Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Quintyne, Nicholas

Abstract

Mitosis is the separation of duplicated chromosomes into two daughter cells in order to create viable offspring. There are many checks in mitosis to ensure the inherited chromosome number is correct. Sometimes, these checkpoints are overcome and daughter cells inherit defects which can lead to cancer. One defect is the appearance of lagging chromosomes, the result of inaccurate chromosomal separation which leads to incorrect chromosome number termed aneuploidy. Aneuploidy is one of the defining traits of cancerous cells. The potential mechanism of lagging chromosomes in the cancerous cell line UPCI:OSCC070 is investigated in this study. siRNA-induced knockdown of KIFC1, a protein that is involved in the centrosomal clustering to prevent multipolar spindles, was used in the cells. Examining both levels of knockdown and time of exposure, we saw that the loss of KIFC1 led to a significant increase in lagging chromosomes, indicating this protein is critical to proper mitotic progression.

Comments

Includes bibliography.

Extent

30 p.

Identifier

FA00003505

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