Authors

Sarah S. Kuhn

Document Type

Honors Project

First Advisor

Dr. Robyn Puffenbarger

Degree Award Date

Fall 2002

Keywords

Cannabinoid Receptors, Immune Cells, Marijuana, immune system regulation, polymerase chain reaction technique, mouse chromosomes

Disciplines

Biology | Laboratory and Basic Science Research | Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics | Other Immunology and Infectious Disease

Abstract

The focus of this research was on immune system regulation by the peripheral type cannabinoid receptor (CB2) in macrophages. The study of the promoter for the genomic locus of CB2 was key to determining this relationship. This involved the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, which is an in vitro technique and allows the amplification of a specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) region that lies between two short pieces of a known DNA sequence. A segment of DNA from mouse chromosome 4 thought to contain the Cnr2 promoter region was used to isolate one segment of the Cnr2 upstream sequence. The DNA was transformed into bacteria to create an unlimited supply of Cnr2 promoter constructs. However, using colony PCR, the Cnr2 promoter constructs were not verified. Therefore, further research will be required to generate the Cnr2 promoter constructs.

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