Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of Novel Peptide-Doxorubicin Conjugates For Targeting Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Azam Saghaeidehkordi

Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive and difficult to treat subtype of breast cancer. Chemotherapy is an active treatment option in combination with other treatments; however, the side effects limit the effective therapeutic dose. To selectively target the cancer cells, I have synthesized three peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) to specifically target the TNBC cells. The first PDC contains peptide 18-4 with an additional cysteine in the N-terminal (NH2- CWxEAAYQrFL-CONH2) linked to aldoxorubicin (Aldox), a modified version of a common chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (Dox). The cytotoxicity of the PDC and free Dox (positive control) were assessed against MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, and …

Structural Characterization And In Vitro Antiproliferative Activity Of Non-Specific Lipid Transfer Protein 1 (Nsltp1) From Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) Seeds, Mekdes Megeressa

Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are cationic proteins involved in intracellular lipid shuttling, in growth and reproduction, as well as in defense against pathogenic microbes. Even though the primary and spatial structures of some nsLTPs from different plants indicate their similar features, they exhibit distinct lipid-binding specificities signifying their various biological roles that dictate further structural study. The present study determined the complete amino acid sequence, in silico 3D structure modeling, and in vitro antiproliferative activity of nsLTP1 from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds.

Fennel is a member of the family Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) native to southern Europe and the …