- 166 views
- 173 downloads
Role of β-catenin and Active Beta Catenin in Osteosarcoma Progression
-
- Author / Creator
- Venkateswaran, Geetha
-
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone malignancy with a high incidence in children and adolescents. Current treatment strategies (surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy) has improved the overall survival rate of patients with primary OS. However, the survival rate of patients with metastatic disease still remains poor. Therefore, understanding the biology of OS progression would be of key importance to identify markers with prognostic value and potential therapeutic targets for OS. Deregulation of the Wnt signaling pathway is known to be implicated in OS. However, the role of β-catenin (key regulatory component of Wnt signaling) in this cancer is not clear. While some studies support the involvement of β-catenin in OS, others show the contrary. However, to date studies have investigated the role of β-catenin rather than Active Beta Catenin (ABC), a subpopulation of β-catenin that is transcriptionally active. ABC transcribes the Wnt target genes that are involved in cell proliferation, invasiveness and hence promotes cancer. This study investigated the role of β-catenin and ABC in OS progression using two pairs of cell lines representing OS progression. Western blot analysis, immunofluorescence analysis and high content analysis were carried out for the determination of cellular level and sub-cellular localization of β-catenin and ABC. Our results suggested an association between ABC and OS progression, whereas the total β-catenin by itself was not associated with OS progression. Hence, this study demonstrated the potential role of ABC in OS progression.
-
- Subjects / Keywords
-
- Graduation date
- Spring 2016
-
- Type of Item
- Thesis
-
- Degree
- Master of Science
-
- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.