Student: Anna Braun, Undergraduate Student in Pre-Pharmacy/PharmD, Drake University
Research Mentor: Dr. Pramod Mahajan
Analysis of Double-Stranded Break Repair Pathway Genes in Mammary Tumor Cell Lines
The effects of radiation exposure can be life-threatening to all living organisms. Radiation exposure may occur from space travel, medical examination and treatments, and tragic accidents like Chernobyl. The main effect of radiation on the human body is DNA double-stranded breakage, which often causes many types of cancers. The research project led by Dr. Mahajan at Drake University is focused on DNA damage repair and its consequences on human health. Through this project, we have investigated the effects of DNA damage on levels of the genes involved in double-stranded break repair pathways, including B-Raf and PARP. Toward this, we have used human mammary cancer cell lines HTB-19, HTB-20, and HTB-26 as models. These cells were treated with varying concentrations of radiomimetic drugs (compounds that mimic the effect of radiation by initiating DNA double-strand breakage) and we have analyzed the effects on cell viability and growth. Additionally, we prepared protein extracts from these treated human cancer cells and compared B-Raf and PARP levels with extracts prepared from the untreated controls using Bradford protein assays, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and Western blots. These results will be discussed in light of their implications for repair of radiation-induced DNA damage.