Browsing Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Theses by Title
Now showing items 5-24 of 121
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Calpain-1 and Calpain-2 Promote HER2/NEU Tumorigenesis and Independently Promote Metastasis in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Calpains are a family of calcium activated cysteine proteases. Calpain-1 and calpain-2 are obligate heterodimers composed of isoform specific catalytic subunits (encoded by capn1 and capn2, respectively) coupled with the ... -
Chalcogenopyrylium Dyes as Modulators of Multidrug Resistance Protein (MRP) 1, MRP2 and MRP4 Transport Activities
(2011-11-29)MRPs mediate the ATP-dependent efflux of a structurally diverse array of compounds. Certain MRPs, including MRP1, MRP2 and MRP4, are involved in multidrug resistance in tumour cells, while in non-malignant cells these MRPs ... -
Characterization of ALDH1A1 as a novel tumorigenic target mediating TAZ-induced lung tumorigenesis and stem cell phenotypes
(2016-08-24)Recent studies suggest that lung cancer stem cells (CSCs) may play major roles in lung cancer development, metastasis and drug resistance. Therefore, identification of lung CSC drivers may provide promising targets for ... -
Characterization of isoform specific RET knockdown in cancer cell lines
(2013-08-30)The REarranged in Transfection (RET) tyrosine kinase is an important signalling protein for the development of neural crest-derived tissues such as the enteric and sympathetic nervous systems. RET is constitutively activated ... -
Characterization of Variants of Unknown Significance (VUS) in BRCA1
Approximately 3%-8% of breast cancer patients carry one defective BRCA1 or BRCA2 allele. While the rise of genetic testing have helped identify BRCA mutation carriers, the implication of certain mutations are still unknown. ... -
Characterizing angiodysplasia in type 2 von Willebrand disease (VWD) using blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs)
(2015-10-03)Gastrointestinal bleeding associated with angiodysplasia is a common, often intractable complication in patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD). von Willebrand factor (VWF), the protein deficient in VWD, was recently ... -
Characterizing ErbB2-induced mammary tumourigenesis
(2007-09-18)Approximately 30% of human breast cancers demonstrate overexpression of the receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB2/HER2/Neu, with these cases correlating with recurrence and poor prognosis. While therapy targeting ErbB2 has met ... -
Characterizing the function of the Fps/Fes tyrosine kinase in the mammary gland
(2008-07-08)The fps proto-oncogene encodes a 92 kDa cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase. Previous studies have shown that Fps expression in the mammary gland changes with development, and Fps has a suppressor function in mammary tumorigenesis. ... -
Characterizing the Role of the RET Receptor Tyrosine Kinase in Colorectal Cancer
RET is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that plays important roles in both normal development and cancer. RET has well-established oncogenic roles in thyroid cancer and growing evidence implicates RET activity in the ... -
Cloning and Functional Characterization of the Retinoic Acid-Catabolizing Enzyme CYP26B1 in Mouse Development
(2007-10-01)Retinoic acid (RA) is an active metabolite of vitamin A that is essential for embryonic development, and homeostasis of adult tissues. RA is a ligand for the nuclear retinoic acid receptor, and RA-mediated signaling is ... -
Co-regulation of the Cytochrome P450 24A1 gene in a model of kidney fibrosis by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and growth factors
Renal fibrosis is a dominant pathological characteristic of progressive Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal-Transition (EMT), triggered by tissue damage, caused by renal inflammation, initiates and ... -
Compartmentalized phosphodiesterase 4D isoforms expression, targeting and localization in vascular myocytes
(2014-03-14)During the development of atherosclerosis, contractile vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) change to cells capable of migrating and proliferating to mediate repair, where the responses may be adaptive or mal-adaptive in ... -
Comprehensive analysis of the Ontario eligibility criteria for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome
Germline mutations in breast and ovarian cancer are rare, with approximately 10% and 13% being hereditary in origin, respectively. In 2001, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC), in an effort to contain ... -
CYP26B1 limits inappropriate activation of RARgamma by retinoic acid during murine embryogenesis
(2012-11-07)Proper embryonic patterning requires precise spatio-temporal regulation of retinoic acid (RA) activity. Morphogenesis can be regulated at the level of RA distribution, mainly via its synthesis and catabolism by the RALDH ... -
Defining clinically relevant subgroups of follicular lymphoma cases according to the functional status of the CDKN2A gene
(2013-03-13)Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the second most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). FL is clinically designated as an indolent disease with a long median survival of 8-10 years. However, the clinical and biological behavior of ... -
Delineating Novel Genetic and MicroRNA Regulatory Mechanisms in Aggressive Subtypes of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer will be diagnosed in over 26,500 Canadians this year. Despite advances, identifying who will develop aggressive breast tumours or who will respond to treatment remains a clinical challenge. This dissertation ... -
Development of a Functional Assay for Determination of BRCA1 Carrier Status
(2014-02-03)Given the high risk of cancer development associated with BRCA1 mutation carriers, it is important that they be identified early and accurately. Identification is impeded however, by the large number of variants of unknown ... -
Development of a novel screen protocol for the identification of genes causing replication associated genomic instability in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
(2008-06-04)Replication fork stalling is a source of potentially tumourigenic genomic instability. The RecQ family helicase, Rqh1, is critical for the prevention of replication fork collapse and the formation of potentially deleterious ... -
Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers for Early Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated primarily on the basis of histopathological assessment of biopsies and cancer extent. Unfortunately, this assessment, performed by pathologists on very small amounts of biopsy tissue, ... -
Differential Contributions of RET-isoforms to Tumour Invasion
RET is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) which is normally activated at the cell surface by glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factors and plays critical roles during embryogenesis. RET is expressed as two protein isoforms, ...