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Undergraduate Internships

Internship position available for Biochemistry Internship course (BIOC4966)

Time: Summer semester 2016
Location: Cancer Biotherapy Institute of Jiangsu Province(CBIJP), Xuzhou Medical University
Address: 江苏省徐州市淮海西路84号,江苏省肿瘤生物治疗研究所暨徐州医科大学肿瘤研究所

Projects available:

  1. Development of engineering nano-materials for cancer gene therapy
    1. Determine a PH-sensitive pegaltated nanoparticle for tumor-targeted gene delivery
      We synthesized a novel gene delivery vector consisted of a pH-sensitive PEGlated PEI-CyD-FA(SPH), previously. In this study, we will determine the transfection efficiency of SPH to various cancer cells in vitro and tumor-targeted ability of SPH/pDNA nanoparticles in the liver orthotopic-bearing HCC mice model and the brain orthotopic-bearing glioblastoma mice model via in vivo imaging.
    2. Develop a tumor-targeted nanoparticle-coated bacterial for cancer therapy
      We previously synthesized a polyethylene glycol(PEG) conjugated polycation(PEG-PEI-Cyclodextrin). In this study, we will cooperate with Prof. Jiandong Huang to develop a formulation of PEG-PEI-Cyclodextrin-coated engineered bacteria and further determine whether the nanoparticel-coated bacterial could enhance the tumor homing ability as compared with that of naive bacterial via systemic administration by in vivo imaging.
  2. Cancer stem cells and antiangiogenic factors
    Tumors are frequently composed of heterogeneous cell types, in which a rare population named cancer stem cells (CSCs) or tumor-initiating cells drives tumor initiation and growth, as well as several clinical phenomena, such as tumor metastasis, recurrence, and chemotherapy/radiotherapy resistance. Therefore, targeting CSCs could have major impact on cancer patient survival. Emerging evidences have documented the presence of a positive feedback loop between CSCs and angiogenesis in tumor microenvironment. The crosstalks raise the possibility that the anti-angiogenic therapy should also target on CSCs. In this study, we will determine the effects of a novel fusion protein consisted of heterogeneous antiangiogenesic peptides on the self-renewal、tumor initiation and drug resistant abilities of CSCs both in vitro and in vivo.
  3. Identification of the role of Cullin1-mediated TIMP-2 ubiquitin for breast cancer metastasis
    The ubiquitin-proteasome system plays a crucial role in determine the fate of a tumor and its host. People try to looking for inhibitors of specific E3 ubiquitin ligase that targeting tumor-associated protein. These inhibitors can kill tumor cells specifically by regulating target protein. Cullin1 (Cul1) is an important component of SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase. The abnormal expression of Cul1 leads to dysfunction of E3 ubiquitin ligase. But the role of Cul1 in tumor biology behavior is unclear.Our previous results showed that silence Cul1 can increase TIMP-2 and decrease MMP-2 expression, resulting in inhibition of breast cancer cell invasion. Our recent data showed that Cul1 can regulate TIMP-2 protein stability by proteasome pathway. On the basis of these findings, we propose the hypothesis that Cul1 is formed in the center of a specific SCF complex. This complex regulates TIMP-2 ubiquitination, thereby affecting the expression of MMP-2, and ultimately affect breast cancer cell metastasis. This project intends to study the mechanism that Cul1 regulates breast cancer metastasis via a variety of cell and animal models we constructed. The success of this project will provide a new target for breast cancer gene therapy.
  4. The functions of Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs)X in hepatocellular carcinoma
    snoRNAs are evolutionally conserved small ncRNA molecules of approximately 60–300 nucleotides in length that are predominantly found in the nucleolus. In the past few years, the common assumption that snoRNAs only act as housekeeping genes has been challenged due to the converging evidence demonstrating that snoRNAs are involved in the control of cell fate and oncogenesis. More recent studies have documented that some snoRNAs were associated with the carcinogenesis, metastasis and drug resistant in a couple of cancers including breast cancer, NSCLC, prostate cancer and lymphoma. However, rare study of snoRNAs is involved to hepatocellular carcinoma. We previously established a mRNA database of 6 patients with HCC through a paired comparison between tumor tissues and paracancers by RNA sequencing and found that a novel snoRNAs, snoRNAsX, was highly expressed in tumor tissues but not of paracancers. We will further verify the gene expression lever of snoRNAsX by Q-PCR in 30 cases of HCC patients samples and determine its functions in a couple of HCC cell lines.

CBIJP will provide free accommodation in Xuzhou and meals at the University canteen (up to ¥600 per month, enough for food at the University canteen) for the interns.

Interested students can apply directly to Dr. Hong Yao 姚宏博士 via email: [yaohong20055@hotmail.com].