Effect of Plumbagin on Chemo-Resistant Metastatic Retinoblastoma

Author

John J. Soto, CUNY Lehman CollegeFollow

Date of Award

Spring 6-14-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Dr. Stephen Redenti, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Dr. Moira Sauane, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Dr. Julio Gallego-Delgado

Abstract

Retinoblastoma, which is an ocular malignancy, usually results in poor prognoses in pediatric patients worldwide. Retinoblastoma in some events, can develop metastatic phenotypes which can lead to secondary tumor formation, furthering deleterious patient outcomes. It is of paramount importance to identify and research potent novel compounds that can be used to increase the likelihood of remission. Plumbagin (PLB) is a plant-derived, neuroprotective agent, which exhibits significant anticancer activities during in vitro study. PLB has been shown to have a high therapeutic efficacy against chemoresistant sublines as well as their normal counterparts. We attempted to show that the chemoresistant ABCC1 could be transfected into Y79 cells generating a chemoresistant cell line. The data does reveal that following 24 hours of treatment, PLB has a significantly greater killing effect of ABCC1 (chemoresistant) cells compared to normal Y79 cells, compared to Vincristine and Carboplatin. This may be attributable to the established increased ROS in chemoresistant cell lines and the targeting of this pathway by PLB [30, 31]. Interestingly, our data also supports that following 48 hours of treatment, Vincristine has a significantly greater killing effect of both normal and ABCC1 transfected Y79 cells, compared to Carboplatin. Further studies may refine these findings to optimize targeting of chemoresistance in retinoblastoma.

Recommended Citation

Soto, John J., "Effect of Plumbagin on Chemo-Resistant Metastatic Retinoblastoma" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/le_etds/39