Comparing Gene Expression Between Resveratrol Sensitive and Insensitive Cells Using RNA‐Sequencing Methods

Cancer treatments, while steadily improving in quality and effectiveness, continue to depend primarily on compounds toxic to non‐cancerous cells. These treatments, while demonstrating effectiveness against specific strains of cancer, often lead to debilitating and degenerate human disease. Resveratrol, a naturally occurring polyphenol found in the skin and seeds of red grapes, has been demonstrated to have anti‐cancerous properties. While much research has been done the general chemotherapeutic effect of resveratrol, little has been determined about the precise mechanism through which resveratrol specifically targets cancerous cells. By studying these mechanisms, one could perhaps learn to mimic or enhance it's nontoxic chemotherapeutic qualities in cancer treatments. We analyzed gene expression data between cancer cells with and without resveratrol treatment (focusing on both coding and noncoding RNA) to pinpoint with greater accuracy the biochemical pathways involved in this unique chemotherapeutic. To examine this, RNA sequencing methods were performed on MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells on samples with and without resveratrol treatment. We applied RNA sequencing methods in a similar manner to a strain of the same cell line that developed an insensitivity to resveratrol. This cell line was developed through incrementally increasing resveratrol concentrations in the media over 8 months. The data was run through a Gene Set Omic Analysis (GSOA) program developed by bioinformatics professors at BYU. We have identified pathways that are modulated in response to resveratrol that help elucidate the chemotherapeutic mechanism of resveratrol. Studying impacted biochemical pathways identified by the analysis can reveal nontoxic methods of cancer treatment. Support or Funding Information Simmons Center for Cancer Research Undergraduate Research Fellowship, BYU Life Sciences Start‐up Grant