Characterization of Stemness and Ciliation in Patient-Derived Glioblastoma Samples

Caitlin Cowell*, Sila Yanardag, and Elena Pugacheva
West Virginia University Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506

Presentation No.: 76

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Health Sciences (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Integrative Biology

The primary cilia is a nonmotile, sensory organelle that extends from the membrane of most cell types. Loss of the primary cilia unlocks the potential for unlimited proliferation of cells by removing a key checkpoint in the G0/G1 phase of mitosis. Many human cancers exhibit loss of primary cilium, including glioblastoma (GBM). Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive primary, malignant brain tumor in adults. With no curative treatment option currently available, GBM is also the most lethal. Contributing to the high mortality rate of GBM is its tendency to reappear after surgical resection of the tumor due to the presence of a small population of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Utilizing techniques like western blot and immunofluorescence, my project aimed to characterize the stemness profile and ciliation status of patient-derived GBM samples and determine the relationship between the two. In agreement with the heterogeneity of GBM samples, results show variation among tissues for stem cell markers. Within GBM samples, preliminary evidence suggests that high expression of stem cell markers correlates with decreased ciliation.

Funding: Cancer Institute Summer Undergraduate Program

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: the WVU Cancer Research Fellowship program (Alexey Ivanov)