Author's Department/Program
Biology and Biomedical Sciences: Human and Statistical Genetics
Language
English (en)
Date of Award
5-24-2010
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Chair and Committee
Howard McLeod
Abstract
Cancer is a leading cause of human death, and it is fundamentally attributable to dysfunctional cell signaling. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is an important pro-growth intracellular signaling cascade that is often inappropriately activated in a wide array of cancers. Efforts to develop anticancer drugs have therefore focused, in part, on identifying PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors. However, patient response to some such inhibitors is mixed, with some patients experiencing a paradoxical activation of the pathway following treatment. It is therefore necessary to better understand the nature of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and how it varies in different individuals. The work presented here used cell lines from families to measure the activity of three PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway members: AKT1, p70S6K and 4E-BP1) in a variety of contexts, including under baseline cell growth conditions and in response to treatment with different PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors. Traditional genetic analyses were used to identify pathway activation phenotypes that were influenced by genetic variation, and genomic regions harboring variation were identified. A new tool for ranking candidate genes was developed and used to select promising genes within these regions for follow-up. Genotyping and association tests of SNPs in these genes identified four variants that were associated with two baseline PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activation phenotypes. These represent the first studies to find genetic variants that influence post-translational protein modifications. In addition, the identified SNPs may shed light on normal pathway function as well as new mechanisms for pathway inhibition.
Recommended Citation
Hutz, Janna, "Genetic Analysis of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway" (2010). All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). 887.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/887
Comments
Permanent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7936/K7RN35V1