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Any current UK undergraduate (full- or part-time, enrolled for either semester) who does not already have a four-year degree is eligible for this competition and may submit papers and other projects in the following categories:
Entries are judged on originality; clarity of expression; scholarly or artistic contribution; and the validity, scope, and depth of the project or investigation. First place winners and co-winners
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CATEGORY 1: TITLE: Interaction of the IAP NAME: Casey Wilford A new subclass of BIR-containing proteins, Survivins, includes the Drosophila protein Deterin. Survivin is a very interesting protein because its expression is among the most tumor-specific of all cancer markers. This new BIR class is structurally distinct from known BIRs that function as inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs), because the new proteins have only a single baculovirus-type repeat (BIR) and no RING finger motif; in contrast with the multiple BIRs and RING finger of known IAPs. This fact has generated controversy about whether or not the new "surviving" family of proteins are really IAPs. Survivin has been shown to be a passenger protein involved in cell cycle regulation, but its role in apoptosis has been questioned. Deterin has been shown to rescue cell death induced by overexpression of Drosophila reaper and human caspase-7. Here, a more in-depth analysis of the interaction of Deterin with reaper and caspase-7 was accomplished through TUNEL staining, mutant constructs, western blotting, and in vivo data. In vivo, Deterin can rescue the eye ablation phenotype seen in flies overexpressing reaper or grim in their eyes. In contrast to its ability to inhibit full-length caspase-7, Deterin could not inhibit the more damaging effects of a truncated form of caspase-7 deleted for the prodomain. Deterin mutant constructs indicate that different domains of the protein may be important for inhibiting different apoptosis activators. These results confirm that this new class of BIR-containing proteins does indeed have anti-apoptotic function. These results confirm the homology of the insect apoptosis pathway with the human apoptosis pathway, verifying that the Drosophila system will prove an integral tool in elucidating the mechanisms of apoptosis in humans. Determining the pathways of human apoptosis is a key step in uncovering the fundamental molecular causes of many forms of human disease involving too much or too little cell survival, including cancer and many types of neurodegenerative diseases. |
Deterin