Date of Award

1-1-2024

Thesis Type

masters

Document Type

Thesis (Restricted Access)

Divisions

science

Department

Institute of Biological Sciences

Institution

Universiti Malaya

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the sixth most common cancer in the world, with a high incidence rate in South Asia. OSCC is considered an invasive and aggressive neoplasm in oral cancer with a mortality rate of higher than 50%. The primary cilium is a solitary, non-motile and microtubule-based sensory organelle present in most of the mammalian cells. Primary cilia are known to have key roles in maintaining cellular processes such as cell differentiation, planar cell polarity, and stem cell function. Therefore, primary cilia dysfunction is associated with various diseases, including cancer. Altered cellular metabolism is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Cancer cells change in metabolic profile in order to survive in multiple conditions with varying nutrient availability. To date, studies on the role of primary cilia in the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells are still scarce. Herein, the role of primary cilia in metabolic regulation of oral cancer cells was examined. In this study, HSC-2 and HSC-3 cells were treated with small interfering RNA (siRNA) for 48 h to knockdown the IFT20 gene. Glucose uptake and lactate production were measured by spectrophotometer. Interestingly, the knockdown of IFT20 had no effect on glucose uptake in HSC-2 and HCS-3 cells. In contrast, reduction of IFT20 significantly decreased lactate production in HSC-2 cells, but not in HSC-3 cells. These findings suggest that primary cilia possess a certain effect on the metabolic reprogramming in non-metastatic HSC-2 cells with a reduction in lactic acid formation. However, further experiments are needed to confirm its role in reprogramming metabolic activities of oral cancer cells.

Note

Dissertation (M.A) – Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 2024.

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