School of Science Division of Life Science 25 Molecular Regulation of Axon Regeneration Supervisor: LIU, Kai / LIFS Student: WONG, Chun Man / BIBU Course: UROP1000, Summer Tyrosine kinases are common targets for cancer therapies for their nature in the regulation of cell signalling, proliferation, development, and various other essential cellular activities. Although the biochemical pathway for the effect is unclear, some tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) show promoting effects in neurite growth. In our prior experiments, it is observed that several drugs targeting Abelson (ABL) tyrosine kinases and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), respectively, for cancer therapies promote neurite growth in PC12 cell line and/or mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cell assays. In this report, we discovered that Asciminib, an ABL-TKI, promotes neurite growth in PC12 when concentration is between 6.25nM and 12.5nM. This might allow in-depth experiments and facilitate further understanding of the pathways of axon regeneration. Targeting Mitotic Regulators in Cancer Cells for Potential Treatment Supervisor: POON, Randy Yat Choi / LIFS Student: QI, Qiuyuan / MATH-SF Course: UROP1000, Summer Histone H2B-GFP fusion proteins have long been a stable DNA marker in cell cycle research, enabling live visualization of chromosome dynamics in cell lines. The observation of those Histone H2B-GFP-marked cells, however, consumes significant time and effort. The aim of the current study is to develop a new kind of algorithm that could automate the observation process and output data, including number of mitoses and mitotic length. Using a tracking software, we identified a relationship between fluorescence signals and mitotic events. An algorithm was designed based on such relation and improved by statistical manner and parameter optimization. Through high-throughput experiments, several parameters showed a remarkable influence. By optimization, a performance of almost perfect precision, as well as around 70% accuracy was reached in the test of multiple samples by algorithm compared to the manual counting method. This new method showed potential for fast, convenient counting and also the ability to save effort for researchers. Targeting Mitotic Regulators in Cancer Cells for Potential Treatment Supervisor: POON, Randy Yat Choi / LIFS Student: SINGHOF, Michelle / BCB Course: UROP2100, Fall Cell cycle research relies on the ability to synchronize entire cell populations. One common approach is the use of drugs to arrest cells in one part of the cell cycle and later release them. While there are numerous approaches to cell cycle arrest and release in cancer cell lines such as HeLa there is a lack of such methods in normal, nontransformed human cells. This project involves studying the effects of drugs commonly used in synchronization and investigates their functionality in cancer and non-cancer cells. Its objective is to determine whether these drugs can be used in normal human cells and whether that would require additional genetic modification.
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