Influence of Ginkgo biloba on Survival and Cell Cycle Regulation in Tetrahymena thermophilaUnder Acute Stress

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Pinal, Emma
Ortega, Vicente

Date of Issue

2024

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en_US

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Ginkgo biloba has been widely used for therapeutic purposes for centuries, especially in Chinese medicine. The supplement, which is extracted from the leaves of the Ginkgo tree, has been used to treat a variety of different ailments, including Dementia, Allergies, and Peripheral Artery Disease; however, the results of its effectiveness as a treatment are inconclusive. In order to test the effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba, we investigated the survival and cell cycle regulation of Tetrahymena thermophila that were subjected to a heat shock stressor. We hypothesized that T. thermophila exposed to acute heat shock would benefit from Ginkgo biloba treatment, as it would promote expression of the genes CDK3 and CDC7, both of which are involved in cell cycle regulation, while improving cell proliferation, metabolic activity, and feeding when compared to untreated cells. To test our hypothesis, T. thermophila cultures that were either treated or untreated with Gingko biloba were placed in an acute heat shock environment of 35 °C for 20 minutes. Following the heat shock treatment, T. thermophila cultures were maintained for 48 hours before undergoing behavioral assays to measure cell growth, metabolism, and feeding, along with Real Time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) to measure expression of CDK3 and CDC7. Given the previously reported protective effects of Ginkgo biloba, we predicted an increase in CDK3 and CDC7 expression in the stressed T. thermophila cultures that were treated with Ginkgo biloba along with an increase in behaviors related to cell growth and metabolism.

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