Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), BCL-2, and BAX expression in fibropapilloma tumor tissue and skin tissue of sea turtles

• Other Authors: Bancalari-Schmidlapp, Angela.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Florida Atlantic University
• Subjects: Sea turtles > Physiology; Cancer > Pathophysiology; Vascular endothelial growth factors > Pathophysiology; Cellular signal transduction
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/209981

In sea turtles, the study of the etiology and development of fibropapillomatosis is not fully understood. Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis is a disease characterized by the proliferation of skin fibropapillomas and occasional internal fibromas. In this study, sea turtle fibropapilloma tumor and healthy tissue samples were used to look at VEGF, BCL-2 and Bax expression. Cancer tumors have a well established pattern of protein expression that involves overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), responsible for the growth of new blood vessels, and a high BCL-2 to Bax ratio that leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation. Real time PCR was used to analyze VEGF expression, and Western blot techniques were used to measure BCL-2 and Bax expression. The results indicated that expression of VEGF was not significantly higher in tumor vs. skin tissue. For the differential expression of BCL-2 and Bax, the results were not in agreement with the established levels found in cancer studies, showing no significant change in BCL-2 expression and significantly higher levels of Bax in tumor vs. healthy tissue. === by Angela Bancalari-Schmidlapp. === Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. === Includes bibliography. === Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.