Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Beverly Piggott
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Division of Biological Sciences (DBS)
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Ion channels are essential for neural function, playing a variety of necessary cellular roles including excitability, maintaining ion gradients, and volume control. Recently it has emerged that neural precursors, also known as neural stem cell progenitors, may be affected by channelopathies indicating a critical role of ion channels in neural development. Additionally, various cancers are known to increase expression of ion channels to further progression. Using the model system Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) I tested the effect of reduced ion channel expression of several select channel types by utilizing RNAi knockdown technology in a brain tumor model. By reducing ion channels in this highly proliferative model, I identified channels that affected tumor growth and may also influence normal neural stem cell development. Larval brain volumes were analyzed and compared to a control; large changes in brain volume indicated increased or decreased proliferation. From this screen, I identified that a knockdown of SERCA (sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ATPase) caused a significant decrease in brain volume in the Drosophila tumor model. These results indicate that SERCA channels hold a prominent role in brain tumor proliferation and likely influence neural development. SERCA may be a potential treatment target for cancer and neural pathologies.
Category
Life Sciences
Ion Channel Screen Reveals a Role for SERCA in Brain Tumor Growth
UC South Ballroom
Ion channels are essential for neural function, playing a variety of necessary cellular roles including excitability, maintaining ion gradients, and volume control. Recently it has emerged that neural precursors, also known as neural stem cell progenitors, may be affected by channelopathies indicating a critical role of ion channels in neural development. Additionally, various cancers are known to increase expression of ion channels to further progression. Using the model system Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) I tested the effect of reduced ion channel expression of several select channel types by utilizing RNAi knockdown technology in a brain tumor model. By reducing ion channels in this highly proliferative model, I identified channels that affected tumor growth and may also influence normal neural stem cell development. Larval brain volumes were analyzed and compared to a control; large changes in brain volume indicated increased or decreased proliferation. From this screen, I identified that a knockdown of SERCA (sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ATPase) caused a significant decrease in brain volume in the Drosophila tumor model. These results indicate that SERCA channels hold a prominent role in brain tumor proliferation and likely influence neural development. SERCA may be a potential treatment target for cancer and neural pathologies.