Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2011
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
School of Medicine
Department
Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience
Committee Chair
Cerasela Zoica Dinu.
Abstract
Lung diseases (excluding cancer) account for 9% of all disease related mortalities while lung cancer accounts for 30% of cancer related mortalities. Therapeutic maneuvers, as surgery are usually unfeasible given the extreme vitality of the lung. Developing novel therapeutic alternatives for lung cancer requires a thorough understanding on the lung epithelial cell behavior following exposure to drugs. The goal of this dissertation was to examine how molecular and cellular characteristics, such as morphology and cell viability, of lung cancer cells will be altered upon exposure to digitoxin, a cardiac glycosides (CGs) and a digitoxin synthetic analog. CGs are a large family of chemical compounds found in several plants and animal species and have been applied for treating congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and atrial fibrillation. The study was conducted on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells using several techniques such as different cell proliferation assays, fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, western blotting, and confocal microscopy.
Recommended Citation
Elbaz, Hosam Abdelmonaim, "Characterization of the pharmacological effects of digitoxin on lung epithelial cells" (2011). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 3423.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3423