Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Microbiology/Immunology/Virology
Session: 3
Room: Exhibit Hall A
Lydia Tesfaye - Oakwood University
Co-Author(s): Bria Gamble, Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL; Aminata Jalloh, Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL; Jayden Vanterpool, Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL; Morgan Narain, Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL
With a five-year survival rate of only 7%, pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive, least treatable forms of cancer. Because its initial symptoms are nonspecific and gradual by the time of diagnosis, the cancer has metastasized making treatment difficult. Traditional chemotherapy treatment leaves the patient immunocompromised and prone to infections. Nanoparticle (NP) technology has been shown to be a good antimicrobial agent and is producing promising results in targeting various cancer types and may be a good target against pancreatic cancer. In this study, three engineered NPs’ impact on pancreatic cancer cells viability were evaluated and the expression of caspase-12, Ryanodine Receptor 1 (RyR1), and c-fos were quantified in response to various nanoparticles. Ryr1 is a calcium channel that activates many pathways including caspase-12, a calcium-dependent caspase which is critical for apoptosis. C-fos is associated with progression and poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer. The purpose of this study is to identify a new and novel therapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer cells. Our central hypothesis is that NPs can decrease pancreatic cancer cell viability increasing intracellular calcium-mediated mechanisms and decreasing C-fos expression. To test this hypothesis, silver nanoparticles glutathione (AgNP-Glut), AgNP citrated, and silver-gold nanoparticles (AuAgNP) were synthesized, treatment of PANC and HUVEC with NPs were done, cell viability was evaluated using AlamarBlue, and c-fos, caspase-12, and RyR1 expression were quantified and determined by ELISA. All samples were compared to the untreated negative control. Results show that all NPs tested reduce cell viability of PANC cells without decreasing viability of HUVEC cells. AgNP-Glut treated cells exhibit the greatest expression change on all three proteins quantified. Caspase-12 expression is upregulated in response to AgNP-Glut and c-fos expression levels are downregulated in response to all NPs. Insignificant changes in expression levels are observed for RyR1. The findings of this study can potentially lead to a novel and safer cancer treatment option that could protect against bacterial infections. References: Baetke, S. C., Lammers, T., & Kiessling, F. (2015). Applications of nanoparticles for diagnosis and therapy of cancer. The British journal of radiology, 88(1054), 20150207. Elgogary, A., Xu, Q., Poore, B., Alt, J., Zimmermann, S. C., Zhao, L., Fu, J., Chen, B., Xia, S., Liu, Y., Neisser, M., Nguyen, C., Lee, R., Park, J. K., Reyes, J., Hartung, T., Rojas, C., Rais, R., Tsukamoto, T., Semenza, G. L., Hanes, J., Slusher, B. S., … Le, A. (2016). Combination therapy with BPTES nanoparticles and metformin targets the metabolic heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(36), E5328-36.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): This study was supported by a grant from NSF/HBCU-UP and UNCF McBay awarded to Elaine Vanterpool PhD, chairperson for the Biology Department, Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Elaine Vanterpool, evanterpool@oakwood.edu
Role: For this research project, I completed experimental procedures such as nanoparticle treatment and ELISA. I also assisted in data observation and analysis.