Date of Award
12-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Legacy Department
Animal and Veterinary Sciences
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dunn, Heather
Committee Member
Bodine , Ashby B
Committee Member
Wei , Yanzhang
Abstract
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive cancer, which is known for a high rate of metastasis and poor prognosis. TNBC cells are hypothesized to undergo the cellular processes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET). The known prognostic markers CD44+ and Ki67 as well as the transcription factor and proposed tumor suppressor FoxO3a are thought to be indicators of EMT and MET activity in cancer cells. In order to better understand these processes an effective cell culture technique to mimic the tumor environment needs to be established. The purpose of this study was to determine if changing the cell culture environment would impact the expression of CD44+, Ki67 and FoxO3a in TNBC cells. The three TNBC cell lines BT-549, MDA-MB-157, and MDA-MB-231 were cultured in either a monolayer (2D) environment or in Matrigel (3D). FoxO3a was knocked down using siRNA to in MDA-MB-231 cells. The cells were immunofluorescently stained to measure the intensity of CD44+, KI67, and FoxO3a expression in both the 2D and 3D cell culture environment. Proliferation and wound healing assays were performed to determine the proliferation and migration of MDA-MB-231 cells. The results indicate the expression of FoxO3a had significantly increased (P
Recommended Citation
Vegter, Erin, "THE EFFECT OF CELL CULTURE ENVIRONMENT ON EXPRESSION OF CD44+, KI67, AND FOXO3A AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON THE ROLE OF FOXO3A IN TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER" (2013). All Theses. 1807.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1807