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My Pathway to Cell Research
Ever since I first learned that students had the potential to perform cell research in our high school lab, I was immediately interested in participating. Being able to learn about cell culture in high school was an opportunity I did not want to miss. I read papers from students who had performed cell culture projects in the past to get an idea of what I might want to do. Most involved treating cancer cells with a new supplement, but I wondered if it was possible to test the harmful effects of something people already use. In the Intro to Biotech class, I learned about controversy surrounding GMOs and glyphosate and wanted to further explore the topic. I knew that glyphosate had some potentially harmful effects, but still not much was known about it. I wanted to test the effects of glyphosate on cells to see if it would cause adverse effects.
Unfortunately, pure glyphosate was too toxic according to its Safety Data Sheet to work with in our lab. However, as I continued researching, I found several journal articles stating that it is more important to begin researching products containing glyphosate rather than the chemical in its pure form. Because there is so much controversy surrounding glyphosate's effects, it is important to research glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) as a whole. Roundup is the most commonly used GBH, so I decided to turn my focus to this product instead of pure chemical glyphosate.
There was just one last part of my research to figure out: the gap. Research had already shown that Roundup can cause cell death in some cell lines, yet I found that there had been no published studies done on cellular oxidative stress. Furthermore, no studies had researched the effects of a GBH on oxidative stress in fibroblast cells specifically. I learned that fibroblast cells make up organ tissue, and therefore their structure is essential to their function. Additionally, they are in general easy to grow and culture. After a long preliminary research process, I had finally decided to test the effects of Roundup, a GBH, on the oxidative stress in fibroblast cells.
I hope to help expand the body of knowledge surrounding GBHs and better understand its effects on a critical cellular pathway through my research.
Below are the sources I have used so far in my preliminary research.
Resources
Brausch, J. M., & Smith, P. N. (2007). Toxicity of three polyethoxylated tallowamine surfactant formulations to laboratory and field collected fairy shrimp, Thamnocephalus platyurus. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 52(2), 217-221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-006-0151-y
Cavalheiro de Menezes, C., Braga de Fonseca, M., Loro, V. L., Santi, A., Cattaneo, R., Clasen, B., Pretto, A., & Morsch, V. M. (2011). Roundup effects on oxidative stress parameters and recovery pattern of Rhamdia quelen. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 60(4), 665-671. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9574-6
Costas-Ferreira, C., Durán, R., & Faro, L. R. F. (2022). Toxic effects of glyphosate on the nervous system: A systematic review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(9), 4605. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23094605
Davoren, M. J., & Schiestl, R. H. (2018). Glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer risk: a post-IARC decision review of potential mechanisms, policy and avenues of research. Carcinogenesis, 39(10), 1207-1215. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgy105
Environmental Protection Agency. (2017, December 18). Draft Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments for Glyphosate. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/draft-human-health-and-ecological-risk-assessments-glyphosate
Fagan, J., Bohlen, L., Sharyle, P. & Klein, K. (2020). Organic diet intervention significantly reduces urinary glyphosate levels in U.S. children and adults. Environmental Research, 189, 109898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109898
Howe, C. M., Berrill, M., Pauli, B. D., Helbing, C. C., Werry, K., & Veldhoen, N. (2004). Toxicity of Glyphosate-based Pesticides to Four North American Frog Species. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 23(8), 1928-1938.
Martini, C. N., Gabrielli, M., & Vila M. C. (2012). A commercial formulation of glyphosate inhibits proliferation and differentiation to adipocytes and induces apoptosis in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. Toxicology in Vitro, 26(6), 1007-1013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tiv.2012.04.017
National Center for Environmental Health. (2022, November 7). Diet is a Factor in Contact with Glyphosate. Center for Disease Control. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/features/glyphosate/index.html
National Human Genome Research Institute. (2023, September 18). Fibroblast. NHGRI. https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Fibroblast#:~:text=A%20fibroblast%20is%20a%20type,the%20structural%20framework%20of%20tissues
Pizzino, G., Irrera, N., Cucinotta, M., Pallio, G., Mannino, F., Arcoraci, V., Squadrito, F., Altavilla, D., & Bitto, A. (2017). Oxidative stress: Harms and Benefits for Human Health. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2017, 8416763. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8416763
PubChem. (n.d.) Glyphosate: Compound Summary. National Library of Medicine. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Glyphosate
Rahimi, A. M., Cai, M., & Hoyer-Fender, S. (2022). Heterogeneity of the NIH3T3 Fibroblast Cell Line. Cells, 11(17), 2677. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11172677
Sule, R. O., Condon, L., & Gomez, A. V. (2022). A Common Feature of Pesticides: Oxidative Stress - The Role of Oxidative Stress in Pesticide-Induced Toxicity. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2022, 5563759. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5563759
United States Department of Agriculture. (1997, February). Glyphosate: Herbicide Information Profile. USDA. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_025810.pdf
Yokoyama, C., Sueyoshi, Y., Ema, M., Mori, Y., Takaishi, K., & Hisatomi, H. (2017). Induction of oxidative stress by anticancer drugs in the presence and absence of cells. Oncology Letters, 6066-6070. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2017.6931
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