Graduation Year
2020
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Biological and Physical Sciences
Program or Major
Chemistry
Faculty Advisor
Laura Marcotte
Abstract
The goal of this research was to express and purify Cellular Retinoic Acid Binding Protein Type 1 (CRABP1). CRABP1 binds to retinoic acid in the cell and shuttles the retinoic acid from one area in the cell to another. The overproduction of CRABP1 appears to be problematic because it can sequester the retinoic acid and prevent it from regulating gene expression. Previous studies have shown that increased levels of CRABP1 can result in tumor-promoting activity and disruption of lipid biology in the cell. Our objective was to express this protein in an inducible bacterial system, so that we could purify the protein and characterize its functions in vitro. Initial work to express the protein using a cloning vector and inducible promoter was unsuccessful; however, we were able to clone the crabp1 gene into other expression vectors and will test transformants for inducible expression in future experiments.
Recommended Citation
Magna, Emma, "The Biochemical Characterization of Cellular Retinoic Acid Binding Protein Type 1 (CRABP1)" (2020). Honors Theses. 79.
https://digitalcommons.assumption.edu/honorstheses/79
Included in
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons, Biology Commons, Chemistry Commons, Medicine and Health Sciences Commons