Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Mechanical Force On Gene Expression Of Human Bladder Smooth Muscle Cells, Christopher A. Callan

PCOM Biomedical Studies Student Scholarship

The purpose of this project is to define, at the molecular level, the process by which gene expression of the extracellular matrix is regulated by mechanical forces in the Human Bladder Smooth Muscle cells (BSMCs). The goal is to first localize several functionally distinct transmembrane proteins; Sarcoglycans (α, β, γ, δ and ε), cytoskeletal proteins Vimentin, and Desmin to verify their presence in the cultured BSMCs using fluorescent-labeled antibodies specific for each protein. The sarcoglycans are primarily responsible for transferring intracellular force generated by the interaction of actin and myosin while the extracellular proteins are responsible for linking the cells …