richard A. Gibbs, Vasanthi Avadhanula, Pedro A. Piedra

Research Symposium

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major viral driver of a global pediatric respiratory disease burden disproportionately borne by the poor¹. Thus, RSV, like SARS-CoV-2, combines with congenital and environmental and host-history-dependent factors to create a spectrum of disease with greatest severity most frequently occurring in those least able to procure treatment.

Methods: Here we apply whole genome sequencing and a suite of other molecular biological techniques to survey host-virus dynamics in infections of two distinct cell lines (HEp2 and A549) with four strains representative of known RSV genetic diversity.

Results: We observed non-gradient patterns of RSV …

Mutational And Expression Analysis Of Fbxw7 Gene In Colorectal Cancer Patients Among North Indian Population, Laraib Uroog

Research Symposium

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide with the incidence rate of 1.8 million (10.2%) (GOBOCON-2018). CRC is endemic to Kashmir Valley due to both, kangri use and non-veg food habit. The current study was designed to explore the possible correlation between that FBXW7 and colorectal cancer progression.

Methods: FBXW7 gene mutations and expression was analyzed in 173 colorectal carcinoma tissues along with the adjacent non-cancerous matched tissues using polymerase chain reaction-single stranded confirmation polymorphism assay. Gene expression analysis was conducted using qRT-PCR, western blot and IHC.

Results: In total, six mutations were found …

Microrna-145 Replacement As A Therapeutic Tool To Improve Trail Therapy, Sheema Khan, Saini Setua, Nirnoy Dan, Melida Flores Cantu, Ana Martinez Bulnes, Murali M. Yallapu, Stephen W. Behrman, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Sheema Khan

Research Symposium

Pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is a third leading cause of cancer related deaths in US. Unlike other cancers, PanCa is highly resistant to TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) that emerges as one of the most-promising therapy in clinical trials. Our group has previously identified microRNA-145 (miR-145) is downregulated in PanCa, the restoration of which inhibits tumor growth and enhances gemcitabine sensitivity. In this study, we have observed that miR-145 restoration in PanCa cells renders them sensitive to TRAIL treatment. Therefore, we have engineered unique superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPs) for co-delivering miR-145 and TRAIL in PanCa for improving their therapeutic response to TRAIL. The …

Long Non-Coding Rna (Lncrna) As A New Biomarker For Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Hcc) Drug Resistance, Areeb Masood, Kyle Doxtater, Anupam Dhasmana, Subhash C. Chuahan, Sanjaya Satapathy, Manish Tripathi

Research Symposium

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the 4^th leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and the 6^th most common cancer worldwide. When HCC progresses to advanced stages, drug resistance becomes a major hurdle and leaves clinicians with limited therapeutic options. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have shown to promote drug resistance in various cancers. The goal of our research is to explain the molecular role of lncRNAs in HCC drug resistance and compile a comprehensive list of studied lncRNAs involved in HCC drug resistance.

Methods: To compile a list of lncRNA involved in HCC drug resistance we performed an advanced …

Investigating Monodelphis Domestica As An Alternative To The Mus Musculus As An Animal Model, Cristian M. Botello, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

Background: Mus Musculus is one of the first and one of the most widely used animal models in current neuroscience literature (Phifer-Riley & Nachmann, 2015). However, the research community needs alternatives to rodent models to study the mammalian brain. Research is needed to see if antibodies that target tyrosine hydroxylase, which are well researched in mice, can also be used to study the Monodelphis domestica brain.

Methods: Following transcardial perfusions and brain extractions, mouse and opossum brains were processed and stained for tyrosine hydroxylase (and with Nissl). Opossum brains will then be sliced and processed using IHC methods to compare …

International Conference On Cancer Health Disparities, Juhi Rais, Asif Jafri, Neelam Shivnath, Habiba Khan, Md Arshad

Research Symposium

Background: Biochanin A, an isoflavone that is mainly present in red clover, has potent chemopreventive properties against many cancers. Ovarian carcinoma is fifth most common and deadliest gynaecological malignancy that causes the highest mortality in females worldwide. Hence a substantial need for new therapies for combating this gynaecological malignancy arises.

Methods: The present study aimed to investigate anti-cancerous potentials of biochanin A on cultured human ovarian carcinoma PA-1 cells through the cell viability assay, cellular apoptosis, disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), involvement of ROS, cell cycle kinetics, and expression of apoptosis-related genes namely, p53, Bax, Bcl-2, Noxa and Puma. …

Analysis Of Probiotics Being Administered To Colorectal Cancer Patients, Joely Gonzalez

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The discovery of the human microbiome has led to an increased interest in its interactions with the immune system and disease. Emerging evidence suggests that there is a relationship between various types of cancers and the microbiome. More recently, the application of probiotics in conjunction with anticancer agents has been observed. This project aims to evaluate the importance of bioinformatic analysis in current studies that observe the effects and role of specific probiotics in various cancer studies. This analysis focuses specifically on colorectal cancer and the administration of specific probiotics to diminish side effects from cancer treatment.

Immunepotent Crp Enhances Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cytotoxicity Through A Caspase Independent But Ros Dependent Mechanism In Triple Negative-Breast Cancer Cells, Ana L. Rivera, A. C. Martínez-Torres, C. Rodríguez-Padilla

Research Symposium

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Cyclophosphamide (CYP) remains a mainstay in cancer therapy mainly in the triple negative breast cancer subtype (TNBC) in spite of harmful adverse effects and cell death-resistances. To face this, combination of chemotherapies and immunotherapies has been proposed. IMMUNEPOTENT CRP (ICRP) is an immunotherapy that has cytotoxic effects in several cancer cells without affecting peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and CD3+ cells, beside improving clinical parameters of chemotherapy-treated patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanism of cytotoxicity induced by ICRP in combination with …

Human Ipsc Derived Cardiomyocyte Model Reveals The Transcriptomic Bases Of Covid-19 Associated Myocardial Injury, Kashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, Erica De Leon, Joanne E. Curran, Sarah Williams-Blangero, John Blangero

Research Symposium

Background: Multi-organ complications have been the hallmark of severe COVID-19; cardiac injuries were reported in 20% to 30% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, although the disease etiology remains poorly understood. This study leveraged genome-wide RNA-sequence data generated using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) differentiated cardiomyocytes (CMs) and in vitro modeling of SARS-CoV-2 infection in CMs, to understand the molecular mechanisms of COVID-19 myocardial injuries for novel diagnostic and therapeutic development.

Methods: Raw RNA-sequence data sets, GSE165242 and GSE150392 were aligned to human genome assembly GRCh38 and gene expressions were quantified. Differentially expressed (DE) genes between experimental groups were identified using moderated …

Hpv Imprints In Western India: The Overlooked Criteria For Cancer Profiling, Ashi R. Thobias, Jayendra B. Patel, Prabhudas P. Patel

Research Symposium

Background: In India, HPV infection detection for cancer-typing has been largely evaded. Especially, data on prevalence of HPV types other than the highly prevalent HPV 16 and 18 are lacking, particularly from the western region. Thus, present study aimed to evaluate prevalence of HPV strains in three most prevailing cancers in India i.e. cervical, oral and oropharyngeal cancer.

Materials & methods: DNA was isolated from tissue samples of 400 cervical cancer cases, 127 oral cancer cases and 75 oropharyngeal cancer cases and endpoint PCR was performed using degenerative primers MY 09/11, GP 5+/6+ and CP I/II. TS-PCR was conducted to …

Engineered Exosomes For The Multimodal Imaging Directed Photo-Immunotherapy Of Colorectal Cancer, Deepak S. Chauhan, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Murali M. Yallapu

Research Symposium

Background: Rio Grande Valley experience severe cancer health disparity. A novel therapeutic modality may serve as better therapeutic option. Nanohybrids endowed with multifunctionality, longer circulation time, large surface area have emerged as an active preference for cancer research. However, rising concern of nanomaterials toxicity and scalability issues has slowed their translation to clinics. Exosomes (Exo) are endogenous endocytic origin 40-100 nm vesicles found in various body fluids, which in comparison to synthetic nanoparticles, are biodegradable, highly biocompatible as well as immunocompatible in nature. Although bulk isolation of exosomes from human body fluids is still a problem and engineering of exosomes …

Effect Of Igf-1 On Post-Translational Modifications (Ptms) On A Model Of Diabetes-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy In H9c2 Cardiomyoblast Cell Line, Andres Medina, Lizbeth Trevino, Alejandra Salinas, Yadira Chaires, Erick Rodriguez

Research Symposium

Background: Diabetic cardiomyocytes alter their post-translational modification levels, especially in OGlcNAcylation and Phosphorylation. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a peptide known to induce favorable cardiovascular effects in patients with heart failure. Here, we focus on the downstream effects of IGF-1 as a potential DCM treatment.

Methods: H9c2 cells were cultured in DMEM-10% FBS at 80% of confluence. As a cellular model of cardiac hypertrophy, we used a high-glucose medium (30 mM glucose) in the presence or absence of 10 µmol/L of IGF-1 (HG and HG+IGF-1). As control groups, we used cells cultured in low-glucose DMEM (glucose 5mM) in the …

Developing An Assay For Easy And Rapid Detection Of Als Biomarker(S): A Hypothesis, Swati Dhasmana, Anupam Dhasmana, Meena Jaggi, Murali M. Yallapu, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: Death of motor neurons is the key pathology underlying neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Biomarkers are chemical changes in the biological fluids. Biomarkers serving as a diagnostic tool should be specific to the concerned disease. Biomarkers indicating disease progression should be very sensitive to demonstrate changes during the disease process as well as therapeutics development. Biomarkers proposed for ALS include poly (GP) repeats in C9orf72, neurofilaments, miRNAs, glutathione and 4HNE in CSF, SOD1/TDP43 protein, poly (GP) repeats in C9orf72, neurofilaments, T regulatory cells, CRP, chitotriosidase, creatinine, creatinine kinase, miRNAs, glutamate, albumin, uric acid, glutathione, ferritin, …

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). …

Cucurbitacin D Ameliorates Benzo[A]Pyrene Induced Liver Injury Via Activation Of Nrf2 Antioxidant Pathway, Anyssa Rodriguez, Mohammed Sikander, Shabnam Malik, Fathi T. Halaweish, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Background: Co-morbidity variables, such as smoking, are strongly linked to the development and progression of liver cancer. Further, benzo[a]pyrene, a major component of tobacco smoke, is highly carcinogenic and triggers liver damage. Cucurbitacin, a kind of triterpene, has a wide range of biological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. However, the precise mechanism of its hepatoprotective effects is obscure.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the cytoprotective effects of novel analog of cucurbitacin, cucurbitacin D, against benzo[a]pyrene-induced liver injury in HepG2 cells. Method: The cytoprotective efficacy of cucurbitacin D against benzo[a]pyrene-induced liver damage was …