Presentation Type

Poster

Keywords

Medicinal Plants, Drug Discovery, Angiogenesis

Department

Biology

Major

Biology

Abstract

Medicinal plants have historically been a valuable source of new drugs, and Southern California possesses a rich collection of native plants which have been used as medicines by native people groups for thousands of years. Angiogenesis is the biological process of new blood-vessel growth from endothelial cells. It is an essential part of the wound-healing process, and increased angiogenesis has also been implicated in the growth of some types of cancerous tumors. In this study, extracts of the Southern Californian native plants Red shanks (Adenostoma sparsifolium) and the alkaloid extract of Jimson weed (Datura wrightii) were tested for their angiogenic effects in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using a cell proliferation assay, nitric oxide production assay, and qRT-PCR. Treatment of HUVECs with extracts from Red shanks and Jimson weed increased proliferation at concentrations of 10 ng/μL and 1 ng/μL, but no changes in nitric oxide production were measured for any treatment. Changes in expression of the genes vegfr2 and mmp9 were measured by qRT-PCR and suggested that proliferation may be induced by these plant extracts through factors that bypass normal nitric oxide-mediated proliferative signals.

Faculty Mentor

Donna Nofziger and P. Matthew Joyner

Funding Source or Research Program

Summer Undergraduate Research in Biology

Location

Waves Cafeteria

Start Date

23-3-2018 2:00 PM

End Date

23-3-2018 3:30 PM

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Mar 23rd, 2:00 PM Mar 23rd, 3:30 PM

Changes in the Proliferation and Gene Expression of HUVECs in Response to Treatment with Plant Secondary Metabolites

Waves Cafeteria

Medicinal plants have historically been a valuable source of new drugs, and Southern California possesses a rich collection of native plants which have been used as medicines by native people groups for thousands of years. Angiogenesis is the biological process of new blood-vessel growth from endothelial cells. It is an essential part of the wound-healing process, and increased angiogenesis has also been implicated in the growth of some types of cancerous tumors. In this study, extracts of the Southern Californian native plants Red shanks (Adenostoma sparsifolium) and the alkaloid extract of Jimson weed (Datura wrightii) were tested for their angiogenic effects in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using a cell proliferation assay, nitric oxide production assay, and qRT-PCR. Treatment of HUVECs with extracts from Red shanks and Jimson weed increased proliferation at concentrations of 10 ng/μL and 1 ng/μL, but no changes in nitric oxide production were measured for any treatment. Changes in expression of the genes vegfr2 and mmp9 were measured by qRT-PCR and suggested that proliferation may be induced by these plant extracts through factors that bypass normal nitric oxide-mediated proliferative signals.