MACF1 as a Novel Target for the Treatment of Brain and Lung Cancers
Abstract
According to the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA), nearly 700,000 people are living with brain cancer. The glioblastoma has the highest number of cases with an estimation of 12,120 cases predicted in 2016. Moreover, lung cancer is considered as the leading cause of deaths in males and females in the United States. In 2015, the American Cancer Society estimates 221,200 patients diagnosed with lung cancer and 158,040 deaths due to it (Carper & Claudio, 2015). The specificity of current therapeutic protocols used to treat clinical human cancers while sparing normal cells and tissues has remained a stipulation for the treatment of cancers. The presence of human cancers subtypes with variation in their genetic profiles is making it necessary to identify novel therapeutic targets in human cancers. The objective of this study is to assess a cytoskeletal integrator protein, Microtubule Actin Cross-Linking Factor (MACF1), for its anti-tumorigenic and regulatory signaling functions in malignant brain and lung tumors. Evaluation of MACF1 as a therapeutic target in brain and lung tumors is based on a genomic data that shows MACF1 is highly expressed in glioblastomas and lung cancers. Also, assess the contribution of MACF1 to the maintenance and progression of cancer. Immunohistochemistry was done on different tissue types of brain and lung tissues to support the genomic data which results in a high expression level of MACF1 in high-grade glioblastoma and lung cancers comparing to the normal tissues. To knock down the MACF1 gene, RNA interference was used and examine if the reduction of MACF1 affects the cell proliferation rate. Immunofluorescent labeling was performed on the transfected cells, and it showed a decrease of MACF1 in the treated cells comparing to its control. MACF1 gene was knocked down, and the cell proliferation was reduced by 70% and 100% respectively in brain and lung cell survival rate. Our findings showed that MACF1 downregulation leads to the decrease in the proliferation and migration of glioblastoma and adenocarcinoma cells.
Subject Area
Biology
Recommended Citation
Najlaa Abdullah Afghani,
"MACF1 as a Novel Target for the Treatment of Brain and Lung Cancers"
(2016).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI10119095.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI10119095