Date of Award

1-1-2014

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (xv, 123 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Douglas S Conklin

Committee Members

JoEllen Welsh, Martin P Tenniswood, Nicholas J Mantis, Andres Melendez

Keywords

Breast cancer, Fat, HER2, Lipogenesis, Metabolism, Warburg, Breast, HER-2 gene, Fatty acids

Subject Categories

Biology | Cell Biology

Abstract

Recent work has shown that HER2/neu-positive breast cancer cells rely on a unique Warburg-like metabolism for survival and aggressive behavior. These cells are dependent on fatty acid (FA) synthesis, show markedly increased levels of stored fats and disruption of the synthetic process results in apoptosis. Supplementation of the growth media with physiological concentrations of saturated FAs induces cell death, whereas HER2-normal cells are not affected. This is particularly interesting in the context of new epidemiological data showing that a diet rich in saturated FAs is positively correlated with the development of HER2-negative disease, but not HER2/neu-positive disease.

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