Production and Characterization of Uniform and Heterogeneous Cancer Multicellular Aggregates for Longitudinal Studies of Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorMiller, Jordan Sen_US
dc.creatorAlbritton, Jacob Len_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-17T13:42:34Zen_US
dc.date.available2019-05-17T13:42:34Zen_US
dc.date.created2018-05en_US
dc.date.issued2018-01-22en_US
dc.date.submittedMay 2018en_US
dc.date.updated2019-05-17T13:42:34Zen_US
dc.description.abstractEpithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a proposed mechanism for initial metastatic invasion. Tumors are highly heterogeneous mixtures of tumor cells, and heterogeneous multicellular aggregates (MCAs) have emerged as in vitro surrogates for heterogeneous tumors. We custom-modified a commercial laser cutter to produce microwells by laser ablation of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), which could generate MCAs with EMT phenotype. Tumor invasion is a dynamic process, but methods for longitudinal characterization of heterogeneous MCAs are lacking. We propose improvements to quantifying 1) MCA size using 2D maximum Feret diameter measured by automated image analysis; 2) Cell sub-population ratio determined from Imaris-mediated nuclei counting of cells with nuclear localized fluorescent proteins; and 3) Segmentation efficiency based on cell population overlap volume. Finally, we discuss directions for future longitudinal studies of EMT. Improvements to MCA production throughput and longitudinal characterization methods will improve studies of EMT with heterogeneous MCAs.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationAlbritton, Jacob L. "Production and Characterization of Uniform and Heterogeneous Cancer Multicellular Aggregates for Longitudinal Studies of Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition." (2018) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105628">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/105628</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/105628en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectmulticellular aggregateen_US
dc.subjecttumor heterogeneityen_US
dc.subjectmicrowellen_US
dc.subject3D image analysisen_US
dc.subjectepithelial-to-mesenchymal transitionen_US
dc.titleProduction and Characterization of Uniform and Heterogeneous Cancer Multicellular Aggregates for Longitudinal Studies of Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transitionen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentBioengineeringen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineeringen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
ALBRITTON-DOCUMENT-2018.pdf
Size:
6.33 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.84 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.61 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Rice University Theses and Dissertations