Date of Project
4-17-2026
Document Type
Honors Thesis
School Name
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Biology
Major Advisor
Dr. Amanda Krzysiak
Second Advisor
Dr. Mary Huff
Abstract
Cancer is the overgrowth of dysregulated or mutated cells that affects 1 in 3 Americans. Chalcones are natural products with many possible derivatives, such as 4’-trifluromethoxychalcone (4TF), developed in Dr. Krzysiak’s lab, which exhibit anticancer activity against cancer cell lines. Tumor Necrosis Factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) is a tumor surveillance cytokine that acts on two receptor types: death receptors and decoy receptors. One way cancer cells can become resistant to TRAIL is by upregulating decoy receptors and/or downregulating death receptors. In this study, MTS assays evaluated the potential relationship between TRAIL and 4TF that sensitizes A549 cells to TRAIL. The collected data showed that A549 cells are resistant to TRAIL alone, and that treatment with 4TF improves the response to the chalcone derivative. This supports the anti-proliferative properties, and further research is exploring death receptor upregulation as the potential mechanism of this relationship through Western blot analysis.
Recommended Citation
Ernst, Abigail C., "Exploration of a Relationship Between the Activities of TRAIL and 4’-trifluoromethoxychalcone." (2026). Undergraduate Theses. 221.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/ugrad_theses/221
Included in
Biochemistry Commons, Cancer Biology Commons, Chemicals and Drugs Commons, Immunotherapy Commons, Medical Biochemistry Commons, Molecular Biology Commons