Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
A Forward Genetic Screen To Identify Human Genes Of Interest And Their Roles In Ovarian Cancer, Susan A. Ihejirika
A Forward Genetic Screen To Identify Human Genes Of Interest And Their Roles In Ovarian Cancer, Susan A. Ihejirika
Honors College Theses
Drosophila melanogaster, fruit flies, are very important for modeling and studying human diseases. This study identifies human genes of interest and their contributions to epithelial ovarian carcinogenesis and progression as well as the roles orthologs of these genes play in Drosophila melanogaster. This is important because ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death among the gynecological cancers. This identification of genes was carried out using a forward genetic screen employing the widely used GMR-Gal4 driver/UAS-transgene system. The GMR-Gal4 driver is commonly utilized to express transgenes in the developing eye of the fruit fly. Transgenes that are expressed using …
Examining The Mechanistic Roles Of Integrin Alpha-6 In Cancer Metastasis., Chase T. Clark
Examining The Mechanistic Roles Of Integrin Alpha-6 In Cancer Metastasis., Chase T. Clark
Honors College Theses
Metastasis- the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor to the surrounding tissues- is responsible for 90% of cancer deaths. Integrin alpha-6 (ITGA6) is a specific transmembrane cell surface protein that functions in cell surface adhesion and signaling. ITGA6 is upregulated in many types of cancers and promotes the migration and invasion of cancer cells to surrounding tissues. It is my objective to determine the mechanism through which ITGA6 facilitates the migration of cancer cells through the extracellular matrix (ECM). These experiments helped to establish the role of ITGA6 in tumor development and provide focus for possible chemotherapeutic treatment. …
Synthesis And Characterization Of Nanoparticle-Coupled Proteins In Human Serum Albumin, Kyle M. Mahoney
Synthesis And Characterization Of Nanoparticle-Coupled Proteins In Human Serum Albumin, Kyle M. Mahoney
Honors College Theses
Recently, cancer has become an ever-growing issue and has led to many researchers attempt to unravel the mystery of the disease. This research has led to a promising field of treatment: nanotechnology-coupled pharmaceuticals. Nanoparticles act as a whole unit when in conjugation with other molecules and add to the carrier molecule, most often proteins, benefits the nanoparticles themselves possess. One such carrier protein that can be conjugated with nanoparticles is Human Serum Albumin (HSA). Albumin is of interest in cancer research for two reasons: it is native to the human vasculature so it does not elicit immunological reactions, and it …
Activating The Msh2/Msh6 Apoptotic Pathway In Cancer Cells Using Non-Reserpine Compounds, Jacob M. Mauceri
Activating The Msh2/Msh6 Apoptotic Pathway In Cancer Cells Using Non-Reserpine Compounds, Jacob M. Mauceri
Honors College Theses
DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is a system that is highly conserved in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The heterodimeric protein MutSα and a suite of associated proteins are essential in the recognition and repair of DNA afflicted with mispaired bases and short insertion/deletion loops, but are also implicated in funneling damaged cells towards apoptosis via a key conformational change in a subunit of the MutSα complex. This conformation can be bound specifically by the small molecule reserpine. Molecular dynamics modeling and virtual screening were used to identify additional small molecule novel ligands with the predicted ability to selectively bind this “death” …