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Title
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Effects of genes involving cell shape change on tumorigenesis in the salivary gland imaginal ring of Drosophila melanogaster.
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Creator
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Mihailovic, Sonja
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Abstract/Description
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Drosophila melanogaster have been used as a model organism for cancer because it contains genes homologous to those of humans that are involved in various cancer pathways. It has been observed that an overexpression of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD) gene of the Notch pathway, which is involved in cellular differentiation, proliferation, and development, in the salivary gland imaginal ring in 3rd instar larvae causes tumor formation in the apical area of the posterior cells. Since...
Show moreDrosophila melanogaster have been used as a model organism for cancer because it contains genes homologous to those of humans that are involved in various cancer pathways. It has been observed that an overexpression of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD) gene of the Notch pathway, which is involved in cellular differentiation, proliferation, and development, in the salivary gland imaginal ring in 3rd instar larvae causes tumor formation in the apical area of the posterior cells. Since changes in cell-to-cell adhesion and cytoskeletal structure have been known to alter cell shape and lead to tumor formation, genes regulating these factors are possible candidates for causing tumorigenesis in the salivary gland imaginal ring. In this study, the cell size, location, and cytoskeletal structure between the posterior and anterior cells of the imaginal ring under single knock downs of the ephrin receptor (eph), rhomboid (rho), rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 4 (rhogef4), polyhomeotic-proximal (ph-p), and ribbon (rib) genes were observed. It was found that only rib had a significantly abnormal cell shape change where the actin filaments exhibited a wave-like structure and some of the cells were in closer proximity to one another. This could be because the rib gene functions to constrict the apical side of the salivary gland during tube formation and elongation. A knock down could, therefore, result in loose actin filaments which could lead to weaker boundaries between the cells, allowing the cells to move and overlap with one another. In order to detect if post-endocycle mitosis of the imaginal ring posterior cells cause aneuploidy which could aid in the tumor formation created by Notch overexpression, the salivary gland was hybridized with a pUAS-EGFP vector to test whether a fluorescence in situ hybridization procedure customized for the salivary gland tissue would yield successful results. There was partial success in hybridization and many possible optimizations were identified.
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Date Issued
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2017-12-06
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Identifier
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FSU_libsubv1_scholarship_submission_1512575130_0392ea3e
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Format
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Thesis
