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University of New Hampshire
Biology
2014
Mentor: Dr. Paul Tsang, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences
Characterizing the angiogenic properties of brain cancer cells using the Glioma U-373 cell line
Brain tumors, e.g. gliomas, are the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among children under the age of 20. Gliomas share the common traits of all cancers, such as uncontrolled growth, insensitivity to antigrowth signals, angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing blood vessels), metastasis (spreading and invading surrounding tissues), and evasion of the immune system. Gliomas are aggressive cancers with very poor prognosis. Before using the U-373 cell line to study the regulation of angiogenesis, the present proposal seeks to characterize several properties of these cells, including proliferation rate, their ability to produce matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and key angiogenic growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), respectively. The results of the present study may contribute to the knowledge base within the brain cancer research field, providing insight towards therapeutic strategies.