CHED 861 |
| TU-100 (N-methyl-5H-benzocycloheptanaphthalene-5,12-imine) is a novel napthaquionone adduct that was developed at the University of Tulsa. The drug was sent to the National Cancer Institute after a correlation was shown between cell death and TU-100. The National Cancer Institute expressed an interest in TU-100 as a potential chemotherapeutic, but required additional information on its mechanism of action. Our goal was to determine how TU-100 kills cells. We hypothesized TU-100 inhibits topoisomerase, an enzyme that relieves DNA supercoiling. Such agents are effective chemotherapeutics because they stop cancer cell proliferation. Our experimental procedure involved an in vitro assay using purified topoisomerase I, negatively supercoiled plasmid DNA, and different concentrations of TU-100. DNA supercoiling was then analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Results indicate TU-100 inhibits the ability of topoisomerase I to alleviate negative supercoiling of plasmid DNA at concentrations similar to other well known drugs. Future experiments will examine TU100 specifcity for topoisomerase I vs topoisomerase II, and investigate its mechanism of action to determine whether or not TU100 might be a safe and effective chemotherapeutic drug. |
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Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Biochemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |