Modification of a natural collagen matrix with chemokines to study leukocyte trafficking in vitro

CHED 1310

Anthony J. Ross, rossa1153@duq.edu1, Liang Jia2, Ellen S. Gawalt, gawalte@duq.edu1, and Wilson S. Meng, meng@duq.edu2. (1) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282, (2) Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282
Chemokines are peptides that recruit leukocytes such as macrophages, dendritic cells and lymphocytes. A number of chemokines, including CCL17, CCL19, CCL21 and CCL22, have been found in human cancers. Macrophages and lymphocytes attracted into tumors by chemokines shape the body's immunity and cancer development often can be predicted based on the balance of these cells. Tumors can be modeled 3 dimensionally (3D) in vitro using Matrigel, a basement membrane extracted from a mouse tumor. We propose to use Matrigel embedded with chemokines to study leukocytes trafficking in vitro. The objective is to determine the effective concentration (EC50) required to elicit leukocytes infiltration into a 3D matrix. This information can then be used to design in vivo chemokine therapy to modulate cancer immunity. Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) and MALDI-TOF MS were used to characterize the unmodified Matrigel and the chemokine embedded Matrigel.
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Medicinal Chemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008