ETD Collection

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Author: search.filters.author.Augustine, Tanya Nadine

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    3-Dimensional reconstruction of the breast tumour microenvironment: mediation of tumour progression by T(REG) lymphocytes and NK cells
    (2015-04-21) Augustine, Tanya Nadine
    Breast tumour progression involves complex interactions between malignant cells and the tumour microenvironment. It is increasingly apparent that immunity is a critical determinant for tumour progression. T regulatory (TREG) lymphocytes, which dominate tumour infiltrating lymphocyte populations, are implicated in facilitating tumour immunoediting processes and suppressing Natural Killer (NK) cell anti-tumour function. To investigate such cellular interaction, experimentation traditionally involves using reductionist 2-dimensional culture systems that do not recapitulate the spatial dimensions of the in vivo microenvironment. Three-dimensional (3D) culture systems, conversely, recreate these dimensions, allowing tumour cells to assume a phenotype more representative of the tumour microenvironment. Given that immunity is a critical factor in determining tumour progression, a novel 3D culture system was established to investigate the interactions between TREG lymphocytes, NK cells and hormone-dependent (MCF-7) or hormone-independent (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cells. Lymphocyte subpopulations were magnetically isolated, with the efficacy of the sorting procedure verified using flow cytometry. To generate 3D cultures, cell populations were resuspended in growth factor-reduced Matrigel and cultured for 72 hours. This culture system proved effective for RNA extraction for downstream applications; for immunolocalisation of selected tumour biomarkers (ER-α, TGF-β, MUC-1 and EGFR) for qualitative analysis; and for acquisition of cytokine data (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-, CCL2, CCL4 and CXCL8) for quantitative multivariate statistical analysis. Immune mediation was shown to induce the disruption of cell-cell associations, altering the expression of biomarkers and secreted cytokine profiles. Collectively, these results reflect tumour cell subversion of NK cell and/or TREG lymphocyte function to promote tumour progression by generating an inflammatory microenvironment. While hormone-dependent and hormone-independent breast cancer cells differed in their specific response to immune mediation, the mechanisms by which they elicited responses resulted in similar outcomes – that of enhanced evasive and invasive capacity. It is necessary to further elucidate the relationship between the investigated cytokines, biomarkers and immune cells, to understand their interactions and potentially provide more information for therapeutic intervention, given that these factors may contribute to tumours not responding favourably to combined modalities of therapy.
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    The differentiation of hepatic stem cells into pancreatic endocrine tissue: the influence of pancreatic mesoderm
    (2008-12-02T07:12:00Z) Augustine, Tanya Nadine
    The use of adult hepatic stem cells for the treatment of diabetes, based both on the close embryological association of the pancreas and liver, and on a putative shared tissue stem cell, has been proposed by a number of studies. This study investigated the capacity of hepatic oval cells to differentiate into pancreatic endocrine cells in the presence of pancreatic mesoderm. The GaIN model of hepatic injury was used to induce oval cell activation in Male Sprague-Dawley rats. A viable and significant oval cell population could not however, be isolated and propagated in culture. In order to continue experimentation, a PHeSC-A2 cell line, derived from normal adult porcine liver, was cultured with quail pancreatic mesoderm in the GFRM-Ham s F12.ITS culture system. Cells demonstrating positive immulocalization of the pancreatic markers, insulin and glucagon, were identified as PHeSC-A2-derived, by visual assessment of their nuclear morphology. Techniques used to confirm these results and preclude the derivation of the pancreatic endocrine cells from pancreatic endodermal contamination, proved ineffectual. The tentative results obtained in this study have lead to the following postulations: firstly, the PHeSC-A2 cell line may possess a higher level of potentiality than previously demonstrated; secondly, this potential may be due to the shared embryological origins of the pancreas and liver, and thirdly, permissive signaling from pancreatic mesoderm may have the capacity to induce the differentiation of hepatic oval cells into pancreatic endocrine cells. Further research is required to confirm the results obtained in this study and to substantiate the aforementioned propositions.