The VEGF quadruplex-forming sequence inhibits lung cancer cell growth.

Abstract

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSFirst off, I would like to thank Dr. Donald Miller for taking me on as a co-op student and introducing me to the vitally important and fascinating world of cancer research. He not only helped me discover my dream job, but he has also set an outstanding example of how to be an extraordinary physician scientist that I one day hope to take after. I also want to thank all of the members of the Miller/Bates lab who have helped me learn how fun life can be as a scientist and have inspired me to keep improving no matter what. Thank you to Sheila Thomas for her help with the stability experiments, and to Dr. Tariq Malik for his help with the in vivo imaging studies. Special thanks to Dr. Kara Sedoris, who had the patience and fortitude to work with me every day. I enjoyed every minute of it, and couldn't have done it without her! I also want to thank Dr. Frieboes and Dr. Panchapakesan for being part of my committee. I appreciate all of your hard work and advice which has been extremely helpful. I also want to thank Dr. Andre Gobin for being such a great professor and for sponsoring my independent study, which was a very enjoyable experience! To determine the biological role of VEGFq on non-small cell lung cancer in vivo, A549 cells were injected into nude mice and grown for 10 days prior to daily IP injections of 10 mg/kg VEGFq or the control vehicle for 14 days. Tumor progression was physically measured using calipers three times a week. Fluorescent imaging was used to detect the presence, stability, and distribution of Alexa Fluor 750-labeled VEGFq after injection into the mouse to ensure localization in the targeted tumor.These results demonstrate that A549 cells treated with VEGF quadruplex-forming oligonucleotides experience a dramatic decrease in cell proliferation, suggesting that VEGFq may have significant therapeutic implications for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.