Students’ original mRNA research could help stop cancer

Imagine a complex system of gears— each wheel turning with interlocking teeth. Throw in a wrench, and everything stops.

Dr. Arnab Sengupta, an assistant professor of cell and molecular biology, mulls over that scenario every day.

Only, in his case, the wheels are cells and the wrench, stress.

If Sengupta and his team of undergraduate researchers can learn enough about cells and what causes them to shut down or keep producing, they could someday help stop cancer.

Cancer is a complex disease, not something any one scientist or lab can conquer. But Sengupta leans on his expertise in ribosome function to lead students in answering one particular aspect of the puzzle: how cells switch on or off.

Some cancer genes are switched on or off at the stage when genetic information in mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) is read to make proteins. In stressful conditions, cancer genes defy orders to stop functioning.

If researchers understood how some mRNAs are controlled under stress, they could turn off cancer-causing genes and turn on cancer-fighting genes.

“I’m interested in a couple of these mRNAs that, under stressful conditions, still want to translate into proteins. They are the ones that tend to enable cancers,” Sengupta said. “My fascination centers on how the mRNA is doing it, not cancer genes in particular.” project like this,” Furney said. “Even a little progress is a big victory. Science is about building knowledge. So, even though it might seem insignificant, our work may help another scientist somewhere else to build upon their work.”

He thinks the answer may lie in the way mRNA folds upon itself.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) has two long strands, arranged like a twisted ladder, which support its structure. RNA has one strand and folds upon itself. Because of this, it can adopt a variety of shapes.

Sengupta recruited several students to map folding patterns of certain mRNAs and build a structural model.

Each student in Sengupta’s lab is tasked with researching a different gene related to cancer.

Jin Yeong Kim is a senior biology major. She studies p53, a tumorsuppressor gene, to understand how mRNA is read to make the p53 protein.

Helping p53 work more efficiently could be one way to combat cancer.

“All research is important because it gives you one less possibility,” Kim said.

Other students work with mRNAs that continue making proteins under stress.

Junior biology major Alexandra Furney earned a Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors grant to work on a gene called Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF)-1a.

Under stressful low-oxygen levels, HIF-1a doesn’t shut down. It’s triggered to make more protein. Understanding how low-oxygen stress triggers HIF-1a to activate could help the team better understand how cancer develops.

Sengupta is amazed at the level of support from the university.

Currently, the team sends gene samples to the University of Georgia for “next-generation sequencing,” which determines the building blocks of DNA and RNA. To ensure high-quality samples are sent from Georgia College, the university secured funding for an Agilent TapeStation, which tests purity through the movement of charged particles.

Few universities have a TapeStation. It’s something mostly seen at large research schools.

When Sengupta tells associates what his students are doing—and the kind of equipment they’re working with— his friends are “flabbergasted.”

Someday, Sengupta would like Georgia College students to do their own next-generation sequencing.

“To be able to analyze molecules and prepare samples all the way through inhouse next-generation sequencing—would speak volumes to their ability and open doors for students in higher studies and biotech industry careers,” he said.

Three-year project kicks into high gear: Students work to purify toxic soil from mining in Zambia

Georgia College & State University students are sowing the seeds of change.

Funded through a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, an environmental science professor is leading this transformation in the central-southern region of Africa. His students are researching plants that may have the power to renew vast stretches of land poisoned from mining.

The three-year program includes International Research Experiences (IRES) for Students in the summers, plus continuing research during academic years on campus. It builds upon years of study by Dr. Samuel Mutiti, professor of geology and environmental sciences, who has worked tirelessly to clear Zambian soils of toxic metals.

Last summer, Mutiti took the first cohort—three undergraduate students and a graduate to Copperbelt Province and Kabwe, once dubbed the world’s most toxic town due to mining. Months of dry season in the region are followed by windy months. Children play in dirt fields, breathing in air particles laden with heavy metals like lead, cadmium and zinc.

Lead causes neurological problems, brain damage and lowered IQ in children. In pregnant women, it can cause anemia and miscarriages.

In recent years, Mutiti’s team built a concrete wall to block wind gusts at a playground at the David Ramushu Combined School in Kabwe. They buried contaminated dirt, encapsulating it with a layer of clean soil. In the future, Mutiti hopes to add plants that are known to pull pollutants from soil into their roots and stems.

“One of the things we focused on last summer was the selection of contaminated sites as good candidates for experimental phytoremediation,” Mutiti said. “We visited many different sites, collected different plants and soil samples for analysis. Each site has its own suite of pollutants, challenges and other factors. Which site will be ideal for future research?”

For the IRES project, Georgia College students collaborate with peers at the Colorado School of Mines to study heavy metal pollution and phytoremediation—the use of plants to clean contaminated environments. They’re also looking for ways to reuse the plants.

Senior biology major Abby Logan of Dacula, Georgia, was in the first cohort of students to travel to Zambia. She was new to the topic of soil remediation. Even so, Logan felt her input mattered in every conversation.

“I really appreciated the amount of inclusion we were allowed,” Logan said. “Almost immediately we were put into situations where we were able to express our thoughts and ideas on things, which was really cool.”

“We were able to see where we could make impacts,” she said, “and how the science we’re learning about and currently researching can make a difference in people’s lives.”

GCSU intramural sports fields

record-breaking number of teams this fall

Fall semester was the start of a competitive year.

ways to meet people and find their niche.

430

DIFFERNENT SPORTS

1,400 1 4 in students signing up to play intramural sports

9 teams EVERY

Georgia College & State University Intramural Sports fielded 430 teams competing in nine different sports during the semester.

That’s a Georgia College Intramural Sports record for the number of teams competing at one time. With about 1,400 students signing up to play intramural sports, roughly one out of every four Georgia College students participates in an intramural sport.

“Our participation rate is one of the highest in the country,” said Drew Bruton, associate director of Wellness and Recreation.

As many as 2,200 students will participate in intramural sports by the end of the academic year, Bruton said. That’s about 38% of Georgia College’s 5,500 undergraduate students. The national average is closer to 11%, down from 18% in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bruton attributes the jump in participation to students looking for

“Intramural sports offer a social outlet that you’re not going to find anyplace else on campus,” Bruton said.

“Students enjoy the programs they are in, and they let the freshman know about it.”

And the increased participation will have an effect on the level of play. Bruton said the greater number of teams allows his office to set the schedule and pair teams based on competitiveness.

“Our goal is for players to have fun,” Bruton said. “We want people to feel welcome and have a good time, even if they’re not the most competitive person.”

Teams and individuals compete in flag football, softball, indoor soccer, kickball, cornhole, spikeball, kan jam, pickleball and soccer tennis.

“Intramural sports are something that make Georgia College special and different from other University System of Georgia schools,” Bruton said.