Mason Collard
Pronouns: he/ him
Research Mentor(s): Mark Slayton
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Internal Medicine, Hematology & Oncology / Medicine
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 6 – 4:40pm – 5:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Mason Collard, Alisa Lui, Jin Heon Jeon, Mark Slayton, Abhinav Achreja, Deepak Nagrath, Sofia Merajver
Presenter: 36
Abstract
Serine is a non-essential amino acid used as an important intermediate in the production of pyruvate, a molecule necessary for energy production in cells. Suppression of serine-producing pathways may be an effective method for killing cancer cells, and an important step towards personalized cancer treatment. We investigated if and how micro RNAs affect the translation of PSPH, a protein that converts an phosphoserine into serine, in the serine synthesis pathway (SSP) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. We used computational biology methods to predict that microRNA-1208 would be an effective target for downregulating the production of the PSPH. Several TNBC cell lines of varying origin were treated with mimics or inhibitors of microRNA-1208. Western blot and qPCR were performed to quantify proteins and RNA within the SSP from these TNBC cells. Results indicate that microRNA-1208 reduces translation of the PSPH protein in specific cell lines, suggesting that it may function as a therapeutic target. Further research will consider the effect of microRNAs on other necessary metabolic products and other types of cancer.
Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary
