Identifier

etd-07072011-152233

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Nutrition and Food Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer related mortality in women. The estimated new cases and death for 2010 in the US for females were 207,090 and 39,840 and for men were 1,970 and 390 respectively. Breast cancer cells contain cancer stem cells (CSCs), which represent less than 5% of the total cancer cell population, but accounts for continuous proliferation and growth. Breast cancer is highly metastatic and can spread to various parts of the body. Signaling through cell surface markers, including CD44/CD24/ALDH1 in breast cancer, pro-survival factors, including Hsp90 and other client proteins, angiogenic biomarkers and telomerase activity are essential for cancer cell renewal and could represent putative targets for inhibiting breast cancer cell development. The aim of this research was to determine the in vitro anti-carcinogenic property of ginger oil against breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231). We investigated the inhibitory activity of ginger oil against the biomarkers that are essential for breast cancer cell viability or proliferation. Cells were incubated with vehicle (DMSO), or ginger oil at concentrations, 0.05% to 0.2% of the volume of the media for 72 h at 37 °C and 5% CO2. Ginger oil dose-dependently inhibited the viability and proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro. The mechanism of breast cancer cell inhibition included induction of caspase-mediated apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, inhibition of Hsp90 and some of its client proteins, down-regulation of cell surface biomarkers, CD44/ALDH1 in breast cancer cells, inhibition of the biomarkers of angiogenesis, and down-regulation of the activity of telomerase.

Date

2011

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Losso, Jack

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1714

Included in

Life Sciences Commons

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