Abstract:
The title of this thesis is Paclitaxel and Colchicine Induced Gene Expression as it Relates to Bcl-2, Bax, and JNK/SAPK.The microtubule-damaging drugs paclitaxel and colchicine influence the cell cycle to arrest growth and induce apoptosis. The oncogenes TALI and LMOI are also thought to play a role in this process through their aberrant regulation of gene expression. It is the purpose of this study to elucidate the relationship of the TALI and LMOI transcription factors to the genes they control, as well as, their effect on cell growth and proliferation. In previous work, TALI and LMO1 were introduced into NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells through the use of a retroviral vector (Olesen, 2000). Four different populations were established: a control, TALI-expressing cells, LMOI -expressing cells, and cells expressing both TALI and LMOI proteins. Protein extracts from these populations will be assayed for expression differences due to TALI/LMO1 activity. Possible targets for TALI/LMOI include the apoptosis-mediating genes Bcl-2 and Bax, which are the focus of this research. Through the examination of protein expression levels, a clearer understanding of the complex events leading to apoptosis will result.
