Biochemistry Commons^™

Selective Activation Of Thrombin Activatable Fibrinolysis Inhibitor (Tafi) Attenuates Metastatic And Angiogenic Capabilities Of Melanoma And Lung Carcinoma In Vitro, Jacklyn Krizsan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Metastasis and angiogenesis are hallmarks of aggressive cancers, both depending on degradation of extracellular matrix by proteases such as plasmin. Plasmin activation is inhibited by thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI)-mediated cleavage of terminal lysine residues on plasminogen receptors. Activation of TAFI is most effectively done in complex with thrombomodulin (TM). TM is known to have anti-cancer properties, but it is not known if this is due to TAFI activation or an alternative substrate protein C (PC). We hypothesize that specific promotion of TAFI activation with TM treatment will attenuate metastatic and angiogenic capabilities of tumour cells.

Melanoma and lung carcinoma cells …

Breast Cancer Sub-Clones That Metastasize To Lung And Bone Exhibit Different Metabolic Preferences, Mollie Merrell

Honors Theses

Metastasis is responsible for the majority of cancer related deaths. In breast cancer the lungs and bones are the major sites for metastasis. Previous studies used the metastatic aggressive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer line to isolate sub-clones that preferentially invade the lungs (LM line) or bones (BoM line). While genes associated with the tissue specific metastasis have been identified, it is unknown if metabolic adaptations contribute to the growth of the LM and BoM lines in their respective organs. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that the LM and BoM lines exhibit differences in glucose and glutamine …

The Role Of Semaphorin 5a In Pancreatic Cancer Progression And Metastasis, Sugandha Saxena Dr.

Theses & Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is an aggressive disease with an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 7%, statistics that have not changed in almost five decades. Metastasis is one of the leading causes of mortality in PC. Accumulating evidence suggests that axon guidance molecules, such as semaphorins, are involved in cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis. Recent genomic characterization of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma revealed aberration in axon guidance pathway genes as well. Previous reports from our laboratory have identified one such molecule Semaphorin5A (SEMA5A) as a putative cell adhesion molecule which is involved in organ-specific homing during PC metastasis. My dissertation …

Investigating The Roles Of Δnp63 As A Suppressor Of Migration, Invasion, And Metastasis, Ramon E. Flores Gonzalez

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and disease in the world. Considerable resources are spent to study and understand cancer, with the hope of developing new treatments and eventually cures that will help millions of people. Efforts to understand cancer are hindered by its inherent complexity and instability. Nonetheless, understanding the basics of tumor development and progression are the key to focused on studying the role of ΔNp63 in cancer, a p53 family member known to be involved in epithelial development, microRNA biogenesis, and stem cell maintenance. Using the strength of in vivo mouse models, we found …

The Role Of Srsf3 In Control Of Alternative Splicing Of Cpeb2 In Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Brian P. Griffin

Theses and Dissertations

In the presented study, we identified that SRSF3 controls the alternative splicing of CPEB2 and consequently promotes a metastatic phenotype in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC causes thousands of deaths annually, frequently due to a lack of effective treatments and a high rate of metastasis in patients. Alternative splicing has been found to be dysregulated in numerous cancers, while splicing factors such as SRSF3 are variably expressed. In this study we performed a siRNA panel to screen potential splicing factors, then used specific siRNA to study the effect of its knockdown on cellular function. These results showed that SRSF3 …

Characterization Of Metastasis-Associated Cell Surface Glycoproteins In Prostate Cancer, Lifang Yang

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a major health problem in males in the United States. Its lethality is mostly attributed to the primary tumor metastasizing to distant sites that are highly resistant to conventional therapies. Serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is the only protein biomarker used in clinic for prediction of prostate cancer recurrence following local therapies. Nonetheless, PSA lacks the ability to predict the behavior of an individual tumor in an individual patient. Therefore, development of reliable biomarkers for detection of metastatic potential in primary tumors, as well as discovery of new therapeutic targets, is in a great need for …