DNA damage signaling in renal cancer cells

• Main Author: Schulze, Robert
• Other Authors: Symes, Karen
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Biology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/34836

DNA damage elicits a complex and detailed repair response involving multiple pathways. Defects in these pathways can result in a myriad of problems including tumorigenesis and cancer. By delving into the nuances controlling the DNA damage response in renal cancer cells, a greater understanding of relationships between related factors can be created. Historically, much of our understanding of general diseases comes from specific areas of damage. The findings and experimentation involving von Hippel Lindau (VHL) disease sheds light on the core factors of renal cancer. VHL disease patients are shown to be lacking a protein, pVHL, which is core in one of the tumor suppressing pathway. This study works towards investigating the effects of the missing protein in cells and the effects on related tumor suppressing proteins. In testing and recording the response of the pVHL deficient 786-O renal cancer cell line, which mimics the effects of VHL disease and sporadic renal cancer, predictions about the strength of the DNA damage response can be made. Ultimately the data collected high variability making useful analysis troublesome. Different durations of exposure to a DNA damaging agent resulted in erratic responses. Further probing into tumor suppression pathways holds promise for the future of cancer treatment.