2006 Ohio Student Research Forum

Abstract

Femtosecond Laser Micro/Nanomachining for Mold Fabrication
Michael Gram
Ohio State University
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Mentor: Dr. David Farson and Dr. Hae Woon Choi

BARD1 is BRCA1-associated ring domain protein 1 that plays an important role in breast cancer cell apoptosis. Utilizing a gene microarray approach, our lab has identified BARD1 as a novel androgen-repressed gene in prostate cancer cells. Consistent with this microarray finding, RT-PCR and Western blot analyses have shown that BARD1 expression is androgen-reduced in LNCaP cells, a model cell line for androgen and androgen receptor functions in prostate cancer cells. Interestingly, this androgen-induced reduction was not observed in androgen-independent LNCaP cells, whose proliferation does not require androgens. To test the possible involvement of BARD1 in prostate cancer cell apoptosis, siRNA was used to reduce the endogenous expression of BARD1 in LNCaP cells. This BARD1 reduction resulted in a two-fold reduction in apoptosis induced by staurosporin (STS), a strong chemical inducer of apoptosis. These data support the hypothesis that down-regulation of BARD1 by androgens is responsible for androgen-repressed apoptosis of prostate cancer cells.