“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…”
Sorry I have not updated in a while, my computer was being repaired making it difficult to blog. Anyway, I spent the majority of last week conducting three simultaneous assays that were a part of one general experiment in which I disrupted the TGFb signaling pathway by inhibiting the ligand receptor. Through a Western blot, transwell migration, and thymidine incorporation assay, I was able to visualize the several different, somewhat contradictory, effects that TGFb exerts on 4T1 cells.
What I have found most interesting about working in this lab is the ability to actually observe the effects of experiments through a microscope. Often times, molecular biology requires one to appreciate the science behind the daily pipetting of clear liquids, which can still become tedious. However, working with actual tissues that can be seen under a microscope allows one to visualize the effects of various perturbations. For example, after treating the 4T1 cells with TGFb, I was able to notice changes in the cellular morphology. The cells appeared more stretched and the colonies less compact. Such phenotypic changes were suggestive of TGFb-induced cellular migration, which could lead to metastasis in vivo. The pictures below illustrate these changes – scroll your mouse over them to view the captions.
With two weeks of experience under my belt, I feel a lot more confident and independent about my work in the lab. Tomorrow I will begin the actual experiments that will hopefully answer my research question – I’m pretty excited!
June 21st, 2007 at 9:21 am
Cool pictures!
June 21st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
wow Kristin…that pathway sounds very interesting. I agree; it’s so cool to see those cells under the microscope and see them grow everyday. best- Trisha