Use of ɣ-H2AX as an indicator of DNA repair capacity in breast cancer cell lines (360G-Wellcome-211481_Z_18_Z)

H2AX is an abundant histone variant and a key component of the DNA damage response. H2AX is phosphorylated at Ser-139 in response to DNA damage and this protein, known as gamma-H2AX, is involved in the recruitment and retention of repair factors to ensure that DNA damage is efficiently repaired. Over recent years there has been an increase in the use of gamma-H2AX, as a marker of the activation of the DNA damage response, in tumour samples to try to understand more about the treatment and progression of the disease The abundance and distribution of H2AX is expected to impact on genome stability and we are therefore interested to investigate this protein in cancer cells. In particular, the potential role of this protein in breast cancer progression and the impact of varying expression levels on treatment options are being investigated. The aims of this project are twofold; firstly to investigate the use of gamma-H2AX in clinical tumour samples which will be done primarily by literature searching and also through discussions with pathologists working at University College Hospital Galway, and secondly to investigate the levels of DNA damage as measured by gamma-H2AX in several breast cancer cell lines.