Date of Award

2021

Embargo Period

8-1-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Biomedical Science

College

College of Graduate Studies

First Advisor

Sunil J. Patel

Second Advisor

Arabinda Das

Third Advisor

Michael Ostrowski

Fourth Advisor

David Cachia

Fifth Advisor

Mark Rubinstein

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GB) is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Grade IV astrocytoma characterized by a poor prognosis with a median survival time ranging from 15-16 months. The standard of care for GB is surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy treatment with Temozolomide, but even with the aggressive treatment, GB recurrence occurs in approximately 90 % of the patient population. New treatment options have been FDA approved which include Novocure’s Optune Device and Genentech’s Avastin, but neither of these options drastically change survival time or quality of life. Galectin-1 (Gal-1), a protein with a high affinity to bind β-galactosides, has been implicated in other cancers such as renal cancer, liver cancer, and urothelial cancer and plays a role ranging from angiogenesis to altering the tumor microenvironment for immune suppression. Little research has been conducted investigating Gal-1’s role in GB so the aim of our in vitro and in vivo studies was to gain a better understanding of Gal-1’s potential mechanisms in GB and see the feasibility of Gal-1 inhibition as a potential treatment option. The data collected illustrated roles of Gal-1 in angiogenesis, in apoptosis, and in facilitation of a hypoxic environment. Inhibition of Gal-1 shows signs of being a plausible treatment option especially if given coadjuvant to an Anti-VEGF therapy.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

Download

Share

COinS