Browsing by Author "Askin, Kristin Fabre, author"
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Item Open Access Prkdc polymorphisms and radiation effects(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Askin, Kristin Fabre, author; Ullrich, Robert L., advisor; Weil, Michael M., advisorThe Prkdc gene encodes DNA-PKcs which is involved in the immune system, DNA repair and chromosomal integrity. In humans, deficiencies in DNA-PKcs are linked to cancer predisposition. This connection can also be observed in mice models using ionizing radiation as the carcinogenic inducer. In particular, the BALB/c mouse strain is susceptible to mammary cancer after radiation exposure. Subsequent studies have shown that DNA repair is deficient in BALB/c which is attributed to a hypomorphic variant of DNA-PKcs. DNA-PKcs has also been linked to apoptosis because BALB/c is more resistance to ionizing-induced apoptosis in intestinal crypt cells compared to other mouse strains. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that DNA-PKcs is involved in telomere maintenance. Additional studies have revealed two polymorphisms in Prkdc BALB/c that may be responsible for its DNA-PKcs variant.