The Effects of Nicotine on the Expression of CHRNA3 in Correlation to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Kaitlynn Stowers
The Effects of Nicotine on the Expression of CHRNA3 in Correlation to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Adviser: Prof. Christy Fleet, Biology

This project sought to determine if nicotine alters the way a gene is expressed in a way that will result in a person developing Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Research has suggested nicotine is a leading factor in a person developing COPD. For this project, Kaitlynn cultured embryonic fibroblasts cells from mice and administered nicotine to the cells in two different ways. The first phase administered various concentrations of nicotine to the cells for one hour. The second phase administered a specific concentration of nicotine to the cells over a time series, ranging from 6 hours to 48 hours. Administering nicotine both ways allowed her to analyze how cells respond to nicotine with acute exposure compared to chronic exposure. After concluding both phases, she analyzed how the gene of interest, CHRNA3, was expressed relative to untreated cells in the same conditions using quantitative PCR.