chosen from a preliminary radiosensitivity assay identifying radiosensitive and radioresistant cell lines. They were given two courses of treatment. The first treatment group was irradiated with a singular 0Gy, 2Gy, and 5Gy treatment and harvested 5 days later. The second group was irradiated with 0Gy or 2Gy daily for 5 days, then harvested 5 days after the final radiation treatment. These radiation doses were chosen to closely match clinically relevant therapies. Each cell line and treatment combination were performed in triplicates, allowing for analyses of 60 samples. RNA-Seq was performed to analyze radiation-induced gene expression changes, while ATAC-Seq analyzed open chromatin regions in the cell line’s genome. Preliminary results suggest that specific enhancers are activated post-radiation treatment in these cell lines, corresponding to specific gene expression changes, indicating potential resistance mechanisms to radiation treatments. The future direction for this research involves designing epigenome-targeting screens to identify radioresistant events. Ultimately, this project contributes to a greater understanding of how radiation-induced epigenetic reorganization may affect cancer progression and outcomes.
- Subject
- HCT
- Type
- course
- Edition
- 2026
- Source
- undergraduateresearch.duke.edu