Treating Mutation E900X in Gene CUL4B using G-418

Author(s)

Emelee Guest, GSSM

School Name

Governor's School for Science and Mathematics

Grade Level

12th Grade

Presentation Topic

Cell and Molecular Biology

Presentation Type

Mentored

Oral Presentation Award

2nd Place

Written Paper Award

3rd Place

Abstract

CUL4B is one of the most commonly mutated genes that results in x-linked intellectual disability. Mutations in CUL4B result in symptoms such as short stature, hypogonadism, abnormal gait, speech delay, prominent lower lip, and tremors. Because it is a single-base nucleotide mutation resulting in a premature stop codon, the approach to treatment is to attempt to create a “read through mutation”. Previous studies have tested treatments on diseases with premature stop codons and found that the “read through” effect can restore function to various different proteins. It has been shown to be affective in diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, and cystinosis (Zingman et.al, 2007). The “read through” effect is when a protein continues to be created even in the presence of a premature stop codon. In this study, we used G-418, an aminoglycoside, to see if it can allow read-through of the stop codon. These ideas were tested using Western Blotting, which tested for the protein size, along with Immunoflourcence, which tested where the protein was located in the cell. The Western Blots confirmed that mutation E900X does in fact result in a truncated protein. The study also showed that CUL4B protein is usually localized in the nucleus for both the Wild Type Cells and the mutant cells. Interestingly, the E900X cells had a larger abundance than both the treated cells and the healthy cells. The next steps are to observe the effects of G-418 on protein size and to understand why the E900X cells proliferated.

Location

Neville theater

Start Date

4-14-2018 12:15 PM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

COinS
 
Apr 14th, 12:15 PM

Treating Mutation E900X in Gene CUL4B using G-418

Neville theater

CUL4B is one of the most commonly mutated genes that results in x-linked intellectual disability. Mutations in CUL4B result in symptoms such as short stature, hypogonadism, abnormal gait, speech delay, prominent lower lip, and tremors. Because it is a single-base nucleotide mutation resulting in a premature stop codon, the approach to treatment is to attempt to create a “read through mutation”. Previous studies have tested treatments on diseases with premature stop codons and found that the “read through” effect can restore function to various different proteins. It has been shown to be affective in diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, and cystinosis (Zingman et.al, 2007). The “read through” effect is when a protein continues to be created even in the presence of a premature stop codon. In this study, we used G-418, an aminoglycoside, to see if it can allow read-through of the stop codon. These ideas were tested using Western Blotting, which tested for the protein size, along with Immunoflourcence, which tested where the protein was located in the cell. The Western Blots confirmed that mutation E900X does in fact result in a truncated protein. The study also showed that CUL4B protein is usually localized in the nucleus for both the Wild Type Cells and the mutant cells. Interestingly, the E900X cells had a larger abundance than both the treated cells and the healthy cells. The next steps are to observe the effects of G-418 on protein size and to understand why the E900X cells proliferated.