Belmont SURFS

Utilizing NGT as a model for Tay-Sachs Disease

This summer I worked with Dr. Sterling looking at lysosomal storage disorders. My project specifically looked at Tay-Sachs disease, which is a fatal pediatric degenerative disease. This summer we were looking at similarities between lysosomal storage disorders, and comparing Tay-Sachs disease to a disease with more information known in the literature. To do this, we split cells, used immunofluorescent staining, imaging of both fixed and live cells, and a transfection. First we used NGT to induce the disease in the cells. A dosage for cells was not previously mentioned in the literature, so the first experiment we did was to find the correct dose of NGT by testing various concentrations. Once a dose of NGT was determined, we used both GFP and DAPI staining to look at the lysosomes and the nuclei of cells. We then took measurements of the lysosomes as well as other data from our images, and compared the diseased cells to the wild type cells. Working on this project has been an incredible opportunity for me. I have learned so much an am so grateful to Belmont University and Dr. Sterling for this opportunity.