Nicolle A. Rosa Mercado

UPR Cayey

Biol. 3095

Prof. E. Diaz and Prof. E. Gonzalez

Herpesviral Reactivation: A Key Step for Disease Development

There are many different types of herpes viruses. During this seminar Ms. Olga González discussed

five of them, which were Herpes Simplex Virus (types 1 and 2), Varicella Zoster Virus, Human Cy-

tomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus, and Kaposi’s sarcoma (KSHV), associated with herpesvirus. She

explained the importance of the latency and reactivation processes for these viruses. Ms. Olga’s re-

search focuses on KSHV. The understanding of this virus is of extreme importance due to the fact

that it is known to cause three different types of cancer: Kaposi’s sarcoma, Primary effusion lym-

phoma, and Multicentric Castleman disease. Rta, the lytic switch protein, is used for the reactivation

process of KSHV and follows these steps: activation of lytic program, establishing latency, main-

taining latency, and reactivation. Reactivation consists of activating most of the viral genes and it

permits productive cycle oncogenes to be expressed. Her research may lead to innovating discover-

ies on “molecular piracy” processes and may give our society a better understanding of molecular

mechanisms and cancer development.

Incorporation of Unnatural Amino Acids into Proteins & Biomedical Research

During this seminar, Miss Jessica Torres gave a brief summary of her research at the North Carolina

State University. She spoke about the investigation of proteins involved in biological processes,

and how unnatural amino acids can be used to label proteins. Miss Torres explained the impor-

tance of investigating proteins and stated that they make up fifty percent of the cellular dry mass.

She also mentioned the protein’s many functions which are signaling, transport, defense, catalysis,

maintenance, and stability. An unnatural amino acid has a side chain that differs from those found

in nature. Unnatural amino acids are incorporated to the protein through the stop codon found in the

polypeptide. Through the seminar, Miss Torres explained the importance of studying proteins in

their natural environment in order to evaluate their functions and effects. It is also important to be

aware that any changes, such as adding one protein to another, compromises the stability of the pro-

teins. This seminar taught me more about innovative investigations involving amino acids.

Against all Odds: Protein Crystallography and Graduate School

In her seminar, Miss Yadilette Rivera spoke about the research she is working for her thesis at Uni-

versity of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research is about three different proteins: GALNS, GLB1,

and SGSH. These three proteins are directly linked to lysosomal disorders. The degeneration of en-

zymes may result in lysosomal storage disorders (Hopwood et.al. 2006). Some examples of lysoso-

mal storage disorders are mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) I, II, and VI, Gaucher disease type I, Fabry

disease, and Pompe disease. “In mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS-VI; Maroteaux– Lamy syn-

drome), an autosomal recessive disease, deficiency of N-acetylgalactosamine- 4-sulfatase leads to

the accumulation of its substrate, dermatan sulfate,in the lysosomes of many cell types2 (Hopwood

et. al. 2006).” Galsulfase, a glycoprotein which consists of four-hundred and ninety-five amino

acids, is used to treat MPS VI (Hopwood et.al. 2006). “The ability to treat lysosomal storage disor-

ders (LSD) has improved dramatically over the past 10–15 years (Hopwood et. al 2006).” Miss

Rivera studies these proteins through X-ray crystallography, which turns the molecule into a unit

cell and later into a crystal.

Nanotechnology: Providing Tools For the Improved Diagnosis and Treatment of

Cancer

During her seminar, Miss Orielyz Flores spoke about how nanoparticles can be used to improve

cancer treatment. She explained that treating cancer patients with biodegradable nanoparticles is

more effective than chemotherapy due to the higher specificity. In chemotherapy the drug is spread

throughout the whole body, causing highly dangerous side effects. The nanoparticles contain near

infrared dyes, therapeutic drugs, chelated metals, and iodinated molecules. The nanoparticles con-

tain taxol, which is the drug used in chemotherapy. These nanoparticles could be gold nanoparti-

cles, ion oxide nanotherapy, arum oxide nanoparticles, or polymeric. These are injected into the pa-

tients and they deliver the therapeutic drug directly to the tumor. The fact that tumor tissue has a

higher acidity than normal tissue helps the nanoparticle to degrade after the drug has been delivered.

The nanoparticles are able to enter the tumor through folic receptors, which are also used to control

experiments. The final goal to this research is to be able to improve cancer treatments.