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  4. SMOC-2 suppression in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma may confer resistance to rituximab

SMOC-2 suppression in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma may confer resistance to rituximab

File(s)
BindaDhanesh_2018_Thesis.pdf (1.67 MB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/60754
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College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Honors Theses
Author
Binda, Dhanesh
Abstract

Rituximab is a genetically constructed chimeric mouse-human monoclonal IgG1 kappa antibody that recognizes the CD20 antigen. It has been the top selling oncology drug for nearly a decade. Rituximab was approved for medical use in 1997 and since then, it has improved outcomes in all B-cell malignancies. However, about 40% of patients relapse after initially responding to rituximab combined with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP). It is therefore important to understand any potential mechanisms of resistance in order to improve patient survival through better therapeutic choices. Since rituximab’s mechanisms of action are challenging to study in non-human models, our group used in vitro studies linking genotype to phenotype via Genome-Wide Association study (GWAS) and identified a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in SMOC-2, which encodes an extracellular matrix protein, that might be involved in rituximab sensitivity. In order to determine whether the expression of SMOC-2 affects rituximab sensitivity, malignant B cells with a SMOC-2 knockdown were tested in an in vitro Complement Dependent Cytotoxicity (CDC) rituximab killing assay. After performing CDC assays on several Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) SMOC-2 knockdown cell lines, the HBL-1 cell line exhibited resistance to rituximab. However, western blot analysis yielded inconclusive evidence about the knockdown of SMOC-2, since the SMOC-2 band could not be confidently identified. Understanding the mechanisms of intrinsic and acquired resistance to drugs in cancer therapy may enable the use of patient genotypes to determine which anti-CD20 would be most effective or allow interventions to restore rituximab sensitivity in patients.

Date Issued
2018-05
Keywords
Biological sciences honors program
•
Rituximab Resistance
•
Lymphoma
•
SMOC-2
•
Extracellular Matrix
•
CD20
•
GWAS
•
CDC
•
RNAi
•
CRISPR
Degree Discipline
Biological Sciences
Degree Name
B.S., Biological Sciences
Degree Level
Bachelor of Science
Type
dissertation or thesis

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