Vol 31, Part I - forums.sou.edu • Index page - Southern Oregon ...

ABSTRACTS – Contributed Posters
Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095; cahlos.an22@gmail.com,
katelynn.barkley@gmail.com).
Cisplatin (Cis) and Paclitaxel (Pac) are chemotherapy
drugs used to stop cancer cell proliferation and N-Acetyl-
Cysteine (NAC) is a supplemental drug used to supply
nutrients to the body. Objective: To observe the synergistic
effects of Cis and Pac combined with NAC, to treat pancreatic
cancer stem cells (BXPC3s). Methods: BXPC3s were treated
with four different concentrations (10, 20, 30, and 40 µg)
of Cis, Pac, Cis+NAC (20µg), Pac+NAC (20µg). Cell death
assay using flow cytometry were employed to examine the
BXPC3s after a 24 hour treatment. Propidium Iodide (PI)
was used because it can integrate within the cells that have
a porous membrane, an indication of cell death, and allow
quantification of dead tumor cells. Results: More PI was
found in Cis treated BXPC3 than Pac treated BXPC3. The
amount of PI decreased by 20% in Cis+NAC treated BXPC3
when compared to Cis-only treated BXPC3 and increased by
40% in Pac+NAC treated BXPC3 when compared to Paconly
treated BXPC3. Conclusion: Cis is more effective at
treating BXPC3s than Pac; however, the addition of NAC
inhibited the killing effects of Cis while synergistically
increasing the killing effects of Pac on BXPC3s. Discussion:
Since Cis and Pac have negative side effects when used to
treat patients, the addition of a supplement drug NAC might
help to control such negative side effects without lowering
the efficiency of the chemotherapy drugs. However, further
research in vivo is needed.
169 Do Human Multiple Myeloma Cells Express IL-6
Family Inflammatory Cytokines DANIELLE HEDEEN*,
DOLLIE LaJOIE, and CHERYL JORCYK (Department
of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, 1910
University Drive, Boise, ID 83725; daniellehedeen@u.
boisestate.edu).
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of the plasma cells,
found in the bone marrow, which leads to the formation
of multiple tumors in bone. Plasma cells arise from B
lymphocytes, and produce immunoglobulins that help rid the
body of infection. It is known that the inflammatory cytokine,
Interleukin (IL)-6, is an important growth factor for human
MM, and human MM cells are known to express IL-6. We
hypothesize that other cytokines in the IL-6 family may also
be expressed in human MM. For the model system, we are
using three human MM cell lines (RPMI-8226, MM1.S,
and MM1.R) grown in RPMI-1640 media with 10% FBS
and penicillin-streptomycin. The secretion of IL-6-family
cytokines by these three cell lines will be investigated by
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), reverse
transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and
Western blot analysis. Family member receptor expression
will also be investigated by RT-PCR. Furthermore, we will
investigate the effect of IL-6 family cytokines on proliferation
in these MM cell lines, and vascular endothelial growth
factor (VEGF) secretion by ELISA. Investigating the effects
of IL-6 family inflammatory cytokines and their signaling
in these cell lines will lead to a better understanding of MM
biology and potentially identify novel therapeutic targets.
170 Overexpression of SOX4 Leads to Down Regulation
of UBC9, JOHANNA LEWIS* 1 , RUBY ENRIQUEZ* 1 ,
MIN ZHANG 2 , and SHEN HU 2 ( 1 Howard Hughes Medical
Institute Pre-College Science Education Program; 2 UCLA
School of Dentistry, Division of Oral Biology and Medicine,
10833 Le Conte Avenue, Room 63-070 CHS, Los Angeles,
CA 90095; jjlewis46@gmail.com, rubyenriquez@live.com).
Sex Determining Region-Y4 (SOX4) is a transcription
factor, which plays an important role in embryonic
development. It is composed of three regions, High Mobility
Group box (HMG), Glycine Rich Region (GRR) and
Serine Rich Region (SSR). SOX4 expression was found
to be deregulated in many types of cancer. However, the
underlying mechanism is still not clear. Objective: To study
the effects of the overexpression of SOX4 in oral cancer.
Methods: Sox4-FLAG plasmid was transformed into E.
coli cells. Plasmid DNA was purified by Maxi plasmid
DNA purification kit (Qiagen). The concentration of DNA
is determined by nanodrop spectrometer and the size of
plasmid is confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The
oral cancer cell line UM1 was used to overexpress SOX4.
The overexpression of SOX4 is confirmed by Western blot
analysis with anti-FLAG mouse monoclonal antibody and
anti SOX4 mouse monoclonal antibody, respectively. The
expression of Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzyme-9(UBC9),
which plays an important role in metastasis, was detected
with anti UBC9 rabbit polyclonal antibody. Results: SOX4
is overexpressed in UM1 cells by introduction of SOX4-
FLAG plasmid into the cells; the overexpression of SOX4
in cell line UM1 resulted in the down regulation of UBC9.
Discussion: Further research on SOX4 for a more precise
outcome of its effects may result in a possible cure for oral
cancer. Conclusion: Overexpression of SOX4 might limit
metastasis via down-regulation of the expression of target
proteins, such as UBC9, which have a role in metastasis.
171 TCDD Treatment Suppresses Vitamin A Storage and
Activates LX-2 Human Hepatic Stellate Cells, WENDY A
HARVEY*, JALISA J ROBINSON, REILLY J CLARK,
CALEB D HUANG, and KRISTEN A MITCHELL
(Department of Biology, Boise State University, 1910
University Drive, Boise ID 83725; wendyharvey@u.
boisestate.edu).
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is an
environmental pollutant in the family of halogenated
aromatic hydrocarbons. Exposure of rodents to TCDD has
been shown to modulate retinol metabolism by decreasing
hepatic retinyl esters, yet the mechanism by which this occurs
has not been identified. In the present study, we used the
97