Biology Project Abstract
CELLS THAT ARE ABLE TO SUPPRESS APOPTOSIS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME LEUKEMOGENIC
Presenter:
Sarah Jeong, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL, 60506; sjeong@imsa.edu
Mentor:
Dr. Andrew Vaughan, Loyola University Medical Center, 2160 S. 1st Ave, Maywood, IL, 60153; 708-327-8191; avaugha@lumc.edu
Abstract:
In this study, it was proposed that the regulated process of apoptosis may be pro-actively involved in initiating certain forms of cancer. Within this aspect of apoptosis, failure of execution leads to cell survival with inherited genetic change. In the normal pathway, human and animal cells are signaled by the caspases to undergo DNA degradation. Irradiation is one type of apoptosis initiator. We irradiated TK6 cells and observed the effect of two variables: amount of dose applied and amount of elapsed time after irradiation. Results showed that apoptotic activity increases with both amount of dose and elapsed time. Within this apoptotic process, the gene modified is the MLL (Mixed Linkage Leukemia) gene. It is the transcription and translation of this fusion gene that is able to drive the leukemic process. For this to be possible, such cells have to escape from apoptosis. We hypothesized that IAP (Inhibitor of Apoptosis) genes such as XIAP aid in their survival by suppressing caspase function. By comparing protein expression of an empty plasmid and a plasmid containing the XIAP, we tested its ability to suppress translocations and better understand the role of apoptotic effectors on the generation of translocations such as the MLL.