INI-1 and all of its friends: The analysis of the INI-1 protein and associated proteins that contribute to cancer formation

Abstract

ATRT (Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor) is an aggressive pediatric brain tumor. Scientists believe that INI-1's loss from the SWI/SNF complex is what causes the ATRT tumor to develop. However, I hypothesized that rather than the loss of INI-1 from the SWI/SNF complex, it is the loss of INI-1 from some other unidentified INI-1 associated protein complex that causes the tumor to develop. To begin to answer this question, I set out to identify proteins that associated with INI-1. Multiple techniques were used over the duration of this project. Cell culture techniques were employed to grow two HeLa cell lines, one line had a FLAG tag version of INI-1 and the other HeLa cell line was used a control. These cells were grown and then lysed. Then half of the protein sample was run on a SDS-PAGE gel and the other half of the sample was sent to mass spectrum for analysis. Protein lists were then compiled and compared for different samples to determine the significance of the proteins attached to INI-1.