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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Photon Irradation And Cisplatin Enrich Cancer Stem Cells In Ovarian Cancer, Ashley Antonissen May 2024

Photon Irradation And Cisplatin Enrich Cancer Stem Cells In Ovarian Cancer, Ashley Antonissen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC) has a 5-year survival rate of less than 50%. Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest gynecological diseases and the 7th most common female cancer worldwide. Ovarian cancer patients generally have a poor prognosis despite the relatively successful treatments. When conventional cancer treatments, such as cisplatin chemotherapy and photon irradiation, are administered, residual cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) can survive, leading to CSC enrichment. CSCs are a small population of cancer cells that exhibit stem-like characteristics: quiescence (slowing of the cell cycle), differentiation, proliferation, and self-renewal to regenerate new CSCs. We hypothesized that providing cancer …


The Effects Of Radiation On Cancer Stem Cells In Glioblastoma And Ovarian Cancer, Aaron Keniston May 2023

The Effects Of Radiation On Cancer Stem Cells In Glioblastoma And Ovarian Cancer, Aaron Keniston

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

High grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are some of the most aggressive forms of cancer with poor patient survival. Despite successful cancer therapies, these malignancies have high recurrence rates which can be attributed to cancer stem cells (CSC) due to innate tumor initiating properties. In this study, we investigated the response of CSC populations to proton and photon radiation by quantification of core stem cell transcription factors Sox2 and Oct4. This was carried out utilizing a Sox2/Oct4 green fluorescent protein based reporter designated as SORE6-GFP measured by flow cytometry. We hypothesize that proton and photon irradiation …


Defining The Radioresponse Of Mossy Cells, Devon Ivy Jun 2018

Defining The Radioresponse Of Mossy Cells, Devon Ivy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Clinical radiotherapy is used to treat a variety of brain tumors within the central nervous system. While effective, it can result in progressive and debilitating cognitive impairment that can diminish quality of life. These impairments have been linked to hippocampal dysfunction and corresponding deficits in spatial learning and memory. Mossy cells are a major population of excitatory neurons located within the dentate hilus and highly involved in hippocampal circuitry. They play critical roles in spatial navigation, neurogenesis, memory, and are particularly vulnerable to a variety of neurotoxic insults. However, their sensitivity to ionizing radiation has yet to be investigated in …


Priming Cardiovascular Stem Cells For Transplantation Using Short-Term Hypoxia, Ivan Hernandez Jun 2016

Priming Cardiovascular Stem Cells For Transplantation Using Short-Term Hypoxia, Ivan Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Conventional medical treatments fail to address the underlying problems associated with the damage inflicted by a coronary event. Thus, the long-term prognosis of patients admitted for heart failure is disheartening, with reported survival rates of 25 percent. Recent advances in stem cell research highlight the potential benefits of autologous stem cell transplantation for stimulating repair in heart tissue. However, a majority of those suffering from cardiovascular diseases are older adults whose autologous cells no longer possess optimum functional capacity. Additional work is needed to identify the optimal cell types or conditions that will promote cardiovascular regeneration across all age groups. …