Chemical and Pharmacologic Phenomena Commons^™

Photodynamic Therapy Agents: The Power Of Mjöllnir To Eradicate Cancer, Sidney M. Hopper

Honors College Theses

After its discovery back in the 1900s, photosensitizers became a critical study for potential treatments and cures for medical issues, including cancer. It was discovered that porphyrins appeared to target and accumulate in proliferating cells, and to reach the cells, a certain wavelength of light with maximum absorbance associated with the porphyrin was necessary to achieve cell death. Photodynamic therapy involves making use of porphyrins or metalloporphyrins as activators when exposed to such light. When activated, these compounds generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as HO- or O2-, which can react with nucleic acids found in DNA and RNA. In …

Comparative Molecular Transporter Properties Of Cyclic Peptides Containing Tryptophan And Arginine Residues Formed Through Disulfide Cyclization, Eman H. M. Mohammed, Dindyal Mandal, Saghar Mozaffari, Magdy Abdel-Hamied Zahran, Amany Mostafa Osman, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

We have previously reported cyclic cell-penetrating peptides [WR]₅ and [WR]₄ as molecular transporters. To optimize further the utility of our developed peptides for targeted therapy in cancer cells using the redox condition, we designed a new generation of peptides and evaluated their cytotoxicity as well as uptake behavior against different cancer cell lines. Thus, cyclic [C(WR)_xC] and linear counterparts (C(WR)_xC), where x = 4–5, were synthesized using Fmoc/tBu solid-phase peptide synthesis, purified, and characterized. The compounds did not show any significant cytotoxicity (at 25 µM) against ovarian (SK-OV-3), leukemia (CCRF-CEM), gastric adenocarcinoma (CRL-1739), breast …

Effects Of Vitamin D3 And Its Chemical Analogs On The Growth Of Hodgkin’S Lymphoma, In Vitro, Rajendra Ghardbaran, Bo Zhang, Luis Valerio, Onyekwere Onwumere, Madeline Wong, Jason Mighty, Stephen Redenti

Publications and Research

Objective: Vitamin D receptor (VDR) activities have been noted for a number of B cell malignancies which showed varying sensitivities to vitamin D3 (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, VD3, calcitriol) and its synthetic analogs. The objective of this study was to address the potential effects of VD3 and vitamin D3 analogs (VDAs) on the growth of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL), a malignant pathology of B cell origin, in vitro.

Results: Immunofluorescence staining showed the expression of VDR by primary Hodgkin’s (H) and Reed–Sternberg (RS)—HRS-tumor cells in HL histological sections. Western blot analyses revealed expression of VDR in the HL cell lines Hs445, HDLM2, KMH2, …

Inhibition Of Cancer Stem Cells By Glycosaminoglycan Mimetics, Connor P. O'Hara

Theses and Dissertations

Connor O’Hara July 29, 2019

Inhibition of Cancer Stem Cells by Glycosaminoglycan Mimetics

In the United States cancer is the second leading cause of death, with colorectal cancer (CRC) being the third deadliest cancer and expected to cause over 51,000 fatalities in 2019 alone.¹ The current standard of care for CRC depends largely on the staging, location, and presence of metastasis.² As the tumor grows and invades nearby lymph tissue and blood vessels, CRC has the opportunity to invade not only nearby tissue but also metastasize into the liver and lung (most commonly).³ The 5-year survival rate …

Novel Insights Into The Contribution Of Cellular Senescence To Cancer Therapy: Reversibility, Dormancy And Senolysis., Tareq Saleh

Theses and Dissertations

Cellular senescence a specialized form of growth arrest that contributes to the pathogenesis of several aging-related disorders including cancer. While by definition tumor cells are considered immortalized, they can undergo senescence when exposed to conventional and targeted cancer therapy. Therapy-Induced Senescence (TIS) represents a fundamental response to therapy and impacts its outcomes. However, TIS has been considered a positive therapeutic goal since senescent tumor cells are expected to enter a state of permanent growth abrogation. In this work we examined the hypothesis that a subpopulation of senescent cells can re-acquire proliferative potential after a state of senescent dormancy, indicating that …

Cytotoxicity Of Platinum Anticancer Drugs In Mammalian Cell Lines Of Metastatic Cancer, Hosannah Evie

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

With the invention of advanced technology, focus has been put on understanding and looking for potential cures for many diseases, one of which is cancer. The difference in the leaving and non-leaving ligands of the FDA approved cancer drugs contributes to the differential cell specific cytotoxic effects. These drugs such as oxaliplatin approved for colorectal cancer, cisplatin approved for testicular cancer, and their analogs were used to treat different cancer cell lines in an MTT assay. This project aims to determine how changing the molecular shape of these compounds affects their uptake and toxicity into different cell lines. The assay …

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 …