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Description
The purpose of this project was to identify proteins associated with the migration and invasion of non-transformed MCF10A mammary epithelial cells with ectopically expressed missense mutations in p53. Because of the prevalence of TP53 missense mutations in basal-like and triple-negative breast cancer tumors, understanding the effect of TP53 mutations on

The purpose of this project was to identify proteins associated with the migration and invasion of non-transformed MCF10A mammary epithelial cells with ectopically expressed missense mutations in p53. Because of the prevalence of TP53 missense mutations in basal-like and triple-negative breast cancer tumors, understanding the effect of TP53 mutations on the phenotypic expression of human mammary epithelial cells may offer new therapeutic targets for those currently lacking in treatment options. As such, MCF10A mammary epithelial cells ectopically overexpressing structural mutations (G245S, H179R, R175H, Y163C, Y220C, and Y234C) and DNA-binding mutations (R248Q, R248W, R273C, and R273H) in the DNA-binding domain were selected for use in this project. Overexpression of p53 in the mutant cell lines was confirmed by western blot and q-PCR analysis targeting the V5 epitope tag present in the pLenti4 vector used to transduce TP53 into the mutant cell lines. Characterization of the invasion and migration phenotypes resulting from the overexpression of p53 in the mutant cell lines was achieved using transwell invasion and migration assays with Boyden chambers. Statistical analysis showed that three cell lines—DNA-contact mutants R248W and R273C and structural mutant Y220C—were consistently more migratory and invasive and demonstrated a relationship between the migration and invasion properties of the mutant cell lines. Two families of proteins were then explored: those involved in the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Results of q-PCR and immunofluorescence analysis of epithelial marker E-cadherin and mesenchymal proteins Slug and Vimentin did not show a clear relationship between mRNA and protein expression levels with the migration and invasiveness phenotypes observed in the transwell studies. Results of western blotting, q-PCR, and zymography of MMP-2 and MMP-9 also did not show any consistent results indicating a definite relationship between MMPs and the overall invasiveness of the cells. Finally, two drugs were tested as possible treatments inhibiting invasiveness: ebselen and SBI-183. These drugs were tested on only the most invasive of the MCF10A p53 mutant cell lines (R248W, R273C, and Y220C). Results of invasion assay following 30 μM treatment with ebselen and SBI-183 showed that ebselen does not inhibit invasiveness; SBI-183, however, did inhibit invasiveness in all three cell lines tested. As such, SBI-183 will be an important compound to study in the future as a treatment that could potentially serve to benefit triple-negative or basal-like breast cancer patients who currently lack therapeutic treatment options.
ContributorsZhang, Kathie Q (Author) / LaBaer, Joshua (Thesis director) / Anderson, Karen (Committee member) / Gonzalez, Laura (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a prevalent genetic disease in Africa, and specifically in Kenya. The lack of available relevant disease education and screening mean that most don't understand the importance of getting testing and many children die before they can get prophylactic care. This project was designed to address

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a prevalent genetic disease in Africa, and specifically in Kenya. The lack of available relevant disease education and screening mean that most don't understand the importance of getting testing and many children die before they can get prophylactic care. This project was designed to address the lack of knowledge with supplemental educational materials to be partnered with an engineering capstone project that provides a low cost diagnostic test.
ContributorsShawver, Jamie Christine (Author) / Caplan, Michael (Thesis director) / Snyder, Jan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
The focus of this project was to look at alternative treatments for endocrine resistant breast cancer (ERBC), which are breast cancers that have become resistant to hormone therapies such as Tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. The first part of this project involves investigating the relationship between histone de-acetylase inhibitor Vorinostat and

The focus of this project was to look at alternative treatments for endocrine resistant breast cancer (ERBC), which are breast cancers that have become resistant to hormone therapies such as Tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. The first part of this project involves investigating the relationship between histone de-acetylase inhibitor Vorinostat and Tamoxifen in MCF7 G11 cells, Tamoxifen resistant sub-clones, according to the PSOC Time grant. The second part involves targeting the androgen receptor (AR) in MCF7 sub-clones with AR antagonists, Bicalutamide and MDV3100, and investigating the possible usage of AR as a biomarker, due to over-expression of AR in ERBC, in accordance with the Mayo ASU Seed Grant.
The synergistic effects between Vorinostat and Tamoxifen observed through a phase II study on breast cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy may involve more than the modulation of ER-alpha to reverse Tamoxifen resistance in ERBC cells. RT-qPCR of genes expressed in Tamoxifen resistant cells, trefoil factor 1(TFF1) and v-myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (MYC), were evaluated along with ESR1 and Diablo as a control. MYC was observed to have increased expression in the treated cells, whereas the other genes had a decrease in their expression levels after the cells were treated for 3 days with Vorinostat IC30 of 1 µM. As for targeting the AR, MCF7 Tamoxifen sensitive and resistant cells were not affected by the AR antagonists to determine an IC50. The cell viability for all MCF7 sub-clones only decreased for high concentrations of 5.56 µM - 50 µM in Bicalutamide and 16.67 µM – 50 µM of MDV1300. Furthermore, hormone depletion of MCF7 G11 Tamoxifen resistant sub-clones did not show a great response to DHT stimulation or the AR antagonists. In the RT-qPCR, the MCF7 G11 cells showed an increase in mRNA expression for ER, AR, and PR after 4 hours of treatment with estradiol. As for the DHT treatment, ER, AR, PR, and PSA had a minimal increase in the fold change, but the fold change in AR was less than in the estradiol treatment. The Mayo Clinic will investigate the possible usage of AR as a biomarker through immunohistochemistry.
ContributorsVorachitti, Merica (Author) / LaBaer, Joshua (Thesis director) / Anderson, Karen (Committee member) / Gonzalez, Laura (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
Estimates indicate that in the United States 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Improved cancer screenings, early detection, and targeted treatments have increased breast cancer survival rates. However, breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, functional impairments, and

Estimates indicate that in the United States 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Improved cancer screenings, early detection, and targeted treatments have increased breast cancer survival rates. However, breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, functional impairments, and loss of cardiorespiratory fitness. These negative outcomes have implications for early morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this thesis was to test the hypothesis that high-intensity exercise preconditioning (exercise commenced prior to initiating chemotherapy and continued throughout treatment cycles) preserves health-related outcomes in breast cancer patients treated with anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. Here, we present a subset of preliminary data from an ongoing trial (NCT02842658) that is focused on VO2peak and skeletal muscle outcomes from the first 10 participants that have enrolled in the trial. Breast cancer patients (N=10; 50 ± 11 y; 168 ± 4 cm; 92 ± 37 kg; 32.3 ± 12.3 kg/m2) scheduled to receive anthracycline-containing chemotherapy were randomly assigned to one of two interventions: 1) exercise preconditioning, (3 days per week of supervised exercise throughout treatment) or 2) standard of care (attention-control). Pre-testing occurred 1-2 week prior to chemotherapy. The interventions were initiated 1 week prior to chemotherapy and continued throughout anthracycline treatment. Post-testing occurred 3-7 days following the last anthracycline treatment. VO2peak (L/min) was reduced by 16% in the control group (P < 0.05), whereas VO2peak was preserved in the exercise preconditioning group. Trends for greater preservation and/or improvement in the exercise preconditioning group were also observed for lean body mass and peak heart rate. Hand grip strength was not changed in either group (P > 0.05). Both groups demonstrated an increase in ultrasound-derived echogenicity measures of the vastus lateralis (P < 0.05), indicating changes in the composition of the skeletal muscle during treatment. These preliminary data highlight that exercise preconditioning may serve as a strategy to preserve cardiorespiratory fitness and perhaps lean mass during anthracycline treatment of breast cancer. There remains a need for larger, definitive clinical trials to identify strategies to prevent the array of chemotherapy-induced toxicities that are observed in breast cancer patients treated with anthracyclines.
ContributorsCasey, Kathleen (Author) / Angadi, Siddhartha (Thesis director) / Gaesser, Glenn (Committee member) / Dickinson, Jared (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Cancer rates vary significantly across tissue type and location in humans, driven by clinically relevant distinctions in the risk factors that lead to different cancer types. Despite the importance of cancer location in human health, little is known about tissue-specific cancers in non-human animals. A comparison of cancer prevalence across

Cancer rates vary significantly across tissue type and location in humans, driven by clinically relevant distinctions in the risk factors that lead to different cancer types. Despite the importance of cancer location in human health, little is known about tissue-specific cancers in non-human animals. A comparison of cancer prevalence across the tree of life can give insight into how evolutionary history has shaped various mechanisms of cancer suppression. Here, we explore whether species-level life history strategies are associated with differences in mammary neoplasia rates across mammals. We propose that the same patterns of cancer prevalence that have been reported across species will be maintained at the tissue-specific level. We used a phylogenetic regression on 15 life history traits across 112 mammalian species to determine the correlation between a life history trait and how it relates to mammary neoplasia prevalence. A greater risk of mammary neoplasia was found in the characteristics associated with fast life history organisms and a lower risk of mammary neoplasia was found in the characteristics associated with slow life history organisms. With this analysis, a framework is provided for how different life history modalities can influence cancer vulnerability.
ContributorsMajhail, Komal Kaur (Co-author) / Majhail, Komal (Co-author) / Maley, Carlo (Thesis director) / Boddy, Amy (Committee member) / Compton, Zachary (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05