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Reaching for the star. (c2011)

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dc.contributor.author Sitt, Sally B.
dc.date.accessioned 2011-11-04T09:40:30Z
dc.date.available 2011-11-04T09:40:30Z
dc.date.copyright 2011 en_US
dc.date.issued 2011-11-04
dc.date.submitted 2011-06-08
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10725/967
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-48). en_US
dc.description.abstract Astrocytomas are tumors occurring in young adulthood. Astrocytic tumors can be classified into four grades according to histologic features: grade I, grade II, grade III and grade IV. Malignant tumors, those of grade III and IV, are characterized by uncontrolled proliferation, which is known to be regulated by the family of Rho GTPases. StarD13, a GAP for Rho GTPases, has been described as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma. In the present study, IHC analysis on Grade I-IV brain tissues from patients showed StarD13 to be overexpressed in grade III and IV astrocytoma tumors when compared to grade I and II. However, when we mined the REMBRANDT data, we found that the mRNA levels of StarD13 are indeed higher in the higher grades but much lower than the normal tissues. The overexpression of a GFP-StarD13 construct in astrocytoma cells led to the increase in cell death and a decrease of cell viability. Knocking down StarD13 using siRNA led to a decrease in cell death and an increase in cell viability. When looking at the mechanism, we found that the tumor suppressor effect of StarD13 is through the inhibition of the cell cycle and not through the activation of apoptosis. When knocking down StarD13, we also saw an increase in p-ERK, uncovering a potential link between Rho GTPases and ERK activation. Our future interests would be to determine which Rho GTPase is responsible for this effect and to elucidate the direct link between the Rho GTPase and ERK. en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.subject Antioncogenes en_US
dc.subject Oncogenes en_US
dc.subject Astrocytomas en_US
dc.title Reaching for the star. (c2011) en_US
dc.type Thesis en_US
dc.title.subtitle A tumor suppressor or an oncogene? en_US
dc.term.submitted Spring en_US
dc.author.degree MS in Molecular Biology en_US
dc.author.school Arts and Sciences en_US
dc.author.idnumber 200804417 en_US
dc.author.commembers Dr. Roy Khalaf
dc.author.commembers Dr. Sandra Rizk-Jamati
dc.author.woa OA en_US
dc.description.physdesc 1 bound copy: xii, 48 leaves; ill.; 30 cm. available at RNL. en_US
dc.author.division Biology en_US
dc.author.advisor Dr. Mirvat El-Sibai
dc.keywords Astrocytomas en_US
dc.keywords RhoGTPases en_US
dc.keywords StarD13 en_US
dc.keywords GAP en_US
dc.keywords Tumor suppressor en_US
dc.keywords GFP-StarD13 en_US
dc.keywords StarD13-siRNA en_US
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.26756/th.2011.20 en_US
dc.publisher.institution Lebanese American University en_US


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