Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Potential Applications Of Capsaicinoids In Small Cell Lung Cancer Therapy, Jamie Rae Friedman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide. Lung cancer is not a single disease but an umbrella that encompasses two major classifications, nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). SCLC represents about 15- 20% of all lung cancer cases and is almost exclusively diagnosed in smokers. Typically, patients will respond very well to first line treatment, but face inevitable relapse. The fact that SCLC still carries a grim 5-year survival rate of less than 5% highlights the lack of advancement in treatment options to effectively improve patient response and survival. …

Exploring The Regulatory Mechanism Of The Notch Ligand Receptor Jagged1 Via The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor In Breast Cancer, Sean Alan Piwarski

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that binds pollutants, therapeutic drugs and endogenous ligands. AHR is of particular interest in cancer and has been shown to play roles in both tumor progression and tumor suppression. As a result, it has received growing attention as a possible chemotherapeutic target. AHR is expressed in all breast cancer subtypes and can promote or inhibit breast cancer depending on the ligand it binds. The Notch signaling pathway is a highly conserved evolutionary pathway that plays extremely vital roles during development by regulating cell fate and differentiation. Notch signaling has increasingly …

Vitamin K2 (Menaquinone) Supplementation And Its Benefits In Cardiovascular Disease, Osteoporosis, And Cancer, Grant S. Buchanan, Md, Thomas Melvin, Brandon Merritt, Charles Bishop, Md, Franklin D. Shuler, Md, Phd

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Vitamin K is known to play an essential role in the coagulation cascade; however, a growing body of research has found that a subtype of this vitamin, vitamin K₂ (menaquinone) may have a beneficial effect in osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. This purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of recent literature regarding menaquinone and its role in human health. This review discusses the physiology of menaquinone, its clinical benefits in cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and cancer, and how it may interact with certain medications. The authors conclude that menaquinone supplementation has been shown to improve carboxylation …

Cancer Stem Cells In The Screening Of Anticancer Drugs For Central Nervous System Tumors, Sarah Elizabeth Daron-Mathis

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

There is a growing need (in the medical field) to design personalized therapy for cancer patients. Decades of cancer research have found no silver bullet that can cure all or even most patients. This study evaluated four patients affected by central nervous system (CNS) tumors (Ependymoma and Glioblastoma), and found that tumors with the same histology had unique responses to treatment. Each sample presented different levels of heterogeneity in expressed biomarkers and responded to drugs at varying levels.

Oncologists conventionally treat cancer patients with drugs tested in large clinical trials. However, often patients do not experience positive outcomes following treatments …

Identification And Characterization Of Downstream Effector Protein(S) Regulated By P53 And Prb, Miranda B. Carper

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A commonality among cancer types is the high frequency of mutations that inhibit or alter signaling of the p53 and pRb (Retinoblastoma) tumor suppressors. These genes regulate processes vital for cancer suppression such as apoptosis, senescence, and cell cycle arrest among others. Loss of both p53 and pRb promotes processes that support cancer progression and is associated with decreased patient survival and increased rates of tumor reoccurrence. Although data points to the ability of p53 and pRb to collaborate and to inhibit tumorigenesis, it remains unclear how p53 and pRb cooperate toward this task. Using RNA expression profiling, 179 p53 …

Metabolomic Analysis Of Liver Tissue From The Vx2 Rabbit Model Of Secondary Liver Tumors, Rafael A. Ibarra, J. E. Dazard, Y. Sandlers, F. Rehman, R. Abbas, R. Kombu, G. F. Zhang, H. Brunengraber, Juan R. Sanabria

Surgery

Purpose. The incidence of liver neoplasms is rising in USA. The purpose of this study was to determine metabolic profiles of liver tissue during early cancer development.

Methods. We used the rabbitVX2 model of liver tumors (LT) and a control group consisting of sham animals implanted with Gelfoam into their livers (LG). After two weeks from implantation, liver tissue from lobes with and without tumor was obtained from experimental animals (LT+/LT−) as well as liver tissue from controls (LG+/LG−). Peaks obtained by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry were subjected to identification. 56 metabolites were identified and their profiles compared between groups using …

Rbc And Wbc Fatty Acid Composition Following Consumption Of An Omega 3 Supplement: Lessons For Future Clinical Trials, Theodore R. Witte, Alexander J. Salazar, Oscar F. Ballester, W. Elaine Hardman

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Background: Results from increasing numbers of in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that omega 3 fatty acids incorporated in cell culture media or in the diet of the animals can suppress the growth of cancers. When human clinical trials are initiated to determine the ability of omega 3 fatty acids to alter growth or response to chemotherapeutic interventions of cancers, it will be essential to determine the omega 3 intake of individuals in the trial to determine compliance with consumption of the supplement and to correlate with endpoints of efficacy. We wondered if the fatty acid composition of …

Maternal Consumption Of Canola Oil Suppressed Mammary Gland Tumorigenesis In C3(1) Tag Mice Offspring, Gabriela Ion, Juliana A. Akinsete, W. Elaine Hardman

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Background: Maternal consumption of a diet high in omega 6 polyunsaturated fats (n-6 PUFA) has been shown to increase risk whereas a diet high in omega 3 polyunsaturated fats (n-3 PUFA) from fish oil has been shown to decrease risk for mammary gland cancer in female offspring of rats. The aim of this study was to determine whether increasing n-3 PUFA and reducing n-6 PUFA by using canola oil instead of corn oil in the maternal diet might reduce the risk for breast cancer in female offspring.

Methods: Female SV 129 mice were divided into two groups and placed on …

Genetic And Environmental Factors Suggest That Dietary Fatty Acid Content, Lipid Metabolism, And Bone Properties Are Key Regulators Of Myeloid Progenitor Cell Frequency, Melinda E. Varney

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and its precursors are the result of the dysregulation of hematopoiesis. Hematopoiesis proceeds in a stepwise manner, beginning with hematopoietic stem cells, continuing to develop into various stages of progenitor cells, and finally becoming fully functional blood cells. As this process goes awry, immature, functionless cells of the myeloid lineage proliferate out of control. Discerning how myeloid progenitor frequency is regulated allows for a better understanding of how the process may lose control. Hematopoiesis has been shown to depend on genetic and environmental factors. In this work, I have added to this knowledge base by providing …

Expression And Function Of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 Alpha In Human Melanoma Under Non-Hypoxic Conditions, Caroline N. Mills, Sandeep S. Joshi, Richard M. Niles

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Background

Hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) protein is rapidly degraded under normoxic conditions. When oxygen tensions fall HIF-1α protein stabilizes and transactivates genes involved in adaptation to hypoxic conditions. We have examined the normoxic expression of HIF-1α RNA and protein in normal human melanocytes and a series of human melanoma cell lines isolated from radial growth phase (RGP), vertical growth phase (VGP) and metastatic (MET) melanomas.

Results

HIF-1α mRNA and protein was increased in RGP vs melanocytes, VGP vs RGP and MET vs VGP melanoma cell lines. We also detected expression of a HIF-1α mRNA splice variant that lacks part …